Best Scanner For Broward County

[TeeJay023]

Hi I'm new to the forums and I've been listening to the radio feeds on the site and they've been great so far, but i wanted a more personalized experience. I live in the Sunrise/Plantation area of Broward County, and I wanted to purchase a scanner to listen in on the Sunrise Police Department and also the Broward County Sheriff's Office scanner audio. I kind of did some research beforehand, and found out that all of Broward County uses a trunked system, that's about all I got to. I was wondering if any one on this site could help me or point me out into the right direction of a great scanner, if this is of any help I was thinking about purchasing a Base/Mobile scanner. Thanks-In advance.

 

[shadcall]

First off, welcome to Radio Reference.

I would recommend the Radio Shack Pro 197. It's a digital scanner and works great. Get ARC 500 to program it, a premium membership to Radio Reference and a programming cable from Radio Shack and you will be all set. As of now I see Broward County, Plantation and Sunrise are analog, but these days it makes more sense to get a digital scanner so you are prepared for any future changes. I did notice that Hollywood is digital and the 197 will pick that up. If you decide to get a handheld instead the Pro 106 is the same scanner. If you check the ads they are on sale from time to time.

 

[TeeJay023]

First off, welcome to Radio Reference.

I would recommend the Radio Shack Pro 197. It's a digital scanner and works great. Get ARC 500 to program it, a premium membership to Radio Reference and a programming cable from Radio Shack and you will be all set. As of now I see Broward County, Plantation and Sunrise are analog, but these days it makes more sense to get a digital scanner so you are prepared for any future changes. I did notice that Hollywood is digital and the 197 will pick that up. If you decide to get a handheld instead the Pro 106 is the same scanner. If you check the ads they are on sale from time to time.

I took a look at the scanner online, and I noticed it was really on the high end of the price range, I was hoping are there any that are less? Thanks.

 

[T-rav]

If you purchase a PRO-164 from radio shack that is $149 right now you can listen to all law enforcement and fire in Broward county, with the exception of the city of Hollywood which is digital and would require a digital scanner such as the PRO 106. To my knowledge there are no plans as of yet to switch to digital soon, however Miami-Dade county is going digital sometime 2013.

Since your inquiring about a base scanner, the PRO-163 would be a good choice, but a base scanner very limiting and you should consider the portability of a handheld scanner.

My recommendation would be to go to radioshack and pick up a PRO-164, if necessary get a programming cable and a 9 volt plug to power your scanner. This way you are portable and are not wasting batteries if you decide to just use it as a base scanner.

I live in Fort Lauderdale and enjoy listening to all coms in Broward.

 

[AK4FD]

Re: Broward County

I took a look at the scanner online, and I noticed it was really on the high end of the price range, I was hoping are there any that are less? Thanks.

I live in Hallandale Beach, just about due east of you, and I just got a Uniden scanner so I have a Pro-164 for sale if ya want it. I currently have it up on eBay and the Classifieds here and am asking around $150 for it but that was assuming I would have to ship it to the buyer. I have a wall charger for it, I'll throw in a set of rechargeables too, including the programming cable and software, an extra antenna, AND even the Broward County database file pre-loaded into the scanner including Sunrise! Lemme know. If u wanna take a look at it here it is: Pro-164 Triple-Trunking TrunkTracker 3 Handheld, pretty new!! - RadioReference Classifieds Lemme know what u think or gimme a good offer. All the stuff I'm including is over $300 retail...

 

[lindsay34654]

Do not get me wrong but I have noticed, with all the departments upgrading to digital and such why would anyone want anything less then a top of the line scanner. This way when the day comes you are already there. Ok I understand it is a couple of pennies more but having to by a new scanner every time someone in your area upgrades is a lot more expensive in the long run.

 

[AK4FD]

Do not get me wrong but I have noticed, with all the departments upgrading to digital and such why would anyone want anything less then a top of the line scanner. This way when the day comes you are already there. Ok I understand it is a couple of pennies more but having to by a new scanner every time someone in your area upgrades is a lot more expensive in the long run.

A couple of pennies more?? LOL There's a HUGE difference between $150-$200 and $400-$500, as most the digitals are around $400 and up... That's twice the amount... I'd say that's significantly more than a couple pennies... Just sayin And besides departments down here aren't going to digital for a few years at least, plenty of time to save up for a digital scanner when the time comes, plus I'm sure there will be some more digital scanners available to buy then that are reasonably priced...

 

[JANFINE]

Broward county

You do not need a digital scanner for Broward County or Sunrise.
I recommend either a BCT15X base or a BC346T hand held.
Both run around $200.

Jan Fine
owner of SEFLORIDA group
Yahoo! Groups - Join or create groups, clubs, forums & communities

Hi I'm new to the forums and I've been listening to the radio feeds on the site and they've been great so far, but i wanted a more personalized experience. I live in the Sunrise/Plantation area of Broward County, and I wanted to purchase a scanner to listen in on the Sunrise Police Department and also the Broward County Sheriff's Office scanner audio. I kind of did some research beforehand, and found out that all of Broward County uses a trunked system, that's about all I got to. I was wondering if any one on this site could help me or point me out into the right direction of a great scanner, if this is of any help I was thinking about purchasing a Base/Mobile scanner. Thanks-In advance.