Non-Pre-Programmed Mobile Scanner

I'm not new to radios or scanning, but I think this still goes here.

I live in scanner heaven. Everything is Analog, non-trucked, in the clear.

So I want to get a mobile scanner that isn't pre-programmed. I've had lots of hand-helds that you could program yourself, but I've not been happy with performance.

I've been looking at the Uniden BC450, BC700, all the way to the new BC355N, and they have very limited "private" channels. They are based on the pre-programmed frequencies. With the limited numbers of agencies in this very rural area, I don't want to scan 1,700 frequencies, when there are only about 30 active.

I have a old BC890XLT, but it's far too big for mounting in my truck. I don't need everything that a BCT15X or a BCD996x2 can do, but I wouldn't mind having one, if it can do what I want it to do.

I'm also not stuck on Uniden. I'm just not super familiar with Whistler, Radio Shack, GRE, Etc..

I'd love an AOR, but.........

Thanks for any help anyone would like to offer.

Delta

If you can deal with a single band look at Motorola radios (CDM series) or dual VHF/UHF band ham rigs(Kenwood, Yaseu, Alinco). I’ve never been a fan of scanner audio in mobiles.


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I think where you are, a VHF mobile would be a good option.
The Motorola's have a limitation on how many channels you can scan, so that might be an issue.
The upside is that the commercial mobiles have great receivers and outstanding audio.

Pick up a used Motorola CDM-1250, CDM-1550, if you can deal with the 16 channel scan limitation.
or
Pick up a Kenwood TK-7180, TK-790, NX-700 or something similar for more scanning.
Icom, Vertex, etc. are all good options, too.

Drawback is the programming software/cables.
But honestly, picking up a used radio will cost $100-$150. Modern scanners with all that stuff you don't want cost quite a bit more, so you still might come out ahead.

If you have an amateur license or business license, you gain the possibility of using these as transceivers.
I use a CDM-1550 in my personal truck. I've got the local agencies programmed into it as well. All the local stuff is VHF analog, like you, so it's simple. I've also put amateur and work stuff in the radio.

The commercial stuff also allows remote heads, which makes life easy. Put he RF deck behind/under the seat and just have the control head on the dash. Easy to fit into dang near any vehicle out there.

Add a larger external speaker if you really want to enjoy decent audio.

Haha! Great minds something something.

I think he only needs around 30 channels so a DN version of a CDM1250 would be more than enough with a 64 channel capacity.


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I'm going to be a bit contrarian here. OP is assuming that a "pre-programmed" scanner forces you to scan whatever it is programmed with, which is completely false. Even the Uniden BCDx36 scanners don't force you to scan the main database; you are perfectly free to make your own favorite lists that contain as much or as little as you choose. The same applies to the 996 or 15X, you have hundreds of channels you can program with whatever you like, and are completely free to ignore or disable any factory programming.

A single-band mobile transceiver might be adequate for local frequencies (although the OP has not actually confirmed that), but I wonder if the OP ever travels outside his local area, and whether he might like to be able to scan traffic outside his local area if he does.

Go with a BCT15XT. You may not need the trunking feature but the text tags and PL/DPL for the channels are great to have. The screen size is also a good and readable plus they are under $200.00

First off, thanks for all the advice.

When I say about 30 channels, I'm talking about what would be in the "Police/Fire/EMS" database, for example, on the BC355N. What I do sometimes though, is combine scanning some local PS frequencies, along with marine band, as an example. So I like to have different groups, if you will, that I can turn off and on. I'll put all main dispatch for Police/Fire/EMS in one, all Tac channels in another, Marine in another, Itinerant VHF and UHF in another, local Ham repeaters and simplex frequencies in another, and so on. If that can be done with the 15X, I'd probably get that one.

I do have Amateur, GMRS, and I'm in the process of getting an IG license. I really like Kenwood commercial equipment, I have a dozen or so units, and I was originally going to do just that, and get another TK 780 for the truck, but what I'm missing is VHF Lowband. CHP, along with CalTrans and a bunch of forestry, is still on VHF low. And my handhelds, even with an external tuned antenna, just never picked it up. Hence I went back to looking at mobile scanners.

I don't really like the audio on scanners in general, either. I love the audio on Kenwood, and I'm all set up for programming Kenwood commercial. Not sure if I want to get a 690, 780 and 880 all stacked in the truck. Along with my dual band and CB, and the future HF rig, and there'd be no more room for tools or the wife.

Sure would look cool, though. :lol:




Delta

You're under a lot of misconceptions regarding scanner programming. None of them force you to use the factory presets. And a scanner is a much better option when multiple bands are involved. To receive all the bands you mentioned, a scanner is the only sensible choice.

jonwienke said:

You're under a lot of misconceptions regarding scanner programming. None of them force you to use the factory presets. And a scanner is a much better option when multiple bands are involved. To receive all the bands you mentioned, a scanner is the only sensible choice.

Click to expand...

That is very possible. :lol:

I looked at the owners manuals for several Uniden mobile scanners. For example, the BC355N has 100 "private" channels. But, they have to go into a pre-programmed database, like "Police/Fire". There are hundreds, (I forget how many) factory programmed channels in it. But only 100 can be locked out. So this leaves me, for example, scanning 40 or 50 VHF Low frequencies, when I need to scan exactly 2, to pick up CHP. And it seems to me, that there is no way for me to have one group with main channels, and another with secondary/Tac channels, and have the option to scan just main, or both.

And the other thing is, I sometimes want to scan a random band. For example, 151.000 MHZ to 159.995 MHZ. Or just 151 to 153. Or 2 or 3 custom bands simultaneously. I could do all this with my BC125AT, it was just crap at anything other than a strong, local VHF signal.

I was hoping there was a mobile unit that could do this.



Delta

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:

...but what I'm missing is VHF Lowband. CHP, along with CalTrans and a bunch of forestry, is still on VHF low. And my handhelds, even with an external tuned antenna, just never picked it up. Hence I went back to looking at mobile scanners….
...and there'd be no more room for tools or the wife.

Click to expand...

I'd agree, then. If VHF analog was all you wanted, the commercial radio will work better.

If you want to listen to VHF low, then you are limited to stacking RF decks to get everything you want. That's expensive,

The trick to VHF low band is the antenna. You really need an antenna that's designed for low band, not a VHF Hi, UHF, 7/800 scanner antenna. They just won't cut it if you are expecting any sort of performance. Getting one cut to 42MHz will allow you to hear CHP and CalTrans in your area. You could try a 5/8th's wave VHF high band Antenna, they are 1/4 wave on VHF low and may work.

And don't make the wife mad.

mmckenna said:

The trick to VHF low band is the antenna. You really need an antenna that's designed for low band, not a VHF Hi, UHF, 7/800 scanner antenna. They just won't cut it if you are expecting any sort of performance. Getting one cut to 42MHz will allow you to hear CHP and CalTrans in your area. You could try a 5/8th's wave VHF high band Antenna, they are 1/4 wave on VHF low and may work.

And don't make the wife mad.

Click to expand...

Yep. I have a Larsen 5/8 at 146MHZ. It's a 1/4 wave at VHF Low. Works great on 6 meters.

I hooked that to my BC125AT, and nothing. I set it up right next to my FT-897, which picks up lowband great, so I know there was plenty of traffic.

I hooked a 5 foot FireStik to it, and tuned it to a CB channel. There was a couple guys chatting just a couple miles away at most. Full S-9 on the 980SSB. Didn't break squelch on the 125AT. That's when I dumped it.

If any of the VHF Lowband commercial units would easily do 6 meters, I wouldn't mind doing something like that. But the one's I looked into, like the TK 690 and the Vertex VX-5500, need work beyond my skill-set to make that happen. It seems a scanner really is my best choice.


Delta

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:

And the other thing is, I sometimes want to scan a random band. For example, 151.000 MHZ to 159.995 MHZ. Or just 151 to 153. Or 2 or 3 custom bands simultaneously. I could do all this with my BC125AT, it was just crap at anything other than a strong, local VHF signal.

Click to expand...

It sounds like you had a defective unit then. I have zero trouble picking up all the CB traffic I want with the 436 or 536 and an ST-2 antenna, which is only rated to 6-meters. I actually locked that freq range out of Close Call because I was getting so many hits from the loudmouths on channel 6. Nothing like listening to a car chase, and having it interrupted by some Mexican station babbling en Espanol and and a dude yelling AUDIOOOOOO...

If you want a mobile and receiver quality is important, I would go with the 536. It's expensive, but it's cheaper than buying individual radios for all the bands it covers, and you can do some really cool stuff with it if you connect a GPS when traveling.

You are totally wrong. what you call pre-programmed is service search. Nothing, zero, zilch is pre-programmed. The only Unidens with any pre-programming are the HP series.


This - For example, 151.000 MHZ to 159.995 MHZ. Or just 151 to 153 - is the scanner world is searching, not scanning, that may be part of the misinformation.

Scanning is it running through defined, programmed channels (freqs).

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:

That is very possible. :lol:

I looked at the owners manuals for several Uniden mobile scanners. For example, the BC355N has 100 "private" channels. But, they have to go into a pre-programmed database, like "Police/Fire". There are hundreds, (I forget how many) factory programmed channels in it. But only 100 can be locked out. So this leaves me, for example, scanning 40 or 50 VHF Low frequencies, when I need to scan exactly 2, to pick up CHP. And it seems to me, that there is no way for me to have one group with main channels, and another with secondary/Tac channels, and have the option to scan just main, or both.

And the other thing is, I sometimes want to scan a random band. For example, 151.000 MHZ to 159.995 MHZ. Or just 151 to 153. Or 2 or 3 custom bands simultaneously. I could do all this with my BC125AT, it was just crap at anything other than a strong, local VHF signal.

I was hoping there was a mobile unit that could do this.



Delta

Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, everyone.

I went back and read the owners manual again, for a couple units, specifically the BC355N. It seems that you can scan 100 personally selected channels, or the presets. But I need more than 100 channels.

It also looks like band searching is preset on this unit, i.e., you can't choose your own upper and lower limits.

I had heard that the 536 had a ton of issues when it first came out. Have those mostly been resolved?

While here in my area, everything is Analog VHF, I'd rather get a unit capable of receiving P25 Phase 2, trunking, and all the digital modes, for when I travel. I like the 996x2.


Delta

The 536 issues have been fixed. It is a far better choice for a travel scanner when used with GPS, as it has all of North America in its database. The 996 has limits that don't even let you program an entire statewide system.

I have had super experiences with the RadioShack mobile scanners. The ones that were GRE-sourced specifically. They can be had cheaply used on that auction site lately. I would start looking at a Pro-2067, 2055, or even for digital P25 reception, a Pro-2096. Very easy to setup exactly as you are wanting to do, and audio from the downward-firing speaker has always been loud enough to hear (even when I was driving with no muffler for about a month.. LOL)

edit.. I just looked on the classified section here on RadioReference, and there are several PSR-600's and an RS-652 (radio shack's version of the 600) that would work great for you.

I almost bought a Radio Shack, but they look a little big for mobile use. I'm also trying to get something that isn't much bigger than the 980SSB.


Delta

RS scanners don't do GPS.

So I ended up getting the BCD15X.

I really like this unit. It's my favorite scanner I've had, since my old Icom IC-R3 got stolen.

This one does everything I had wanted a scanner to do, and the audio is very good. I was very surprised at the audio quality.

And it is also extremely sensitive. It'll pick up more than my dual-band radio in the same truck. And more than my base station as well. Very impressed.

It seems that there is a way to do a service search and scan at the same time. For example, the pre-programmed marine channels, at the same time as private channels. Just need to figure out how to do this.

This is a good site for anyone who is getting one of these for the first time.

Easier to Read BCT15-X Scanner Manual


Delta