help me buy the right scanner for my dad

[mikepthe11]

1st off, i apologize as i'm totally ignorant to the world of scanners and scanning...but for as long as i can remember, my dad, who has lived in Philly all his life, has owned a scanner and has thouroughly enjoyed listening to the local neighborhood "boys in blue" night after night, relaxing in his lazy-boy...long story short, he's stymied by the new radio system in place that has forced him and so many other to have to upgrade and seek out new, more expensive scanners...he's looked locally into getting a new scanner that will work with the new system in Philly but i told him to hold off when i heard the prices he was being quoted - $600-$800. Being the concerned son, my question is - is he getting ripped off??

My dad isn't internet savy at all, so i searched around a little but honestly, i really don't know what i'm looking for...i need to know what brand/model he can purchace...along with any other nessesary chips/upgrades/mods etc he'll also need in order to listen to the Philly police again. Is it as simple as getting a Uniden bc250d with the bci25d chip upgrade?? help!?!?

 

[crayon]

mikepthe11,

Welcome to the group!

You will need to steer clear of the BC250D models because of rebanding.

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=22155

 

[doctordave]

Mikepthe11,

Also, welcome to the group. There are essentially 4 current options for your Dad which will likely not present any challenges w/ the upcoming re-banding. A Uniden portable (BC 296), Uniden mobile/base (BC 796), Radio Shack portable (pro-96) and Radio Shack mobile/base (pro-2096).

Folks are probably evenly divided on the choice b/w Radio Shack and Uniden....but I am a huge Uniden fan. They are easier to use....particularly if you are accustomed to traditional scanners and wish to scroll manually through the talkgroups with ease. See the comparison tabs on the SCANNING FORUM for additional contrasts between the models.

In terms of price, the Unidens will run about $520.....not much difference in price w/ the RS models. I am a huge fan of www.usascan.com and buy all of my products from them, but there are plenty of other great vendors out there, as well. PC software makes programming the radios a real snap, as opposed to laborious hand-programming.

Good luck! You will find a mountain of background on digital scanning on the SCANNING, RADIO SHACK and UNIDEN forums.

 

[mikepthe11]

...many thanks for yr' warm welcomes and helpful posts...i'll look into the abovementioned models tomorrow...much obliged for the suggestions!...just double-checking - he'll have no problem listening to the Philly PD on any of those models without modification?..."laborious hand-programming" kinda' has me worried...can a virtual techno-caveman such as my dad handle the kind of programming nessesary or are the suggested scanners all "ready-to-go", right out of the box?

...i also forgot to mention...he's a HUGE Nascar fan and this year, i'm paying my pennance by going to the big Dover race with him in June...will he also be able to dial-into his favorite Nascar pit crews with these models as well??

...again...i appreciate any and all time, effort and help...thanks!

 

[doctordave]

They can certainly be programmed by hand - but it is a major pain. If you link to a PC and use software (free w/ Uniden or a cheap purchase for RS models), then it is a total piece of cake. Maybe you'd be the one to program it for your Dad? You'll do nicely w/ Philly PD & FD monitoring using any of the four radios....not to mention NJSP.

No prob on the NASCAR comms.....would also have great listening w/ the DE statewide digital public safety system and Dover AFB freqs, as well.

Of note, you don't have coverage of many of the military air freqs w/ the Radio Shack models..... ? another reason to lean toward Uniden.

Perhaps the Uniden BC-296 portable might be the best option for your Dad. The RS pro-96 portable has some great features, but requires greater tech know-how to operate. Any of the 4 radios are essentially ready to program and then operate straight out of the box.

 

[yelocrd]

Just a quick second to Dave's advice and to add that the folks at www.usascan.com are top notch. I have purchased two scanners from them and couldn't be more pleased. Generally the shipping cost is included in the price with the scanner on your doorstep in two days.
Mark

 

[mikepthe11]

update

...i've pretty much desided on the Uniden BC296D for my Dad...much to yr' feedback...and after some additional research into info on that model in specific...

...now, i saw it for sale on www.scanners-r-us.com for a reasonable price...not the lowest i saw but not the highest either...they also seemed to be fairly reputable seller as well...but my question is this - they offer a programming package for @ $46 where they'll pre-program my pop's scanner for the Philly area, which would alleviate both the cost of the software and cables needed to do it yr'self...and the need to do it ourselves...does this sound like a good deal, or is it a better idea to get the software and "scanner to pc" cable just as an added insurance policy in the event that we'll have to re-program it if and when any of the Philly channels/stations/frequencies (?) change over time??

...can you tell i know nothing of what i'm talking about here?!?! 8^)

 

[JoeyC]

I would program the scanner myself vs wasting $46. You never know how thorough they will be or whether they will miss important freqs/talkgroups. New talkgroups come up from time to time and if you rely on someone pre-programming and never bother to learn how to do it yourself, you are screwed when things change, and they will.

 

[doctordave]

I'll second JoeyC's suggestion to do the programming yourself. The programming software & cable to connect to PC are included in the box w/ the 296. As long as you have a PC, you are set. The software is very basic & user-friendly. Like JoeyC noted, you will no doubt want to make future programming changes, as new talkgroup assignments are discovered, etc. Also nice to have the data backed up in the event of radio memory failure - but this is very unlikely to be needed.

I absolutely love my 296. The only real drawback is the fact that the stock battery pack only goes for 6-8 hours (w/ digital use) on each charge. If your Dad will use it away from the AC charger for extended periods, you may wish to get an aftermarket higher capacity pack for about $30....could extend use to about 12-14 hours b/w charges.

 

[mikepthe11]

"The programming software & cable to connect to PC are included in the box w/ the 296."

...ohhhhh! i had no idea about that...then it totally makes more sense to learn and do it yr'self...and i'll also opt for the long-life battery too, as i'm sure it'll get a full day's use at the races in June...

...i called my dad last night and told him about this website and about all the helpful folks here...he's much obliged, as am i...so thanks again y'all for yr' help!

 

[mikepthe11]

WOOHOO! i got the BC-296D in the mail yesterday...brand new in the box...$505.99 + $9 shipping...i gotta' work today but i'm gonna try to tackle the programming either tomorrow or on Wed...if i run into any problems...scratch that...WHEN i run into problems, i'll be sure to pop back in here for some assistance...thanks again for yr' help, fellahs!

 

[doctordave]

Congrats!!! Good price, too. You and your Dad are going to love it. Feel free to give us a shout if you have any difficulty w/ programming......but I think you'll find the spreadsheet-style Uniden software very easy to work with. Enjoy!

 

[mikepthe11]

...yikes! i'm just NOW getting around to programming this thing for my dad and i'm totally lost! i'm trying to use the "Service Search Scan" drop-down list scanning option, part of the included scanner software program...and i'm getting things to register in the "Hits" box but it's all static and squelch...i can't get any clear channels...anybody know why?

...also, i'm wondering if i'm gonna be able to program the scanner for the Philly PD, FD, etc here on Long Island - in other words, am i able to pick up the channels from Philly all the way up here in L.I. in order to program them into the scanner??...oh i'm lost!