Allan_Love_Jr
Member
How many of you would agree with me on this. I think it's time for Radio Shack to bring back the older Scanner models. I like the older models better. Especially the older 20 Channel Radios.
Time to bring back the older models.
- Thread starter Allan_Love_Jr
- Start date
- Status
RadioDaze
Member
If the police and fire departments will bring back all of their old radios too, then I'm all for it.
n0nhp
Member
Ain't gonna happen. I need more memory locations to keep track of all the players.
Next you are going to tell me that a Buggy Whip factory is a good investment. I don't know about where you live, but communications in the 21st century are just going to get more and more complicated. Resign yourself to trying to keep up or give up and go take an underwater basket weaving class.
I am having a blast learning and playing with all the new technology.
Bruce
Next you are going to tell me that a Buggy Whip factory is a good investment. I don't know about where you live, but communications in the 21st century are just going to get more and more complicated. Resign yourself to trying to keep up or give up and go take an underwater basket weaving class.
I am having a blast learning and playing with all the new technology.
Bruce
Maybe if you live in the middle of Nowhere, USA where everyone is still on low band and there are only a handful of frequencies being shared by everyone for miles around, sure.
For the rest of us living in the populated world where everything is on or moving to 700/800, digital modulation, trunked systems, etc., or where it seems like even the smallest of agencies now has a dozen or more "Special Ops" frequencies, those old scanners are impractical dinosaur relics from the distant past.
For the rest of us living in the populated world where everything is on or moving to 700/800, digital modulation, trunked systems, etc., or where it seems like even the smallest of agencies now has a dozen or more "Special Ops" frequencies, those old scanners are impractical dinosaur relics from the distant past.
I hear you Allen, the good old days. The thing of it is now, scanners come out with 1,000, 3,000, heck 10,000 channel capability, HUH??? Seems to me you can only LISTEN to ONE channel at a time!!! I don't see how anyone can fill up a scanner with 1,000 + channels and monitor them and hear and make sense of all the transmissions. Scanners nowadays with ALL their capabilities and the different types of transmissions, They're soo confusing and difficult to program out-of-the-box. The good old days of putting in 154.675 and hitting enter and you're monitoring are becoming obsolete quickly...Wish we could bring them back, but I don't see that ever happening....
cpd204
Member
I have an old PRO-2033 it only holds 10 channels!
OCO
Member
Nowhere,USA ?
I searched, but Google couldn't show me Nowhere, USA.. It did, however show me the location of the proposed bridge to it.. Checking the area (Ketchikan Gateway County, Alaska) shows me that you'd want to program at least a couple hundred conventional channels and a Phase I P25 system.. Better not throw that new trunk tracker away quite yet, the BC210 won't quite do the job....
I searched, but Google couldn't show me Nowhere, USA.. It did, however show me the location of the proposed bridge to it.. Checking the area (Ketchikan Gateway County, Alaska) shows me that you'd want to program at least a couple hundred conventional channels and a Phase I P25 system.. Better not throw that new trunk tracker away quite yet, the BC210 won't quite do the job....
Phantom1989
Member
I liked the design of the older RadioShack scanners. The newer mobile/base ones with the lighter colored faceplates and glossy plastic buttons are not very durable, or attractive imo.
zzdiesel
Member
I wouldn't want to be without tone squelch again.
NWI_Scanner_Guy
SCANNING THE AIRWAVES SINCE 1987
Not me.
I need more than 20 channels just to monitor Chicago PD and FD communications.
Toss in my hometown and all the 'burbs around it, and I'm looking at close to 200 channels easily.
Then throw in the frequencies of where my mom lives and that adds another 20 to 30 and when I go visit my son, there's another 20 to 30 channels.
So no, 20 channels just wouldn't cut it. Will I ever fill all the memory space in any/all of the scanners I own? Probably not, but I like the fact that I have "room to grow" as my listening interests expand.
K9WG
Member
Playing Devil's advocate, I could see if a person only wanted to monitor local non-trunked public service this would be a good idea. Let's say I am in a small community and just want to listen to city police, county sheriff, and city fire. I would very much like to have an inexpensive receiver with limited features that will pick up just these agencies. Also with narrow banding many of the older "low tech" receivers may not work.
N1SQB
Member
If my trusty, still cranking, Pro-2006 had PL / DPL, 6.25 and 7.5 khz. step sizes, I would be in hog-heaven for the local analog monitoring! I can't live without those 2 features.
Manny
Manny
Last edited:
Well... it would be nice if they would build them sturdy with good filtering like the Pro-2020 which I still use for VHF air, but like most people here, I couldn't do without trunking, P25 digital, alpha tags, CTCSS/DCS decode, narrowband freq steps and a few thousand memories.
Phantom1989
Member
If you live in an area like I do (Rapides Parish, LA) the old 20 channel vintage radios are still handy to monitor the VHF frequencies that the rural fire stations use because the 800Mhz Motorola system doesn't work at it's best around the forest areas. Most of the time I even hear Acadian Air Med 4 on the VHF fire department frequencies asking for a safe landing spot.
Just check what is being used in your area via the database. Chances are you have at least a few analog frequencies in your area that are still active. Program them into the vintage unit and save the new scanner for 700/800 Mhz trunking. It's fun listening to 2 or more scanners at the same time
Just check what is being used in your area via the database. Chances are you have at least a few analog frequencies in your area that are still active. Program them into the vintage unit and save the new scanner for 700/800 Mhz trunking. It's fun listening to 2 or more scanners at the same time
I guess it depends on how old ...
I have 2 modified PRO-10s and 3 PRO-77s, although one of the PRO-77s is stock. I am streaming one of them (link below).
It's been an interesting journey -- first I had a single channel VHF receiver, then the local PD went to 4 channels and fire 2 channels and I needed a scanner. No sooner than I got a scanner and the agencies moved to UHF and expanded the number of channels in use. Once I was receiving on UHF, the county moved dispatch to computers.
The 460MHz UHF and VHF scanners did the trick for quite some time, then they started to move to 800MHz and trunked systems. So I get a trunk tracker. Jump ahead to most recent times and the 800MHz MOT systems have been rebanded and not trackable by my original trunk tracking scanners. So you'd think the VHF stuff was safe, but it isn't with the NarrowBanding change in process! UGH!
So yes these older scanners can work for some applications and/or in some places, but it is getting tougher and tougher to find a niche for them. As much as I love them, I can't see a good reason to bring something back that no longer works. I'd much rather companies concentrate on making the next models work properly.
I took some 8 channel crystal controlled models, added CPUs to them, an LED display and bumped 'em to 20 channels. Here's a pic of one.
I have 2 modified PRO-10s and 3 PRO-77s, although one of the PRO-77s is stock. I am streaming one of them (link below).
It's been an interesting journey -- first I had a single channel VHF receiver, then the local PD went to 4 channels and fire 2 channels and I needed a scanner. No sooner than I got a scanner and the agencies moved to UHF and expanded the number of channels in use. Once I was receiving on UHF, the county moved dispatch to computers.
The 460MHz UHF and VHF scanners did the trick for quite some time, then they started to move to 800MHz and trunked systems. So I get a trunk tracker. Jump ahead to most recent times and the 800MHz MOT systems have been rebanded and not trackable by my original trunk tracking scanners. So you'd think the VHF stuff was safe, but it isn't with the NarrowBanding change in process! UGH!
So yes these older scanners can work for some applications and/or in some places, but it is getting tougher and tougher to find a niche for them. As much as I love them, I can't see a good reason to bring something back that no longer works. I'd much rather companies concentrate on making the next models work properly.
aquadan005
Member
I just wish they would build them with the type of materials they used to use. I don't mind a little weight, some of the new stuff out there is so light weight and delicate it doesn't take much to break something on them !
NYRHKY94
Member
Alan:
While I do miss the good old scanner days as well, I live in a 100% P25 area for Police so digital is the only way to go for me. I also love the new technology and wouldn't want to go back at this point. My solution was to acquire a bunch of the "oldies, but goodies" on ebay and just look at them in my shack.
While I do miss the good old scanner days as well, I live in a 100% P25 area for Police so digital is the only way to go for me. I also love the new technology and wouldn't want to go back at this point. My solution was to acquire a bunch of the "oldies, but goodies" on ebay and just look at them in my shack.
Last edited:
Oh
Too many people want tiny scanners rather than something you can grab on to. And with shipping costs, manufacturers like to keep them light. Also older scanners tended to have a metal case whereas newer models are injection molded plastic, to reduce cost.
No kidding!!! I just bought a newer scanner and it amazes me how light it is without batteries in it. It makes me feel like I didn't get my money's worth.
Too many people want tiny scanners rather than something you can grab on to. And with shipping costs, manufacturers like to keep them light. Also older scanners tended to have a metal case whereas newer models are injection molded plastic, to reduce cost.
FIRE321FIGHTER1985
Member
still have 20 channel scanner
I still have the first programmable scanner ever made. It works great and we still have about 5 vhf channels in useake a come in Franklin Parish, La. I to, wish that these scanners would make a come back with a few improvements like tone coded squelch. I have a pro 106 that i am not impressed with because it next to impossible to program and operate.
Mark G
I still have the first programmable scanner ever made. It works great and we still have about 5 vhf channels in useake a come in Franklin Parish, La. I to, wish that these scanners would make a come back with a few improvements like tone coded squelch. I have a pro 106 that i am not impressed with because it next to impossible to program and operate.
Mark G
- Status
