Picked up new Pro-106

[mbtins]

I went out and got one yesterday during the last day of the sale. I had been reading around to see what to get and I must say... I love it. I have been messing with scanners and radios for 20 years or more, but got out of some time back when just about everything in my area went trunked and digital. This was a good unit to get back into the hobby with for sure.

I used the standard ARC500 that came with it and found it to be very good for what I need it to do. Much easier than programming by hand and once you get used to the quirks of the software, you can use it pretty well.

I had everything up and running in about one hour and I devoured the book from front to back to make sure that I knew the features and how to use them.

Thanks to all for the good advice and reviews that you all offered on the current products on the market. You all helped me decide and I love this choice!

Now, off to the for sales to put my old Pro-46 up there! ;-)

Mike T

 

[bikertom]

Mike, you remind me of what I just went through. My last scanner was a Pro-34 which became useless when all our local public safety systems changed. I started listening online with a WinMo app recently, but that was too limiting and I also wound up selecting the Pro-106 and bought on sale Friday. I love it too!! However, with my "old school" scanner knowledge, I've found it a bit challenging understanding these new features (V-Scanner, talkgroups, objects, etc.).

 

[OsloViking1975]

Welcome to Radio Reference. I love my Pro 106. They are a great scanner. I know you have plenty to listen to in Indiana.

 

[mbtins]

Computer control....

Just being able to load the freqs with a computer is worth it for me. My old scanner is a 100 channel scanner and I used just about all of them -- talk about a pain in the rear to re-load them when / if I lost them.

I am truly rediscovering the joy of this hobby.

Mike T

 

[396nova]

I picked up 2 Pro 106 scanners (car and home) last month to replace my old Pro 94`s. I have not had one problem with either of them. I had Pro 41`s before the 94`s and they worked great. Only got Pro 106 because my area has gone digital. Some others on this forum have had issues with the Pro 106. Mine have work perfectly. I have had good luck with RS products. I programmed my Pro 106 manually, my area has simple frequencies.

 

[OsloViking1975]

Mike, you remind me of what I just went through. My last scanner was a Pro-34 which became useless when all our local public safety systems changed. I started listening online with a WinMo app recently, but that was too limiting and I also wound up selecting the Pro-106 and bought on sale Friday. I love it too!! However, with my "old school" scanner knowledge, I've found it a bit challenging understanding these new features (V-Scanner, talkgroups, objects, etc.).

Talkgroup - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[mbtins]

Now that I have this thing, I just hope that they don't get the bright idea to go encrypted or use some other proprietary format that will make it useless...that's one thing that scared me from spending the money on a new scanner for so long -- the thought that it could change fast enough in the cities and states now to make the $$ a waste.

If the day ever comes where everyone goes this route (or at least the biggies like police / fire /etc) I guess the scanner business will come down along with it.

I'll try not the be a pessiment on that end and enjoy it in the mean time!

 

[N0BDW]

Now that I have this thing, I just hope that they don't get the bright idea to go encrypted or use some other proprietary format that will make it useless...that's one thing that scared me from spending the money on a new scanner for so long -- the thought that it could change fast enough in the cities and states now to make the $$ a waste.

If the day ever comes where everyone goes this route (or at least the biggies like police / fire /etc) I guess the scanner business will come down along with it.

I'll try not the be a pessiment on that end and enjoy it in the mean time!

I doubt fire will ever go encrypted to be honest. It isn't cost effective and presents a potential safety hazard. Police on the other hand, I *kinda* get why they go encrypted. Hopefully they don't, but I'll still have plenty to listen to if they do. If everyone really practiced what they preach about interoperability no one would encrypt anything. But I do understand the reasoning behind encrypting narcotics, FBI, etc.