Trunk scanning

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jlibarkin

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Jul 30, 2006
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I want to buy a trunk scanner for home My father gave me a bearcat 220 home but i would like to listen to the good stuff were should i start something basic that will let me listen and enjoy
thankyou for your input
jonathan
 

captclint

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K9GTJ

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Welcome to RR.com. You have lots of options and they can seem overwhelming.

My suggestion would be to buy a trunking scanner from Radio Shack or a Uniden from a local store. I would start off having the store program the scanner for you to start which will get you going right away.

As you listen, you can learn more about scanning and programming your scanner.

As for suggesting a scanner, look for one that isn't too feature rich as it can be very daunting to understand. If you get into the scanning hobby, you will want more than one anyway and if you just want to listen to the basic public safety, then what you get will be just fine.

You might also search on "Warren" in the VA forum for some conversations. Also asking questions in the VA forum might get you some more specific answers from users in your area.
 

tmaddox

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programminc bc246t scanner

i live in philadelphia i juse brought the bc 246t having trouble setting up scanner all the talk groups are set up for police and fire dept but when i go to scan all i get is hissing is their any body on here from phila that know how to program this scanner send me a email at tmaddox123@comcast .net did iput in central channels and still the same
 

hiegtx

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tmaddox said:
i live in philadelphia i juse brought the bc 246t having trouble setting up scanner all the talk groups are set up for police and fire dept but when i go to scan all i get is hissing is their any body on here from phila that know how to program this scanner send me a email at tmaddox123@comcast .net did iput in central channels and still the same
If this Philadelphia system is the one you're trying to set up, the 246 is not going to work out for you. This system is a mostly APCO-25 (digital) system. The 246 is an excellent scanner, but it cannot receive digital. That's why all you get is hissing.

For digital, you'd need either the BCD396T, BC296D (discontinued, but can still be found at a few dealers or on Ebay, or in the For Sale forum here), or the Pro-96 from Radio Shack. If you wanted a base/mobile instead of a handheld, then the BCD996T, the BC796D (same discontinued comments as the 296), or the Pro-2096.

If it's a different system you're trying to monitor, please specify.
 

1075

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tmaddox said:
i live in philadelphia i juse brought the bc 246t having trouble setting up scanner all the talk groups are set up for police and fire dept but when i go to scan all i get is hissing is their any body on here from phila that know how to program this scanner send me a email at tmaddox123@comcast .net did iput in central channels and still the same

I was told by the person who programmed my Uniden 396t that Philadelphia Fire Tactical talkgroups are encrypted. I can't confirm that because I live out of the area and only travel there occasionally. The person who told me that lives in the area and is an experienced scanner user.
 

hiegtx

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1075,
According to the database information, you are correct. Fire tactical groups are marked as "E", encrypted. But what's odd, at least to me, is that the Police groups are not encrypted, simply labeled as "D" for digital. Where encryption is in use, you also expect it to be on sensitive PD communications, like tacticals (SWAT), narcotics, surveillance, etc.

Regardless, no scanner, digital or otherwise, will receive any encrypted talk group or conventional frequency. Your 396, as you've probably experienced (if you've tried the system) should get the regular digital channels that are unencrypted.
 
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