I recently bought a bcd396t digital scanner but I can't pick up dcpd or dcfd, the database says there frequencies are p25 and my scanner is set to that before I enter the frequency but still nothing, any help would be greatly appreciated.
scanning in dc
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JoeyC
Senior Member
DCFD is on a trunked system and is monitorable. MPDC is totally encrypted (except for maybe one TG) and cannot be monitored.
troymail
Silent Key
I believe police are on this system but as has been said - nearly all of it is encrypted.
Washington, DC (Project 25) Trunking System, Washington, District of Columbia - Scanner Frequencies
Fire is still on the old system (to my knowledge):
Washington, DC (Project 16) Trunking System, Washington, District of Columbia - Scanner Frequencies
Again, as has been said, these are trunked systems and have to be programmed as trunked systems (you can't just enter frequencies and listen - well, you can but that won't really work well at all).
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Not to add to the bad news, but if any of that stuff in the new system goes completely Phase 2, the 396T won't handle it. You would need an Uniden 436HP, 536HP or GRE PSR-800 (if you can find one) to copy it
Mike
Mike
Thread moved to Washington, DC forum.
troymail
Silent Key
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
However this isn't the case here. There are a few police related talkgroups that are in the clear.
Any talkgroup marked 'E' - forget about it. You can't hear it.
'D' means 'Digital', and your 396 can deal with this.
'T' is TDMA Phase 2, and the 396 can't work with this format.
Mike
Any talkgroup marked 'E' - forget about it. You can't hear it.
'D' means 'Digital', and your 396 can deal with this.
'T' is TDMA Phase 2, and the 396 can't work with this format.
Mike
troymail
Silent Key
Assuming it came with a programming cable (hopefully), grab a copy of FresScan and it will help you...
FreeSCAN - Sixspot Software
BTW - are you IN the District ?
FreeSCAN - Sixspot Software
BTW - are you IN the District ?
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Actually it comes with a serial cable, which by itself is useless with modern PCs. He needs a USB-serial cable, but that's just a start...
Tender, start reading the material linked (anything that's blue) in this wiki article. It will give you just about everything you need to understand to program the scanner.
Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki
I also have a 396 and live in Bowie, so I'm in your neck of the woods. If you would be specific about what you want to hear, I can likely slap a FreeScan file together in short order. Don't ignore any of the conventional stuff that might be around you; here's our db entry for that...
District of Columbia , District of Columbia (DC) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Wander a bit through the various tabs and such. There's still a ton of stuff to hear in the DC area, and I haven't even begun to touch on the military air stuff....do some homework
Mike
Tender, start reading the material linked (anything that's blue) in this wiki article. It will give you just about everything you need to understand to program the scanner.
Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki
I also have a 396 and live in Bowie, so I'm in your neck of the woods. If you would be specific about what you want to hear, I can likely slap a FreeScan file together in short order. Don't ignore any of the conventional stuff that might be around you; here's our db entry for that...
District of Columbia , District of Columbia (DC) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Wander a bit through the various tabs and such. There's still a ton of stuff to hear in the DC area, and I haven't even begun to touch on the military air stuff....do some homework
Mike
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Phase 2 in DC
While we are discussing the scanning in the area, for those systems that are Phase 2 already (PG, Loudoun) - are people picking up the channels in FDMA for Fire/EMS still or should I just bite the bullet and go with a Phase II compatible scanner? I am trying to delay the purchase of a TDMA compatible scanner as long as possible and figured these channels would still be picked up by older digital scanners for a little while longer.
I am not only worried about cost, but I was hoping that it won't be too much longer before we see MOTOTRBO decoding capabilities - the current lineup of Phase II scanners still seem like they are still a step behind what agencies are using.
While we are discussing the scanning in the area, for those systems that are Phase 2 already (PG, Loudoun) - are people picking up the channels in FDMA for Fire/EMS still or should I just bite the bullet and go with a Phase II compatible scanner? I am trying to delay the purchase of a TDMA compatible scanner as long as possible and figured these channels would still be picked up by older digital scanners for a little while longer.
I am not only worried about cost, but I was hoping that it won't be too much longer before we see MOTOTRBO decoding capabilities - the current lineup of Phase II scanners still seem like they are still a step behind what agencies are using.
troymail
Silent Key
A considerable amount of Fire/EMS in PG is TDMA / Phase 2. However, the dispatch and "routine"/medical talkgroups (8A1, 8A2, etc.) are regularly in Phase 1 mode. The problem is without a TDMA capable radio, you won't know if it's just quite or they are using Phase 2. There are some other TGs running regularly in Phase 1 (Laurel Police for example).
I'll let others speak to Loudon.
My PSR800 works well in PG County, and for the very few unencrypted TGs on the MPDC system. I understand that the new Uniden's (436,536) also do well for TDMA (Phase II). I do not hear anything that is "FDMA" on the trunked system, only the repeated channels that are individual conventional frequencies for dispatch
At this point, the only scanners you can buy new are the Unidens that do TDMA/Phase II P25 digital, and I have no information about MOTOTRBO or other decoding, but suspect that Uniden did not pre-plan hardware in the new radios to decode them, as they would not be addable with just a firmware fix without it.
JK
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