Would You Pay To Have Someone Program Your Scanner

[kg4rgn]

Question? Would you be willing to have someone custom program your scanner and if so what would be a reasonable price? 25$, 50$ or more.
I have been thinking of starting a business in programing and not sure it there would be a market for the service.
I have experience with programing the BC 780XLT, 296D and 396D.

Thanks...kg4rgn@yahoo.com

 

[kg4rgn]

pay for programming a scanner??

Question? Would you be willing to have someone custom program your scanner and if so what would be a reasonable price? 25$, 50$ or more.
I have been thinking of starting a business in programing and not sure it there would be a market for the service.
I have experience with programing the BC 780XLT, 296D and 396D.

Thanks...kg4rgn@yahoo.com

 

[CQ20m]

I did, and I would again if needed. The guy has everything set up in his computer, and I was in and out in fifteen minutes. (thirteen of which were used for discussion) My PRO96 has never worked better. ($25.)

 

[DaveH]

Sadly, I think you might be able to do a fair business in this. In my view
the people that usually ask for this are the lazy/helpless types. The exception
might be news organizations with fairly fixed needs. What we are is at risk of
developing a generation of scanner owners who can't (or don't) read their
user manuals and never get to learn how to program the scanner by hand.
Once disconnected from their computer they are stuck. You often see them
on the forums waving their hands in the air...

I'm not knocking the variety of control/programming software out there.
They can do wonders to change make quick changes, save and recall multiple
configurations, and generally take the tedium out of programming. The
same can be said for the automatic downloads from this site. But, I've
talked to a couple of people who did blind downloads that didn't seem to
work and they had no clue what was wrong; difficult to help someone in
these circumstances. Pretty sad.

Personally, I won't program anyone's scanner, even free. I'll help any
way I can to have them do the job themselves. I guess that's just me.

So, you could initially program someone's scanner, but what happens when
they want programming changes (which the majority of users will want);
charge them $25-$50 for every change? I don't think that would fly. Then
there are the logistics of getting the scanners and returning them.

Dave

 

[rick521]

No Way

No I would not pay someone to program my scanner!!!

 

[oregontreehugger]

I also wouldn't pay someone to program my scanner.

By the time you add up shipping to and from your location, insurance, package tracking, etc. -- I don't think something as low as $25 would cover it.

The scanner dealers have the right idea, as they are programming the scanner mostly BEFORE the user gets it, as an option.

What if you offered a buying/programming service? You could offer to buy scanners at the best price possible, then sell them to the user with programming done already. Almost like a "personal shopper" or something.

 

[GTO_04]

The new scanners are easy to program IMHO. They are menu driven! How much easier can it be? Once you program a few frequencies and TGs it's easy! Sure someone may overlook a setting like FM, WFM, etc., but those are easy enough to correct. And with the wealth of information available here it's easy to get answers to specific problems.

I think you would have a lot of customers though. Some people don't just want to deal with programming. Those are probably the same people who don't know how to program their VCRs. LOL! Just human nature for some people.

GTO_04

 

[Thayne]

I have done it a lot; but usually news types are tightwads in that they will pay you the first time, then they clone your work and you never see them again.
I have seen my creations come back in another radio all screwed up many times. I know who the worst offenders are now so I just tell em I'm not doing it anymore. The nice guys I even give free updates because the systems change almost daily.

Programming commercial radios is way better but the downside is that you have a lot tied up in cables & software; but at least they can't rip you off too easily.
I think we would all be better off if scanners etc. are not feasible for every Tom Dick & Harry. It just accelerates the end of an era that is coming fast anyway IMHO

 

[cbscanman15]

thanyne you would be very surprised how many people pay to have their scanner programed,i live in delaware and at our local cb\scanner shop their programmer comes on saturdays and he is alawys busy he works that 11 hours that the shop is open,alot of people pay to get thier scanner programed,he price is 30 dollars and that is the going rate around here 25,30,35

 

[MacombMonitor]

This is probably not the best place to ask that question, considering the majority of people here already know how to program their scanners. While it's true we get newbies all the time, personally I would feel a little guilty making money off them, when the whole purpose of this forum is to help each other. But sometimes you have those hopeless cases where that might be the only option.

That being said, Radio Shack stores would be an excellent place to solicit potential clients for such a service. I would think you would even get the cooperation of the store managers to take the burden off of them. However, it may also be a conflict of interest, considering Radio Shack advertises that they program your scanner for free. Granted you would undoubtedly do a better job, but the customer might not understand. You would also be in competition with Uniden for such a service. Then you have the added cost of shipping the radio both ways...it would get expensive.

On the other hand, it cost you nothing to give it a try!

 

[cbscanman15]

macomb we are helping each other on this forum he asked if people will pay to get their radio programned and we are giving hin advice but k4rgn BEFORE YOU GO INTO BUSINESS YOU SHOULD HAVE EXPERNECNE WITH EVERY SINGLE RADIO OUT THERE AND IF YOU DONT HAVE THAT KIND OF MONEY TO BUY THE RADIOS BUY THE MANULS

 

[Blue3]

I would (and did) pay to have my 396T programed after screwing around with it for a week with little results to show for my effort. Bottom line was I wanted to listen NOW and I can learn about it as I go along so for 10$ it was worth it.

 

[dagooch0525]

Scanning is a hobby for me. I got into it because I have an interest in what information is going over the air via analog or digital transmissions. I also like gadgets and learning how they work. The point of having a hobby, for me, is to learn as much about it as I can.

When I started, very little of the scanning terminology made sense, however, I took my time and “lurked” on this web site as well as read the manual for the scanners I have. I am no expert, but I am further along then I was 2 years ago.

With that in mind I have to admit that I roll my eyes at every request to “help program my scanner” and get frustrated with people that ask basic non-specific questions which could easily be answered if they searched the forum here at RR or other web sites and read a little. I guess I need to work on little empathy here, eh?

So my long winded answer is no, I would not pay to have someone program my scanner, however I am sure there are people out there that would.

I don’t want to kill you entrepreneurial spirit but be warned, the people that would pay to have you program their scanner are not interested in the technology behind them. They just want to listen. Every time they hit a bad key sequence or something changes with the system they are listening to they will be contacting you for support. Support which, they will undoubtedly feel is included as part of the original programming fee.

It would be similar to helping your Grandmother use the VCR, except there would be a lot more Grandmothers. Good Luck!

 

[DPD1]

The hard part about working with private people, would be making the connection... How do they find out about you? But you might find work in the media biz... Those people probably just want to hear stuff and don't have time to figure out how all the new systems work and everything. The best thing to do would probably be to create an official consultant identity for yourself and market your services to media companies. They're the ones with the real money anyway, and when people are spending their company's money (and not their own), they're a lot less reluctant to spend. It's kind of like the difference between computer consulting for private people, and consulting for companies. Your best bet is with the companies.

Above all... Don't put out potential business ideas on the Internet, because you will get your ideas stolen... Trust me on that one.

Dave
http://www.DPDProductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -

 

[ffexpCP]

Would *I* pay? No. I, for the most part understand what I’m doing and how to program the radios. I’m also very anal about the programming so I would never be happy if someone else did it for me. I also have more time than money and have already invested in the needed software and cables.

But at the same time, I have done programming for others. I’ve made around $10 per radio. Not bad seeing how they asked for systems I already made files for.

But then there are places like this: http://www.scannermaster.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=01-680764

Who knows how accurate their info is.

 

[Gilligan]

Two things.

One -- Funny I see this post today. Two hours ago, a buddy showed me his pro-94 and told me his configuration. I gladly offered to program his scanner for free to make it much better and more efficient. He doesn't know a lot about radios -- he just wants to listen to the cops, particularly the highway patrol. I wouldn't think of charging anything.

Two -- How in the world can newbies get into a hobby when they have to learn everything for theirself. I'm with everyone in that I absolutely hate when newbies ask questions on the forums without bothering to look in the database or read previous posts (search...). But when I first started out with my 10-channel BC60XLT, I had to have someone give me the "good" frequencies, too (pre-RadioReference). Sometimes, if they realize what there actually is out there to listen to, they will start taking more initiative themselves to learn about the hobby. If they just want to hear police/fire calls (like my mom), why bother making them learn the hobby. Just program the scanner for them.

When it's all said and done, I'd rather just be a nice guy and help someone out. I won't always program a scanner by hand, but come on, it takes no effort to clone your scanner or use software to program someone elses. Let's share our hobby.

 

[ka3jjz]

Scanner Master has this service, I think for USD50...but personally speaking, no I wouldn't do it. I'll learn much more doing my own programming - with the appropriate software, usually, but it's just as valuable learning to do it manually - than having someone else do it.
That notwithstanding, if you do start such a service, I wish you the best of luck with it. 73s Mike

 

[werinshades]

No I wouldn't pay anyone to program my scanner. As I've said before in these forums, scanner owners should learn how to program their scanner by hand before hooking it up to a computer and doing it. I agree with the posters that stated pretty much the same thing. I have a friend that calls me with the same old questions regarding his 796D, and I get a little short with him many times. Advice to soon to be new scanner owners, read the manual over and over until it makes sense.

 

[dbnoll]

I feel that unless you actually live in the geographical area in which you are programming, you could be opening yourself up to a host of problems, i.e., customer satisfaction.

I feel that programming involves a starting point which must then be tested and continuously modified until some level of satisfaction is reached. Of course that level always changes over time. This database here provides the information and tools to begin that process. Of course this opinion is based on the assumption that the person operating the scanner doesn't have a VCR or DVD player attached to their television still flashing "12:00" and has either the basic knowledge or the desire to obtain the knowledge necessary to learn how to do their own programming.

 

[brucewarming]

If I had not bought the software/cable and donated to RR, programing the 96 and 2055 would have really been a long project. dbnoll your right with the programing is changing very often. It would be worth it for someone who wants that scanner to hear local and don't care much on the hobby to be always changing. Maybe a set fee with a reprogram after a set time (IE one year). Then maybe a $10 dollar a year update fee. It would be a fair service. Set it up with the local Radio Shack and see how it goes.