Long time lurker, first time poster.
I have been doing research for a few months on different scanners to buy my father and finally opted to pull the trigger on the Radio Shack Pro-106. Here's the problem....my father stays here in Tucson during the winter and then goes back to the Houston area during the summer to be with other family members. The police department in the area where he lives in Houston has a trunked system but here in Tucson the police frequencies are just conventional. He's had a conventional scanner in the past and understands how to set up conventional frequencies but now I am trying to teach him how to set up his scanner with a trunked system. So I found that the prison complex south of Tucson has a trunked system and I got excited because I was going to be able to show him how to set up the trunked system and then how to set up the talkgroups. I went over to his place and showed him how to set up his scanner with the trunked systems/talk groups. After entering all the frequencies listed here in the database and then setting up the talk group ID's we found that we got no communication on the scanner from any of the talk groups. I thought three things here; either it is a very quiet day at the prison or I missed a setting on the scanner during programming or there was something wrong with the scanner. The database here does not say the prison system is encrypted so I can't understand why we can't pick up any communication from the facility. We took the scanner back to Radio Shack and talked with a gentleman that ultimately made some phone calls to some people he knows and came back to us with "even though the scanner is programmed properly it was a good chance that the prison has codes that need to be entered in order to listen to their communication." So now I am at a crossroads. I do not want to send him back to Houston with this scanner without the understanding of how to program this unit and I sure don't want to keep this unit if there is a chance he will get back there only to find out that he needs a "code" in order to listen to his local police department. I have thirty days to return this unit to Radio Shack to get my money back and I really don't know what to do. Part of me wants to take the chance and when he gets back to the Houston area let him take the chance that it will work but part of me wants to take this unit back and get back my $300 and just get him a conventional scanner for $100. I was not aware that a trunked system that was not encrypted needed a code. Is this a fact? And if so, is it safe to say that its a 50/50 shot that one will be able to listen to a trunked system even if you know the trunk system frequencies and the group ID's? Or prayerfully.....I am just missing a setting and can somehow show him that it works right here in Tucson by picking up the prison communication and then get him to understand what he needs to do when he gets back to the Houston area. This is the trunked system that I have input into the scanner for the prison:
Federal Correctional Complex Tucson Trunking System, Tucson, Arizona - Scanner Frequencies
This complex is within one mile of his place and can be physically seen from his neighborhood from the right vantage point. Any help understanding what I should do or what I am missing would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance......
Stumble
I have been doing research for a few months on different scanners to buy my father and finally opted to pull the trigger on the Radio Shack Pro-106. Here's the problem....my father stays here in Tucson during the winter and then goes back to the Houston area during the summer to be with other family members. The police department in the area where he lives in Houston has a trunked system but here in Tucson the police frequencies are just conventional. He's had a conventional scanner in the past and understands how to set up conventional frequencies but now I am trying to teach him how to set up his scanner with a trunked system. So I found that the prison complex south of Tucson has a trunked system and I got excited because I was going to be able to show him how to set up the trunked system and then how to set up the talkgroups. I went over to his place and showed him how to set up his scanner with the trunked systems/talk groups. After entering all the frequencies listed here in the database and then setting up the talk group ID's we found that we got no communication on the scanner from any of the talk groups. I thought three things here; either it is a very quiet day at the prison or I missed a setting on the scanner during programming or there was something wrong with the scanner. The database here does not say the prison system is encrypted so I can't understand why we can't pick up any communication from the facility. We took the scanner back to Radio Shack and talked with a gentleman that ultimately made some phone calls to some people he knows and came back to us with "even though the scanner is programmed properly it was a good chance that the prison has codes that need to be entered in order to listen to their communication." So now I am at a crossroads. I do not want to send him back to Houston with this scanner without the understanding of how to program this unit and I sure don't want to keep this unit if there is a chance he will get back there only to find out that he needs a "code" in order to listen to his local police department. I have thirty days to return this unit to Radio Shack to get my money back and I really don't know what to do. Part of me wants to take the chance and when he gets back to the Houston area let him take the chance that it will work but part of me wants to take this unit back and get back my $300 and just get him a conventional scanner for $100. I was not aware that a trunked system that was not encrypted needed a code. Is this a fact? And if so, is it safe to say that its a 50/50 shot that one will be able to listen to a trunked system even if you know the trunk system frequencies and the group ID's? Or prayerfully.....I am just missing a setting and can somehow show him that it works right here in Tucson by picking up the prison communication and then get him to understand what he needs to do when he gets back to the Houston area. This is the trunked system that I have input into the scanner for the prison:
Federal Correctional Complex Tucson Trunking System, Tucson, Arizona - Scanner Frequencies
This complex is within one mile of his place and can be physically seen from his neighborhood from the right vantage point. Any help understanding what I should do or what I am missing would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance......
Stumble
