Choosing a new scanner 246\330\396T
I am in the market for a few new units,to add to my collection of portable scanners.I travel a lot,and I am out of the truck at fire scenes and such,so it needs to be a handheld.I also like to have several scanners going together,so i don't miss anything.I have two BC246T's now,and they are both pretty much full.These cover most of the local PD's and Fire,but will not do any digital (like our provincial police).
I am going to buy a 396T anyways,so i have the digital coverage.My dilema is my other units.The 246's don't have enough memory to keep everything i want in them.I will probably keep them for backup,as what I would get for selling them isn't worth it.I was thinking of buying a couple of 330's as I've heard they have more memory than the 246's.I could then store more stuff (not as much as the 396 though),and do everything I want except digital,which I could use the 396 for.The 330's are also similar to the 396's,so cases,power cords,etc are all the same.Controls and software seem to be the same too,so it makes them easier to use without remembering everything differrent between the two units.
So my choices are.......
Add a few more 246's.Cheap,easy to use,but don't hold everything I want.I would need to program the units differently to cover everything i want,and then make sure I have the unit I need when I want it.Not so good if I can only carry one or two scanners at the time.Never hurts to have too many scanners though.Price is cheap,so i could afford to buy a few extra.
Add a few 330's,and keep the 246's I have for backup.The 330's should (I hope) hold all the systems I need,and seem to be a little better.Could use the same case as the 396,so one less to buy.The price is a little more than than the 246,but not the big jump up to the 396.My only concern is it becomes an expensive paperweight if everything around here goes digital.I guess I could always sell them if that happens.
Buy more than one 396,and just use both of them.This is probably what I'm leaning towards,but it's a lot of cash to lay out for two if them.? I will buy at least one for now so I have digital coverage.I will still have my 246's for backup and any rough usage.
So what would you do ? Cost is not really a huge issue,but if I can save some $$$$,then I can spend it on something else,like a better antenna setup (my next project).
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