Simple Digital?

[WLD-MTN]

Hello,

I live on the coast of rural Maine. My wife would like to have a counter top scanner. I know that analog scanners can be somewhat of a no brained but if I’m going to spend some money I don’t want something that is on its way to being obsolete.

So….

I’d like a Digital unit that is “easy” for a newby to use / set up for our area.

Please, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

 

[Enforcer52]

What county are you located in. Modern scanners whether analog or digital require some type of programming to get them going. But there are lots of folks on RR to help you out.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Yes, please give us exact city/county so we can get eyes on the database to help you make an informed decision. Welcome to the forums!

I’d like a Digital unit that is “easy” for a newby to use / set up for our area.

All digital scanners on the market require some learning curve so you'll need to set some time aside to learn how they work, how they're programmed, etc. Once you do it'll become second nature to you

 

[dave3825]

Try to list what your wife wants to listen to.

 

[ve1sef]

Morning.
Not knowing where along the coast you are, this will be a general answer.
From what I've seen in the database "Coastal Maine" is primary still conventional VHF/UHF.

Digital use Coastal Maine:
Cumberland County - DMR / Mototrbo / P25 P1
Hancock County - DMR
Lincoln County - DMR / P25 P1
Sagadahoc County - P25 (1 town)
York County - DMR / Mototrbo / NXDN / P25 P1 / P25 P2
Maine State Network - P25 P1
USN - P25 P1 (Washington and York Counties)

If you're not interested in what the state is doing. The "simplest" counter top digital scanner would be
BCD260DN model which cover convention VHF/UHF/DMR/NXDN. Not designed to follow P25 or
Trunk Radio Systems

If you're interested in what the state is doing. Then of these may fit you needs with limitations
Uniden BCD996T or XT* / GRE PSR600* / Realistic 197 or 652* / Whistler 1065 cover conventional, P25 P1
* no longer in production but can still be found in the Radio Reference classifieds or on E-Bay

Uniden BCD996P25 similar to older 996s. Also covers P25 P2 and with paid firmware upgrades will
work on DMR / Mototrbo / NXDN

Whistler TX2 covers convention, P25 P1 & P2, DMR ** / NXDN**
** No paid DMR / NXDN up-grade required, Not designed to follow Trunk Radio Systems

Aside from that best advise is to do your research into which would best serve you needs.
With regards to programming it can by hand or with a computer using available software.
There are plenty of knowledgeable folks on here that can help you out along the way.

 

[tvengr]

Uniden BCD996P25 similar to older 996s

I believe you meant to say BCD996P2.

 

[ve1sef]

I believe you meant to say BCD996P2.

Gotta stop posting before coffee

 

[tvengr]

WLD-MTN, we need to know your city and county and what you would like to monitor to be able to help.

 

[WRQI583]

I live in Maine, midcoast to be exact. You do have P25 in the state. The next digital mode that is popular is DMR.
If you are looking for a digital scanner that is easy to deal with, The SDS200 will work. By the time you get done buying the upgrade keys it can run you around 800-900 dollars depending on what you put in for keys (DMR, Provoice, NXDN, and the Waterfall). You download the software (for free) and through that you can get frequencies for anywhere in the US or Canada. You can program it yourself, or use the zipcode feature and it pulls from the database. Programming it yourself is a headache though. I am currently going through it as I type this. You can get away with the 996p2 which does the same digital modes. That one you have to program also. The new scanners are a bit to program no matter what way you look at it.

 

[dave3825]

If you are looking for a digital scanner that is easy to deal with, The SDS200 will work.

You can program it yourself, or use the zipcode feature and it pulls from the database. Programming it yourself is a headache though. I am currently going through it as I type this.

Many people seem to overlook the Add Channels On Range feature in Sentinel. Pick a zip code, set a range, define service types of interest, and it makes a favorites list pretty quickly. Then just open editor and adjust to your liking and or assign quick keys. .

 

[WRQI583]

Many people seem to overlook the Add Channels On Range feature in Sentinel. Pick a zip code, set a range, define service types of interest, and it makes a favorites list pretty quickly. Then just open editor and adjust to your liking and or assign quick keys. .

On mine, I just set up a custom favorites list. I don't even use the zipcode. Reason being is my terrain is so twisted that the traditional circle or square wont work. I have things nearby me (10mi -15mi) that are hard to receive, but then I have no issue picking up the Gorham, NH fire department almost 100 miles away. When you use the zipcode feature it will put 5 or 6 state police towers scanning in amongst other stuff that I can't hear or dont want to hear. I have spent over a week now customizing that thing when it comes to tower sites and having to change tags and renaming stuff. It's worth it though. The Zip code feature is excellent if I go on a road trip and don't have a program made up for the area I am in. I actually love this feature for that one reason. Wonderful idea they had when putting that in the scanner.

 

[tvengr]

You can program it yourself, or use the zipcode feature and it pulls from the database. Programming it yourself is a headache though. I am currently going through it as I type this. You can get away with the 996p2 which does the same digital modes. That one you have to program also. The new scanners are a bit to program no matter what way you look at it.

If you need any help with your programming, please let us know. That's why we are here. Unfortunately, the OP of this thread seems to have disappeared. Many newcomers don't seem to realize that we need to know their city, county, and state and what they want to monitor to be able to help. We are not trying to get personal information, only what is necessary to help. Maybe, that scared him off.

 

[ve1sef]

Life is full of distractions, Could be caught up in Thanksgiving events.

 

[WRQI583]

If you need any help with your programming, please let us know.

I am all set with being able to program it. I really do appreciate the offer though. I think if there are any issues I having at this point, it may be understanding the quick key settings. I haven't made it that far though ha ha. I see that as the "finishing touches" when I finally have everything programmed the way I want it. I am in the process of going county by county in my state and programming it the way I want it.
What I mean by headache may be more on my end. The modifying of the information the way I need it in the radio is the headache. Having to go through and rename tags and place different frequencies in different places and deleting frequencies that are not in use etc. I live in a unique area where I have to program my scanners with certain things but not others due to the way the signals are affected by the terrain around me. I have stuff 13 miles from me that I cannot hear at all, but stuff 100 miles from me that I can pick up that sounds like it is a couple towns away; that kind of terrain. It's just a matter of personal preference the way it scans for me, so I have to program it in a way that allows me to hear the maximum amount of stuff without all of the other fluff. It is a really awesome scanner though. For someone who really gets into scanning, such as the technical end of things sniffing out different systems and all, I highly recommend it.

 

[dave3825]

On mine, I just set up a custom favorites list. I don't even use the zipcode. Reason being is my terrain is so twisted that the traditional circle or square wont work. I have things nearby me (10mi -15mi) that are hard to receive, but then I have no issue picking up the Gorham, NH fire department almost 100 miles away. When you use the zipcode feature it will put 5 or 6 state police towers scanning in amongst other stuff that I can't hear or dont want to hear. I have spent over a week now customizing that thing when it comes to tower sites and having to change tags and renaming stuff. It's worth it though. The Zip code feature is excellent if I go on a road trip and don't have a program made up for the area I am in. I actually love this feature for that one reason. Wonderful idea they had when putting that in the scanner.

Add Channels On Range is by far the quickest and easiest way for stuff in your area up to 50 miles.

Just did one of Maines zip codes (04338) with just the 3 fire service types and 50 mile range. It spit this out in under a minute. It is much quicker to delete unwanted stuff then find and append the stuff you want.

 

[tvengr]

I think if there are any issues I having at this point, it may be understanding the quick key settings.

Which scanner are you using (BCDx36HP or SDS)?

 

[WRQI583]

Which scanner are you using (BCDx36HP or SDS)?

SDS200.

 

[tvengr]

SDS200.

What questions do you have about using quick keys?

 

[WRQI583]

What questions do you have about using quick keys?

Assigning them to each favorite that I have programmed. I am not worried about each individual frequency or talkgroup, just the main favorite. I have them all listed by county and when it comes to the state system, it is listed by tower (p25 trunked system). If I go mobile with the scanner, as I go from one county to another, I will turn one county off and turn on the county I am heading into. Same if I go out of range of one tower for the state and into another I will change it the same way. I just want to assign numbers to them so that I hopefully wont have to keep going into the menu and scrolling through my favorites.

 

[tvengr]

In Sentinel, go to the Edit tab and click on Edit Favorites List. Select the favorites list and click on OK. The favorites list will be highlighted. Click on the Options tab. Select the FL Quick Key number. You usually begin with quick key "0". Go to the File tab and click on Save. Go to the File tab and click on Exit.

You must be in scan mode when selecting favorites lists. Press a favorites list quick key number on the scanner keypad followed by "E" to toggle the favorites list on and off. You cannot assign the same quick key to move than one favorites list. Any favorites list, system, department, or site without a quick key will be enabled all of the time. That means that everything within a favorites list will scan when the favorites list is turned on unless you assigned quick keys to anything other than the favorites list.