phone app vs hand held scanner

What are the pro's and con's of having a handheld vs using a phone app to listen.

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Thanks mike

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skitchin1 said:

What are the pro's and con's of having a handheld vs using a phone app to listen.

Click to expand...

It really depends on where you live, and what is available on the phone app.
The phone apps usually eat the battery time fairly quick.
Scanner doesn't limit you to just FD or PD.
Larry

You can control what you want to hear with your own scanner.
You won't be at the mercy of the feed provider for what you want to scan.
You can lock onto a channel of interest if you want and you can monitor the tactical and covert channels which a feed provider is prohibited from broadcasting.
You won't have to worry about the feed going offline.
The list goes on and on...
There's nothing like having your own scanner to listen to.

Only advantages I can think of with a phone is you can take it with you in more places than you can with a scanner without looking silly and if you are just about anywhere in the world you can still listen to what is going on in your hometown. I like using both, but if I had to decide it would definately be a handheld scanner with close call capture to hear everything around you.

If you are really interested in scanning as a hobby and not just a general interest, then a handheld will serve you better than an app. All scanner apps get their audio from Broadcastify one way or another. This means that if someone takes the feed offline (or Broadcastify has a server error), then it is just down and there's not much you can do about it (mad/sad posts don't usually solve it eg. 1, 2, 3). Besides what has already been noted, another pro is that the scanner can also pick up things that aren't generally provided online as a feed or on an app (per policy), and there is a lot that is not broadcasted online. A very mild pro to tag onto the end is no delay. Internet/data takes time to transfer.

If you're more interested in scanning as a mild interest such as being able to tune into to action as soon as you see it on the news, than an app is probably better for you. Cons about scanning is that it is harder to understand and use when compared to a super easy scanner app. It's almost never just plug-and-play, you need to work with it some to get the best performance you can with the equipment. It also might be illegal to have in your state, depending on local laws. Most places don't have a law against it, but there are a few select places that require you to have amateur radio license to have a scanner in your vehicle and such.

In the end, you are probably more likely to have your phone on you more often than a scanner. I know that in my case, I have a scanner that can monitor many things locally and that I have the choice of online feeds for things not local or for low priority monitoring.

A scanner app on your phone will use up your data allowance, so it comes at a cost - unless you're running it in WiFi mode.

I use scanner apps to listen to the action (if there is an available feed) for distant locations where friends or family reside. Otherwise, my scanners (both hand held and desktop) are used for local operations. The handhelds travel with me, as well.

As has been stated here: if you are interested in scanning as a hobby, get a scanner! You can always sell it if you aren't happy with it. On the other hand, scanner apps are cheap compared to a scanner and you can learn by listening to police and fire operations if you are really that interested in making the financial plunge.

If you find you are bored when listening, then your initial expenditure was very low.

I have around a dozen hand held scanners and I used to carry one with me constantly. (BCD396* types)

But there were many times when the signals with the action were too weak for me to hear clearly.

That's when I missed having my big antenna system.

I fixed that by putting seven private feeds online in addition to my Broadcastify feed.
ALL connected to a good antenna system so I don't have to worry about weak signals on a hand held.

Before I leave the house, on one of those feeds, I turn on only those systems where I'll be traveling.

Then I can keep my smart phone in my shirt pocket and listen to as many of my feeds as I want.

Of course that doesn't work if I'm traveling far out of my local area. Then, I carry one (or two) with me.
But within 30-40 miles it works great.

Rich

No internet or cell signal..no "phone app". And in emergency situations or shtf scenerio the cell app would be useless.

Its like saying whats the difference between feeding yourself or eating out. With eating out you depend on someone else doing all the work and hope that the restaurant is always open.

You are probably too young to remember, but in the 1960s there was a song by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell called "Ain't nothing like the real thing." Of course they were talking about love and the opposite sex. I think the same thing applies to scanner apps vs the real thing baby (scanners).

Steve AA6IO (married 38 years)

Because this is about phone apps vs. a PORTABLE scanner I am going to assume you mean with either the standard antenna or an 800MHz version. At my particular location, with multiple sites broadcasting the same trunked system, the scanner breaks up frequently just at the point of hearing an important bit of information. Someone else in town who is in a good location, or has gone to lengths to correct the multipath issues, provides a good feed on broadcastify. However, the feed only covers city PD, Sheriff, and Fire. There is a lot of state police traffic and analog county fire dispatch to listen to on my own scanner. I just need to be able to fill in the garbled blanks with my mind.

skitchin1 said:

What are the pro's and con's of having a handheld vs using a phone app to listen.

Click to expand...

Its like asking which is better,Riding the bus or having a Porsche...Its all about control baby!

Another con of the phone apps is that the coverage areas are very limited compared to having an actual scanner. For instance, say you're driving and see a bunch of police cars, fire trucks, EMT's, etc. With a scanner you just turn it on, tune to those services and begin listening no matter where you are. With an app. you have streams for some areas, but many areas do not have streams available so you miss out on the action and have to hear about it on the 6 o'clock news

Yet another con about app feeds is that often those feeds cover so many services and areas that it really is not at all easy to figure out what's going on, because the scanner producing the feed just keeps going from PD to FD to EMS and what have you.

Why not both ?
App is better than nothing, not a whole lot more. Main reasons I have any use for them is because you have a quasi scanner on your hip at all times which can come in handy, and the ability to listen to other locals.
Other than that they are just a novelty for novices [and thugs].

Scanner phone app gets its juice from a scanner hooked up to a feed your behind or delayed. I want real time transmissions baby!!!!!

There is a whole world of communications out there to monitor from PD and FD, all the way to military aircraft communications and vessels out in the ocean. A phone app is extremely limiting. You can't lock on to a particular channel to monitor, the programmed frequencies are limited, and you are also at the mercy of where the feed source is located, as to what all you will receive. I always advocate for owning your own scanner. There are simply too many benefits to having your own scanner, versus some phone app with all of its limitations. It is always best to be able to monitor what you want, when you want, and where you want.

Also...I bet that would use up alot of data on your phone. Streaming audio all day will get pricey for those without unlimited data plans.