Scanner Recommendations

[Bob J]

Am seriously thinking of getting a portable scanner to listen in on the police and emergency frequencies so I can be a bit better informed..... Looked at a few catalogs and as expected, the options are virtually endless.... Not looking to spend a lot of money but would like something that has reasonably decent local coverage.... Would appreciate any recommendations as to what features/capabilities are important as well as any brands/models you have found to be worth the money....

 

[C-pher]

I think that someone said that where a lot of the towns are going Digital...it's getting harder to find a cheap scanner. I'm sure that someone will pipe in...I'll look for the other scanner thread on here and post the link if I can find it.

 

[Bob J]

I think that someone said that where a lot of the towns are going Digital...it's getting harder to find a cheap scanner. I'm sure that someone will pipe in...I'll look for the other scanner thread on here and post the link if I can find it.

Thanks! Was this the thread?

http://www.northeastshooters.com/vb...4038-digital-police-scanner?highlight=scanner

 

[Garys]

If you are looking to listen to Quincy, Braintree, Milton, that area, you won't have to spend a ton of money. None of them are digital and I haven't heard that any of them are looking to go digital in the near future. If you want to listen to the state police, you'll need a trunking scanner, but again don't worry about digital.

Whatever you get, plan to get some sort of programming software as the newer scanners are very time consuming to program manually. If you get a Uniden scanner (a current one) there is even a free program available, called appropriately enough "Free Scan". I don't know of any free software for the Radio Shack or GRE scanners.

Give me a better idea of what you are looking to scan and I can give you a better idea of what might work for you. Oh yeah, what is your price range?

 

[Bob J]

Thanks Gary.... Would like to cover local (Quincy/Braintree/Milton/Weymouth) PD/Fire/Emergency mainly but SP would be nice on the commute.... Am looking for something I can carry in the car without much trouble.... Am a cheap SOB so would like to get away with basic capability as cheap as possible but would not mind spending a bit extra if it enhances my ability to set it up and use it.....

Have seen "trunking" in a number of the scanner write ups..... What does "trunking" mean as far as the scanner capability?

If you are looking to listen to Quincy, Braintree, Milton, that area, you won't have to spend a ton of money. None of them are digital and I haven't heard that any of them are looking to go digital in the near future. If you want to listen to the state police, you'll need a trunking scanner, but again don't worry about digital.

Whatever you get, plan to get some sort of programming software as the newer scanners are very time consuming to program manually. If you get a Uniden scanner (a current one) there is even a free program available, called appropriately enough "Free Scan". I don't know of any free software for the Radio Shack or GRE scanners.

Give me a better idea of what you are looking to scan and I can give you a better idea of what might work for you. Oh yeah, what is your price range?

 

[Garys]

Thanks Gary.... Would like to cover local (Quincy/Braintree/Milton/Weymouth) PD/Fire/Emergency mainly but SP would be nice on the commute.... Am looking for something I can carry in the car without much trouble.... Am a cheap SOB so would like to get away with basic capability as cheap as possible but would not mind spending a bit extra if it enhances my ability to set it up and use it.....

If you want something that you can carry in the house and then take in the car, I'd recommend a portable. A Uniden BR330T if you can find one, or a Uniden 346XT if you can't find a 330. The 330 is out of production and is somewhat hard to find. It's a nice little scanner, and the 346XT is sort of the replacement.

If you want a mobile, either a BC15 or BC15XT. The XT is the current version, the 15 is the older generation. Either will do what you want.

Have seen "trunking" in a number of the scanner write ups..... What does "trunking" mean as far as the scanner capability?

Rather than go into a long, somewhat tedious explanation on my own, you can go to this http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking_Basics

Let me know if you have more questions (you probably will).

 

[Bob J]

Thanks Gary! That's perfect! Much appreciate your help....

If you want something that you can carry in the house and then take in the car, I'd recommend a portable. A Uniden BR330T if you can find one, or a Uniden 346XT if you can't find a 330. The 330 is out of production and is somewhat hard to find. It's a nice little scanner, and the 346XT is sort of the replacement.

If you want a mobile, either a BC15 or BC15XT. The XT is the current version, the 15 is the older generation. Either will do what you want.




Rather than go into a long, somewhat tedious explanation on my own, you can go to this http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking_Basics

Let me know if you have more questions (you probably will).

 

[Garys]

Thanks Gary! That's perfect! Much appreciate your help....

You're welcome. I'll mention this in passing, but feel free to ignore me. I have a BCD396T listed in the Yard Sale forum. If you are interested in looking at it, PM me. If not, pretend I never said anything. I don't want you to think I did this as a set up to try to sell you my used scanner.

Again, if you have any questions let me know. If you buy a Uniden scanner, I should be able to provide you with some progamming files, depending on what you end up with.

 

[Bob J]

Thanks! PM Sent

You're welcome. I'll mention this in passing, but feel free to ignore me. I have a BCD396T listed in the Yard Sale forum. If you are interested in looking at it, PM me. If not, pretend I never said anything. I don't want you to think I did this as a set up to try to sell you my used scanner.

Again, if you have any questions let me know. If you buy a Uniden scanner, I should be able to provide you with some progamming files, depending on what you end up with.

 

[Coyote33]

I asked this a while ago here: scanners

 

[Talon3]

I highly recommend GRE scanners, great audio, excellant sensitivity and fairly cheap. I have a GRE 300 that does awesome on the MSP trunk system, as well as the locals.
For all things scanners you should check out scannermaster.com There located in Holliston ma.
edited to add the GRE300 is going for 149 on the above site.

 

[FhvnLT4A]

Find out what your local frequencies are first off, since if you dont need trunking you can get one relatively cheap.. second, go with a bearcat .... uniden makes them. My personal prefrence, and with over 20 years of scanning and trying alot of different models and manufacturers, they are ultra reliable. As other posters have already stated, if you dont need digital, dont bother. The more intricate you get the more expensive the scanners get and the harder they are to program. Ebay is a good place to find stuff cheap, but there is also a great place right in MA that sells alot of scanning stuff.. scannermaster.com......I think theyre out of natick.

 

[Bob J]

Thanks guys! Much appreciate the great info!

 

[Coyote33]

I highly recommend GRE scanners, great audio, excellant sensitivity and fairly cheap. I have a GRE 300 that does awesome on the MSP trunk system, as well as the locals.
For all things scanners you should check out scannermaster.com There located in Holliston ma.
edited to add the GRE300 is going for 149 on the above site.

I don't know much about the GRE. How does the GRE PSR-200 Scanner compare with the Uniden Bearcat BC355C Scanner?

Also, anyone know what changed from the Uniden Bearcat BC350C Scanner to the Uniden Bearcat BC355C Scanner?
(Yeah, I know, it "went up by 5". )