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I want to listen to the SD, FD, PD's, airplanes, etc. Any idea which scanner is best?

advtsmt for scannermaster @ http://www.scannermaster.com/Article...6&Click=142396

OK, here is the really bad news, when the FCC (etc.) introduced over the air HD TV, they rearranged ALL of the public service frequencies, and required the new radio to be digital (read encrypted). So as the owner of 3 scanners, none of which are used or useful, forget about Fire Departments, Police departments SD(??), air frequencies remained the same, as well as CB, and several HAM bands, weather band, NASCAR (yeah!!) some business/utilities and a few others.

There are some APPs for your cell phone that provide the FD and PD transmissions but these are by volunteers and not always available. Be careful of these APPs as some have nasty side effects.

Hope this helps.

I was in the midst of a long response with technical explanations when the system crashed.

I'm not going through that again. You need a scanner which will follow "trunked" systems, which includes most fire and police agencies now, where the frequency constantly changes.

I am well satisfied with a Grecom PSR-800 which I bought several years ago for $300. Most police and fire agencies in the United States are pre-loaded in the radio.

It is somewhat complex to set up, but fairly easy to operate. See the owner's manual at http://www.greamerica.com/download/m...800_Manual.pdf

The company also produced a similar scanner under the Radio Shack label. For more information see PSR-800 - The RadioReference Wiki

Possibly you can find a "trunking" public service scanner on eBay. Good Luck.

Whether you use a trunking scanner or not, All Fire and Law enforcement in Sumter county is Encrypted now. A scanner will do you no good unless you like to listen to the trains going by.

The above is true, 2 of the 3 the scanners I have are the trunking type, and are useless for FD and PD applications, so I just keep these for the occasional NASCAR race, saves me the rentals fees at the track.
As I stated before, there are cell phone apps for this, but most contain annoying advertising, and possible other side effects. My security software always gives me warnings on these apps because they have wide ranging access to the phone which all seems unnecessary.

Hope this helps.

I stopped listening to scanners since they're no longer looking for me.

:BigApplause:

Now that's REALLY funny!!!!!!!!

I agree, Carl. After a lot of research, I think I'll be best with the UNIDEN Home Patrol 2. It is a digital trunking scanner, with APCO P25 capabilities. A lot of people confuse encrypted with digital. Two different animals.

Please let me know how this works out, everything I have read indicated that when the FD/PD went digital, they went encrypted at the same time, little or no cost difference. I miss listening to FD/PD I was a volunteer fire fighter for a few years.

even with an APCO P25 scanner (I have 2), you will be unable to pick up law enforcement or fire in sumter county. in lake county all law enforcement and fire is encrypted (yes i know the difference) but there is one analog channel still working for the main fire dispatch. And of course all the MED channels still work. Good luck.

Ordered my scanner yesterday from Amazon. We'll see what happens.

Yes, let us know if it works.

It'll be a few days.....stay tuned for updates.

I'm afraid that you will find that a lot of local public service, including Sumter County, is encrypted. I often take my scanner on trips in order to get a feel for local public service activity in places I visit. I hope you find things to monitor and enjoy your scanner.