My dad is looking into buying me a scanner for my birthday. What would everybody reccomend. Im possibly getting an Amateur Radio LIcense with the Civil Sir Patrol so I can assist on Emergencies, so would that open up new doors?
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I got a Bearcat BC250D hand held scanner. It has 1000 channels APCO P-25 optional if you listen to public safety. I montior al,ost everything in the BOston area it was well worth it. Stevie
Farewell old friend thanks for the memories.
#4 EBT cars Hawker Siddley 1978-2009
Instructor/Inspector SERY
Member 25 years proud
#4 EBT cars Hawker Siddley 1978-2009
Instructor/Inspector SERY
Member 25 years proud
I'd look at the owners manual. Towards the back of it, look at the squelch sensitivity and see if its close to or on 0.3. If there I would buy it. A higher number such as 1.0 reduces it being able to pick up the traffic from the airwaves. After than it comes down to what model would you like to have.
If you do plan to get a ham license, most ham 2M portables will do a decent job of receiving the RR frequencies. If you get involved in CAP communications, which I do not think necessarily requires a ham license, you can no longer use most modified ham gear on CAP frequencies. The CAP now has to comply with NTIA requirements for bandwidth and stability that most ham equipment can not meet.
If you are getting a scanner only for railfanning, or any public safety agencies you want to monitor use conventional VHF/UHF radios you can save a lot of money by getting a basic scanner that does not have digital or trunking capability. It does not make sense to pay hundreds of dollars for digital or trunking unless you have a specific need for it. I see comments on other forums recommending buying these scanners in case someone you want to listen to does go digital in the future. The problem is that there are several new technologies that current digital scanners can not receive so it simply does not make sense to spend money based on some undefined future requirement.
If you are getting a scanner only for railfanning, or any public safety agencies you want to monitor use conventional VHF/UHF radios you can save a lot of money by getting a basic scanner that does not have digital or trunking capability. It does not make sense to pay hundreds of dollars for digital or trunking unless you have a specific need for it. I see comments on other forums recommending buying these scanners in case someone you want to listen to does go digital in the future. The problem is that there are several new technologies that current digital scanners can not receive so it simply does not make sense to spend money based on some undefined future requirement.