I'm considering the purchase of a police scanner.  It's my understanding that they're NOT all made alike and that some are neutered.  

Help?

Thanks,

Mike

I think they're all required to block out cell phone bands.

But before you buy any scanner you need to find out what your local PD uses for its radios.  Are the conventional, trunked, or digital trunked?  The answer changes what type of scanner you need, and how much it will cost.

Are you using it as a mobile or handheld? Check the laws in your state about plice scanners. Here in Florida, for example you can't have a mobile scanner in your vehicle with police scanners if you don't have an amateur radio operator's license.

I recommend the Bearcat lines. All you really need is a digital trunking scanner that can sweep 800mhz, there is just no reason I see for those $500 scanners.

A good one will cost you 100-250. The biggest pain in the ass is progamming them

I have an ancient ten channel Uniden Bearcat portable scanner that has served me well for over 10 years. I mostly just use it as a weather radio, which is really handy, although I do have some of the rural police and fire departments for shits and giggles now and again. I highly doubt you could buy a portable with fewer than 100 channels now lol...

I have a RadioShack PRO-94 hand-held scanner. It has dual trunking, and works just fine with my local PD's. It has pretty clear reception with the stock "rubber ducky" antenna.

The police in my town are on the 150mhz bands.

CA may suck for gun laws, but it is 100% legal to have a scanner in your vehicle here

I bought a Radio Shack Pro-95 w/dual trunking capability and 1000 channels.  Radio Shack will program all of your local frequencies and there is free software that will allow you to slightly modify your scanning ranges and organize/upload/download your scanner data base.  With the Pro-95 I am able to monitor all local law enforcement, DOE security, aircraft, local business and oddly enough, all of my neighbors telephones.  Outside of ammunition, it's probably the best $150 I've spent all year.

I'm thinking a base unit that has the ability to be plugged in or use batteries.

Don't know about the trunking or mhz thing...

Is there a scanner that can handle all of them?

Mike

I was looking at scanners recently, too... would be primarily for use at home but would want the ability to take it mobile if necessary. The local Farm King sells a basic bearcat home unit for $100.00. An online search revealed lots of uber-fancy scanners costing $500+

I don't need a scanner but I want one. I just don't want to spend $100.00 to find out that if I had spent another $50.00 I could have had something much better since it'll end up costing me $250 when all is said and done.

Quoted: Are you using it as a mobile or handheld? Check the laws in your state about plice scanners. Here in Florida, for example you can't have a mobile scanner in your vehicle with police scanners if you don't have an amateur radio operator's license. I recommend the Bearcat lines. All you really need is a digital trunking scanner that can sweep 800mhz, there is just no reason I see for those $500 scanners. A good one will cost you 100-250. The biggest pain in the ass is progamming them

+1, and, get a hand-held

Quoted: I think they're all required to block out cell phone bands.

Buy one from Canada, problem solved

get on ebay you can still find the "preban" type scanners with the 800 and up mhz. Ive heard some wild shit over the air waves on there. even heard some military pilots fucking around on civi channels before too.

tag

Quoted: Quoted: I think they're all required to block out cell phone bands. Buy one from Canada, problem solved

Except that the Canadian models are pretty much the US models these days. The US manufacturers do not cater to foreign markets like any less imperialistic country might.
Buy your Uniden scanner in europe, and it supports all those trunking systems and channel spacings that you find in the US -- and if that doesn't happen to coincide with the systems in use there, then just too bad!

I just bought a BCD396T from Uniden -- pricey, but it does cover mostly everything worth listening to. The cheaper ones don't work with trunked systems, and don't decode digital systems, and the police forces of the country are flush with "Homeland Security" cash right now, and this, along with an FCC imposed "rebanding" (read: screw-up, basically selling the same frequencies twice -- once to public services, and again to Nextel) is causing lots of systems to get upgraded (the public services get to move, Nextel keeps what it has).

Unfortunately, scanning is a hobby like shooting, where you can start off cheap, but then you hit the limitations imposed by cheap, and end up buying what you should have done in the first place.

Anybody know WHY they block cellular coverage? Is there actually a law that says they have to? I always thought this was a radio free country? I've heard that there are gaps between the various bands that are used by various three letter agencies as well. Is there a similar law that says they can't cover the band gaps?

Not sure that it matters that much anyhow these days as scanners don't pick up CDMA modulation anyway do they?

Ed

Quoted: Anybody know WHY they block cellular coverage? Is there actually a law that says they have to? I always thought this was a radio free country? I've heard that there are gaps between the various bands that are used by various three letter agencies as well. Is there a similar law that says they can't cover the band gaps? Not sure that it matters that much anyhow these days as scanners don't pick up CDMA modulation anyway do they? Ed

Yes, there is a law. In practice, it only covers the old AMPS frequencies (non-digital stuff).
Most cellphones these days are digital and much more difficult to listen too -- the band that is omitted from US radios is lightly used these days -- another example of congress persons jumping in where they had no clue just because some of them thought that their conversations might be overheard talking to their girlfriends, or various other partners in crime.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I think they're all required to block out cell phone bands. Buy one from Canada, problem solved Except that the Canadian models are pretty much the US models these days. The US manufacturers do not cater to foreign markets like any less imperialistic country might. Buy your Uniden scanner in europe, and it supports all those trunking systems and channel spacings that you find in the US -- and if that doesn't happen to coincide with the systems in use there, then just too bad! I just bought a BCD396T from Uniden -- pricey, but it does cover mostly everything worth listening to. The cheaper ones don't work with trunked systems, and don't decode digital systems, and the police forces of the country are flush with "Homeland Security" cash right now, and this, along with an FCC imposed "rebanding" (read: screw-up, basically selling the same frequencies twice -- once to public services, and again to Nextel) is causing lots of systems to get upgraded (the public services get to move, Nextel keeps what it has). Unfortunately, scanning is a hobby like shooting, where you can start off cheap, but then you hit the limitations imposed by cheap, and end up buying what you should have done in the first place.

...so a European scanner might not work with the US systems?

Mike

I have 2 really old radio shacks that work great, got 'em from  grandpa after he died.
1.Explain trunking please and
2.can I make long antenna leads for relocation of the stock antennes (two per unit)? I'd like an antenne outside, high up, with the scanners inside.
3.Is there software that will let you use a computer as a scanner, these days radios are computers so I figure it's possible, and the adjustments and digital capabilities should be about unlimited.