ScanRiverside.com

Its me again.......After doing some reading on this site I am wondering if I should just go digital. My listening goals are just to hear police and fire and ambulance in my local area. (north east side of Banning). I am new to this technology. My scanning history goes back to the days when you bought the book at Radio Shack and entered the freq. I lived in Long Beach and got everything. Any thoughts or advise would be helpfull. I jumped in head first and bought this RadioShack Iscan trunking scanner. I liked it because it seemed easy to operate. Right out of the box starting getting Banning PD. Fire and everything else has been a disappointment so far. I have 30 days take it back. I may even consider trading up to digital. I saw a digital unit at RadioShack. Is their unit any good? Your thoughts....advise???....help please..

Hi there,

What type of scanner do you have? Are you programming it by hand or with the computer? I would highly recommend using the computer to program any radio nowadays since they are so complex.

For your area I would monitor these frequencies.

158.745 - Banning PD
155.700 - Beaumont PD
855.9875 - Riverside Co Sheriff - Cabazon Simulcast
151.385 - Riverside Co Fire - Dispatch
154.130 - Riverside Co Fire - Support 7 (simplex so you may not hear everyone)
154.175 - Riverside Co Fire - Support 9 (simplex so you may not hear everyone)
42.440 - CHP Indio

Let us know what kind of radio you have and maybe a file can be created so you can program it from the computer. I would hold off on digital until we know more about the ERICA and PSEC radio systems that are coming online in the future.

i Have a RadioShack Iscan trunking scanner. It uses an SD card and Is unique because it works like an I pod and comes preloaded with channels. You search the list and import to a playlist. It scans off your playlist . I picked it because it seemed easier for me to understand then regular scanners. Right out of the box I programmed it to get Banning PD , Cabazon Sheriff and Beaumont PD. I imported a bunch of Riverside Fire . CDF and CHP freq and havn't picked up anything.

Just checked those freq you listed and I have been scanning all of them since day one. No luck so far for Fire and CHP. I get Banning PD crystal clear and loud. I get Beaumont with static but understandable. I get Cabazon with less static and loud. I also get a little of Riverside Sheriff and some Riverside AMR. Do you have a Banning AMR freq? I have yet to hear any local Ambulance. Do you think I am out of range for CHP and FIRE? Ilive just off the same street as Banning Police Station and antenna. The Fire station is also there. If I get PD shouldn't I get FIre ? The CHP station is about 5 miles west of me in Beaumont. You would think I could here something. Wait....just picked up some CHP!! thats good........anyways would be nice to get Fire and Paramedic dispatch.

Hello. I suspect your problem might be the location. Since Banning is surrounded by mountains your in a radio hole. I know how it feels because I'm in the same situation where I live. The best advice I can give you would be to setup an outdoor antenna if possible, as it will help tremendously.

As for antennas, you might try the RadioShack 20-176 for starters. It's cheap and reportedly works quite well for VHF/UHF
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... Id=2103641

Another outstanding and cheap antenna is the Scantenna ST-2.
http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?mc ... ennas&sku=

Unfortunately Cal Fire and AMR use a lot of simplex communications, so you must be relatively close to hear the field units or have a decent antenna. The same goes for CHP. The stock antenna that came with the scanner just isn't designed to pick up simplex and low band (which CHP uses) very well. The good news about CHP is in a few months Indio will get an upgrade and hopefully be repeated making it much easier to monitor.

Another issue you may be having with Cal Fire is that they use different repeater sites throughout the county. When they dispatch units in the southwest area, they typically utilize the Elsinore Peak repeater which likely isn't making it to your location in Banning. I have the same problem when they use repeaters in the Banning Pass... mostly static on this end.

I think your scanner is a good choice due to the SD card and import features. I have seen that model advertised online but have no personal experience with that particular unit.

Hope this helps.

Ok , Having a little more luck. I bought a RadioShack 20-006 antenna. I chose that one because the stuff I want to pick up is multi band. Works much better then the rubber antenna the scanner came with. I pick up CHP on 42.440000 now. I am unable to hear the car but I do get dispatch. I also get San Diego and parts of Riverside CHP on a 39 something freq perfect. I even hear both ends of the conversation. The Fire Dispatch and AMR is still hit and miss. The ISCAN Scanner is working well for me. The softwear is easy to use but has issues. You have to delete Items one by one. That can be time consuming . I have figured out how to input individual freq. The plus is I didn't have to buy any softwear and I can easily load Riverside , San Bernardino , LA , Orange County etc.... To be honest I wish they made a digital scanner this style because I have caught on quite well to this style.

Outstanding! I am glad to hear you are having better luck now. As for the CHP cars, they are on 42.280. Hopefully when Indio CHP moves to their new frequency in a few months they will repeat the cars. The Southern division (Los Angeles) has been upgrading and now can hear both sides most of the time, so let's hope this remains the same when they do our area.

i too live in banning. most of the fire protection is used by calfire or the cdf. 151.385. also with the chp, try the mobile extender 154.905.

I will try the extender 154.905 Freq. I have been getting several CHP pretty good now. Get 42.44000 good but only hear dispatch. Get 39.800 good as well . I hear both ends on that one. Also get 45.02000 Plus I am getting 39.26000 and 39.68000. Thanks for the info. We should touch bases and share info since you live in Banning too.