Hello

[nikita1939]

helloooooooooooooo-just signed on the forums-thinking bout getting a police scanner but i havent got a clue about what kind to get--------im lost

[kc0wkp]

Well, in order to get a better sense of what you should get, there are a couple questions you should answer.

What area are you going to be listening in?
What do you want to listen to?
What is you budget?
Do you want a Handheld or mobile/Base?

If you could give a quick reply to these, we can answer your questions much easier.

[KB1UAM]

Welcome to the most dysfunctional family on the web I'm kidding of course. A lot of great folks here. Just curious to find out what type of scanner you need. We would need to know which city you live in.

[Blackink]

Originally Posted by KB1UAM

Welcome to the most dysfunctional family on the web

I resemble that remark!!!

All kidding aside, I too am a complete newbie to the scanner world.

Anything in "Blue" is a link to help you get started on some research

Before I put in my request in for xmas, I did a ton of research here on the RR database and in my State for frequencies and if my area I was interested in was digital or analog.
The Wiki is an excellent place to poke around and research scanners.

Like the previous posters noted, the area you're going to scan, how much you can spend, if you want a base or mobile unit are all good things to list in here with your questions.
There's some cracker jack people in here that can help you immensely. I know, I've needed questions answered and I was overwhelmed with some of the responses.

And don't let reviews of horror stories about programming scanners scare you away. There's some good software out there that'll help you get started, and like alot of people find is they like programming their scanners manually.

So do some research, ask some questions, and welcome to the most dysfunctional family on the web! (We are kidding...right?!?)

[russellmaher]

Of course we're kidding ?!?!?!?!

Hi nikita and welcome to RR...glad to have you aboard.

Those questions posted above need to be answered before we can offer meaningful suggestions about your choice(s) of scanners.

Russell

[Fuzy_GSXR1000]

Hellllooooo! Welcome good luck with your scanner pursuit!!

[Git-R-Done]

Welcome to the site!

[morrisr3nd]

Welcome. Glad to have you.

Some things that you will find here:

Lots of people are willing to help. And a lot of them have some amazing experience.

Opinions are just like rear ends. Everybody has one. You have to decide what you want and what you are willing to spend.

Answer the questions and you will get help. Most cases in a very timely manner.

Happy scanning.

[nikita1939]

first of all thanks to all for the great comeback its amazing-ok here goes-im very green at this-i live in ohio countys would be carroll and jefferson i want to listen to local police and fire-sherriff- highway patrol-from both countys-budget around $200.00-hand held-trunking-easy programming if possible-hope this helps and again thanks to all.

[Rt169Radio]

Hello, welcome to RadioReference.

[Spitfire8520]

Originally Posted by nikita1939

first of all thanks to all for the great comeback its amazing-ok here goes-im very green at this-i live in ohio countys would be carroll and jefferson i want to listen to local police and fire-sherriff- highway patrol-from both countys-budget around $200.00-hand held-trunking-easy programming if possible-hope this helps and again thanks to all.

According to the database, the Ohio State Patrol and and Carroll County Sheriff will be on Ohio MARCS. The system uses APCO-25 (P25/digital) voice and will require a digital scanner to monitor. It's going to cost about $350+ for a brand new digital scanner, however there can be a few used deals for around $300 (give or take a bit) either online or locally.

Carroll County fire seems to still be on VHF, so any general scanner should be able to monitor that. Jefferson County appears to be on Jefferson County OH Trunking System, which can be monitored by any rebandable trunking scanner. Digital scanners will be able to monitor just about anything if you go down that route.

The following is a list of digital scanners you may want to look out for:

Current Models:
GRE PSR-500 (Handheld)
GRE PSR-600 (Base)
GRE PSR-800 (Handheld)
RadioShack Pro-106 (Handheld)
RadioShack Pro-197 (Base)
RadioShack Pro-18 (Handheld)
Uniden BCD396XT (Handheld)
Uniden BCD996XT (Base)
Uniden HomePatrol (Base)

Slightly Older Models:
Uniden BCD396T (Handheld)
Uniden BCD996T (Base)

Even Older Models (less functionality):
RadioShack Pro-96 (Handheld)
RadioShack Pro-2096 (Base)
Uniden BC296D (Handheld)
Uniden BC796D (Base)

[AdamDaMan]

Originally Posted by nikita1939

helloooooooooooooo-just signed on the forums-thinking bout getting a police scanner but i havent got a clue about what kind to get--------im lost

Welcome to the forum! It depends on where, what, and how you are wanting to scan. For example, some scanners are only based on location and some are really good at listening to different types of public safety. if you are wanting to listen while mobile I recommend a mobile scanner with an NMO mount antenna. The NMO requires a hole to be drilled but it makes the setup look a lot nicer and neat. Anyways, for more help on types of scanners head over to the topic about this.

Thanks and welcome,
Adam

[nikita1939]

thanks for the info spitfire-i have a chance to get a radio shack pro 107 would that model be in the ball park.

[nikita1939]

hi to all-its the newbee again-im ready to buy a uniden home patrol 1 i need some feedback does anybody have one-tell me about it --good--bad---or ----indifferent-i need feed back on it please and thanks to all .