School me on police scanners please!

[757guy]

Used to love listening to the police scanner that I had in the late 80's. Now the police department is using (I think) 800 mhz frequencies and trunked systems.

What do i need to know about these "new" radio systems and what do I look for when purchasing a scanner.

I am very familier with VHF single use frequencies, just don't know much about what is being used now.

Thanks!

 

[tommygunn]

Radioreference.com

Look up your county and see what systems exist out there. New systems are digital and thus, need a scanner programmed to a computerized bank of frequencies.

The nice part is, once you have that programmed each "channel" is a simple code that you can program names into, and you'll very easily be able to pick and choose who you want to talk to.

As for scanners, there's a bundle out there that handle analog systems and digital systems. A P25 capable scanner is likely what you'll want to get into. They cost more, but systems are going that way, since P25 "digital" audio is much like a cell phone...it works or it doesn't and there's less static interference.

Thats about the skinny since...there's alot to talk about and go over, but RR's site is a good start.

Since I assume you're in Minnesota, an example is this state-wide digital radio system: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=3508

 

[dave1251]

Why not use your PC or smartphone. I like to use radio reference and this website http://www.police-scanner.info.

 

[abycat]

I use my samsung galaxy s2 i know it uses data but its not much. It has the channels that i want but i do want one of the ones that you can tune and plug into the wall for charging. My stepfather used to have a nice older one. I cant remember the make or model but it was a good one. Late 90's give or take.

 

[dave123]

Need to find out what system you will be listening to and go from their RR is a great place to find that information and Scanner Master is anouther good source. I listen to a Radio Shack Pro 163 does all what I need it to do. Many places will program for a fee but may be worth the money if you been out of the game and have no clue how to set up for Tripple Truunking and talk goups it can be fustrating many units can also be cloned and your local Radio Shack may be able to help out with that if you went that route.

 

[kc5mfu]

If the police department/sheriffs office you are interested in scanning is using a "trunked" system, you will need to get a trunk tracker scanner. A trunked repeater system uses different "channels"/frequencies assigned by computer programming. Also many law enforcement agencies are going encrypted with there communications

 

[Chris142]

Many police departments have gone digital and The older scanners like mine are useless now

 

[doitmyself]

Hey 757,

If you want to monkey around listening to the scanner a bit, go to the radioreference site and click on the live audio button at the top and work your way to the Minnesota areas that are online to see if your local area is there. Once you get to your selected area, click on the "listen" icon (speaker) and enjoy.

Our area is quite busy, but the "scanner" takes in several police and fire systems and it gets a bit hectic. There is also a 30 second delay in our area (compared to a real scanner).

 

[dakota99]

If your local department uses 800 mhz digital, the older radio shack pro-96 is a cheap and good choice. Once you enter the tower control frequencies (usually four or five) you will then start picking up the actual channels during open scan. They will show up as a talkgroup ID number on the screen when someone is talking. Match the number on the scanner screen to the list for your local area on radioreference and you can then program that ID number to an alphanumeric ID that shows up instead for easy identification.

Indiana is easy because they use a program called Hoosier SAFE-T, that lumps all agencies onto one system, so you can receive hundreds of talkgroups with only four frequencies. If your local departments use encryption you're out of luck though.