BCT15X: Match a mobile antenna for a newbie

[jrh143]

Sorry for the thread bump. Does anyone have a used digital scanner they'd sell me on the cheap so I can get into this? No joy in my online searches so far, and very confusing as many are advertising their scanners as digital when in fact they are not! What's a newbie to do?

 

[jonwienke]

Digital scanners aren't cheap, even used, unless you get lucky and find a seller who doesn't realize what they have. Do your research and save your money until you can afford to get one from a reputable seller.

 

[Danny37]

I highly suggest searching your local pawn/thrift stores. My friend was able to get a used uniden bcd536hp for $200. Made me jealous since I bought one of these guys new and spent more then double that amount and I don't use it as much as I want to since everything is analog conventional where I am. I mostly use it for trunking and remote monitoring.

 

[paulears]

We have quite big names selling handheld radios as scanners, and here in the UK most annoyingly many sellers advertise products with non-UK sales blurb - as in "digital scanner for Police, Fire and Ambulance communications. Sounds good but investigation shows it to be an analogue handheld, with digital readout and totally unable to receive our emergency services as they use digits that nobody can decrypt. I see people buying these on ebay - but I never find out how many get sent back because the advert just copied the box!

 

[Danny37]

Just like people who advertise those Chinese radios as digital police scanners on eBay, I usually report them for scamming.

 

[trp2525]

Sorry for the thread bump. Does anyone have a used digital scanner they'd sell me on the cheap so I can get into this? No joy in my online searches so far, and very confusing as many are advertising their scanners as digital when in fact they are not! What's a newbie to do?

If you only need P25 Phase I digital in your area, the Whistler WS1065 desktop/mobile is a very solid performer with excellent digital decode and audio quality. It also comes with the USB computer programming cable (normally a $25-$30 accessory item with other model scanners). Whistler currently has it on sale for $222 (plus shipping) and it is brand-new with a full 1-year warranty from Whistler: https://whistlergroup.com/collections/clearance-items/products/sale-2-22-only-ws1065-222

If you prefer to buy used (like on eBay) look for a Radio Shack PRO-197, PRO-652 or GRE PSR-600 in addition to the Whistler WS1065 as they are all essentially the same scanner.

If you need/want P25 Phase II, ProVoice and/or DMR/MotoTRBO look elsewhere as the WS1065 will not decode any of those digital formats.