Is buying an analog scanner worth it?

[ERADIO]

Hey guys I haven’t owned a digital scanner in quite some time. I really do regret selling the one i had several years ago. I’ve been out of the scanner game for quite some time. Unfortunately the only thing I can afford at the moment is an analog scanner. Am I wasting my time buying one or is there still something worth listening to on analog? Thanks in advance guys!!!!!

 

[natedawg1604]

If you want to monitor trunked systems in your area, get a few RTL SDR dongle's and a software decoding program such as DSD+ Fastlane, this is much cheaper than a digital scanner.

 

[K5mow]

Depending on what you want to listen and depending on where you live. There still is stuff to listen to on the old analog. Aviation railroads and a lot of times back up public safety. Although if the public safety is using it as back up it is rarely used.


Roger

 

[PACNWDude]

I bought two more Pro-2032 scanners just because there was s o much to listen to in my area of the country. Pacific Northwest still has a lot of analog systems, along with the railroads and aviation comms mentioned before. Then there is the proliferation of GMRS radios and repeaters, amateur rag chewers, and baby monitors that have not gone 900 MHz and frequency hopping yet. Many counties public safety are still analog, but I have heard that they will be leaping over FDMA and going P25 Phase 2 TDMA in a year or so, but this only leave a lot of surplus analog radios out there for taxi service, dump trucks, school buses and many others to listen to.

At my desk here at work, I have the two Pro-2032 scanners, a Pro-2040, and a RTL SDR USB stick running SDR# (SDR Sharp) software......the SDR# is on 10m WSPR HF monitoring duty today. There is a lot of analog out there in the world. It is worth getting an analog scanner or SDR stick and running software on a spare computer that can handle it.

 

[ERADIO]

Thank you guys for the replies and helpful information!

 

[ERADIO]

I appreciate your reply and helpful info!

 

[Omega-TI]

I bought two more Pro-2032 scanners just because there was so much to listen to in my area of the country. Pacific Northwest still has a lot of analog systems...

I hear that! In my neck of the woods, Longview, Kelso, Castle Rock up through Ryderwood, Vader and on up to Centralia & Chehalis, most public service frequencies/systems are still analog. That being city police, Sheriff, and most of the others. The major exception being the WSP. Winlock is a weird one being NXDN on a Wiztronics system. That one little system, (Winlock) with a population of roughly 1,500 people was not enough for me to buy the upgrade. Woodland, Kalama and Castle Rock are dispatched over 154.815 which is the Cowlitz County Sheriff frequency.

Now that being said, there a few systems using DMR some Hams, St. John's Hospital, Lower Columbia College and the mills, but they too are of little interest to me. In fact I still use an old antiquated Uniden Bearcat BC-800xlt and much as I use my SDS100. We are definitely blessed with lots of analog signals here in the good old PNW.