Thanks for the info. Elkhart, Noble and Lagrange counties are the main areas interested in listening to. Is there a better entry level scanner than the 396XT?
Paul, my roommate and I are both hams. I have the Radio Shack Pro-96 (current model is PRO-106, I believe) and he has the 396XT.
In my opinion, you'll be fine with whatever you choose. Both the Uniden and Radio Shack/GRE radios do a good job. My biggest frustration with my radio (and my roommate's) was learning to program it. But through a little toying around, you'll figure out how it works and how to best program it to suit your needs. I highly recommend buying a programming cable, software, and a Radio Reference subscription to program your radio. It makes things SO much easier and it'll get you listening in no time.
Depending on your needs, you may also want to consider a Uniden Home Patrol. It looks like a great little radio for the more casual scanning enthusiast. I've heavily considered buying one as my mobile unit so I don't have to spend time programming my radio before a road trip, but it's not top-priority for me at this point.