Wondering if there are any cheap basic scanners out there that can scan and record audio to an SD card. I saw the whistlers can but I dont need the digital capability (or price).

don't think so...Home Patrol would be bottom of that list...

you need a cheap digital recorder a cheap scanner with a cable between and a rubber band holding together

An RTL-SDR and a laptop could be an option.

Yep would work well.   Might be a learning curve but would be light years ahead of a scanner..

Prosise

Loop Recorder is PC software ( http://www.looprecorder.de )  It is $29.95 to register the standard version. The $250 pro version has auto-archiving built in (as well as other features like auto-vox), but a VBS script (sample available on-line) can make the standard version accomplish the same thing via a repeated launch of an instance with a set recording span followed by close + autosave. This lets you have it produce uniquely named files of a specified duration for as long as the script is running.  

It can also be set to record from internet based audio sources (pretty much recording what ever you can send to PC speakers).

I run an open ended instance of the standard version while operating, it uses the TS-590S usb audio as input & provides a constant 30 minute loop I can review as wanted (via the internal editor) without interfering with the recording process.

Nick

Nick that is something worth looking into.

For those that suggested an SDR I too think they are great but this is for fairly close by systems that overload the front ends of an RTL. I use the freq scanner and recorder on SDR# with great success but I won't be able to monitor or set this system up. The guy who is asking is a more set it and forget it type.

40 Db Attenuator

ETA: Didn't see that it was for someone else. What kind of system is it?

It's for an old guy who has road work going on across the road. Old timer with too much time on his hands. From what I've seen they are using gmrs/frs and murs radios. He just likes listening to them.

Gotcha. I guess that really does eliminate the SDR.

Most smartphones have a voice recording feature and just about everyone has a smartphone these days. Micro SD cards are very cheap too.