Please Help (Buying a scanner)

[ScannerNewbie710]

I want to buy a police scanner as a Christmas present but I don't really know which one is the right one. I live in Eastern Ohio and I was informed that the police frequencies here are transferring over to digital. My budget is 150, 200 max. Is there any scanner that may fit this criteria?

 

[captclint]

I want to buy a police scanner as a Christmas present but I don't really know which one is the right one. I live in Eastern Ohio and I was informed that the police frequencies here are transferring over to digital. My budget is 150, 200 max.?

Welcome to RR. Yes the Ohio MARCS - Multi-Agency is digital. there may be other interesting things in your county that are not digital, so let us know your county.

I am not aware of any digital used or new in your price range. They run 400-500 with some used for a little less. You can get a scanner that is not digital within your budget. I am not from you area, so I don't know how many agencies are on MARCS, so your county info maybe helpful to others who know more.

 

[N8IAA]

I want to buy a police scanner as a Christmas present but I don't really know which one is the right one. I live in Eastern Ohio and I was informed that the police frequencies here are transferring over to digital. My budget is 150, 200 max. Is there any scanner that may fit this criteria?

Check here on RR. Go to the For Sale forum. There are some really good bargains on digital scanners. Unfortunately, not many fall into the $150/200 range.
Larry

 

[Nasby]

Also check you local Craigslist. I often see PRO-106 and PRO-197 digital scanners in the $200 range. You will definitely want to get a digital scanner for Eastern Ohio monitoring.

 

[fredva]

Within the last year, I have purchased two digital scanners off of ebay for $200 and $210. These would be older models that will receive the basic MARCS system, although I understand that certain segments of MARCS (called MARCS-IP) require newer models that receive 700 Mhz trunking systems. Somebody more familiar with your area can give you guidance on whether you need the 700 Mhz trunking capabiilty. The radio models wiki on this site can give you specs on various scanners.

 

[ScannerNewbie710]

Thanks for all the responses so far, guys. I live in Mahoning county. I've been calling around and now majority of the people I spoke to said I would be fine with a triple trunking scanner. Those seem to be a it more in my price range but I just want to make sure that I don't need a digital scanner for where I live

 

[fredva]

Now that we know what county you're in, a look in the database for Mahoning County shows that you should be able to pick up several local agencies with an analog triple-trunking scanner, as you've been told. What you would not be able to pick up with that type of scanner would be Boardman PD, Austintown Twp PD, and Mill Creek Metroparks PD, and the Ohio Highway Patrol - a digital scanner would be needed to listen to those agencies, since they use the P25 digital standard voice format. But you should be able to get all the other local police, sheriff, and fire units, and most of the EMS organizations. Here is a direct link to the database page for your county: Mahoning County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

 

[N8IAA]

Thanks for all the responses so far, guys. I live in Mahoning county. I've been calling around and now majority of the people I spoke to said I would be fine with a triple trunking scanner. Those seem to be a it more in my price range but I just want to make sure that I don't need a digital scanner for where I live

Best suggestion is to go to the Ohio state forum further down the forums page. Ask for your specific area. You will get better answers there instead of the general forum.
Some sheriff department according to the RR database is on P-25 digital systems. Definitely most of the big cities in Mahoning.
But, again, ask in the OH state forum.
HTH,
Larry