Total Newbie , howto listen to local law enforcement and fire

[HB-Texas]

Total Newbie , howto listen to local law enforcement and fire Smith county Texas area,. Son got me a Uniden bc75xlt for Christmas .
I have searched and found all the local freq I could find and used the BC75 software to load them in the scanner. But have heard only few beeps and static..
I can go online and listen to our local pd . so I know they are yapping.
Was hoping for local law,. fire depts. and the like . attached is the file freq I have put on scanner bank 1
HELP!

 

[mmckenna]

Try programming in the NOAA weather channels and see if you hear them:
162.400
162.425
162.450
162.475
162.500
162.525
162.550

You may need to take the scanner outside, some home construction can effectively block RF. External antennas are often needed for good indoor listening.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums. Unfortunately the BC75XLT isn't the correct tool for the job. You'll need a P25 capable scanner to bring in Smith County on TXWarn. Even though the system is Phase-II capable, talkgroups in your county are FDMA (mode "D") so any scanner on this list should work

 

[Enforcer52]

If you are going to be listening to Tyler public safety they are on a Simulcast system that requires a Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 so you don't get simulcast distortion. If you are a bit of distance from Tyler then a Uniden BCD325P2 or BCD996P2 may work for you to pick up Tyler but it is luck of the draw with your location and reception.

You can also listen to Tyler and Smith county on Broadcastify on your computer or phone (via special phone apps).

Smith County Texas Live Audio Feeds

Smith County Texas Live Audio Feeds

www.broadcastify.com

 

[HB-Texas]

Try programming in the NOAA weather channels and see if you hear them:
162.400
162.425
162.450
162.475
162.500
162.525
162.550

You may need to take the scanner outside, some home construction can effectively block RF. External antennas are often needed for good indoor listening.

yes I get the weather, Man sons gonna be pretty upset about that.. Is what it is. I am sure its good for other listening ? Local VFD ?

 

[Enforcer52]

I am sure its good for other listening ? Local VFD ?

There are some VHF frequencies still listed for Dixie, Lindale and Whitehouse, but not sure they are still used. Most everything has gone to the TxWarn system P25 Phase 1. Maybe someone in your area will chime in and let you know what's available on the bc75xlt.

 

[mmckenna]

yes I get the weather, Man sons gonna be pretty upset about that.. Is what it is. I am sure its good for other listening ? Local VFD ?

Not familiar with your area, but there's some suggestions above.

Yeah, you can't listen to the digital trunked system, but there's still stuff out there.

Smith County, Texas (TX) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Smith County, Texas (TX)

www.radioreference.com

Any of the FM stuff is compatible with your scanner. Schools, VFD, some law enforcement, amateur radio, FRS, GMRS, etc.

 

[hiegtx]

yes I get the weather, Man sons gonna be pretty upset about that.. Is what it is. I am sure its good for other listening ? Local VFD ?

Most of the agencies in your area use TxWARN, the trunked system, that Whiskey3 mentioned. But, looking at notes on the Smith County page, and as Enforcer has mentioned, it appears that most usage is on the the on the trunked system. Just glancing at your list of what you've programmed, you have a number of the conventional (non-trunked) frequencies programmed, but they might not be actively using them, just keeping them in case something happens to TxWARN. While the Tyler site is simulcast, there are a couple of other sites in the county that are not simulcast, but still would require a scanner capable of tracking a digital trunked system in order to listen. For the outlying sites, such as Lindale, Arp, Bullard, & Winona, they might not carry all of the traffic you'd want to hear, especially Tyler itself. But even with these four, you still need a scanner capable of tracking a digital trunked system. I'm out of range of Tyler as well, but maybe someone from that specific area can advise what is carried on the non-simulcast sites.

 

[TopSlide]

Yeah, sorry to say the scanner won’t work as you imagine it. Your son may try to get a refund or sale the unit on eBay. I don’t want to waste a lot of my time soliciting information you don’t care about, but if you are set on hearing radio traffic, as others have said and sds 100 or 200 is the ticket. Sorry!

 

[jetscanner]

If money is an issue, the pro 668 on that list is what I still use. It's about half the cost of what you'd spend on an sds 100/200 on eBay and still does the job. I still use mine in Houston for everything. There may be cheaper options on that list I haven't checked.

It's not nearly as nice ofcourse as the sds 100/200. But once you get it all setup, it's fine. Keep in mind the 668 is an old dated RadioShack model so, warranty/repair etc is a whole different topic. It's now the whistler1080 and IDK if they still offer any repairs/warrantys on the RadioShack version. They do offer a firmware upgrade. Yeah. It gets confusing.