Welcome back! I was into this super heavy BEFORE the invention of Radio Reference. In fact when I hung things up to help raise a family I turned all my info into Lindsay & the team to help populate their Indiana section. DAMN, that WAS a long time ago!
A LOT of things have changed, so you no doubt have noticed. I started out with an SDS100 & quickly picked up a 200 for the house & to put online. They have their quirks but so far I've been pretty happy with the performance.
I've thought about getting a G5 but they seem limiting compared to a full fledged scanner. Might be something fun to play with in the future though for the local systems.
I'm going to be hitting PA & NY in a few months & will need the ability to scan VHF in those areas. Something I don't think you can do with the pager.
Welcome back & feel free to ask any questions you have. I've found this group is pretty helpful & patient with those of us getting back up to speed.