augusll wrote:
Our local police department has moved to a P25 system. We have a Radio Shack TruckTracker programmable scanner (several years old) and a Bearcat handheld (purchased within the last year). My question is can we get departments that are on the P25 system on either of these scanners?
Laura,
The Forth Worth system is Phase 2 P25 which is a newer form of P25. As N7QOR said, without knowing your specific model of the newer scanner it's hard to know for sure.
The only Uniden handheld scanners that support Phase 2 are the BCD325P2 and SDS100. If it's one of those you're in luck but if not then no it won't work. The 325P2 is roughly $350 and the SDS100 is around $650.
The
bad news is that this trunk system is nearly fully encrypted. There are lot of channels on this system so you'll hear some unencrypted traffic.
The
good news is that the local Benbrook Fire and Police dispatch channels are not encrypted -- for the moment. Their channels are on the Forth Worth system.
FWIW, the 325P2 is a pretty good handheld scanner:
https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-BCD325P2- ... B00V91IN62Cheers,
-Nick