Need help on purchasing my first scanner that will be best in my area.
1) I live in Flower Mound, TX 75028
2) Maximum spending is $600
3) Portable scanner for road trips
4) Want to listen to local fire, police, ambalances in Flower Mound, TX 75028
Thanks
Flower Mound is on the Lewisville
system. They are not digital at this time. Neither is
Denton County. However, just to your east, Frisco is
digital, and many of the area systems are expected to make the conversion over the next few years. Statewide, TX DPS uses digital transmissions on conventional (non-trunked) f
requencies. Your maximum budget of $600 leaves you plenty of room to get a digital trunk-tracking scanner, which will cover all the local systems, current, & (best guess) projected for the next several years,
I have had nothing but good listening to my Uniden BCD396T. The updated version is the BCD396XT. I hear its just as good with more features.
I live in Dallas, monitor surrounding areas. Its a great hand held scanner.
I'm also in Dallas. I have both the 396T and the current model 396XT. I would recommend the 396XT. It has several advantages over the 396T. These include the ability to utilize NAC codes, which is extremely useful for conventional, non-trunked, digital channels, such as DPS. Also, the 396XT will do multi-site systems. While we don't have much of that here in North Texas, since you mentioned road trips, you'd find that feature extremely handy in areas with large regional systems, such as
TxWARN P25 and
GATRRS, or the statewide systems such as Louisiana's
LWIN, or
AWIN in Arkansas
The features in the 396XT that are either unique to it (over the 396T), or are improved/expanded over the 396T are in
bold on the 396XT's
page in the Wiki. The 396T's page is
here.
try the pro 106 thats the one i use for traveling. Might as well get a better antenna than the stock
The Pro-106 is the Radio Shack version of the GRE manufactured PSR-500. I also have the PSR-500. It also will handle all the local systems, and has multi-site and NAC capability. While the Pro-106 often goes on sale (I believe it is currently on sale, now), Radio Shack charges extra for the ac adapter and pc interface cable. You would need the cable, to do firmware updates on occasion, and it would be required if you wanted to be able to program via software. (GRE includes both items with the PSR-500.)
My personal preference is the 396XT. Like bigwrigg, I monitor a large number of systems in the N. Texas area. I like the smaller size, easier to carry, or slip in a jacket pocket. The Uniden scanners (if bought new) come with the pc cable, ac adapter, and rechargeable batteries. (The pc cable is serial, so if your pc does not have a serial port, either pick up a USB->serial adapter or order the USB programming cable.) There is a freeware program available, FreeScan, which works very well to program the Uniden scanners. I prefer Unden's memory management, DMA, over that used by the GRE scanners (includes the Pro-106); that's called 'object oriented'. However, that is a preference, Either will work.Software for the GRE scanners starts at $35.00.
With the 396XT, should you decide to go that far, you can attach a GPS, and have the scanner turn systems on & off as they come into & pass out of range while traveling (the GPS & related cables, though, would run about $100, so that's bumping your limit).
There are a couple of other options:
Either the Uniden
Home Patrol-1 (HP-1) or GRE's
PSR-800 would also cover everything you want. These scanners have the entire RadioReference database loaded on a micro-SD card. While the method varies between the models, you tell the scanner what types of systems/channels you want to listen to, and where you are. The scanner then finds and loads what's in range. I have one of the Home Patrols. It's not 'exactly' a portable, in the sense it's not made with a belt clip (like the BDC396XT or the Pro-106 or PSR-500). But it is small, and battery powered. It comes wiith an ac adapter, dc adapter (for the cigarette lighter), batteries, and a small stand. You can get a mount, like for a GPS, to mount it in your vehicle. It's about the size of an old style 'Walkman' cassette player.
On the HP-1, you can enter your location by entering the zip code, or city name, and be up and scanning in a few minutes. No programming required. I've found mine to be surprisingly sensitive, when paired with a good antenna, which is key for any scanner.If I don't get a GPS to use with it for Christmas, I'm going to order one, "to me, from me".