Scanner for Low VHF for CHP In-Car with Remote Head

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kandrey89

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Hi,

I currently have top of the line Uniden portable scanner which has worked for me for the last 1-2 years but it's RTC battery has been causing temp. clock issues, which is why I'm going to send it in for that service recall Uniden offers.

I was wondering if you guys had any recommendations in case I decide to purchase a replacement in the meantime, something that's cheap most likely.
I listed to CHP 99% of the time, that's 39-46MHz with my car mounted 1.5m CHP antenna.
I was hoping perhaps for something that I could mount inside my trunk and use a remote head for control. I saw Whisler's newest unit and it seemed to fit that exactly, but it's expensive and I can't understand why they decided to make the volume button difficult to access.

Although I use the scanner through my car's speakers, Volume and channel scanning/moving should be at the top of the scroll button's actions, then a squelch access through an secondary key. I really like how Uniden does it on their HP series of scanners, very convenient to adjust volume (scroll button press and scroll) and change channels (1 scroll), and squelch is set and forgotten but always available with the press of just 1 additional button and scroll.

I want to see all available options, but I'm probably mostly interested in new hardware, not used/second hand.
 

AA6IO

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The only new scanners I know of with a remote head is the Whistler 1095, 1098, or TRX-2. I suppose you could look for a older 996XT and see if you can find an old remote head.
Too bad some of the less expensive amateur VHF/UHF with remote heads don't go down into the CHP range. All my scanners including the TRX-2 (had for couple of months) do well on CHP channels. Perhaps someone else has more ideas.
 

madrabbitt

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those uniden remote heads are super rare. apparently they discontinued them for poor sales, but i hear the reason the sales were poor, was because the supply sucked. Go figure.
 

SCPD

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those uniden remote heads are super rare. apparently they discontinued them for poor sales, but i hear the reason the sales were poor, was because the supply sucked. Go figure.

It's too bad they were discontinued, made radio installs so much easier with no space on the dashboard or center console.
 

fires999

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Re Remote head....

Good morning from across the pond in the UK,
I dont know what price or availability is like in the US but in my car I currently have an ICOM R2500 which is a wideband receiver that covers from 0.5-2300mhz + in all modes (so CHP should be no problem) The main unit is under my front seat with a remote head fitted to a cellphone holder that mounts to the a/c vent on the dash, Icom also made another model with remote head the ICOM R1500.

As I say, I am really unsure of price or availability in the US, so sorry about that.
The other option is maybe to get a cheap scanner that covers CHP (handheld I suggest) and then plug into the speaker socket of the scanner one of those cheap devices that people use with their mp3 players that allows them to play music from the mp3 via the car stereo ?
I had one of these in my 4x4 , it cost about £10 ($15 or so) and was about the same size as a packet of cigarettes ! it had a jack plug to plug into scanners speaker socket and the device (powered by 2 AA batteries) had a lcd display - you simply adjusted the digits on the display as they showed the radio frequency eg 97.7 fm...you then tuned your car stereo to 97.7fm and the audio from the scanner came out of the car stereo speakers!!! the device allowed you change its frequency so you could find a clear channel on the car stereo.
All I did was put the scanner in the arm rest or glove compartment (even next to me on the seat) and allowed the car stereo to adjust the volume which was now much louder as it was using the car stereo amp.
Hope that helps
Kind regards
Fires999 (Kevin UK)
 

tglendye

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Here's a motorcycle kit that I always thought would be good for tight spaces. I don't have any idea of the price. It comes in low band, and hopefully you could select a speaker for a vehicle.

Vertex Standard CNT-5000 Weatherproof Motorcycle Kit Two-Way Radio Information

Also, have you ever thought about switching antennas to a 1/4 wave vhf low band? In my experience, it made a tremendous difference.
 

mmckenna

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You could try a Motorola CDM-750. They are only 4 channels, if you need more, step up to a CDM-1250 or CDM-1550.
They'd be cheaper than a new scanner, probably outperform one, and you can get remote head kits for them.

I know, not what you may be looking for, but if you really want something dedicated for VHF low band, a good mobile with a proper antenna will outperform any consumer grade scanner.
 
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