im planning to get a scanner and have absolutely no experience. what i want to listen to is something called a simulcast site, what is this, what kind of scanner do i need to listen to it and how would i listen to it? (punching it in and such) any help is appreciated.
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KE5BCP
Analog Man
Welcome to RR!
If you'll provide a link to the system that you are wanting to monitor (from the RR database), those that are local to your area can help out with suggestions.
As far as what simulcast is:
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast
If you'll provide a link to the system that you are wanting to monitor (from the RR database), those that are local to your area can help out with suggestions.
As far as what simulcast is:
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast
The above link is a good discussion of what a simulcast system is. For programming purposes, they program the same way as any other site.
If you haven't yet bought a scanner, I'd suggest the Uniden SDS series of scanners or perhaps the Unication. These seem to decode simulcast better than previous models. The earlier models (x36 and x96) were kind of temperamental on simulcast systems. Depending on your location with respect to the tower, you may get clear audio, garbled audio or no audio.
If you haven't yet bought a scanner, I'd suggest the Uniden SDS series of scanners or perhaps the Unication. These seem to decode simulcast better than previous models. The earlier models (x36 and x96) were kind of temperamental on simulcast systems. Depending on your location with respect to the tower, you may get clear audio, garbled audio or no audio.
this system is the one im interested in https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4563
TxWARN is a very large ranging system. What area are you in (county or city), and what services do you want to monitor? I listen to a part of TxWARN that I can hear from my home in Dallas. Most of the public safety agencies in the Houston Metro area, including the neighboring counties, use the system, Many of the sites are simulcast, though some are not flagged as such on the system page. If you are indeed in an area using simulcast, then I'd second ofd8001's recommendation of either one of the SDS series scanners, or a Unication device.
Any P25 Phase 1 or P25 Phase 2 scanner will work this is a multicast type system.
The systems that are true Simulcast Systems have more than 1 site but each site has the same frequencies and these are the site that the SDS scanners or G5 pagers work on.
The systems that are true Simulcast Systems have more than 1 site but each site has the same frequencies and these are the site that the SDS scanners or G5 pagers work on.
In the Houston Metro area, many of the agencies are using P25 Phase II now. Over the next few years, all will be required to change over to Phase II.
I'm having great results with my SDS100 on TXWARN in the lake Jackson area. Handles the simulcast nearly flawlessly.
im in the alvin area i want to listen to alvin pd, liverpool pd, and brazoria county sherrifs i found the simulcast sites on a different thread but i dont see a frequency or anything like that
I'm still learning myself but I copy the Alvin depts clear as a bell. Will help all I can. I would recommend the SDS line as TxWarn is a very large system and heavy into simulcast.
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Oh what the heck I'll bite on this one. You'll get a lot of responses as time goes on... I've been doing this a long time in addition to some of the replies you've already had.
You'll find out who knows what they're talkin about pretty quickly...
We used to fight on this site in 2014 and 15. People would say I pick up my simulcast system without a problem even with my Whistler. It was a 500 megahertz T band smartzone system, my County was P2 simulcast. Couldn't pick up a dang thing with Whistler and still can't, Uniden x 36 was sketchy but better now with the update. Didn't have many p2 simulcast systems in the country at that time but I said it's the future.
So imagine, one site in your radio called simulcast. That's the only site you can manipulate and you can't lock it out because it's the only site you have. But there's 26 Towers all transmitting the same thing that your radio is calling for at the same time or... Simultaneously. You're driving around in between those Towers. Welcome to linear simulcast modulation. It's better known as LSM. Even in your home you might be in between three different Towers all transmitting the same thing at the same time and they're all within a couple of miles of you, that's more likely to happen in a metropolitan area like on the Northeast Coast. I live in the Philly area.
Hope that helps a little, got tired of beating this drum years ago as I ran into so much resistance and denial. 1 brand has been more successful obviously over the other but your best bet is a professional dedicated radio or pager, If you can afford it. Scanners are getting much better now so I can go with a consumer scanner offered by... I guess one company now.
You'll find out who knows what they're talkin about pretty quickly...
We used to fight on this site in 2014 and 15. People would say I pick up my simulcast system without a problem even with my Whistler. It was a 500 megahertz T band smartzone system, my County was P2 simulcast. Couldn't pick up a dang thing with Whistler and still can't, Uniden x 36 was sketchy but better now with the update. Didn't have many p2 simulcast systems in the country at that time but I said it's the future.
So imagine, one site in your radio called simulcast. That's the only site you can manipulate and you can't lock it out because it's the only site you have. But there's 26 Towers all transmitting the same thing that your radio is calling for at the same time or... Simultaneously. You're driving around in between those Towers. Welcome to linear simulcast modulation. It's better known as LSM. Even in your home you might be in between three different Towers all transmitting the same thing at the same time and they're all within a couple of miles of you, that's more likely to happen in a metropolitan area like on the Northeast Coast. I live in the Philly area.
Hope that helps a little, got tired of beating this drum years ago as I ran into so much resistance and denial. 1 brand has been more successful obviously over the other but your best bet is a professional dedicated radio or pager, If you can afford it. Scanners are getting much better now so I can go with a consumer scanner offered by... I guess one company now.
The frequencies are listed under the sites. Those are at the top part of the database page for the system.
The talkgroups are listed under the sites. Those are broken down into counties, and individual agencies or counties. It sounds as if you do not fully understand how trunking works. See these pages to get started:
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Scanning_101
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking_Basics
How it Works: Location, Location, Location
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunked_Radio_Systems
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