Why cant I listen to the York County police/fire/medical scanner feed? (sales, home)
York and Lancaster CountiesRock Hill - Fort Mill - York - Tega Cay - Lancaster
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I downloaded 3 scanner applications on my iphone, they all have tons of counties in NC and SC, yet, 2 dont even list York County. One does, but the channel is "offline". Any reason York County doesnt broadcast their scanner frequency? Is there anything I can do to listen to it?
Can I get a regular scanner (at radio shack, etc) and listen? Im not asking the question JUST for my iphone app, more or less, in general if theres a way to listen to Police, Fire and EMS.
if it is offline it doesnr matter if your on a qweather radio or your phone- its offline. I assume its because some of our areas have volunteer locartions, so there would be nobody manning the system. I'm in Waxhaw and the only local one i can pick up is Monroe. You have to be accessing an online broadcast
I may be wrong, but I believe about 2 years ago they upgraded to a new electronic system. The employees at Radio Shack probably know all about it. I was going to buy a scanner in August 2008 and they told me about the upgrade coming soon. I would have to buy a scanner that cost $400+, at the time, to be able to listen.
I may be wrong, but I believe about 2 years ago they upgraded to a new electronic system. The employees at Radio Shack probably know all about it. I was going to buy a scanner in August 2008 and they told me about the upgrade coming soon. I would have to buy a scanner that cost $400+, at the time, to be able to listen.
The only one Radio Shack carries is $400. I want to find something I can keep at home that is about half that, if possible. These use to be MUCH more popular back in the 90's I feel, we got ours on QVC then.
>> Any reason York County doesn't broadcast their scanner frequency? Is there anything I can do to listen to it?
Most of the public safety communications feeds available via "Scanner" and other iPhone / iPod applications are NOT provided by government agencies. They are provided by scanner hobbyists, who upload the audio from their personal scanners at home to a service provider, such as Winamp, who makes the audio stream available online.
RadioReference, a website for public safety listeners, probably has the largest collection of providers.
The audio streams can go offline on a temporary basis, such as when a provider loses their internet connection at home, or on a permanent basis. Sometimes a stream is terminated if the provider violates his / her terms of agreement with the service provider.
If the audio stream you select is offline, you might find another source for a similar stream at another web address. Otherwise, you may be out-of-luck with the iPhone.
>> Can I get a regular scanner (at radio shack, etc) and listen?
You can, but you have to acquire a scanner capable of receiving P25 digital trunking. There are 3 scanner brands available in the U.S. that sell P25 scanners - Uniden, Radio Shack and GRE, although GRE makes most of the current Radio Shack scanners.
The newer Uniden digital scanners sell in the $450-500 range due to their extensive feature sets. The GRE and Radio Shack models are a little less, but Radio Shack occasionally runs sales on some scanners ... both in-store and on the web. Radio Shack is the only dealer with a local presence ... for those who like to see and feel, before buying.
As a scanning hobbyist, I always warn new hobbyists that the York County P25 trunked system is not the easiest public safety system to monitor with a consumer-grade scanner. The system can broadcast voice communications on up-to 9 towers simultaneously, and each tower uses the same frequencies. That can create issues if a scanner is receiving the same communications from 2 or more towers at about the same time. If the York County trunked system was analog, the communications might sound garbled, but when it's digital, a listener might only hear digital noise.
>> I may be wrong, but I believe about 2 years ago they upgraded to a new electronic system.
Agencies began moving to the P25 system in December of 2006. Some of the VHF and UHF analog channels that York County agencies were using before the trunked system was built are still in use, with a few switches in who is using the channel.
Jeff: Thanks for all that GREAT info! Would you recommend finding a scanner to try and listen to York County? Will I hear enough from it, or will it just be a big frustration?
Kind of hard to judge your level of frustration, vs. spending a few hundred dollars on a non-essential item.
I will mention that Radio Shack has a 30 (?) return policy, and they will usually program their scanners with local agencies for free. The Pro 106 P25 scanner is a popular model, and is currently on-sale. (I have no association or financial ties to Radio Shack).
There is a wealth of information about scanners, scanning, agencies frequencies, and related hobbies on the RadioReference website (www.radioreference.com). Most of the site subsections are available without creating a user name.
Kind of hard to judge your level of frustration, vs. spending a few hundred dollars on a non-essential item.
I will mention that Radio Shack has a 30 (?) return policy, and they will usually program their scanners with local agencies for free. The Pro 106 P25 scanner is a popular model, and is currently on-sale. (I have no association or financial ties to Radio Shack).
There is a wealth of information about scanners, scanning, agencies frequencies, and related hobbies on the RadioReference website (www.radioreference.com). Most of the site subsections are available without creating a user name.
After reading the radio reference website, im torn between the last 2 links I sent. They seem very similar and do a lot of the same, but 2 different brands.
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