Uniden Bearcat BCD996XT Scanner

[jessmu]

I am going to buy a scanner within the next week, and will most likey go with the 996XT. I live in Fulton County, and want to be able to pick up the ISP in Peru, which is about 25 miles from my house. I'm just unsure of which antenna would be best. There are so many different ones, some that connect directly to the unit, and some that are mounted outside. I'm assuming I'll need one that is mounted outside and connected using a coax cable. Which, leads me to another question. The coax cables that are recommended on scannermaster are pretty pricey, is there any difference between them and a standard coax cable that I can just pick up locally for probably half the price? Thanks in advance for the advice. And, yes, this is my first scanner! Can you tell?

 

[rdale]

You''ll probably want a directional antenna to point right at the tower in Peru - 25 miles might be too far given the type of system in use for reliable monitoring but give it a shot!

 

[jessmu]

You''ll probably want a directional antenna to point right at the tower in Peru - 25 miles might be too far given the type of system in use for reliable monitoring but give it a shot!

Well, I know it's possible, because the person who used to have the feed on here for Fulton County including ISP in Peru lives here in Rochester. The feed is down more than it's up, though, so I figured I would just finally buy my own scanner. I've been thinking about getting one for several months.

 

[frankcastle]

I am going to buy a scanner within the next week, and will most likey go with the 996XT. I live in Fulton County, and want to be able to pick up the ISP in Peru, which is about 25 miles from my house. I'm just unsure of which antenna would be best. There are so many different ones, some that connect directly to the unit, and some that are mounted outside. I'm assuming I'll need one that is mounted outside and connected using a coax cable. Which, leads me to another question. The coax cables that are recommended on scannermaster are pretty pricey, is there any difference between them and a standard coax cable that I can just pick up locally for probably half the price? Thanks in advance for the advice. And, yes, this is my first scanner! Can you tell?

Picking up the Peru post shouldn't be hard at all. I can can pick them up from Plymouth with a 396XT using a stock antenna. I recently rigged up an antenna using what I had at home which included RG6 type coax cable and an old Radio Shack rubber duckie antenna. It seems to be working pretty good. If all your trying to do is pick up Fulton county and the Peru Post, you may find that you don't even need and outside antenna.

 

[jessmu]

Picking up the Peru post shouldn't be hard at all. I can can pick them up from Plymouth with a 396XT using a stock antenna. I recently rigged up an antenna using what I had at home which included RG6 type coax cable and an old Radio Shack rubber duckie antenna. It seems to be working pretty good. If all your trying to do is pick up Fulton county and the Peru Post, you may find that you don't even need and outside antenna.

Are you happy with the 396? I was actually trying to decided between the 2 of them.

 

[frankcastle]

Are you happy with the 396? I was actually trying to decided between the 2 of them.

I love the 396XT. I actually loved the 396T, then I upgraded when the XT came out. It is an awesome piece of hardware. I wanted a portable so it could come back and forth to work and throughout the house. if you don't mind your scanner being stationary go with the 996XT. Either way, I am sure you'll be happy. Download Freescan, and you'll be all set.

 

[jessmu]

I love the 396XT. I actually loved the 396T, then I upgraded when the XT came out. It is an awesome piece of hardware. I wanted a portable so it could come back and forth to work and throughout the house. if you don't mind your scanner being stationary go with the 996XT. Either way, I am sure you'll be happy. Download Freescan, and you'll be all set.

I may just end up going with the 396XT. I've looked at both of them, the only real difference is that one is portable. It makes more sense to be able to move it more easily if I need to. Thanks for all the info!

 

[AK9R]

SAFE-T has a tower in Fulton County which will have ISP traffic on it if there is a user radio affiliated with that tower.

 

[jessmu]

SAFE-T has a tower in Fulton County which will have ISP traffic on it if there is a user radio affiliated with that tower.

Thanks, that's good to know!
I went ahead and ordered the 396xt, made more sense to me to have a portable, just in case.