Some ideas on buying

[psyanide]

Hey, So recently got into this stuff, Was looking at purchasing a scanner or whatnot. Primarily looking for something portable and easy to use for a newbie, I mean I can figure most of it out, but would rather not take alot of time doing it.

Any suggestions on some good units that are reliable, easy to use, and affordable. Some links to sites so I could check them out would be great.

Thanks.

 

[smason]

Hard to suggest something without knowing, where you are, and what you want to listen to.

That said, today's scanners are a bit more complex, but software makes them easy to program, so it comes down to what systems you're monitoring, as to which model(s) work with them.

 

[psyanide]

Well, first off, I am located in Regina, Saskatchewan. I really enjoyed the feed for the Regina Fire/EMS that RR user "colby4601" had running. That for some time has been down though, so I was more or less looking to pretty much to get into that. I am pretty positive that you cannot get the police here, which would be cool to listen in to.

Other then that basically just local to Regina, hope this helps.

Thanks.

 

[LowbandGuy]

Hi,

Since you haven't gotten many replies I will throw my 2 cents worth in. My 2 newer scanners are Grecom, a PSR500 and a PSR600 both will do conventional frequencies, analog, digital and trunking. I also have several scanners that do just conventional frequencies that I use to listen to the local FD radio traffic. There is a Canadian model of the PSR500 and PSR600 which you may want to research beofre buying one of these from the US. I am not real familiar with the Uniden digital scanners but they make good stuff, so it may come down to preference or price.

My next scanner purchase will be to pick up a scanner that I can dedicate to mobile listening. That scanner will be the Home Patrol made by Uniden. I would plan to use a GPS so it would let me listen to radio traffic in the area I am travelling in.

There is a member on this site TorontoChris who sells scanners, you could check out Durham Radio and Radio World both of these are in the Toronto area. In the US check out Ham Radio Outlet or Scannermaster which has a link on this site. If you buy from the US get it shipped USPS to avoid paying outrageous brokerage fees.

I am sure some others will jump in and give you some advice as well. Just be sure to get a scanner that will do digital and trunking.

 

[abear27]

I think a good general scanner is the GRE PSR-800. It’s not exactly cheap ($470 at Durham Radio), but it is easy to use and will almost immediately let you start listening to the Saskatchewan PPSTN and the City of Regina. You can add the airport, railway, and commercial/amateur radio stuff with just a little bit of effort. With the software, you’ll be able to program the radio fairly easily.

 

[SCPD]

I personally would recommend the PSR500 ... for a good overall scanner. :wink:

If you want some cheaper prices .... check out the following. Cheaper than buying here in Canada.

Digital Trunking - HamCity / Ham Radio Equipment

One other thing ..... if you do order from the USA, make sure NOT to ship via UPS as you don't want to pay their overinflated prices.
Regular mail by USPS or Fed Ex are better choices.

 

[colby4601]

Since you're from Regina, grab a Uniden. I've said it time and time again. Uniden, Uniden, Uniden, especially for this area. They just have superior performance on the radio systems that you will want to be listening to. You can go back in the Prairies forum and see the discussions I've had and the suggestions I've given for scanner purchases in Regina, and Saskatchewan in general.

As for the fed, I had a lot of great listeners I just didn't have the ability to keep it up and running anymore, unfortunately.

 

[SCPD]

Since you're from Regina, grab a Uniden. I've said it time and time again. Uniden, Uniden, Uniden, especially for this area.

I am curious .. what makes the Uniden scanners better than others in your area ?

What frequency range are the public services using ?

(I know that the GRE scanners are overly sensitive in the VHF Hi area and can be prone to overloading of their front end).

I own both Uniden and GRE scanners .. but I have to admit that I never use the Uniden scanners. The newer Uniden scanners in my opinion have a terrible user interface, so you won't see my buying one anytime soon unless they change that.

 

[scannerboy01]

I would recommend the PSR 500 if you want a good quality portable scanner. The PSR 500 is easy to program without software. I did all my programming by hand because when I got the scanner, I couldn't figure out the software, so I just started to program by hand that way I could start listening faster. The only thing I don't like about the PSR 500 is that the belt clip is not the best and the scanner could fall off your belt. I hope you find a scanner that you like soon.