Newbie Question

[bjblackout]

I used to listen to Harford County on my Bearcat SC150. I get nothing now. I have heard that they have changed to 800MHZ system. Can my scanner pick up the new channels and if so where are they. I looked at the charts but I am lost. Any help would be appreciated. If my scanner is just too outdated steer me in teh right direction on what I should be looking at!!

 

[John_M]

What state are you from?

 

[TinEar]

Well, he posted in the Maryland forum and asked about Harford County (Maryland) so I guess he's from Maryland.

Anyway, yes you need a new scanner to be able to copy Harford. They went to a digital trunked system so you need not only a new, but an expensive scanner. Those capable of copying Harford are the Radio Shack models, PRO-96 and 2096 along with the Uniden 296, 796, 396 and slightly older Uniden 250 or 785 models with the addition of a digital card sold separately from the scanner. You might check the Equipment For Sale thread at this site and be able to pick up a used one. The RS 2096, Uniden 785, 796 are base/mobile units while the rest are portable/handheld units. And those are the only scanner models capable of copying this type of trunked system.

 

[bjblackout]

Thank you for the reply. Shopping I go but what is the best bang for my buck in the ones you listed. I do not want to spend an arm and a leg??

 

[MCMD5]

Thank you for the reply. Shopping I go but what is the best bang for my buck in the ones you listed. I do not want to spend an arm and a leg??

These radios are going for about $500.00-$650.00. I have the 250 and 796.

 

[TinEar]

ScannerMaster, who sponsors this site has an ad on the home page which you can click on and go check what they have. Their prices seem to be competitive. They charge...
$530 for the Uniden 796 and 396
$500 for the Uniden 296
$480 for the Radio Shack PRO-96 and 2096

The Uniden 250/785 are generally no longer available from the stores but you can find them used as I mentioned in the Equipment For Sale thread. The going prices seem to be in the $250-275 range. Just make sure they say they include the digital card.

Alan

 

[ka3jjz]

Not to throw too much of a monkey wrench into TinEar's otherwise right on the money comments (OK, I'm tired, I've been doing documentation all day and my mind is mush...) but you should avoid the 250 and 785 unless you want to end up spending more in a fairly short time.
You see, in the not too distant future, 800 Mhz trunking will undergo a major change; and it will render these radios useless for that application, because Uniden has already come out and said they will not be supported. This is referred to as 'rebanding'.
There has been numerous posts on this board about this subject, so I won't restate them here. Just be aware of what's coming down the pike - not a pretty sight for those folks that already have these radios.
73s Mike

 

[Al42]

Another thing to bear in mind, for portables, is that Radio Shack scanners are sold bare-bones. That is, you need to add batteries, a power supply and, if you want to program them by computer, a cable and software - which raises the price of the Pro-96 to above the price of the BCD396T, which comes with everything, including a belt clip that's actually worth something. (You have to download the software fron Uniden, but it's free.)

 

[troymail]

I could be persuaded to let go of my BC-296 ... if interested.... I haven't decided on a price but I packaged it up some time ago with the intent of putting it up for sale.... just never got around to it.... it's about 1 1/2 years old and in excellent condition....

BTW - I replaced my BC-296 with a BCD-396 ($530)