My City has Switched To Digital

[angelplus]

Right as I was purchasing a scanner I found out that my local police station uses digital. Now I'm in the market for a digital scanner. I'm not quite sure what to get, if possible, could I get a little incite on these because this would really help me out.

I found some Uniden Scanners for 499 but I am hoping to find something a little cheaper, possible around 200 - 350? If Someone could help me that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your patience and help

[category4]

What city are you in? If it's encrypted digital then you will not be able to hear it even with a digital scanner.

[Motor On]

Sometimes RS has their Digitals on a big sale and it drops to the 300s but 500-600 is about the norm for a digital scanner. Weeds out the causal listeners from the hardcore scannists (but IMO it's actually easier to sign up to RR and have all the digital stuff put in, than to try and program the analog stuff by hand.)

Expect to see about half the country digital in the next few years, but cities and more and more states are going to P25 systems and the states are letting smaller areas on that system in exchange for towers and freq.

Digital listening is much clearer, and get eons better coverage in the areas I've sen it implemented. Think of it like a cell phone using direct connect with no "dead zones"

[Stealth Stalker]

Scanner manufacturers have to pay a hefty licence fee to the creators of P25 in order to utilise it in their scanners, which drives the price up by over $100 bucks. That's part of the problem. Consequently, the $500 dollar range is about average, no matter which one you choose. And the Uniden is probably the simplest to figure out for the novice scannist. Although, the BCD396T is being replaced by a newer model very soon, so if a handheld is what you want, you might wait and see if the 396 goes down.

I would say, as always, that a scanner simply is not worth the money as a countermeasure at any price, much less $500 bucks.

[b52hbuff]

But it is a fun hobby.

I have come to the 'radar detector community' after being in the 'scanner community'. And I agree with what others have said. Unless you live in a very small town, there is a huge learning curve to being able to use a scanner to help with your speeding.

In larger towns, there is a greater possibility that the LEOs will have access to mobile data terminals, encryption, trunked radios and other technology that makes it more challenging to determine what is going on. Even when you don't have all of this technology, larger towns (say like San Jose, CA), are going to have the city broken down into various districts, each with their own dispatch channel. So you really need to know where you are to know exactly what to listen too...

When I leave the Bay area and travel out into the Central Valley, being situationally aware on the radio is easier. Out in the boonies, you can scan for CHP and listen for the air patrols or other speed enforcement.

One other thing is that many scanners also cover the CB band, so if you just want to listen into the CB traffic, you have the ability...

[b52hbuff]

Right as I was purchasing a scanner I found out that my local police station uses digital. Now I'm in the market for a digital scanner. I'm not quite sure what to get, if possible, could I get a little incite on these because this would really help me out.

I found some Uniden Scanners for 499 but I am hoping to find something a little cheaper, possible around 200 - 350? If Someone could help me that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your patience and help

As someone else told you, licensing the P25 decoding software makes it harder for the manufacturers to sell a radio at a bargain price.

If you're looking for a good deal, try ebay or perhaps go over to radioreference.com and check out the for sale board. Now that Uniden is on the verge of replacing their 396, many people are selling them for cheap...

[QuickCummins]

so you can listen to apco25 or not?

[Stealth Stalker]

so you can listen to apco25 or not?

Who is "you"?

If you mean anyone in general, then yes. Any digital scanner will decode P25, with varying degrees of success. But if the system is encrypted, you won't get it.

[angelplus]

What city are you in? If it's encrypted digital then you will not be able to hear it even with a digital scanner.

I Live In Canton Ohio and plan on listening to Jackson Twp Police, including the surrounding areas but excluding the Canton Police because it looks like they are encrypted.

What are the chances of police departments in my surrounding areas switching over to encrypted frequencies?

Also, I'm looking into getting a handheld portable scanner such as the Pro 106, PSR-500, BCD396T, or Pro 96. What would be the best performer and highest quality for the money?

[category4]

I Live In Canton Ohio and plan on listening to Jackson Twp Police, including the surrounding areas but excluding the Canton Police because it looks like they are encrypted.

What are the chances of police departments in my surrounding areas switching over to encrypted frequencies?

Also, I'm looking into getting a handheld portable scanner such as the Pro 106, PSR-500, BCD396T, or Pro 96. What would be the best performer and highest quality for the money?

have you looked to see if they are listed at scanamerica.us? If so you can listen on your computer and some smart phones.