a first scanner?

[Cressida81]

i've wanted to have a scanner since i was 8 years old. My friend's dad was a El Dorado California Sheriff and they had a scanner in their house, we would sit a listen to it when there were fires nearby and the Fire Planes were flying overhead.
Now i live in Southern California. There is so much going on around me here near LA that now more than ever i want to listen to Public Safety frequencies.
I also work for Campus Security for the University i attend, so i have a vested interest in whats going on in the area. Like two years ago two armed carjackers were chased onto our campus and there was a lockdown and SWAT was called in, that would have been much more interesting to have a scanner avaliable.

So to make an already long post short i was wondering what a really good scanner for beginners is? I don't want something really expensive but i also want something advanced enough for me to be able to keep it for at least a few years. Something that i can configure with my computer on the spot would be cool as well since i do travel around the state often.
i've got a budget of about $100, preferably less though. and Used is just fine with me.
So can you help a new guy out?

thanks
-jason

 

[RolnCode3]

Depending on where in SoCal you are, and who you want to listen to, you might need a digital scanner. There are a few agencies that are digital, and several (if not a lot) are trunked.

What County are you in. Who do you want to listen to specifically? If you don't know, at least do you want to listen to LE or Fire? Those are starting points.

 

[Cressida81]

At work i believe that they monitor Norwalk dispatch, i want to hear LASD, Buena Park PD, La Mirada Public Safety, and my University's Campus Safety, Along with the fire and EMS.
I live in Buena Park where there seems to be lots of crimes, in fact since moving here 4 months ago my car has been vandalized twice, my roommate's car once, and 5 other cars in the parking lot. i would like to hear what else is going on to be more aware of suspect descriptions that go out over the frequencies. Not because i want to take the law into my hands but because i want to be better informed and hopefully be able to inform the local police in a neighborhood watch type role.

also as far as a base station vs. handheld: depends on prices, i would like to listen to it both in my apartment and in my car. But just in my apartment would be fine at first, however because i do end up being on the road often having a mobile base would be cool as well.

thanks for you help...

 

[Cressida81]

what about something like this as a base station, it fits my price range
http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Uniden_BC_350C_100_Channel_Programmable_Base_Scanner

or this one as a mobile scanner
http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-BC92XLT

and whats the difference between the first one i mentioned and this one:
http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-Uniden_BC350

 

[RolnCode3]

I will have to leave this for those down there. There might be encryption that I forgot about, so I don't want to give bum advice.

Norwalk and LASD:
http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR&aid=38

 

[dynamitedjs]

I'm on the other coast but I can guarantee, $100.00 ain't gonna cut it to listen to LAPD! Keep Wishin'. Just looked at the database and it's all apco 25 which means it's digital. 3 to $400 minimum.

 

[nexus]

what about something like this as a base station, it fits my price range
http://www.dealtime.com/xPF-Uniden_BC_350C_100_Channel_Programmable_Base_Scanner

or this one as a mobile scanner
http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-BC92XLT

and whats the difference between the first one i mentioned and this one:
http://www.dealtime.com/xPO-Uniden_BC350

DO NOT get a BC-350. It's the worst thing you can get for a scanner. It doesn't allow for direct entry programming. It was primarily designed for someone who wants to be able to scan state agencies without knowing the frequencies. Basically it just scans a national band plan for each state. Which btw is severely out of date.

For your area you're going to need a trunktracking scanner at least. And chances are high it'll need to be a digital trunktracker.

If you wanted to go mobile without it being digital I would suggest the Uniden BCT8 or one of the radio shack Pro line. But as I said in the other forum, I think you'd be happier with a handheld unit because you can carry it around easily from vehicle to house to work and so forth. You will get no better reception on a base or mobile over a portable. They all receive equally. Your antenna is what makes the difference.

LASD is not trunked, they're using UHF still, although a lot of area there are trunked. You'd be better off just getting a trunktracker scanner. With the PRO95 on sale right now normally 200 its 149 and someone said its on closeout for 130 that's a good deal for a new trunktracking scanner with alphatagging too.

 

[Eng74]

Well you are in Orange County, so all PD is out since it is encrypted. Since you do not want to spend a lot, go with a Pro-95. It is on sale now and is or will be on clearance sale soon. You can trunk and there is a free program to program it with WIN95 (Thanks again Mr. Starr) get the program cable (20-289) for it at Radio Shack also.

 

[Cressida81]

all the PD is encrypted? but not the sheriff?

 

[Cressida81]

i ordered the pro-95 for $149 +tax. Where do i get the computer cable, battery pack/ charger ect...

 

[Tweekerbob]

Cressida,

You may want to cancel your order! I just checked the RadioShack website and it is listed as 129.99 (+tax) Or at least call 'em up and see if you can get the price adjusted! This will give you a little over $15 left over to buy accessories, i.e. batteries, charge, cable, etc.

Also, this is a guess, but the Radio Shack has two different options for programming cables. There is one 20-289 which is just the cable for $24.99 and a cable/software package, 20-048 for $19.99. Although it cleary states the software is useless for the Pro-95, Win95 is free. You can use the CD as a frisbee (at least stick in the microwave and watch the light show). I am not 100% sure however if the stand alone programming cable and the one included in the package are 100% the same and if the one in the package is compatible with the Pro-95. If it is, there's an extra $5 for accessories (yes, I'm a starving college student too).

As for Orange county...Law enforcement is totally off limits. All of these agencies are under one radio system and they are all very much encrypted (if you think safe cracking is hard, try breaking their codes!)

However, there are many, many wonderful things :wink: you can listen to, e.g. FIRE, garbage men, transit, dog catcher, water works, road maintenance. Ok maybe Fire is the only one really worth listening to. But as pointed out before, CDF, USFS, and aviation are quite interesting to listen to during fire season (as you noted previously when you lived up here in eldo county).

Good news is, CHP is not trunked, nor is it digital, nor is it encrypted. I'm sure they will provide interesting listening as the # of stolen vehicles and car chases is staggering in Socal. (Although Sacramento/Stockton is right on their tail).

I'm not sure which university you attend/work for, but more than likely you can find their frequencies either right here at radioreference.com or by simply posting a message here.

Also, try cityfreq.com for additional ideas of who to listen to. They are updated with FCC data very often and if you click on your city or surrounding cities (I call them cities even though my one stopsign town is listed) and it will list the frequencies for everyone who has a transmitter licensed in THAT town (city). www.freqofnature.com is based in Socal and has quite a bit of socal frequencies and information.

If you are ever feeling nostalgic, you can listen to my online scanner at http://eldoscanner.servebeer.com

I have a few friends also with the ElDo county sheriff and many focus on law enforcement for this county and several surrounding counties. But during fire season...it is changed to mainy fire activity.

Also, Mattlogic.com and norcalscan.org have online scanner audio. Mattlogic covers a good portion of the entire state as several scanners from different people are all consolidated on that website. Both norcalscan and mattlogic are primarily FIRE, but they do have some law enforcement.

These online scanners and their associated websites, although located in a different part of California, may also give you some ideas of what you want to listen to.

Hope this helps,


Ryan

p.s. don't forget to get you money back. Cancel and re-order if necessary. Another good use of your $15 is to go to Wal-mart, SAMS or Costco and pick up some NiMH rechargable AA batteries (charger should be included). I got 6 AA 2300 mAh NiMH batteries along with 2 AAAs and a charger for like $13 at costco. This way, you can hold off on buying the power adapter for awhile if you like.

 

[Cressida81]

actually the price difference isn't that big, i didn't have to pay tax on the online order, tax would have been $10 if i had bought it at r-shack. Also i picked it up from an ebay store so i don't know how hard it would be to change. in the Campus patrol units they have LASD norwalk dispatch keyed into their scanner, so not everything is encrypted i think.

 

[Tweekerbob]

Sorry, you mentioned in a previous post you paid tax.

Although Orange county and all of the inclusive PDs are "unscannable", LASD and many pd's from surrounding counties are. The database section of this website is kept pretty current and should provide a good deal of frequency/system info to get you started. Also, if necessary use some of the other resources that were mentioned.

Enjoy your new scanner. If you have any ?'s concerning its use or opertation, there is a forum on this website that is specifically for Radio Shack scanners.

Ryan

 

[Cressida81]

awesome, thanks for you help, yeah i did mention tax, but when i looked at it again i saw that it was an out of state and so the extra money was actaully shipping not tax... even if i did overpay a little bit i'm not too worried, its on the credit card so i've got time to pay it off, along with my PS2, and the cable bill, and the stereo equipment.... dangerous i know... damn, debit is so tempting to add to.

although i did e-mail the seller to ask about cancelling the order, just in case, if i can then i will go to r-shack and try to get it there.

 

[LB_Scanner_Guy]

Hi Cressida81,

handheld scanner Pro 95 1000-Channel Dual-Trunking for $129.99 at radio shack. Frequency Coverage: 25-54, 108-136.9875, 137-174, 216-225, 406-512, 806-960 (excluding cellular) and 1240-1300MHz.

I am getting this scanner soon when it is on sale big time. For the handheld scanner for this scanner is the pro 96 $499.99
Base Scanner PRO-2096 Digital Trunking Mobile/Base Scanner for $499.99 at radio shack. Virtual Scanner Memory Management system stores 11 memory configurations, each with 500 channels and 1500 talkgroups for a total of 5500 channels and 16,500 talkgroups. Frequency coverage: 25-50MHz VHF-Lo, 50-54MHz 6-meter Ham, 108-136.9875MHz aircraft, 137-174, 216.0025-225MHz, 406-512MHz, 806-960MHz (excluding cellular bands), 1240-1300MHz