Starting out. Need advice.

[cfournival]

I have wanted a radio scanner for a while now but need some input im on a budjet of about 150$ and i was wondering which scanner to get preferably a car mounted model. Thank You

 

[mciupa]

Hi cfournival,welcome to RadioReference

That $150 budget will limit you to only a few basic models.

If you do not need trunking, perhaps a Uniden BC350C would suffice.

Used, older models with more features may be found in the Classified forums if you are lucky for $150.

What area do you live in and what do you want to listen to?
This will put a better focus on which scanner would be suitable .
Perhaps you can save for a while longer and not be disappointed with your purchase.

 

[cfournival]

I live in los gatos california but would like the scanner to work in most of the bay area san francisco modesto stocton and so on

 

[OsloViking1975]

I live in los gatos california but would like the scanner to work in most of the bay area san francisco modesto stocton and so on

Since the area your are asking about is so diversified in which they use, I would make sure that you get a scanner that supports rebanding and also follows trunk tracking. IMHO though I would get a digital scanner,unfortunately they can be expensive. I only say that because down the road someday agencies might go digital and if you happen to travel out of state to other area for example where I live in Michigan everything is pretty much digital. The area you give for the San Fransico Bay has analog,conventional,digital etc. But ask around in the San Fransico forum they would know best.
Heres a link: http://forums.radioreference.com/san-francisco-bay-area-discussion/

 

[cfournival]

thank you would the Uniden Bearcat BCD396XT Scanner work casuse my dad just offered to split it with me

 

[OsloViking1975]

thank you would the Uniden Bearcat BCD396XT Scanner work casuse my dad just offered to split it with me

Thats a great scanner it will work great. Make sure you update the firmware. heres a link. http://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/BCD396XTFirmwareUpdate

 

[OsloViking1975]

If you have a question about the scanner you can ask here in this forum: Uniden Scanners - The RadioReference.com Forums

If you have any trouble programming your scanner when you get it. Ask in the uniden forum and they will be glad to help.

 

[cfournival]

Would THe BC346xt work in my are as well and what would i be getting for throwing the extra 300 on the price

 

[OsloViking1975]

Would THe BC346xt work in my are as well and what would i be getting for throwing the extra 300 on the price

Yes that scanner will work for you. It does do trunk tracking for analog.You can hear your local police and local fire departments.
But if you wanted to listen to the sheriff you would have to have a digital scanner. That scanner will work for the stockton area too. Looks like they are still conventional channels.

The reason digital scanners cost so much they use what is called a decoder sort of speak. Companies pay a fee to the company that makes the scanner and vice versa they charge us for something we enjoy listening to.

Don't forget to ask in the uniden forum:http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/ also check in th San Fransicso Bay area for help also. They would know best.http://forums.radioreference.com/san-francisco-bay-area-discussion/

There is a lot on here. Look at the wiki. You can learn a lot from there. http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Main_Page