Trunk tracking scanner help

[Dayhiker]

Is the pro 433 a good purchase or should i buy something else????? Like the pro 2055
I plan on scanning local fire, police and Ems the reason for the trunking is for the South carolina Highway patrol they are on the palmetto 800 plus it has the weather alert.. I would like to be able to have alert tone but not a must have...

Any advice on these models or another one? Around the same price. That I can purchase localy in greenville S.C.

 

[fmon]

Is the pro 433 a good purchase or should i buy something else????? Like the pro 2055
I plan on scanning local fire, police and Ems the reason for the trunking is for the South carolina Highway patrol they are on the palmetto 800 plus it has the weather alert.. I would like to be able to have alert tone but not a must have...

Any advice on these models or another one? Around the same price. That I can purchase localy in greenville S.C.

Greenville Palmetto talkgroups are all digital, neither scanner will be able to hear them.

You will need one of the following to scan Palmetto in Greenville:

These are all priced at 500 bucks +
Radio Shack Pro-96/2096
GRE PSR-500/600
Uniden BC-250D/785D with digital card
Uniden BC-296D/796D
Uniden BC-396D/996D

 

[Dayhiker]

Thanks for the advice....I was thinking I read somewhere on this forum that the schp didnt use the digital or encryption but the sled office did use it. I could be wrong I have 4 diffrent scenners the only reason i am looking at a new one is just to be able to hear the schp in greenville county

 

[fmon]

Russell,

You are correct regarding SCHP talkgroups, most are analog.
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=429
Greenville county agencies, Law and Fire/EMS are digital but not encrypted.

 

[Dayhiker]

Thanks Frank so based on what you are saying and what I read in the thread I would be able to hear SCHP in Greenville without a digital scanner( but with trunking capability) untill they convert over. Then I would have to step up and buy the digital ?

Russell

 

[fmon]

In my four or 5 trips in the area, State Police have been analog and Greenville county digital. This is verified in the database page in the link of my previous.

Larry in Spartanburg should be able to tell you if the state intends to change to digital for SCHP but it will likely require replacing thousands of radios.

 

[Dayhiker]

Larry had responded to my email I sent him and stated it would work and he coulsd explain to me how to program it. I dont have any problem picking up Greenville county sherrifs office in the 450 uhf range on my uniden bearcat bc350a now so I would assume the 2055 will pick up them as well.. I just dont know if it is worth the extra to get the 2055 or just buy the 433...

 

[fmon]

Larry had responded to my email I sent him and stated it would work and he coulsd explain to me how to program it. I dont have any problem picking up Greenville county sherrifs office in the 450 uhf range on my uniden bearcat bc350a now so I would assume the 2055 will pick up them as well.. I just dont know if it is worth the extra to get the 2055 or just buy the 433...

Yep, the 2055 should pick up 450 FM well, my choice would be 2055 (for PL/DPL if nothing else) over the 433.

 

[Dayhiker]

Thanks

 

[SCPD]

Larry in Spartanburg should be able to tell you if the state intends to change to digital for SCHP but it will likely require replacing thousands of radios.

SCHP will be switching to digital, but it will not be until all of their radio's are replaced. All new radios purchased are digital capable, but left in analog mode. There is no timeline, at this point, as to when the switch will occur. As a radio breaks it is replaced with a new one, so it may be awhile. Also keep in mind that supervisors have digital radios and USE the digital & encrypted feature, so I guess you could say that HP is a mixed group.

If it were me, I would go ahead and spend the money on a digital scanner, but I dont know what you financial situation is like.

If it is any help, all of Anderson county will be switching to a P25 800Mhz system within the next 12-18 months, so if you plan on listening to them you'll have to upgrade.

 

[Dayhiker]

well i actualy decided to purchase the pro 97 since the features were the same between it and the 2055 so i could have the portability I also opted ot get the pc cable now I just have to find the software....?

 

[ka3jjz]

As Yoda might say, 'only 1 do you need...' Win97 from Starrsoft. It will work with both the 2055 and 97.

Get a premium subscription to this website (cheap) and you'll be able to download data from the database to help program your scanners.

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/subscription/

73 Mike

 

[fmon]

As Yoda might say, 'only 1 do you need...' Win97 from Starrsoft. It will work with both the 2055 and 97.

Also PSR-300/400 and Pro-163/164. www.starrsoft.com

 

[Dayhiker]

OMG I am so confused now i cant see straight I bought the pro 97 , downloaded win 97 bought the cable and now have it communicating. Unfortunatly the help file will not pull up so I am lost. I think someone had already programed this scanner before i got it It has a lot of local channels in it. I read the manual on how to program the trunking but dont know what to input for greenville sc do i enter all the freq or just the red ones ??????????Any help will be greatly appreciated I have realized scanners have changed a whole lot since I bought my last one............

 

[fmon]

Russell,

!st, make sure all three Win97 files are in the same folder. exe, dll and chm.
If they are return to Win97 download page and click the see this page button for procedures to fix the help menu.

2nd, with cable hooked up, click in the Scanner menu and select Download from Scanner. Then in the Channels tab will be listed any data currently in the scanner. You will need to use the Bank ^ button to check all 10 banks.

 

[Dayhiker]

I got the help file fixed but when i tried to program the SCHP in it scans the channels and locks onto one at a time with a god aweful noise so i am guessing I did something wrong....

 

[fmon]

In Win97 Channels tab, select bank with the SCHP frequencies. Insure each RX Mode next to frequencies is set to MOT (click in FM for a pulldown). Insure Type Pulldown is also set to MOT. Save and reload to scanner.