Which Scanner? Son joining Fire Dept

[jjcsnlynn]

My son is joining the Fire Dept here in Delaware and we want to get a scanner (mobile and possibly a base). I've been reading about the rebanding, which seems to be switching this month (Aug 10).

As you know the economy sucks and money is tight, so I'll probably be buying used. What scanners will work after the rebanding? I've read the Rebanding page here below and it lists radios that will work after the rebanding. Rebanding - The RadioReference Wiki However, when I go to the pages for some of them, it appears they have trouble or limitations for reprogramming.

Please make it simple for me. From the list below, what scanners should I look at and which ones should I stay away from.Articles in category "Rebanding Supported Scanners"
There are 32 articles in this category.

Jon

B
BC246T
BC296D
BC346XT
BC796D
BC898T
BCD396T
BCD396XT
BCD996T
BCD996XT
BCT15
B cont.
BCT15X
BCT8
BR330T
H
Home Patrol
M
MFJ-8322
P
PSR-300
PSR-310
PSR-400
PSR-410
PSR-500
PSR-600
P cont.
PSR-700
Pro-106
Pro-107
Pro-160
Pro-162
Pro-163
Pro-164
Pro-197
Pro-2096
Pro-92
Pro-96

 

[ka3jjz]

There's really no way to simplify this very much, but I'll try...

The state of Delaware's system is entirely digital - there is some analog frequency usage (we'll get to that in a moment), but more likely than not, your son's fire department will be using Kent County's part of the system. Take a look at this (anything in blue is a link);

State of Delaware Public Safety Trunking System, Statewide, Delaware - Scanner Frequencies

Scroll down to 'Kent County Fire & EMS Talkgroups'. See the 'Mode' column? 'D' means digital. Therefore your list of scanners (no need to repeat them - the wiki category lists all of these as links...) can be cut down considerably.

Categoryigital Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki

OK now we can start whittling this down somewhat to keep the costs down. The PRO-96 and PRO-2096 will work on this system; these scanners have been discontinued, but you can still find them on the used market from time to time. The BC396T and BCD996T have also been discontinued, however their replaying of digital audio isn't the best all the time. They do work, however - I've been through Delaware a number of times with my 396, and had few issues. I'm unsure of just how well the BC296 and BC796 work on the Delaware system (someone can chime in here...). All of these radios are rebanding compatible with either a firmware upgrade (depending if someone has already done it) and/or software reprogramming.

Now you must factor in the cost of a USB-serial cable for your PC (not expensive) and software (the 396T/996T have a slight edge here as there is freeware for these radios - the others are commercial, but again, not all that expensive).

Once you have a radio and PC talking to one another, no doubt someone can send you a compatible file that you can use to load the radio. The other way to go is to buy a premium subscription (cheap) and download data from our database.

The other possibility is Uniden's Home Patrol, which should be on the market shortly. It's intended for the newcomer, and might well be the best bet, assuming the state of Delaware's system is already preloaded in the radio. Software support for Home Patrol- apart from anything Uniden has developed - is a bit iffy, but I would expect it to start showing up after its release. I'd read the various threads - linked in the wiki - and catch up on what's showing up so far.

In all cases, any of the digital radios - including, I expect, Home Patrol - will also handle any regular analog transmissions (such as the simulcasts found here...)

Kent County, Delaware (DE) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

That's a lot to take in - come back and ask questions 73 (best regards - a morse code shorthand) Mike

 

[jjcsnlynn]

Thanks Mike,
It was the digital and analog availabilty that had me confused. I was looking at some there were analog, but thought I should stay away from them.

I take it the Pro 163, Pro 164 and PRS-300 are not worth buying?
Jon

 

[jjcsnlynn]

Mike,
What is a Talk Group? It's listed with Decimal and Hex addresses instead of frequencies. Can the digital scanners like the Pro96 be programmed with the decimal/hex addresses?
Jon

 

[pinetree]

I think he might be joining Sta 48. If that is true contact me through station 48 I am sure that I will be able to help.
Dave Paul

 

[jjcsnlynn]

Yup. He dropped off his application a week or so ago. I'll tell him to look you up.

 

[ka3jjz]

Mike,
What is a Talk Group? It's listed with Decimal and Hex addresses instead of frequencies. Can the digital scanners like the Pro96 be programmed with the decimal/hex addresses?
Jon

Let me kill 2 birds with one stone here. The PRO-164 and others you mentioned in a previous message would be able to monitor the regular conventional frequencies, but not the Delaware state system, which is entirely digital, so you are correct to avoid them.

A talkgroup is a group of users that have been assigned a logical ID on a trunk system. Some scanners, such as the PSR-500 and 600, can use the hex representations, along with most commercial radios. For the most part, folks will use the decimal versions, as it's easier to refer to. The PRO-96 (and it's brother the 2096) should use just the decimal versions.

To understand how trunking works, check this wiki article out - just read the links (all in blue) as found in the 'Overview' section for now. One of those links is a PDF article, which you will need a PDF utility like Adobe Acrobat to read...

Trunked Radio Systems - The RadioReference Wiki

73 Mike

 

[pinetree]

Check your private messages I have some info for you.

 

[jjcsnlynn]

Son was accepted last night. Now in the process of getting a home scanner. THanks
Jon