In addition to the HF bands I also have some radios that are for more local communications on the 2 meter (144-148 Mhz) and 70 centimeter (420-450 Mhz) bands. Scanner enthusiasts will know these as the VHF High and UHF bands. And like emergency service radios, most communications on these bands (but not all) go through local repeater towers. You would be absolutely amazed to know how many amateur repeaters there are out there. These are put up by local hams or ham radio clubs and are funded by contributions and club dues in most cases. However, they are free to use by anyone with an amateur radio license. There are 27 repeaters her in Litchfield County, and a total of 223 in the State of Connecticut.
I mainly use two radios for my 2 meter/70 centimeter communications. The first is my hand held (walkie talkie) radio, an Anytone AT-D878UV. The other is my Alinco DR-735T mobile radio.
My Anytone radio also has the ability to use the Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) voice mode as well as analog mode for communications. DMR is interesting because it is a fusion of ham radio technology with the internet. What it does is it links up hundreds of thousands of towers around the world via the internet, and allows global communication from a hand held device. Connecticut has a series of DMR towers (31 in total) that are affiliated with the Connecticut Amateur Radio Emergency Service, a not-for-profit, volunteer organization that assists authorities with emergency communications in times of disaster. These towers are open for general use when we are not in a disaster. They cover the entire state in a way that there are virtually no dead zones. I also have my own “repeater” which is also known as a DMR hotspot. This radio run on a Raspberry Pi single board computer, and connects to the internet. It operates at very low power (10 milliwatts) and allows me to connect various hams all around the world with my hand held.
In addition to these radios that can transmit, I also have a few that are only receivers. My favorite is the Uniden SDS-200 Scanner. With this radio, I can listen to virtually any agency in the state, including the State Police and the Bristol Fire Department, both of which use newer P25 phase II modulation, which means older scanners can no longer pick them up. The only thing this radio won’t do is decode encrypted transmissions. Plymouth PD (in the town next to me), Bristol PD, and a couple of other agencies went to all encrypted traffic a couple of years ago, so I am unable to monitor these departments. But other than that, this radio will pick up virtually anything,
