Worth the investment?

[Patch42]

This is sort of an equipment question but deals with a specific area in Illinois so I thought I'd ask it here. I'm in the Aurora/Naperville area. I know the Aurora and Naperville police, fire, and probably most everything else can not be monitored. Most PD within range to the north are encrypted. I'm aware there are other things to be monitored and, depending on your personal level of geekiness (mine is rather high), fun to be had with a scanner. I've been in and out of the hobby several times over the years. I've been away from it for some time largely because there was little of interest to monitor where I was living.

I realize what I'm about to ask is highly subjective but I'd like some opinions anyway. If you were me and didn't currently have a scanner, would you think it worth investing in a new one? Assume cost is not a huge obstacle but I'd still like a decent entertainment value return on my money. An explanation of the reasoning behind your answer would be appreciated. I should probably mention that I don't work and am home most of the time, so I do have lots of potential listening hours available. I've come very close to a purchase but still have doubts that I'll be wasting money on something I'll play with for a couple weeks and then lose interest in because there's so little to listen to. I suppose I'm looking to justify this purchase to myself.

 

[rk911]

Most of local PD in DuPage is open..exceptions are N'ville and Aurora. All of DU-COMM is open and according to my sources are likely to stay that way for the near-to-mid future. However, I would expect a move from Phase 1 to Phase 2. I believe the sheriff is still open on ACDC. I know the state police are open (all districts), the fire agencies are open (not sure about N'ville and Aurora), the railroads are open, aviation is open.

If your primary and singular interest is in N'ville and Aurora PD then you are up the creek. Only you can decide if spending the bucks for a Phase II receiver is worth it.

 

[W9WSS]

Just about everything is in DuPage County is in the clear EXCEPT for Naperville and Aurora police, fire, and public utilities. Although they are currently using a Harris "Open Sky" protocol, that will be upgraded to a P25 digital format, however, I have almost been assured that it will be encrypted. As Rich mentioned above, DuPage County comms dispatched by DU-COMM and Addison Consolidated Dispatch Center (ACDC) is open and in the clear with a few very minor exceptions (drug enforcement, certain surveillance, and tactical operations). There are still railroads, aero monitoring, certain marine comms (along the Des Plaines River Valley) have not been encrypted. Unfortunately, Kane County recently transitioned into the Starcom21 realm, but are 100% encrypted. That goes for most law enforcement agencies in Cook County, Lake County, McHenry County, and the Cities of Joliet and Elgin.

 

[rk911]

yes, I should have noted that the DU-COMM tactical channels are encrypted as they should be. but the 'save a marriage' calls, traffic stops and just about everything else is in the open. some major incidents may be dispatched in the clear but move to an encrypted talk group as it develops.

 

[Patch42]

So virtually all Kane County municipal police are encrypted. Most Dupage County police, except Naperville, are monitorable. Aurora/Naperville fire is unmonitorable, but most other municipal FD are in the clear, assuming the radio has the ability to receive the format. If I'm reading the database correctly, Kendall county is all in the clear. It also looks like Plainfield PD is in the clear.

It also looks as though one could make a career of figuring out StarCom21. There is a discone antenna on the roof. I'd have to run a new lead to it but that would likely give me much more range and expand the monitoring capabilities. I know I used to be able to get good copy on Chicago PD here, though that action was far enough away that it didn't hold as much interest. Might be different now with the dearth of other activity.

Thanks for the information.

 

[Reconrider]

I'm not anywhere near you, but in my opinion, if you have the extra funds and can afford it, might as well get the p2 scanner. You might not need it now, but if you move, or someone upgrades and it's one you want to listen to day by day, you'll need it anyway.

Two things I would like to know:
Is this scanner going to be leaving the house?
What are the funds you plan to put into this hobby?

 

[rk911]

So virtually all Kane County municipal police are encrypted. Most Dupage County police, except Naperville, are monitorable. Aurora/Naperville fire is unmonitorable, but most other municipal FD are in the clear, assuming the radio has the ability to receive the format. If I'm reading the database correctly, Kendall county is all in the clear. It also looks like Plainfield PD is in the clear.

It also looks as though one could make a career of figuring out StarCom21. There is a discone antenna on the roof. I'd have to run a new lead to it but that would likely give me much more range and expand the monitoring capabilities. I know I used to be able to get good copy on Chicago PD here, though that action was far enough away that it didn't hold as much interest. Might be different now with the dearth of other activity.

Thanks for the information.

Chgo PD and FD are open. I can hear the western districts on a back-of-the-set antenna but an outdoor antenna would be best. your discone antenna would be a good choice.

one other thing. the new digital P25 Phase 2 scanners are, in my opinion, a 'pregnant dog' to program by hand. you might want to consider one of the many free and $ software packages to program your purchase. a premium membership to RR will permit you to download data from the database directly into your scanner.

 

[Patch42]

I was considering the Uniden SDS100. I know there's software that comes with it. Pro Scan was another I looked at briefly, though it was difficult to tell if it would bring enough extra to the party to make it worth it for me. I do spend a lot of my day at the computer so being able to control the scanner from there might be nice.

When I lived in this area about ten years ago I was able to get some Chicago PD off a whip inside the house. I never got into it enough to try tracking which districts were coming up. As I recall it was pretty clean copy so that bodes well for getting most of the city from here if I use the discone.

 

[ltginrage]

I live in gods country about hour or so west of Aurora/Naperville Metro area. I bought a BCD325P2. I used to work in Aurora over the summer. Every day after work I would get my 325P2 out and listen because I could reach a lot of P25 channels from my location when I was in Aurora. I do recommend purchasing a P25 receiver because listening to surrounding communities will get you some info on whats happening in Aurora/Naperville. If your looking for Naperville PD/FD specifically NPD has a map of incidents they run and NFD utilizes PulsePoint.

Montgomery PD is always receiving AOAs from APD, If you listen to KenCom P3 (453.575) that could give you some insight to whats happening in the SW area of the city. Naperville FD also runs a few mutual aid patch as discussed in the thread Aurora/Naperville OpenSky. As far as I know the WesCom EDACS patch is up 24/7. The patch on the DuPage County starcom 21 towers is only as-needed.

Like Will said, all PD/FD activity in Kane County will be on starcom21 by the end of the year and PD will be fully encrypted following, TriCom, Elgin, and Cook County. Kendall County PD channels will be switched over to P25 by the end of next year. Will/DuPage Counties have already migrated to Starcom21/P25 systems

So, I say yea grab a P25 reciver if you can. Soon there wont be anything on analog. What model you get, thats up to you.

 

[Patch42]

Is this scanner going to be leaving the house?

TL;DR: Probably.

My first scanner, many years ago, was a base unit and I ended up carrying it from place to place around the house. That was a hassle. Since then I've had several handheld units. My last was a GRE PSR500. I've found the handhelds more useful in just being able to carry them around the house with me. I did take the PSR500 with me in the car a fair bit and used it at various spots when traveling. One of the things that drew me to the SDS100 is the ability to quickly reprogram it for a new area. I'd imagine that approach to be somewhat crude, but getting the PSR500 set for a new area was a lot of work, so anything to streamline that would be welcomed. Not that I actually travel that much, but it seems a handy feature.

What are the funds you plan to put into this hobby?

Money is not a huge issue as long as I get a good return on my investment in terms of having fun and keeping me entertained. Just assume cost isn't a concern as long as we're talking consumer products.

 

[Engine104]

Hi guys,

We are currently in SoCal, but we may be moving to the Geneva/Naperville area in a few years to be closer to our son.

There is pressure out here to unencrypt comms out here (We don't have a lot so far that is encrypted, other than all of Orange Co PD and FD, but new LA Co and Ventura Co systems may go that way), is there pressure against encryption going on in your area?

 

[Reconrider]

TL;DR: Probably.

My first scanner, many years ago, was a base unit and I ended up carrying it from place to place around the house. That was a hassle. Since then I've had several handheld units. My last was a GRE PSR500. I've found the handhelds more useful in just being able to carry them around the house with me. I did take the PSR500 with me in the car a fair bit and used it at various spots when traveling. One of the things that drew me to the SDS100 is the ability to quickly reprogram it for a new area. I'd imagine that approach to be somewhat crude, but getting the PSR500 set for a new area was a lot of work, so anything to streamline that would be welcomed. Not that I actually travel that much, but it seems a handy feature.


Money is not a huge issue as long as I get a good return on my investment in terms of having fun and keeping me entertained. Just assume cost isn't a concern as long as we're talking consumer products.

110% buy the sds100 right now.

It's so worth it. I did it out of a whim( no one I talk to uses uniden ).

it records the audio for search and close calls so you don't have to write down everything you see.
The battery is annoying instead of AA or something else but it lasts about 8 hours with the screen on 10% and black words on white background(like the kindle book for reading)

 

[Patch42]

110% buy the sds100 right now.

It's so worth it. I did it out of a whim( no one I talk to uses uniden ).

I was very close to doing the same thing. I had it in my online cart ready to go but then I got cold feet. It's not that I can't afford it, but it's expensive enough that I didn't want to rush into it and then find I didn't use it. I've been going back and forth on it for several days. I was happy to see that lightly used ones are selling for over 80% of their cost new so even if it doesn't prove to be the entertainment value I thought it would be I can recoup most of my money.

The battery is annoying instead of AA or something else but it lasts about 8 hours with the screen on 10% and black words on white background(like the kindle book for reading)

I was concerned about the battery too. I've got loads of AA rechargeables so those would have been my preferred method of power, though if it would eat through a set of those in just a couple hours I can see why a different power source was necessary. When I realized most of my listening would be done near a USB power source my concern dropped off quite a bit. I also have a couple high capacity USB power packs that can be used as backup power sources on the move. Not quite as easy to carry as AAs, but manageable.

 

[RBMTS]

I am a neighbor to you in the Naperville area. Trust me, you will not be disappointed with the SDS100 (or 200 if you think you might want a larger mobile/base). Both do exceptionally well with the Starcom21 Dupage site simulcast system. Plus if you are lucky, Naperville will have the patch for FD dispatch and Ops active on the assigned SC talkgroup.

If you get the 100, think about getting buying the GPS cable and third-party puck GPS antenna. I have one and I use it when driving around the Chicagoland area so that sites and towns turn on and off automatically.

I have both the 100 & 200. I like the 200 the best due to the larger screen but the 100 is nice for mobile grab-n-go monitoring.

 

[kevinmt81]

I am getting my Sds100 delivered tomorrow. I have the BCD436HP now and many dead spots as most DuPage is Simulcast. Hoping and praying this will be way better!

 

[W9WSS]

Any previous simulcast distortion you had with your previous scanner will be gone with either an SDS100 or SDS200. I have an SDS100 and am amazed how well it works, not only on trunked P25 TDMA Phase 2 but on "regular" analog stations on UHF and VHF.

 

[Patch42]

have the BCD436HP now and many dead spots as most DuPage is Simulcast.

There are two kinds of simulcast, and only one of them should cause any kind of reception problem. The troublesome kind is when multiple sites in the same area transmit on the same frequencies. The kind of simulcast in DuPage is the same broadcast from different sites, each of which uses different frequencies. I did just a quick check but I couldn't find any overlap of frequencies among any of the STARCOM21 sites in the Chicago area. The scanner is going to detect the transmission from whichever site it happens to be scanning at that moment and switch to the frequency used for that transmission. The same transmission will be going out from other sites in the area but they all use non-conflicting frequencies so there should be no issue.

This is not to say the SDS100 might not do a better job of deciphering the phase shift modulation and give you more reliable reception. I'm in eastern Kane County and when I'm not hiding in the basement I get very good reception on both the Kane and DuPage STARCOM21 sites.

I can also recommend you pick up the Remtronix antenna. I saw a significant improvement in reception with it. Be sure to get the one for the SDS100, the REM-820S. The other ones won't fit. (Unless you go the BNC route, in which case you can use the adapter and there won't be a problem.)

 

[sonm10]

There are two kinds of simulcast, and only one of them should cause any kind of reception problem. The troublesome kind is when multiple sites in the same area transmit on the same frequencies. The kind of simulcast in DuPage is the same broadcast from different sites, each of which uses different frequencies. I did just a quick check but I couldn't find any overlap of frequencies among any of the STARCOM21 sites in the Chicago area. The scanner is going to detect the transmission from whichever site it happens to be scanning at that moment and switch to the frequency used for that transmission. The same transmission will be going out from other sites in the area but they all use non-conflicting frequencies so there should be no issue.

This is not to say the SDS100 might not do a better job of deciphering the phase shift modulation and give you more reliable reception. I'm in eastern Kane County and when I'm not hiding in the basement I get very good reception on both the Kane and DuPage STARCOM21 sites.

I can also recommend you pick up the Remtronix antenna. I saw a significant improvement in reception with it. Be sure to get the one for the SDS100, the REM-820S. The other ones won't fit. (Unless you go the BNC route, in which case you can use the adapter and there won't be a problem.)

What you're describing is not simulcast but multicast

 

[cubn]

Scanners aren't just limited to public safety. You may be able to hear museums, sports stadiums, malls, snow plows, etc. There's a lot to listen to...so much so, 90% of the time I'm listening to something other than the local PD and fire.

 

[Patch42]

What you're describing is not simulcast but multicast

I described two things. Which one are you saying is multicast?