Please help with scanner purchase

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I know it's not necessarily part of the HAM category... But I figured you guys would be knowledgeable enough.
Certainly more than myself who knows diddly squat...
My father in law is looking for a police scanner... But he wants to be able to listen to the US Coast guard in the in plum island/Merrimack river area. As well as police/fire in the Essex county area.
There's just so many options and I'm lost!
Thanks in advance folks
 
Uniden has several options, including their "Home Patrol" series: the less intimidating HomePatrol-2 and more featureful BCD536HP. Either of those two are a good starting point if you have a need for digital modes and trunking.

My father in law is looking for a police scanner... But he wants to be able to listen to the US Coast guard in the in plum island/Merrimack river area. As well as police/fire in the Essex county area.
There's just so many options and I'm lost!
What's his budget? Portable/handheld, automobile, or just desktop?

Scanner Master.(Holliston, MA) has a lot of online resources for scanner buyers. You can also find out what technology and frequencies are used locally on Scan New England
 
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Uniden has several options, including their "Home Patrol" series: the less intimidating HomePatrol-2 and more featureful BCD536HP. Either of those two are a good starting point if you have a need for digital modes and trunking.


What's his budget? Portable/handheld, automobile, or just desktop?

Scanner Master.(Holliston, MA) has a lot of online resources for scanner buyers. You can also find out what technology and frequencies are used locally on Scan New England
Thanks I can try to start there
 
What is trunking?
Trunking means the radios don't talk directly to each other. They talk to the central tower, which then re-broadcasts the signal to all radios on that channel.

It's a lot like internet communication. If I send you a private message on NES, it doesn't go from my computer straight to yours. It goes to the NES server, then to you. Now just imagine that being live, with some transmission delay, and that's how trunking works.

There are also "talkaround" channels that work old-school, but configuring that is up to each administrator and local policy. Those are for backup if the tower is down.
 
So trunking is just like repeaters?
Trunking adds significant complexity above simplex repeaters, it uses multiple channels and the trunk controller and radios work together to dynamically choose channels from the assigned list. Some trunks wrap the audio in digital encoding (not synonymous with encryption), which older radios cannot process.

The good news is that as long as you choose a receiver which supports the trunking active in your area and then program it appropriately, all the complexity is hidden from you. There are some applications (CHIRP) and radios (HomePatrol) which make the whole setup much easier.
 
If you don’t want to figure out anything wrt programming a scanner for him, give these guys a call and they will set up a scanner system for you. A simple indoor antenna near a window facing the area you want to monitor will work, if you’re within 5-10 miles and not hemmed in by hills and buildings.

 
bumping to ask....
does anyone here actually have the sentinel software for the home patrol 1 scanner? i called scannermaster and they told me i need to update my scanners database wondering if anyone has done it on their own and how painful the process is?
 
bumping to ask....
does anyone here actually have the sentinel software for the home patrol 1 scanner? i called scannermaster and they told me i need to update my scanners database wondering if anyone has done it on their own and how painful the process is?
Check the SD card in your HP1, there may be a "Setup" folder on the card with the Windows installer for Sentinel. The latest version, 2.03, can be found if you hunt around online.
 
bumping to ask....
does anyone here actually have the sentinel software for the home patrol 1 scanner? i called scannermaster and they told me i need to update my scanners database wondering if anyone has done it on their own and how painful the process is?
Here's where to find the sentinel software. I've updated it in the past and it was no big deal.
 
Here's where to find the sentinel software. I've updated it in the past and it was no big deal.
Check the SD card in your HP1, there may be a "Setup" folder on the card with the Windows installer for Sentinel. The latest version, 2.03, can be found if you hunt around online.
i finally got around to trying this. it kept telling me i needed other software to install sentinel, i downloaded that and installed it only to be sent in a loop. sentinel can't be installed without said software, said software is on my computer but doesn't work because i actually need an older version that i can't find. i give up. would you be willing to assist me with this? i can send you the sd card......
 
i finally got around to trying this. it kept telling me i needed other software to install sentinel, i downloaded that and installed it only to be sent in a loop. sentinel can't be installed without said software, said software is on my computer but doesn't work because i actually need an older version that i can't find. i give up. would you be willing to assist me with this? i can send you the sd card......
I'm sorry that you're having problems. My guess is that it may be looking for some version of .NET Framework software. That would be a Microsoft update issue.

Here's where you can DL various versions of NET Framework.

If that doesn't work, perhaps @Garys might be able to help you. He's more familiar with the scanners than I am.
 
What I would suggest is signing up for a free membership at Radioreference.com and asking in the Uniden forum.

There are very knowledgeable people there that can help.

It would also be helpful say what software Sentinel says needs to be installed. That will people figure out the problem.

Also, make sure you download Sentinel for the HP1. The different versions for different scanners are not compatible.

Are you running Windows as an Administrator?

 
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I have the proper sentinel version. It’s telling me that I need a version of dot.net that’s older and not compatible with windows 10. It’s ridiculous. I’m willing to compensate one of you guys if you can take my sd card and update it for me…..
 
For anyone interested, the new City of Boston 800Mhz trunk system is starting to come on line. The build out should make for some interesting listening.
 
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