Another annoying noob

[GoMifuni]

Hi All. I'm new to scanning (actually I haven't started yet) and have an opportunity to buy an older Regency Z30. I've been researching all afternoon and have come to the conclusion that I still don't know what I'm supposed to know lol. Maybe I'm just trying to digest too much too soon.
Could any of you tell me if this scanner would be a good one to start out with? I'm in Berlin, btw.

 

[raisindot]

Hi All. I'm new to scanning (actually I haven't started yet) and have an opportunity to buy an older Regency Z30. I've been researching all afternoon and have come to the conclusion that I still don't know what I'm supposed to know lol. Maybe I'm just trying to digest too much too soon.
Could any of you tell me if this scanner would be a good one to start out with? I'm in Berlin, btw.

Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with an out of date 30-channel scanner. If you're in Berlin, you're going to want to monitor trunking frequencies (systems that "assign" conversations to different frequencies within a group, kind of like cell phones), such as those used in Worcester and the State Police, as well as "conventional" (one frequency per channel). The Regency won't have nearly enough for either of these. Instead, I would recommend spending at least $80-$170 for a used or new scanner that, at the very least, can pick up conventional, Motorola, EDACS and LTR trunking systems. Generally, these are referred to as "triple trunking" scanners.

They do take some getting used to, particularly when programming, so you want to make sure the scanner you get can interface with scanning software.

Suzie

 

[ka3jjz]

Hi GoM - I'd say the title of this thread is a little off - not 'annoying' just 'not enough information', hi

It's a normal reaction to think that you're a little overwhelmed. Not to worry - there's lots of folks here that can help. You did the right thing by going to the Mass. forum here, but there's another site that concentrates in Massachusetts and New England; the Scan Cape Cod website run by Scott Halligen. You can get to it from here (anything in blue and/or underlined is a link)

http://www.scancapecod.us/

Register, then go to the appropriate forum to find out what is being used in your area. While there's an extensive wiki on Scan Cape Cod (SCC) that has lots of freqs, they're not downloadable - although there's a forum reserved for that on the SCC website.

Our wiki here on RadioReference has extensive articles (wiki speak for pages) on just about every scanner out there. Once you have made a decision as to what scanner you want to check out, use our wiki to do your homework. We also have an article that has links to basic articles on trunking and a great many other topics. With over 800 articles, there's bound to be something here that can help.

Viewing the wiki is available to everyone. Just click on 'wiki' in the top blue toolbar and you'll be taken to our main article. Most everything in our wiki is indexed through that article.

Take your time; use your local resources to point you in the right direction to make the right purchase. Nothing worse than buying the wrong scanner for the wrong application

73 Mike

 

[GoMifuni]

Thanks for the help and the warm welcome (oh, and the patience lol).
After the pages and pages I read, with all the acronyms and terms, (such as "trunking" lol) I got a bit overwhelmed and needed a human "voice" to get me grounded and headed in the right direction. So you say I would need a "triple-trunking" scanner, huh? I suppose I'll pass on the Regency and look for one of those. Thanks a million! I'll check out that SCC site too.

 

[raisindot]

Thanks for the help and the warm welcome (oh, and the patience lol).
After the pages and pages I read, with all the acronyms and terms, (such as "trunking" lol) I got a bit overwhelmed and needed a human "voice" to get me grounded and headed in the right direction. So you say I would need a "triple-trunking" scanner, huh? I suppose I'll pass on the Regency and look for one of those. Thanks a million! I'll check out that SCC site too.

It's really worth it to do your research. After you've got a feel for the different kinds of radios out there I would strongly recommend you get one that has software already written for it. The two companies that produce the most scanner software are www.butel.nl and www.starrsoft.com. They have software for scanners that are no longer in production, so if you find them used you can program them. The benefit of having software-enabled scanners is that you can usually find pre-made files with frequencies in your area that you can download to your scanner, so you don't have to create the software files yourself. But, generally, scanner software is pretty easy to program and is far better than manually programming a scanner.

Suzie

 

[ecps92]

You need to think of what you want to listen to first.
Local [and surrounding towns] Police, Fire, EMS, DPW ? IF so for a decent [Read Cheap $$] the Z30 will keep you happy.

As you expand your horizons and decide you want to listen to the MSP , then you will need to move onto
a radio with the Bells n Whistles.

How much is the Z30 going for ? Not bad to use for a dedicated Local radio.

As you move forward in this hobby you will find many of us, dedicate One Radio to our Local Police/Fire then use other radios for Trunking, Searching, Travel etc [Yes, many many Radios]

Welcome to the Hobby and look forward to your input here and at SCC

Hi All. I'm new to scanning (actually I haven't started yet) and have an opportunity to buy an older Regency Z30. I've been researching all afternoon and have come to the conclusion that I still don't know what I'm supposed to know lol. Maybe I'm just trying to digest too much too soon.
Could any of you tell me if this scanner would be a good one to start out with? I'm in Berlin, btw.