Good scanner for Placer county

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MSCHOEN

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What would be a good scanner to get for someone who lives in placer county and wants to listen to police and fire for placer county and surrounding areas? Im not too familiar with scan-aficianado lingo, but I'm learning. Thanks much! I'm not too sure what to get on my own because I'm unfamiliar with what type of systems agencies use in this area anymore.
 

RolnCode3

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The only real question is whether they want to listen to Roseville fire or police. If yes, you'll need a slightly more advanced scanner, but nothing exotic. A scanner for Placer Sheriff could be as simple as a BC350C or other conventional analog scanner. Roseville will require a trunking scanner such as a BCT15 BCD996 or something along those lines.
 

MSCHOEN

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Thanks much what about Radio Shack scanners? What would be a similar model with trunking capabilities? Also, would it be best to splurge the extra money for a trunking scanner, for use in the future?
 

cousinkix1953

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Ah, forgot to add that I prefer hand held models, if you happen to know off hand that would be a great help.
In that case, a discontinued Radio Shack Pro 97 can be found new on EBAY for just over $100. It can receive that Roseville trunked system as well as conventional VHF / UHF systems in your immediate area. A hand-held model is fine; but you might need a decent roof top antenna to hear some things.

I bought just one set of rechargeable Ni-Cad batteries for my own Pro 97 and the optional AC/DC power converter that goes with it. My scanner has never gone dead on me in the past two years. It uses AC power when plugged into the wall and recharges the batteries, when the scanner is turned off. This unit is particularly handy when we have no power. Hooking a vintage Pro 2006 scanner to a car battery in this situation was a pain in the butt...
 
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MSCHOEN

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Here's the thing I own a Pro97, but I think I broke it because for the life of me I can't get it to work. I noticed RS has the Pro-164 on sale right now, would that get the job done?
 

cousinkix1953

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Furthermore, how does the 164 compare to the pro-107?
It's almost exactly the same item in the same case too. The 164 has the 800 mhz rebanding firmware updates. I had no trouble reprogramming my scanner after the University of California switched to the new lower frequencies any way.

Buy whichever one you can get the best price on at the time...
 

MSCHOEN

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Price is 149.00 for the 164 and 179.00 for the 107. I did a comparison and the 107 comes with programming cable and ac adapter, but noticed it lacked a lot of features too. I think the 164 might be a better fit, I don't see whats better besides the accessories it comes with. Thanks a lot for your quick responses btw!
 

gmclam

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Here's the thing I own a Pro97, but I think I broke it because for the life of me I can't get it to work. I noticed RS has the Pro-164 on sale right now, would that get the job done?
There is no reason a PRO-97 won't work for that area. I use one, as well as several other models, and monitor as much of Placer county as I can receive - which includes Roseville TRS, the cities from Roseville to Truckee, USFS, Placer Sheriff, etc.

The PRO-164 is an updated version of the PRO-97. The difference is the CPU used; its firmware can be updated. The display has been updated to have an "S meter". I have the PSR-300, which is the GRE version of the '164. I got my '300 from ScannerMaster (an advertiser here on RR) for $149 which included free shipping and the AC adapter.

Furthermore, how does the 164 compare to the pro-107?
In what sense? Ability to receive? The display? Ease of programming? The way it is used?

I look at the '164/PSR-300 vs the '107 this way; if you are in to the HOBBY of scanning, you probably won't like the '107. If you just want a scanner that you can turn on and start listening to, with very little ability to control it, then you'll like the '107. Some people have considered the '107 to be an 'iScanner', comparing it to an iPod. You select a "playlist", and press SCAN. While it does have the entire RR database loaded in an SD memory card, if you want to make a change or listen to something not in memory .. well, good luck.
 

MSCHOEN

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I picked up the pro164 today, on sale. Sorry that I didnt specify, I couldnt get my Pro97 to work because I think it got damaged in the process of moving about a year ago.
 

MSCHOEN

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I would however love to get the info to upload onto my new scanner for this area so that I don't have to manual type in all the frequencies and data, would you be able to help me in this department?
 
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