Much as I hate to break the news, the 97 isn't going to be very useful in Delaware. The statewide system is digital, and the 97 won't work with it. You will need a digital trunktracker to make that happen. You can probably hear some of the fireboard channels, but that's about it on the public safety side, in any case.
Good news is that I see the PRO-96 is on clearance sale. If public safety is the only game in town for you, and you aren't interested in logging and recording (something neither the PRO-96 nor it's cousin, the PRO-2096 can do due to firmware limits), that might be the way to go.
On the cable side, most newer PCs these days have no serial ports, so you will need a USB-Serial converter. If you decide to get the PRO-96 then for software, Win96 is far and away the champ. Once you get your premium subscription, you will be able to connect to the database and pull data.
On the flip side, the GRE PSR-500 (and it's cousin the PSR-600), along with the Uniden 396 and 996 will also copy the digital system, and all of them have software that will connect and download data from the database. In a moment, I'll throw a few links out there so you can read up about them. The line on the GREs is that they have better digital audio recovery than the Unidens, but on the flip side, they are more sensitive to overloading issues.
Antennas? Well that's a whole 'nother story. Indoor or outdoor? Attic mounting? Duckie or a good full size one? Be a bit more specific about your needs and others can jump in here and recommend some.
73 Mike
[edit] OK here we go. Keep in mind that anything in blue or underlined is a link. These both come from our wiki.
The first is a grouping of articles (referred to as a 'category') for all the current - and upcoming - digital trunktrackers. Click on the model number to go to the desired article. Note that both the PRO-96 and 2096 articles have links to where you can get the USB cable; the GRE radios come with their own cable, although it's important to note that downloading the most current drivers for your OS will save you some headaches.
The second is a link to the web service article. Near the bottom is a cross ref of all the web-service-aware software and the radios they support.
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index...gital_Scanners
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index...om_Web_Service
I encourage you to wander in the wiki. There is a tremendous amount of information that can be found there. We have an article, for example, with LOTS of links for scanner antennas, many of which have been discussed here on RR. There are also some shortcuts for programming the 96/2096 by hand, if you choose that route.
just getting back to scanning
Linear Mode
