Getting started what to buy?

[cole_gerhardt]

Hello I am wanting to know what I need to look for in a scanner in order to be able to listin to VHF 150 MHz and what I believe they call apco p25 digital 800mhz. I would like to be able to monitor the Kansas highway patrol and the Kansas state interoperable radio system as well!

 

[GrumpyGuard]

Any scanner will allow you to listen to the uhf/vhf non-digital frequencies. In order to listen to Apco 25 or other digital modes you will need a scanner capable of receiving the digital mode.
There are several scanners on the market that can monitor digital modes. If you are looking at a scanner that is set up for the entry level person who does not want to take the time to program the scanner you can look at the Uniden HP-1 HomePatrol-1 Simple Program Scanner - Scanners at Uniden The Radio Shack PRO-197 RadioShack® PRO-197 39,000-Channel Digital Desktop Scanner - RadioShack.com Radio Shack also has a hand held scanner Pro 164 RadioShack® PRO-164 1000-Channel Handheld Scanner - RadioShack.com Then there are the GRE scanners. The PSR 800 GRE America, Inc. - grecom scanner receiver, lcd modules, spread spectrum radio, wireless bridge, scanner antenna, scanner pre-amps. and the PSR 600 GRE America, Inc. - grecom scanner receiver, lcd modules, spread spectrum radio, wireless bridge, scanner antenna, scanner pre-amps. The Radio Shack scanners are made by GRE America.
Hope this helps.

The Radio Shack scanner do not come with the programing cable. This is an additional $35. Also the PSR 500/600 you will need to program using a number of programs available on the internet. These programs run about $35 each. Uniden also makes the 396xt http://www.uniden.com/scanners/bcd396xt-compact-apco-25-handheld-scanner/invt/bcd396xtg/

 

[TES]

. . . Also the PSR 500/600 you will need to program using a number of programs available on the internet. . . ]

While software may make programming easier, software is not needed to program these scanners.

 

[GrumpyGuard]

I stand corrected. I was busy doing three things when I posted. Thanks for keeping me honest.