I have successfully setup my baofeng UV5RA and am able to hear my local sheriffs office, rescue squad and a few others. Our local Utilities company for power has listed their frequency on sites. I programmed the radio and it lights up blue like they are talking but don’t hear anything. https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/licenseFreqSum.jsp?licKey=3501495 The frequency I am seeing the blue light up and only hearing a “funny” sound is 158.14500000. Does this mean this is for a digital only? Kinda stumped as this was the only one I cant hear.
According to their license, they are only licensed for analog FM. FB2’s so just conventional repeaters most likely (maybe something unique like LTR but I doubt it).
Anything recommended to try that might help in settings or anything?
Regardless of what they’re listed as licensed for (public records are often slightly out of date), they could be trailing some other equipment under a variation notice of some kind.
Anyway, if you’re hearing what could be best described as sounding machine generated or telegraphic not ‘phone’ (aka voice), the odds are it’s telegraphic comms you heard, and since DV (digital voice) is telegraphic in how it’s sent, it would sound like a complex high speed varing tone (almost pink noise like) burst.
Now depending on what mode/system they are actually using digitally - assuming it’s one you’re equipped to listen to, you’re still going to have to set up the DV decode to suit.
So, using DMR as an example, you’d need to set up your DV equipped setup to listen to the right color code and time slot and group (not sure what the open standard settings are, for open public use, but we use 1, 1, 9 respectively on the ham side for DV simplex). If your DV capable radio has a promiscuous mode, or digital monitor mode, set that to all colour code, all timeslots etc. Then, if it’s DMR and not sub encrypted with proprietary enhanced encryption, you should hear something.
But given you appear to be N.America side, I’d suggest it could be P.25 they are using, which is a C4FM based mode and completely alien directly to what a DMR radio can decode despite close underpinnings to some degree.
I’m guessing sniffing sheriff/PD traffic is legit over there - police monitoring here is a no no, but fire services are legit to monitor their DMR links here in the UK.
Ofcom are not really interested in updating old licences to show they’ve changed details, unless it’s location. Loads of analogue users are and have been digital for ages now. Plenty of old 25KHz licences have been 12.5KHz for years and have close users next door, on the assumption they’d complain if they get interference.
OFCOM nowadays is a primarily paperwork system. I doubt they’re even interested in what people are sending and how. Just that they are there, so they can’t sell that channel to somebody else.