Hello all. I never had any interest in scanners until stumbling across an old Uniden hand-held scanner while visiting my in-laws a few months ago. I have no idea what model it was. After playing with it for a few hours, I was lucky enough to discover a few police and fire transmissions. I had no idea what I was doing (and still don't) but I became interested in buying my own scanner to hopefully listen in on police, fire and whatever else interesting I can find.
I was hoping to find some help in this forum for an extreme newbie like myself. First, I need help deciding what scanner to buy. I don't want to overspend for a scanner with a bunch of features I'll never use. I just need the basics. Oh, and I would be using the scanner mostly in Lake In The Hills, IL (McHenry county). I've seen several recommendations for the Uniden BCD396T but honestly that seems like overkill for a guy like me and I don't really have $500+ to spend. I guess if I had to pick a number, I'd say I would prefer to spend no more than $300, assuming I could get a good scanner, that is EASY to use.
I will also eventually need help "programming" (if that's the right word) the scanner. I've seen many references to sites that list frequencies, etc. but to put it bluntly, I am such a novice that most of that information is like a foreign language to me. I can find the data. I just don't know what to do with it!
So, if someone could first recommend a good scanner for me, I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks so much in advance for helping me out!
I was hoping to find some help in this forum for an extreme newbie like myself. First, I need help deciding what scanner to buy. I don't want to overspend for a scanner with a bunch of features I'll never use. I just need the basics. Oh, and I would be using the scanner mostly in Lake In The Hills, IL (McHenry county). I've seen several recommendations for the Uniden BCD396T but honestly that seems like overkill for a guy like me and I don't really have $500+ to spend. I guess if I had to pick a number, I'd say I would prefer to spend no more than $300, assuming I could get a good scanner, that is EASY to use.
I will also eventually need help "programming" (if that's the right word) the scanner. I've seen many references to sites that list frequencies, etc. but to put it bluntly, I am such a novice that most of that information is like a foreign language to me. I can find the data. I just don't know what to do with it!
So, if someone could first recommend a good scanner for me, I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks so much in advance for helping me out!