Good beginner scanner

[wb88]

Hey everyone,
I'm looking into getting a good scanner just for home use, although I think I would rather have a hand held. I live in WA state, and I dont mind spending a little bit on it if needed. What would be a good brand/scanner to go with? Thank you.

[Rt169Radio]

Hello, where exactly in WA do you live?

[wb88]

I live in Lewis County in western WA

[wb88]

Also on 2nd thought, maybe a good base scanner instead/also. I'm not sure I like the being able to accidentally transmit thing. Thanks!

[captclint]

Originally Posted by wb88

\ I'm not sure I like the being able to accidentally transmit thing. Thanks!

Don't worry, you can't transmit on any scanner, so it all about the convenience for you. A base unit usually has little larger screen, and better keypad layout. A handheld is obviously more convenient if you want to take it with you for any reason. Both perform exactly the same...IE you might say the only difference is the case. I use a handheld exclusively at home, but I do use monitoring software that allows me to see the screen even larger than a base unit.

There doesn't seem to be many frequencies for Lewis County, WA
What I see are all conventional, which means you don't need a very expensive scanner. My favorite would be
BC125AT - The RadioReference Wiki

However, I would go to the Washington State forum and ask the question about what would be best. They may know of a more sophisticated system coming on line soon that would require you to get a trunking scanner.

[wb88]

Okay thank you! I was lookig into the Uniden Bearcat 346XT a little bit, its $80 more than the 125AT, you think it would be overkill? Thanks again

[captclint]

Originally Posted by wb88

Okay thank you! I was lookig into the Uniden Bearcat 346XT a little bit, its $80 more than the 125AT, you think it would be overkill? Thanks again

I have it, and I love it, BUT it is overkill for your area at this time, UNLESS you would be interested in listening to business type com's, including trash haulers, concrete trucks, contractors, plumbers, school buses, transportation, etc. They tend to be analog trunking, but you would have to search for them, if any, since there are none listed for your area now.

If your area does get into pulbic safety trunking, it will likely take a few years, and you could get a better scanner when that happens(they all improve every 2 yrs or so). You can't go wrong with 346, but I would still check with WA forum in case there are plans to go digital, in which case the 346 would not work. For example, U.S. Dept. of Justice: Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) would require a digital scanner NOW, if you wanted to monitor this.

[dmg1969]

wb88...if you don't need a scanner for trunking or 800 MHz (which it doesn't appear that you do), I would highly recommend the BC125AT. It is a great scanner and is fairly easy to program. I bought one recently for my vehicle and am very impressed. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them. Just PM me.

Dave