Need help buying my first scanner

Hello Everyone.

Im looking into buying the radio shack pro 97 triple trunking handheld scanner for $129.00

However I have some questions about it for you knowledgeable folks.

Im in Hamilton County, Tennessee and would like to be able to scan the frequencies for East Ridge Fire and East Ridge Police. They are dispatched through Hamilton County 911 Center along with almost every other agency in the county. They use Motorola Type II SmartZone and transmit at 154.31000, 460.32500, and 856.43750.

Will the above mentioned scanner work for this? Ive researched it a little and it seems so, however I want to be 100% sure that it will before spending the money.

Also, if any of you have any first hand knowledge of this actual scanner, any input as to functionality ,difficulty of programming, and sound quality would be appreciated.

I'm not sure about your area of TN, but I have had a Pro-97 for a while. It has a fast scan rate, can store plenty of frequencies, has Close Call feature and a decent antenna.
I do sometimes borrow its rubber duck antenna for my SDR# ran USB dongle though. That is a good first handheld scanner. I did do a discriminator mod to mine, that is posted all over online.

RidgeRunner88 said:

Im in Hamilton County, Tennessee and would like to be able to scan the frequencies for East Ridge Fire and East Ridge Police. They are dispatched through Hamilton County 911 Center along with almost every other agency in the county. They use Motorola Type II SmartZone and transmit at 154.31000, 460.32500, and 856.43750.

Will the above mentioned scanner work for this? Ive researched it a little and it seems so, however I want to be 100% sure that it will before spending the money.

Click to expand...

I took a peek of the system in the database and it's about as clear as mud as to what is going on with communications in Hamilton County. You noted that they are on the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Public Safety, however news posts for that exact system dating back to 2004 has stated that the system is functionally offline. There seems to be a few forum posts are floating around saying that the system is still alive. It's possibly worth taking a look at something that can follow the Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN) P25 Phase II system if your budget allows for it. A P25 Phase I scanner would also work, but would be less future proof.

As for the scanner you are looking at, it should noted that the Pro-97 will not handle rebanding. Looking at the frequencies that Hamilton County system is using, it looks like it's possible for the Pro-97 to follow conversations on the Simulcast, but not for the other two sites. I'm not familiar enough with rebanding to say 100% on this issue.

It might be worth it to take a look at and searching the Tennessee Radio Discussion Forum in order to find out what is going on with communications. My initial feeling (being not from the area) is that it might be possible for them turn off the SmartZone system at anytime since most everything exists on TACN. The Pro-97 would not be able to follow that system at all.

RidgeRunner88 said:

Hello Everyone.

Im looking into buying the radio shack pro 97 triple trunking handheld scanner for $129.00

However I have some questions about it for you knowledgeable folks.

Im in Hamilton County, Tennessee and would like to be able to scan the frequencies for East Ridge Fire and East Ridge Police. They are dispatched through Hamilton County 911 Center along with almost every other agency in the county. They use Motorola Type II SmartZone and transmit at 154.31000, 460.32500, and 856.43750.

Will the above mentioned scanner work for this? Ive researched it a little and it seems so, however I want to be 100% sure that it will before spending the money.

Also, if any of you have any first hand knowledge of this actual scanner, any input as to functionality ,difficulty of programming, and sound quality would be appreciated.

Click to expand...

Welcome RidgeRunner88.
$129 for an almost 10 year old scanner is a bit too much. It won't be useful on the Moto Type II system since it rebanded, which the 97 won't do. Plus, there are some digital TGID's on that system.
The state of Tennessee is in the process of moving to the TACN statewide system. It is listed as P-25 Phase II and at the present time, according to the RR database has mixed Phase II and Phase I TGID's. This means that there will be some action you will miss, such as the THP. The old conventional frequencies I don't believe are in use anymore.

You will need to buy a scanner that decodes P-25, Phase II systems. I suggest you look in the RR For Sale forum and look at the PSR-800's that are listed for sale. There is also a new Whistler WS-1080 which is a rebranded PSR-800.

There are also some Uniden 436HP's for sale. I've only looked at the 436, but never owned one. There are many issues with the year old x36HP scanners. I, personally, would not buy one. Main reason: it costs $500 brand new.

HTH,
Larry

Hey guys, thanks for the help... Looks like yall saved me some trouble.

Im on a budget here, so cant afford to pay $400 for a scanner. Im looking in the $100.00 to $150.00 price range.

Anything out there on the market that is decent for that price that will scan what im wanting to hear?

RidgeRunner88 said:

Hey guys, thanks for the help... Looks like yall saved me some trouble.

Im on a budget here, so cant afford to pay $400 for a scanner. Im looking in the $100.00 to $150.00 price range.

Anything out there on the market that is decent for that price that will scan what im wanting to hear?

Click to expand...

Not unless someone gives you one
Larry

@RidgeRunner,
Larry's advice is solid and spot on.

Save up for a few months until you can afford the extra $80.00 or so.

It will serve you well in the long run to get a scanner that will receive what you want to hear.

Otherwise, you would be spending $129.00 on a useless paperweight.

The classifieds here on RR and Craigslist is a good place to find a PSR 800 or similar scanner in the $200.00 range.

Good luck to you!