Newbie - Suggestions on What to Buy for a Full Time RV'er?

[Phipps]

Greetings. First, this will be a semi-long posting. I apologize that this posting will be long. Further, I apologize if some of it is covered in other postings. However, I was hoping to get everything in one post as apposed to posting ten different questions and anger you all. So, one long posting. Several questions. If you can only answer one or a few, that's great. I appreciate any info you can give. If i'm asking something completely idiotic, please correct me and tell me it doesn't exist, is illegal, etc. I am semi-new to frequency hopping / scanning. I've had a number of little police scanners over the years. However, my latest scanner (about four or five years old) is no longer picking up hardly anything. About 50% if i'm lucky. I've been told that our local area (Columbus, OH - USA) has upgraded it's entire frequency system. So, i'm ready to upgrade my scanner.

Now, to explain my situation before I ask some questions,...
I will be traveling all over the USA in my RV. Consider it a retirement perk. LOL Thus, i'll need pretty much coverage wall to wall inside USA for police and fire / rescue and any pertinent frequencies such as disaster channels if a tornado goes thru it would be nice to hear the planning and recovery process as it happens. So, I will not be in any one city nor state for more than six months typically. I will remain inside the USA except for mere over the border visits to something like Mexico within 3 miles of the USA border. Or same with Canada. We won't go deep enough to matter. Too much risk now days. Just for visiting and passing thru.

What I want to accomplish is a PORTABLE scanner. Something that can get all of the following or if there are other things it can get, please advise. I sure do appreciate the time you've taken thus far to read my post.

1) Police Frequencies (All USA on all of these)
2) Fire Frequencies
3) Squad & Rescue Frequencies
4) Air Traffic Frequencies (typical flying aircraft from / to airports)
5) Government Frequencies (aircraft, ground units, water units, NASA, search & rescue, etc)
6) Cellular Frequencies (not sure what this is, will explain below)
7) Water Frequencies (boat radios, ships, yachts, search & rescue, etc)
8) HAM Frequencies (listening only)
9) TV Frequencies (to pickup television signals)
10) AM / FM Frequencies (to pickup AM / FM radio signals)
11) Weather Alert Frequencies (with auto-on feature for severe weather)
12) CB Frequencies (truckers chatter)
13) Ability to update thru PC software.
14) Large Display / Screen (allowing to display allot of information without going thru many menus)
15) Tactical or Special Operations (like SWAT, DEA, FBI, CIA, etc) Frequencies
16) A suggestion on which antenna would be best with the unit you're suggesting for an RV. I am open to amping or having a amplified antenna. I'd prefer the amp be inside the RV and the antenna outside the RV because of my age / condition, I don't wish to climb up to turn the amp up / down. I'd rather have it professionally installed in the RV and allow me to just dial it in the living room wall or on my driver dash.

Anything else you might suggest for a full-time RV'er that is scanner related. I have wanted to get a HAM operator's license for many years. I've never done it. I guess if I had, I could also ask for your suggestions on one of those units. Or maybe they have a combined unit that does all of the above plus is a HAM talkie. I have to have it portable. Able to run on AC (with adapter), DC (with standard not proprietary batteries) or the DC adapter.

In final, I also would like to find a separate unit that I can plug my portable scanner / HAM unit into that is a solar pack that can deliver a DC voltage to my portable scanner if i'm ever rural away from everyone and break down and at least can have a solar charger on my scanner / HAM unit. Yes, I have a backup generator. However, at my age, if I trip and fall and can't get up, i'd like to know if someone is coming to get me and not have to worry about running out of batteries. Anything else you'd like to mention please feel free. Please remember i'm older and do not understand all this jargon. I am intelligent if you can lead me to the water, i'll drink. Oh and please tell me what a reasonable cost is for the unit / antenna you're suggesting. I've been taken advantage of previously and it angers the blood.

Thanks so much for your answering some of the above questions. I don't expect anyone to answer them all. However, if you can. Wow, you're a licensed king / queen in my book. I just needed a few of your input. Please remember, I need a portable unit. I have a fondness for larger scale portable units with a keypad. I guess they have abilities to page people or something? I have no idea how that works or how much monthly that would cost. The larger display is for my sight. As you get old. Things get smaller. Ummm.... I better leave it at that. LOL

BUDGET : Prefer under $500
REQUIREMENTS : PORTABLE, Large Backlit Screen, AC / DC Capable, all above noted frequencies, 1,000 Channels (or more)

REMAINING QUESTION : What is cellular frequencies used for? Is that to listen to kids yap on their cell phones? I have no interest in that. However, if cellular supports anything i've listed above, i'd like to have it capable on my unit.


Most Respectfully,
Phipps

My internet got interrupted when posting this. Hope it doesn't post twice or mess up.

 

[GrayJeep]

Best fit looks to be Radio Shack Pro-106 (portable) or Pro-197 (mobile style) radio plus-
Subscription to Radio Reference plus-
Programming cable to PC plus-
Win500 software. (can use to put scanner's display onto your PC window for the "large display" feature.

(Uniden fans and other scanner s/w fans can offer their choices too.)

Will do just about everything in your list except cellular. Those freqs are blocked by design and nowadays are a different kind of modulation than the scanner can receive anyway.
Oh yeah, TV. Not normally covered and with a pending shift to digital, won't work anyway.

Plan to spend some quality time learning to make the scanner and software get you what you want. The world of scanning is a lot more complex than it used to be.

Ham radio is a mostly separate subject.

 

[rvictor]

6) Cellular Frequencies (not sure what this is, will explain below)

Since it is illegal to scan cellular freqs, they are not included in scanners sold in the USA.

9) TV Frequencies (to pickup television signals)

TV will soon be digital and therefore most scanners will be unable decode those signals.

11) Weather Alert Frequencies (with auto-on feature for severe weather)

While scanners can do this, an inexpensive dedicated weather radio may be a better fit for this need. Similarly, for the AM/FM broadcast band.

14) Large Display / Screen (allowing to display allot of information without going thru many menus)

In order for the scanner to be handheld, it must be fairly small and the display is similarly limited in size. The complexity of the various functions requires a rather complex menu structure.

15) Tactical or Special Operations (like SWAT, DEA, FBI, CIA, etc) Frequencies

Some of these will be encrypted making them impossible to hear.

Or maybe they have a combined unit that does all of the above plus is a HAM talkie.

The ability to scan trunked systems is not available on any of the ham transceivers that I'm aware of. You'll need separate radios.

However, at my age, if I trip and fall and can't get up, i'd like to know if someone is coming to get me and not have to worry about running out of batteries.

A cellular phone is the best thing for this followed by a Ham transceiver. The scanner isn't going to do you any good in getting help. If you can call them by cell phone or Ham radio, you'll know they are coming.

There are three handheld scanners that would seem to fit your needs--the Uniden BCD396T (new model coming out the end of March will be the BCD396XT), the GRE PSR-500, and the RadioShack PRO-106 (basically the same as the GRE PSR-500). They all sell in the $500 range. You may be able to pick up one of these on sale for less, of course. Unfortunately, lesser radios will lack the ability to follow digital trunked systems which you will run into with increasing frequency as you travel across the country.

There is a remote display available for the Uniden scanner which would make it easier to see the display in a vehicle, for example. It's about $150. I'm not aware of remote heads for the GRE or RadioShack scanners although it's possible they are available.

You'll need software to manage the frequencies on your computer and to transfer them to your scanner so that you don't have to enter them all by hand in the scanner. There are both commercial and free programs available to do this with these radios that are excellent. They simplify the task greatly, but still have a bit of a learning curve.

You would be well advised to have a premium membership in RadioReference since that will enable you to use the software to automatically go to this site and obtain the frequencies for the various areas that you will be traveling to so that you can program them into your scanner.

Hope this is helpful. Enjoy your travels!

Dick
WD9GRI

 

[tonsoffun]

Might I suggest the RadioReference Database CD-ROM. That way, if you don't have a internet connection you can find everything on the CD to load up on your scanner with various scanner programs.


Ron

 

[hoser147]

Might I suggest the RadioReference Database CD-ROM. That way, if you don't have a internet connection you can find everything on the CD to load up on your scanner with various scanner programs.


Ron

Excellent suggestion Ron, while traveling there are bound to be area's that make it hard for internet connection.

 

[ERICMYERS]

Phipps,
Welcome to the hobby. Our sage friends have listed the scanners that meet your criteria. One neat thing about these modern scanners is that a very few of them can do 'location based scanning'. What this means is that if you hook up a GPS to the radio, it will turn on and off 'sites' as you travel around without you having to push buttons. If you're running the roads, covering a couple hundred miles a day, you'll want that feature. As far as I know, the only handheld option with GPS support is the upcoming 396XT from Uniden .

Remember, scanner signals are 'line of sight' meaning that you're going to have about 40ish miles 'range' on any system you listen to. If you're moving, and want to listen as you move along, you'll really have to have GPS capability. If you're only listening when you get where you're going, you're going to be programming or configuring your banks/sites when you hit your destination.

By this point, you've figured out that you will need to become an expert in programming these radios given that you're going to be moving around a lot. Once you're good at it, you should be able to program your next 'route' in an hour or so. It's really not that hard. The RR CD idea is a really good idea from Ron's earlier post. You need to learn both how to do this with software AND by hand. Start with software is my recommendation (gets you up and running fast)( others will loudly disagree with this statement)

For antennas, you'll have scads of options. Read the forum. Opinions on antennas are like a political debate. Antennas are cheap enough that most people own more than a few. You'll want an NMO mounted antenna high up outside on the RV or tow vehicle if you're going to listen while running, fed with decent coax and installed properly. For out of vehicle work, there are plenty of 'rubber duck' antenna choices. You'll want a dual band/triband on the vehicle and probably a variety of rubberducks to pick from depending on what's in the area you're in. The antenna that comes with the radio will work OK, the Radioshack 800mhz rubberduck is a cheap decent alternative that optimizes 800 and works OK on other bands too.

Prepare yourself for a pretty steep learning curve on these radios. In a reasonable amount of time (weeks to a month or so) you'll probably really have the hang of it. Half the fun in this hobby is the tech of these very sophisticated radios. Make no mistake, it's not an am/fm turn it on and listen transistor radio.

Scanner antennas really stink on CB band. They are not at all tuned for 29mhz and terribly inefficient there...you might get a mile's reception, maybe 2, based on my experience. It kind of works, enough to be really annoying. Get a separate CB/antenna rig if you want to listen to CB.

Weather, you can easily do on a scanner, including alerts. This has drawbacks to the scanning experience that I won't go into now, and frankly, a $20 dollar dedicated weather radio is a LOT better. Every scanner has a WX button that you can hit and go directly to NOAA, the alerts are the tricky part.

You CAN listen to a lot of Ham, especially the ever popular 2 meter on a scanner quite nicely.

All in, for about $700 you can have a very nice scanning setup for your unique application.

Cheers,
Eric

 

[W6KRU]

Welcome. You have already gotten some very good advice so I don't have too much to add. I will share a tip for RVs. You can mount an antenna on fiberglass if you can get to a large area behind it. Look around for the copper duct tape at the home improvement places. You can just use a cross with each piece 19" long at least. I like to throw a little solder bead across the seams. A larsen triband on the roof wouldn't be much taller than your AC unit I'll bet.

 

[davidmc36]

I will just echo the point of GPS. If you are running around the country it will be a must have. I think it is the greatest thing to come to scanning since trunk-tracking. To me it is a great safety feature, I never mess with the scanner while driving, it does all the switching for me. Not a problem if you have a passenger to work the scanner but still a great convnience feature so your passenger can view the sights instead of fiddling with the scanner. There are lots of choices in the line of compatible GPS units and you don't even need to have a GPS antenna mounted on the outside of your RV. Just attached to the dash will get lots of satellites to keep tracking.

 

[rvictor]

Phipps,

While having a GPS to change frequencies on your scanner as you travel would be nice, we've already taken you above your original anticipated cost before even getting to the GPS. I think it should be made clear that you can do what you want to do without having a GPS tied to your scanner. The recommended scanners contain plenty of memory to include many systems so you aren't really going to have to stop every hundred miles and reprogram the scanner in order to hear something. Besides you may have little interest in every small town police and fire department that falls within range of the interstate on which you are likely to be driving.

You will likely have your scanner programmed with many different systems each of which is assigned to a quick key. As you travel, you may turn on and off these various systems by means of the quick keys. In effect, a GPS would do this for you automatically. While that would be nice, it's certainly something you can do yourself. After all, only one brand of scanner even includes the GPS feature and lots of people have been scanning for many years without it.

Dick

 

[VernM]

May I add, as a much-of-the-time RVer (and amateur radio operator) that I find my Uniden BCT-8 gets the most exercise, particularly since it is "state" programmable as you roll into a new one, just bring up the two letter identifier and it'll find the most-used (excepting trunked). Another thing I'd add is that a hand-held model will be very hard to manage as you roll and nearly impossible to hear over the RVs ambient noise.

And a third, and very imporant thing, you may risk fines or confiscation if you have a scanner discovered and do not hold a current amaterur radio license in more and more states. And, to take anything into Mexico, including the RV, is to risk coming out of Mexico without it/them.

 

[Phipps]

Thank you on your RV Scanner Suggestions - 03/11/09

I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to all that replied to my newbie post here. I know i'm in for a learning curve in a half. There were a handful of things that I hadn't considered that some of you brought up. I am very thankful you took the extra time to put yourself in my shoes and give me that extra / added advice.

I will begin researching the scanners some of you suggested. I have chosen a portable scanner because my wife and I are older and we like to not only travel but also like to walk and ride bikes and sometimes like to know at any given time what's going on if traffic is backed up or if we see a fire in the distance, etc. I figure if I am going to spend a reasonable amount of money on a unit, i'd like to get the best bang for the money. Your input was excellent! Thank you!

I will look up this GPS thing. I am not sure that I understand it and am not asking anyone to explain it to me. I can search and learn from here. However, I wanted to ask if I am even remotely close to what it does. Here's what I am anticipating. (1) I am RV traveling with my wife (let's say) from Michigan to Arizona. Several states are in between. (2) Neither of us want to be tied up programming and re-programming the scanner each time we switch states or counties, etc. (3) In essence the GPS system on some of your suggested scanners actually turns off the frequencies automatically that are no longer showing active as we drive away from those frequencies. (4) And as we are loosing frequencies from the GPS shutting them down as inactive automatically, we then also are gaining new / closer and active frequencies as we move toward the new cities, counties, states, etc.

Does that sound remotely close to what it does? If not, i'll research. Don't waste your time on this question. I don't want to abuse this question / answer series. You've all been so very helpful. I will do whatever leg work is suggested.

Aside from seeing if the GPS option is what I think it is (above),... I also wanted to ask about amplified antennas. Do they exist to where I can permentantly mount an antenna on my RV roof and drill and run the coax or whatever cable down into my RV so that while we are driving the scanner can have a nice tall antenna to pull from as aposed to the portable small rubber one that comes factory on it. I just figure i'd get much better reception from mounting a quality antenna on the roof of the RV. I don't know if I should go whip, fiberglass, or even if they have dishes like for tv. Whichever would pull the best signals. And i'd like to have an amp either built into the external antenna / dish or have the option to mount an antenna amp inside my RV.

Maybe this is all over-kill. I'm starting to think it is. I mean i'm not NASA, LOL. But, if something is going on in the air, on the ground in the water, or God forbid civil unrest in our country again, i'd like to be able to hear things from my home (RV).

In closing, God Bless and thanks soooo very much much for the time you all have taken. I have posted to other forums in the past for PC errors and to get help. I usually get someone who feels it important to use jargon over my head and I have no idea half the time what he / she means. Other times it's some young kid intentionally giving me wrong info. Which ultimately cost me a few times quite a bit of money to have the pc repaired.

I will likely be shopping and researching for a while. If you feel you have further info on any of this RV scanning suggestions for me, PLEASE don't hesitate to post it here. I'm sure other RV'ers will find this thread a fantastic resource. I know allot of people are selling their homes and starting to travel in RV's until they decide where they want to buy their next house. To those that found this thread helpful, please say thank you to the kind persons who gave us this help and suggestions. I will post more questions in the future. I made sure to include "RV" in my title / subject field in case someone performs a search and it will hit on all your suggestions in this post. Maybe a room should be added for RV discussions. Like I said, RV sales has gone up 8% in the last 12 months as homes bottom out. Oh well, thanks all so very much.


Most Respectfully,
Phipps

 

[ERICMYERS]

Phipps,

While having a GPS to change frequencies on your scanner as you travel would be nice, we've already taken you above your original anticipated cost before even getting to the GPS. I think it should be made clear that you can do what you want to do without having a GPS tied to your scanner. The recommended scanners contain plenty of memory to include many systems so you aren't really going to have to stop every hundred miles and reprogram the scanner in order to hear something. Besides you may have little interest in every small town police and fire department that falls within range of the interstate on which you are likely to be driving.

You will likely have your scanner programmed with many different systems each of which is assigned to a quick key. As you travel, you may turn on and off these various systems by means of the quick keys. In effect, a GPS would do this for you automatically. While that would be nice, it's certainly something you can do yourself. After all, only one brand of scanner even includes the GPS feature and lots of people have been scanning for many years without it.

Dick

Respectfully, after the cost of the RV, the fuel, tolls, maintenance, campsite fees et.al ad nauseum, another couple hundred bucks over an arbitrary and quote "prefer under 500" budget is irrelevant.

Frankly, I panic at the thought of toggling banks or quick keys while piloting a car, much less an RV. I won't do it in my car while rolling. I'm just running around familiar territory ( Chicago), I've got my banks full on my PRO 162 and my scan lists populated almost fully and all that contains is 5 counties in the Chicago area. I turn on a particular scan list for my home area near Joliet and have to toggle to another one halfway to Chicago, another when I'm in the city, another in the south suburbs, etc. The bogies that break the squelch on irrelevant systems significantly degrades the listening experience of the local area, so the number of system 'on' at a time has to be limited.

To remember what's in what bank/system is virtually impossible. To have to refer to a cheat sheet is unsafe while driving. It's a lot of button pushing to toggle banks/scanlists/systems (not like using an am/fm in dash radio in the least).

Can Phipps use a simpler cheaper scanner? Sure. Will it be a heck of a lot better to spend a couple hundred bucks more and do it more effectively and more safely? Sure.

Phipps, I hope that if you plan to scan while rolling without a well programmed GPS capable scanner, you have a very understanding and willing XYL riding shotgun.

This is my opinion, and again, with all due respect for differing ones, I am compelled to make the statements above bluntly.

 

[ERICMYERS]

Another thing I'd add is that a hand-held model will be very hard to manage as you roll and nearly impossible to hear over the RVs ambient noise..

Agreed...I scan in a pretty quiet car 2 hours a day with a handheld. First upgrade I did was to use an external speaker.

And a third, and very imporant thing, you may risk fines or confiscation if you have a scanner discovered and do not hold a current amaterur radio license in more and more states. .

I don't believe that is true, Vern. Can you back that up with a reference?

 

[rvictor]

Phipps,

There's one thing that I'm sensing from your posts that probably needs to be said. You desire to, for example, know about an accident up ahead or a fire in the distance. I think you will find that it isn't quite as easy as that to necessarily get that information from a scanner when you are traveling in an unfamiliar area. There may be dozens of frequencies that are active and unless you know which agency would be responding to the particular event, you may never hear transmissions concerning it because the scanner has stopped on routine events in the many other agencies that you can hear.

For example, I live in Milwaukee, WI. If I scan the police department on a typical night the scanner may virtually stop on one of the main dispatch channels and almost never get a chance to scan the various small communities that surround the city because of the almost continuous dispatch action on a single channel. I would have to know to lock out those channels and others to have a chance of hearing something from another community. Many nights I do that for a change of pace, but then, of course, I miss what's happening in Milwaukee. Many scanning enthusiasts therefore listen to more than one radio at a time. This really isn't particularly practical or safe in a vehicle with someone else present that you may want to talk to.

Unfortunately, the radio just stops on the next active channel. That may or may not be the one with what you really want to hear unless you've pretty well limited the channels that you monitor. To do that, you need to know the relationship between the various agencies and even which channels are used for what. If I leave the MPD tow desk active I could end up listening all night to officers arranging for tows of disabled or abandoned vehicles and miss the things that are more interesting to me. If I was a tow truck operator, of course, that might be my channel of choice.

It's lots of fun to listen, but it can't be counted on to provide that kind of information in UNKNOWN areas. If you know the area, your chances would be somewhat better.

Dick

 

[ERICMYERS]

I
I will look up this GPS thing. I am not sure that I understand it and am not asking anyone to explain it to me. I can search and learn from here. However, I wanted to ask if I am even remotely close to what it does. Here's what I am anticipating. (1) I am RV traveling with my wife (let's say) from Michigan to Arizona. Several states are in between. (2) Neither of us want to be tied up programming and re-programming the scanner each time we switch states or counties, etc. (3) In essence the GPS system on some of your suggested scanners actually turns off the frequencies automatically that are no longer showing active as we drive away from those frequencies. (4) And as we are loosing frequencies from the GPS shutting them down as inactive automatically, we then also are gaining new / closer and active frequencies as we move toward the new cities, counties, states, etc



Does that sound remotely close to what it does? .

yep, that's exactly what it does. You may well be able to program that entire trip into the scanner and let it take over from there. It would take a couple hours to figure out that programming load, but quite doable.

IAside from seeing if the GPS option is what I think it is (above),... I also wanted to ask about amplified antennas. Do they exist to where I can permentantly mount an antenna on my RV roof and drill and run the coax or whatever cable down into my RV so that while we are driving the scanner can have a nice tall antenna to pull from as aposed to the portable small rubber one that comes factory on it. I just figure i'd get much better reception from mounting a quality antenna on the roof of the RV. I don't know if I should go whip, fiberglass, or even if they have dishes like for tv. Whichever would pull the best signals. And i'd like to have an amp either built into the external antenna / dish or have the option to mount an antenna amp inside my RV..

Drop the concept of 'amplified' and the rest of your assumption is exactly what you want to do. Do a little research on Antennas in the antenna forum and you'll get the picture pretty fast.

IMaybe this is all over-kill. I'm starting to think it is. I mean i'm not NASA, LOL. But, if something is going on in the air, on the ground in the water, or God forbid civil unrest in our country again, i'd like to be able to hear things from my home (RV)..

for the really local things you can see, there's a function called 'close call' that you will learn about. There's also the band search and service search features in these units that can come in handy in an unknown short term pinch.


This hobby is very fun, techy too. There's years of learning if you want it to be, and at the same time, it can be enjoyed very simply with just a little effort. Every scanning enthusiast has their own individual preferences, and fortunately, these radios are complex and configurable enough to please everyone. The only downside to this hobby is the known risk of a large and growing collection of radios and antennas!

 

[rvictor]

Quote:
And a third, and very imporant thing, you may risk fines or confiscation if you have a scanner discovered and do not hold a current amaterur radio license in more and more states. .End Quote

I don't believe that is true, Vern. Can you back that up with a reference?

Although the following thread contains somewhat more chaff than wheat, there is some info on states that prohibit scanners in vehicles.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/general-scanning-forum/135862-scanners-legal-ny-pa-oh.html

Here's a site with some info. I have no idea if it is correct or up to date.

U.S. Scanner Laws

If you Google "scanner laws" you will find others.

Dick

 

[ERICMYERS]

Although the following thread contains somewhat more chaff than wheat, there is some info on states that prohibit scanners in vehicles.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/general-scanning-forum/135862-scanners-legal-ny-pa-oh.html

Here's a site with some info. I have no idea if it is correct or up to date.

U.S. Scanner Laws

If you Google "scanner laws" you will find others.

Dick

Interesting, and I stand corrected, appalled, but informed. Well, at least I've now found a singular reason why Illinois doesn't completely stink.

 

[leonzo]

I full timed for 3 years with 4 scanners, one handheld Uniden and one handheld Radio Shack, plus one mobile Uniden and a mobile Radio Shack. I really enjoyed it. I did it without software or cables, I just programmed by hand when I got somewhere. I did use Radioreference.com but also used old frequency Police Call books, the FCC site, a frequency finder, and the close call function on the Unidens. With reference to scanner laws I never had a problem but that's probably because I didn't respond to scenes, or blast my scanner at full volume at toll booths, road checks or border crossings or in anyway bring attention to myself with my scanner. Its not like law enforcement seeks you out and stops you and ask to search your vehicle for a scanner, especially not RV's. So please buy one and have fun. I went back to work fulltime in 2008 but hope to get back out at least part time within the next 5 years. In the meantime I still have the RV and we are already planning a few trips this year. And yes I will have at least 2 handhelds with me on every trip.