Hey Jet'... Welcome to RadioReference!
Buying your first scanner is a huge leap! Buying the correct scanner once, will prevent you from having to spend more money later. If you're anything like me, or anyone else, you don't like spending $1.00 more than you have to. With so many scanners on the market, it's hard to choose just one. I'm sure you've seen some of the shacks here, with stacks and stacks of scanners. I'm going to tell you, you DON'T have to have all that to have fun scanning! To enjoy the hobby, you'll need a scanner of course, a good antenna, and patience. Yes, patience is the key to scanning!
Most of the fun in scanning is finding elusive, hidden frequencies, that only appear every so often. The database is a good place to start, choose your state and county, and check out what's active in your area. This will also tell you what type of scanner you need. Keep in mind, the databse is highly accurate, but, there's still LOADS of frequencies you won't see there. Why? Because no one has subitted them yet! There's lots of frequencies in your area, that no one probably even knows about. It's your job, scanner in hand, to sleuth them, and display them HERE so we all can cash in on your find!
Now, back to scanners...
The RadioShack Pro-97 was mentioned above. It is a very good choice! I used to own one myself, and to this day, I regret selling it. Really.. The Pro-97 is a good all around scanner, that will serve you well, providing the things you monitor are within it's limitations. Aircraft, Military Aircraft, Motorola & EDACS Trunked systems, VHF High, VHF Low, and UHF are all within this scanners limits! The Pro-97 also has some features you'll only find on higher end scanners, such as PL tones, which are very useful if you have more than one agency on the same frequency, and Alpha tagging. Alpha tagging let's you name a frequency, instead of seeing 155.310, you see, "Dispatch". It's handy..
Now, RadioShack also has another scanner, the Pro-528. I own this one as well, and still use it. The 528 will cover the same things as the Pro-97, minus Military Aircraft. The 528 does NOT have PL tones, and it does NOT have Alpha Tagging. So what's the advantage? The 528 IS rebanding friendly, where the Pro-97 is NOT. If you plan to be monitoring Motorola type trunked systems, go with the 528. The Pro-97 can't track them, once the frequencies have been re-arranged by the FCC.
There's a big thread about rebanding here, check it out..
Now, if you want to buy once, and forget it, and be able to monitor ANYTHING, (unless it's encrypted), i reccomend a RadioShack Pro-96, or it's base/mobile brother, the Pro-2096. These scanners will do the same things that the Pro-97 will do, but, they'll recieve digital systems which are becoming quite popular. These scanners do PL's, have Alpha Tagging as well.
Uniden also has some nice scanners.. The BCT-15, is a trunking scanner that IS rebanding friendly. It's a newer model as well. It features PL tones, Alpha tagging, MilAir, and other features. I'm not expereinced with it much..
Unidens 996T, is the hottest thing on the market right now. It's the king of all scanners. the 996T does it all... Trunking, digital, Alpha tags, MilAir, PL, the whole slew.
Uniden also has thier digital handheld, the 396T. It is comparable with the RadioShack Pro-96. While it does have LOTS of features, it's performance isn't as hot as the Pro-96. It's been tested, and proven many times. If you want features, buy a Uniden. If you want sheer performance, buy one of the RadioShack's.
To me, Performance is the key. If I want to punch buttons all day, I'll play with my cell phone.
On another note, once you choose a scanner, look into programming software. Yes, you can program your scanner with your computer. It really makes things a whole lot easier, especially when you've got ALOT to program..
Hope this helps!
