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Our 911 center is switching over from analog to digital emergency calls. If our newsroom wants to continue to hear police and fire dispatches (we do), we'll have to buy a digital scanner.
Does anyone have any experience or can offer advice on brands or features to look for or avoid?
The only feature I know I want is the ability to plug in an extension speaker.
I also think it might be a good idea to put an antenna on the roof. The reception for the analog scanner hasn't been so hot.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
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You should probably talk to your contact with the safety forces. A lot of areas are going to full encrypted communications, which kills your ability to monitor and get the story. The use of encryption, of course, depends on local laws and ability to communicate. Don't buy anything until you know the specs of what you want to receive !
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Before cell phones went digital, it was possible to listen to cell phone calls with a really old TV on UHF channels 70-83.
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I should have mentioned the police and fire will encrypt the car-to-car communications, but plan to broadcast the main dispatch calls in the clear ... if you have a digital scanner. There will be some overlap for some time; we're still hearing some calls from our county on our old scanner; but there are fewer and fewer.
I don't know where the neighboring county is in its inevitable transition. It's expensive; they haveta buy each volunteer firefighter a new radio.
I guess it makes sense to plug USB into it and do all the setting via computer, but I don't want to make a hobby of setting it up. I want it to just work well, kinda like my Mac.
BTW.. I remember the old days when you had to buy and install a crystal for each frequency; the scanner I bought for my car could only handle eight.
