Need help on deciding the type of scanner I should get

[zeppelin11]

Hello all I have been listening to the online scanners for a while now and am now interested in having my own i have done some research and learned that there are different types for different areas and different antennas for ranges and a lot of other things that are mind boggling i live in Dixie County FL which is in the middle of nowhere and they do not have life feed for this county so I listen to Pinellas County where i use to live to get my fix anyways town is about 8 miles away so i would like to have a scanner that will pick up feed from a decent distance i would like to listen to Fire department police EMS weather and anything that i possibly can but i would like to get cheap one well a decent price i have seen the Uniden Nascar® Handheld Racing Scanner BC72XLT-R for about $60 bucks and am interested in it but not sure if it will be good for the area that i live in i would dearly appreciate opinions and any help that anybody can give me on choosing the best scanner for me/my area

THANK YOU!!!

[kc0wkp]

For a starter scanner that will work just fine for your area. Any conventional scanner will work for your county. You will also be able to listen to your neighboring counties. Taylor County and Levy County are on a Statewide Trunking System that No scanner is capable of listening to at this time, but you could still program the Old fire channels in which are simulcasted.

Here is a link that can help you decided but inputting your location and listening radius;
Police Scanners by Uniden Bearcat, AOR and RadioShack

if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

[lindsay34654]

ok first off you did not research anything is the area an 800 area if so you need a trunk tracker 4 and that you are not going topick up anything under $400 then you are going to need a good antenna ost rubber duck antennas will not give you distance. what freq' s do you want to monitor not the towns the frq look up hte towns then read about each radio that is made and see what the radio will do' it is a hobby the fun of the hobby is doing the research yourself. if you are loooking to spend only 100 stay with the online listening. like everything else it cost money

[zeppelin11]

awesome thank you so much for the feed back!!!

[kc0wkp]

To get started in the hobby, there is nothing wrong with a general conventional Scanner, Your county is conventional not 800Mhz.

[Rt169Radio]

Are you looking to get a handheld scanner or a base scanner? The freqs in your county are just conventional meaning a simple scanner can receive them.

Here are some scanners that you could take a look at.

Uniden Bearcat BC355N Police Scanner

Uniden Bearcat BC75XLT Police Scanner

Uniden Bearcat BC370CRS Police Scanner Radio

Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Police Scanner

[zeppelin11]

Thank you for the links that was much appreciated, I am interested in the Uniden BC72XLT it costs about $80.00 but i have found the same one for $58.00 refurbished what is your opinion on a refurbished scanner? Uniden BC72XLT Handheld Bearcat Police Radio Scanner | eBay

[Fuzy_GSXR1000]

In your case I would buy the one that when you first turns it howls out "Ramble on" or "Hey hey mamma!!"....in all sincerity with everybody going to theses high tech radio systems get one that will work for your specific needs!!!

[zeppelin11]

lol!! now that would definitely be the scanner for me i think im gonna be going with the Uniden BC72XLT its not to hard on the bank and from what i have read i believe it will fulfill my needs

[Fuzy_GSXR1000]

That's it the one that best suits YOU is the best one you can buy!

[pdfdems286]

i highly recommend the bc125at. it has everything you could possibly want at this point. i also highly recommend the nice folks at scannermaster. they will price match any verified reputable deal on the scanner. thru the month of decemeber, you will not have to pay shipping. you will save approx. $15.00.
although the gre made psr-120 is slightly cheaper, i would definetly NOT buy it. see all of my previous comments.

[Rt169Radio]

If you can do it, it would be best to buy a new Uniden Bearcat BC72XLT instead of buying refurbished one. Where are you going to get it? From Scanner Master?

Uniden Bearcat BC72XLT Police Scanner Radio

[zeppelin11]

no not scanner master i found this one website that has refurbished items Uniden Nascar® Handheld Racing Scanner BC72XLT-R This product is Refurbished.

[Rt169Radio]

Originally Posted by zeppelin11

no not scanner master i found this one website that has refurbished items Uniden Nascar® Handheld Racing Scanner BC72XLT-R This product is Refurbished.

Oh, I never heard of them.

[zeppelin11]

i havent either unfort. it looks like my best bet at this point so i guess im gonna go for it and let you all know how it is

[benbenrf]

Zeppelin11

Welcome to the forum - and the business (hobby, if you insist) of "snooping" on the conversations of others.

You know the old fishermans' saying(?):
"For every day spent fishing, God will add a year to your earthly life".

There is a similar saying in the Signals Intelligence Community:
"For every day spent snooping on the enemy, St Joshua** will add a year to your earthly life"

Don't discard the idea of sourcing a used/pre-owned scanner off eBay - keeping all the usual precautions in mind when it comes to eBay (seller history, feedback, score etc etc .... and above all gut feeling & common sense), you could save yourself a fortune and thereby afford to buy a scanner/receiver that would otherwise be way out of budget.

While I am not going to suggest any particular brand name or equipment to start with, I'll take this oppurtunity to suggest that (if you don't have this knowledge yet) you put some time aside to read up on the basics of how radio receivers & antennas function.

While the subject may sound daunting, getting an understanding of the basics is not a difficult at all, and will go a long long way to helping you make informed decisions for yourself when it comes to selecting & choosing hardware such as scanners/receivers, different antenna types, coaxials, cables, connectors (quite a few different types - ensuring they match what you already have can be confusing in the beginning), filter types & pre-amps (when best to use these accessories and when best not to use them), the meaning of different terms & abbreviations (such dB, dBi, dBm, bandwidth, sensitivity & selectivity - very very useful when it comes to studying the online specifications of any scanner/receiver you may be interested in, and comparing one with another), and setting everything up to get the best out of your gear.

.... that was a mouthful for one sentence.
If you'd like some pointers towards online articles drop me a private message and I'll send you a list of what IMHO I think would be some good online reads - not to mention of course, the info this forum contains, which is a wealth of user information, the good thing about which is that in most cases you have instant and direct access to the authors.

Welcome to the forum & the hobby - many good hours of fun (& frustration) await you!



* In Catholicism St.Joshua was one of the spies Moses sent to Canaan (modern day Israel if I am not mistaken) to listen to & spy on the preachings and political commentary of Israelite community leaders of the time!!

**Although never canonized, Joshua is accepted as the patron Saint of spies & Signals Intelligence Officers. The English Saint, St George (slayer of dragons & other beasts of the medieval era), is accepted (at least by UK intelligence officers - not specifically signals intelligence officers though there is an overlap in the 2 professions) as their patron Saint.

[viennatech]

Consider yourself lucky in a way that your county has plenty to listen to on "any old scanner". I'd highly recommend that you scour ebay, craigslist, kijiji or your local pawn shop to find a radio that is within your budget and also can pick up the frequencies you are interested in.

Assume that if it has a keypad, it can likely give you some scanning joy.

Then it just gets more and more complex, depending on what you want to do and that is where the lifetime of learning kicks in and the actual joy in the hobby.

When I was shopping for a scanner I insisted on Airband (airplanes which is 108-127 or so) and many handhelds didn't offer that band. Today many people want the 800MHz to be able to listen in on their local PD/FD/EMS and whatever else is happening. If your scanner can tune in, you can listen in as well.

Later, when you win the lottery or totally get hooked on the bug, you spend a grand on a super doper 9000 thingamajigy of the day.

I'm personally enjoying tooling on 15 year old equipment lol.