Just a realization I’d like to share…

[n1chu]

I was reading a post on a vintage scanner forum last night. It showed a pic of a 6 channel crystal controlled scanner, the caption reading “When 6 channels were enough.” My first thought was 6 channels have ALWAYS been enough, we just don’t realize it!

The phrase back then was “The more you listen to, the more you hear.”
Todays phrase is “The more you listen to, the LESS you hear.”
Both statements are true when used in the right “time” context.

I’ve been absorbed in monitoring public safety since I was a teenager (I just turned 76 yesterday). My interest in scanning predates scanners as my first radio was a Realistic Patrolman tunable 30-50 MHz receiver. I grew up in a rural community with a volunteer fire dept. that used 3 or 4 large sirens throughout the town to alert their membership of a fire call. I was curious as to where they were going when I heard the sirens and thought I’d be able to learn the location by listening to their VHF low bank frequency. As it turned out dispatch didn’t alert the FD over the radio, instead they pushed a button to set off the sirens. The first guy into the firehouse would pick up the special red phone tied into dispatch, learn what and where, and write it on a chalkboard. I was no better off as I still didn’t learn where the FD was going! (The police were also on VHF low band but they weren’t of much help… the town was lucky to have one or two patrolmen on duty at any given moment so they usually didn’t bother with fire calls unless there was a specific need.

But that old tunable 30-50 MHz Realistic Patrolman receiver set me up for something I never expected… scanning. (I should also mention it was a primary reason I joined the volunteer ranks of the FD). I would sit by my Patrolman and tune from one end of the band to the other, listening for police and the fire calls. The FD was at one end of the band and the police were at the other. Then one day I learned about a single channel monitor radio from Regency and thought if I had two of them all my needs would be met. (Boy, if I only knew then what I know today!) But before I had saved enough for a couple of single channel radios, a 4 channel Regency scanner came on the scene, then an 8 channel, and again with a split band 4 channel VHF low band/4 channel VHF high band, or either of the VHF bands and the UHF band! Wow! I can now scan 8 channels on two bands! (I don’t even remember if there were 8 channels I could hear without an outside antenna, another added expense.

As is the obvious, the channel count continued to grow, and my own excitement with it.

Fast forward to today… things have really changed. I did a good job of keeping up with the latest and greatest (How many remember a Tennelec synthesized scanner that came with a book with every frequency listed along with the binary code equivalent, needed to program the scanner? I had one of those-it kept breaking down… after the third warrenty repair I sold it, wondering if we were going to be stuck with having to buy crystals if we wanted something more dependable than the synthesized Tennelec!

Today, I’ve got two of the Uniden SDS200’s, a SDS100, and a few previous scanners along with a Unication G5 pager used as a scanner. With hundreds of thousands of frequencies available to be scanned. While there was a time when I hit a high point in my ability to keep track of a large portion of the spectrum as it applied to my region, it’s shrunken drastically, partly due to lost interest, partly to old age, back down to the two dispatch frequencies of my home town! But I still have those moments where two simply will not do!

I suppose it’s enough to know I am capable of receiving as much or as little as I choose at any given moment. But while I have no intention of reducing my collection of scanners, I sure have way more than I need or use at one time! (Something I thought I might try the next time my wife was out of state visiting family… I would dedicate each receiver, both the scanners (and ham portables with general coverage receivers), each to a different channel or TG. A total of 10 radios. It was a nice thought but I found I wasn’t too keen on managing it. There were periods of information overload, not to mention the added noise kept interrupting my nap time!

Yea… 6 channels are enough.

 

[mark40]

Thank you for sharing. My experience is quite similar, apart from starting about 10 years after you did. My Regency MR10D did for me what you old Realistic Patrolman did for you.

Started out like you did in my hometown VFD. Retired as a career FF and now back to volunteering locally. Listening interests are much reduced, primarily just county Fire, LE and EMS. This vs. years back focused not only on my local public safety interests but receiving anything out there near and far.

Funny, I have an old Realistic scanner I recently programed for my sister who lives nearby. She only needs/wants the basics for the area. Coincidentally 6 channels was enough.

 

[trentbob]

I agree that 6 to 8 channels was adequate in The Newsroom, that was a very popular saying, the more you scan the less you hear. It was a running battle with some people wanting to put the scanners on four different counties and others like myself wanting to limit to just dispatch in our catchment area. You don't want to miss a bank robbery down the street because of a car stop two counties over I would say.

With today's scanners with so many favorites list Etc, it's still four to six key objects to listen to but it's nice to have infrequently used frequencies monitored also like guard, Coast Guard, Amtrak police, old VHF and UHF repeaters used by local police departments off of the county system that they rarely use and other obscure things to listen to.

Actually enjoyed the old days when you had six to eight choices with scanning diodes, and you could enable and disable a channel with a quick flip of a slide switch, especially when you were driving.

 

[ladn]

Like @trentbob , I have a newspaper background. My first monitor was a tunable Radio Shack VHF Hi/Lo receiver, circa 1971, followed by a Regency 8 channel Vhf Hi/Lo xtal controlled scanner. This was a simpler time and 8 channels were quite adequate for my needs in LA County.

The Regency had a push button enable/disable switch for each channel, so it was easy to lock out unneeded channels in order to concentrate on the channels used at a breaking news incident.

Next purchase in the late 70's was one of those new fangled Bearcat BC-101 synthesized 16 channel scanners. This gave me twice the scanning capacity, plus UHF (agencies in my area were starting the up frequency migration). The BC-101 also had a switch for each channel position like the Regency. This remains my favorite scanner model of all time because of the switch feature.

For a time I had both the Regency and Bearcat scanners in my car. This gave me greater flexibility as I could keep the Regency locked on a dispatch channel and scan fireground or tac channels on the Bearcat.

Next up were BC 250's, 300's and 760 XLT mobiles, along with various handhelds. These gave me greater programming ease and increased monitoring capacity (with everything analog and no E to worry about), but none were as convenient as the BC-101 when chasing breaking news.

 

[kc2asb]

Thanks for sharing! I got started in the mid 80's or so at age 11/12 when I decided to play around with an old multi-band tunable radio my father had. It was AM, FM and VHF high band labeled PSB/Air. I heard aircraft comms from nearby Newark Airport and was hooked! A few months later came a Realistic SW-60 multiband tunable radio, which included VHFhi/lo, Air, UHF and shortwave. Next (c.1988) I received a BC-140 10 channel scanner and Betty Bearcat frequency guide as a birthday gift.

At first 10 channels seemed like enough, to cover local PD/FD plus a small neighboring city. Then I wanted to monitor NYPD and other nearby agencies, plus amateur radio, marine, etc. Two years later I had a Pro-2006. 400 channels seemed endless. Later I moved on to a Bearcat 780XLT for trunking, 996T when my local dept went digital, and then a 536HP and 996P2. I thought the more scanners, the better, and added additional analog scanners for monitoring counties further out.

Now, I feel like less is more. There is only so much you can listen to at once before it becomes information overload. I still have all of these scanners, but now use 2 or 3 at most on a regular basis, depending on what I want to hear. Of course, with my local dept encrypted and surrounding agencies either on or going to encrypted systems, the choice of what to listen is sort of being made for me. LOL

 

[trentbob]

Roger, the Electra bearcat 101 is also my favorite all-time scanner and I too had the Radio Shack slide rule dial receiver you had but I got the pro 1 which was single band in 1969.. built like a steel fortress.

Again nothing beat the Electra Bearcat 101, I got mine when they first came out in 75, none of the technical issues some of them had. I often did not scan more than eight objects at a time.

That confounded, fangled contraption was better than sliced bread.😉

 

[tvengr]

My interest in scanning predates scanners as my first radio was a Realistic Patrolman tunable 30-50 MHz receiver.

I still have a Realistic Patrolman PRO-3A tunable receiver. It covers 3 bands: VHF Low, VHF High, and UHF. There was a problem when I used it mobile. When the heater came on, the frequency drifted and I lost the signal. There was constant retuning. Those newfangled crystal receivers and scanners solved that problem.

 

[kc2asb]

I found a Bearcat 101 at a hamfest 25+ years ago for $5. At that price, there was nothing to lose and I was happy to have one, working or not. I found the free programming tool online, put in the local NWS frequency and to my surprise it came alive.

 

[kc2asb]

I still have a Realistic Patrolman PRO-3A tunable receiver. It covers 3 bands: VHF Low, VHF High, and UHF. There was a problem when I used it mobile. When the heater came on, the frequency drifted and I lost the signal. There was constant retuning. Those newfangled crystal receivers and scanners solved that problem.

I have a Pro-3 that came from Ebay some years ago. It performs well for a tunable receiver; even had it monitoring the NYPD occasionally. The Pro-3/3A are large, heavy beasts and are very solidly constructed.

 

[trentbob]

Those newfangled crystal receivers and scanners solved that problem.

Absolute Space Age Technology.. it was truly amazing.

I had tunables from my dad since 1965 when I was about 12. First exposure to Crystal control radio was the electra bearcat Crystal radios we all know, patrolman scanners were also nice, 8 channels with the slightly horizontal orange diode and push button selection.

Never had an issue with the Radio Shack Pro 1 tunable and the heater affecting it, I drove a stick then, it just must have been the way I mounted it.

 

[tvengr]

I have a Pro-3 that came from Ebay some years ago. It performs well for a tunable receiver; even had it monitoring the NYPD occasionally. The Pro-3/3A are large, heavy beasts and are very solidly constructed.

You are certainly right about the size and weight. They were built to last.

I still have an Electra Bearcat III eight channel crystal-controlled scanner. They were built like a tank also. In addition, I still have Realistic PRO-4 and PRO-5 four channel crystal-controlled scanners.

 

[trentbob]

You are certainly right about the size and weight. They were built to last.

I still have an Electra Bearcat III eight channel crystal-controlled scanner. They were built like a tank also. In addition, I still have Realistic PRO-4 and PRO-5 four channel crystal-controlled scanners.

What a wonderful memory of the Pro 4 pocket scan that was VHF High only and four channels was enough as we had VHF High repeaters then for the police. Superb radio that slipped right in your pants pocket. Had the Oddball rubber duck that plugged into the pin connection but do you remember?..

It also had a rubber coated thin 15 in wire that also plugged into the antenna pin connection.. you could slip it into your pants pocket and just the wire would be seen hanging out of your pants. As I say four channels was enough.

Rivaled only by the Electra bearcat thin scans later, that had several models 4 and 6 channel crystal control.

You know it's true, we did just fine with four, six and eight channel scanners LOL.

 

[MiCon]

Ditto. 1966. My local VFD was on a low band frequency shared by five other local VFD's (33.94). A high band freq was also shared by numerous local FD's & RS's (154.31). Another freq was shared by most of the local PD's (155.31). Those three frequencies, plus one for my town RS, plus one for the state patrol, plus one for the county police, were all I needed to follow all of the local action. Good thing for me, because as a teenager I couldn't afford to buy a lot of crystals. My first scanner was Radio Shack's first scanner, an eight channel crystal scanner (with a REALLY slow scan speed compared to today).

Fast forward to today. I have four scanners on my desk for a total 2,416 channels (and I have other scanners for mobile and travel use) . But I again live in a rural area, and the 16 channel scanner covers the local basics. And there have been days when I tire of trying to keep track of the other stuff, so I set one radio to the local FD disp, one radio to the county FD disp, one to the local PD, and one for state patrol. That way i can work and listen without being distracted, yet hear every thing I need to be aware of.

And yes, when the first fifty channel scanner came out, I thought "Who the heck has fifty frequencies they want to listen to"?

 

[n1chu]

Roger, the Electra bearcat 101 is also my favorite all-time scanner and I too had the Radio Shack slide rule dial receiver you had but I got the pro 1 which was single band in 1969.. built like a steel fortress.

Again nothing beat the Electra Bearcat 101, I got mine when they first came out in 75, none of the technical issues some of them had. I often did not scan more than eight objects at a time.

That confounded, fangled contraption was better than sliced bread.😉

A friend of mine had the 101, kept it sitting on a window sill using the telescopic antenna it came with… until he forgot to close the window and it rained! He approached me to see if I could fix it. He liked the scanner so much he told me money was no object, within reason. (It didn’t make much sense to repair if the cost approached the cost of new.) I just boxed it up and sent it back to Uniden/Bearcat. At the time I believe the cost was a flat rate $40! The only thing I didn’t like about it was not a day passed without him asking if I had fixed it yet while I was waiting for its return. (I didn’t tell him I had farmed it out for repair… big mistake, because when it did come back he raved about it and my expertise fixing it. This led to others asking if I could fix their scanners or other electronic devices! I had to come clean and stop taking credit for the fix.)

 

[trentbob]

A friend of mine had the 101, kept it sitting on a window sill using the telescopic antenna it came with… until he forgot to close the window and it rained! He approached me to see if I could fix it. He liked the scanner so much he told me money was no object, within reason. (It didn’t make much sense to repair if the cost approached the cost of new.) I just boxed it up and sent it back to Uniden/Bearcat. At the time I believe the cost was a flat rate $40! The only thing I didn’t like about it was not a day passed without him asking if I had fixed it yet while I was waiting for its return. (I didn’t tell him I had farmed it out for repair… big mistake, because when it did come back he raved about it and my expertise fixing it. This led to others asking if I could fix their scanners or other electronic devices! I had to come clean and stop taking credit for the fix.)

I'm surprised Uniden knew what to do with it as the 101 was made by Electra bearcat of Cumberland Indiana in 1975 and Uniden didn't buy their company until 1983. But it makes sense that they could fix it.

 

[kc2asb]

I'm surprised Uniden knew what to do with it as the 101 was made by Electra bearcat of Cumberland Indiana in 1975 and Uniden didn't buy their company until 1983. But it makes sense that they could fix it.

It must have been very early into Uniden's ownership when they still had Electra's leftover parts inventory. I've read that Electra scanners were usually returned as unrepairable with a "U" carved into some part of the housing. A BC-210 I purchased on Ebay had the telltale "U".

 

[trentbob]

It must have been very early into Uniden's ownership when they still had Electra's leftover parts inventory. I've read that Electra scanners were usually returned as unrepairable with a "U" carved into some part of the housing. A BC-210 I purchased on Ebay had the telltale "U".

Maybe they didn't need parts, if someone gave me a 101 with that complaint I would take the case off and go after it with a hair dryer LOL. I know the diodes used to burn out a lot and Uniden did not have those so you were Sol. As far as the Electra bearcat 210 many Uniden scanners after the takeover had the same exact design but more advanced with more features but were based on the 210..

The move from Crystal control listening to programmable listening really changed a lot, the 101 had 16 channels so it really opened up a lot of possibilities and you didn't have to special order and wait for crystals of unusual or unpopular frequencies.

From Crystal control scanners to programmable then to trunking and so forth was remarkable but again my favorite days of scanning were four to eight channel Crystal radios.

Life in general was more simple then and priorities were different.. in the news business we used manually controlled cameras that we manually adjusted aperture and shutter speed, used film that we processed ourselves and manually focused. You controled the camera; the camera didn't control you. A real photographer was real and rare and before Photoshop we would crop, dodge and burn in the darkroom to make things perfect.

A big game changer was the bag phones, then the brick, then the star tac Motorola flip phones and we used heavy black leather cases for them and they were nicknamed The Shoe Phone after the famous Maxwell Smart.

Same with the cars, we did all of our own tune-ups and oil changes and brakes.. they were so simple and efficient then.

Overall those were the good days and I did enjoy Crystal controlled radios. All we really listened to was police, if something big was going on no matter what it was, accident, fire, crime Etc the first place it got dispatched, if it was serious enough to be newsworthy, was the police.

You've seen one house fire, you've seen them all unless it was unusual circumstances, fatalities or a very large church or something which did happen.

This is a good topic and fun to recall.

 

[Omega-TI]

Honestly, radios and scanning is not one of my primary hobbies. When I do listen to my scanners it's usually only scanning three to six frequencies at a time, mostly local PD, Sheriff and fire and if something gets closer, sometimes I activate the ambulance and tactical frequencies. For this the crystal rig and a couple of Baofengs do the job as I'm blessed to live in an area where 90% of everything is still on analog.

Now there are times when I use the SDS100 like when I'm mobile and want the monitor the State Patrol's P25 based communications, when I want to use the Close Call feature or am out of town and switch to the pre-programmed lists... but then like what others have stated, the more you scan, the less you hear.

I also use a the Eton from time to time so sit on a single airband frequency. Oh, and most important, I've found that sometimes it's more advantageous to use two or three cheaper radios at one time, than use one more expensive one and miss things when you do really just want to monitor multiple things and not simply use them as background noise.

 

[kc2asb]

Honestly, radios and scanning is not one of my primary hobbies. When I do listen to my scanners it's usually only scanning three to six frequencies at a time, mostly local PD, Sheriff and fire and if something gets closer, sometimes I activate the ambulance and tactical frequencies. For this the crystal rig and a couple of Baofengs do the job as I'm blessed to live in an area where 90% of everything is still on analog.

Makes sense to me. There is only so much you can listen to and process at one time. Honestly, I had more fun with the simple 10 channel Uniden BC-140XLT I received when I was a kid than any of the later sophisticated radios I bought on my own. Ten channels covered my hometown PD/FD and that of the small neighboring city, with a couple of channels left over.

Edit: The BC-140XLT only had a two digit LED display. To see the frequency programmed into each channel, you pressed "Review" and it would display one digit at a time. Good thing I only needed an index card to keep track of everything I was monitoring!

 

[KC0QNB]

I remember the Pocket Scan, I started out with a Wards Airline 10-band tunable receiver. I didn't have a crystal-controlled scanner back then. I now own a few vintage units, including two Bearcat IIIs. The Airline was enough then. I remember a 16-channel scanner that used the equivalent of punch cards to program it, I want to say Tennelec was the brand, too much money for my budget then.