Need a recommendation from the experts....

[moorfan]

Hello friends,
I am a long-time scanner listener who has been left behind by the rapid advances in technology. Scanning to me nowadays is a bit of a "black box" that I don't totally understand. I am the owner of a 436HP and a SDS100, and have managed to program those.

I now live in a rural area, and am going to be putting up a base antenna (Diamond V2000a). I am 65 miles away from the nearest trunked system, so I don't expect to hear those. Most of the emergency services in my area are in the 155mHz range as well as the 450mHz range.

I am looking for a recommendation for a solid base scanner that could be useful in my particular situation. I thought about one of the older RadioShack models off ebay because I could program the frequencies in directly, without having to have another computer hookup.
I just don't want to have to spend another $700 on a SDS200 if I don't have to.

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[ScubaJungle]

If you dont need any of the digital modes besides P25, try to grab a BCD996XT for sub$200

 

[doctordialtone]

Thanks for any and all help!

I second the Uniden 996XT or 996P2.

 

[moorfan]

Thank you all!
Any thoughts on the Bearcat BCT15?

 

[doctordialtone]

Any thoughts on the Bearcat BCT15?

That's an ANALOG only scanner

BCT15 - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

 

[N8IAA]

Thank you all!
Any thoughts on the Bearcat BCT15?

If you have no digital modes in your area on the 150/4450 MHz frequencies, the 15X will outperform either the 436 or the 100.
You may even put those two scanners in a box and just use the 15X.

Mine is outstanding on VHF/UHF conventional. Using an indoor antenna, I can monitor two counties away. One of the best scanner purchases I've ever made.

 

[moorfan]

Most everything I would be looking to listen to is either FM or FMN. Med channels are important to me, also FMN. So maybe the BCT15 would be okay.
I also thought about putting a SMA connector onto the LMR400 and directly wiring up the SDS 100.

 

[ScubaJungle]

Most everything I would be looking to listen to is either FM or FMN. Med channels are important to me, also FMN. So maybe the BCT15 would be okay.
I also thought about putting a SMA connector onto the LMR400 and directly wiring up the SDS 100.

If throwing an sma connector on your cable will solve the need of you needing another scanner, period, then do that. I have my BCD436HP hooked up to base antenna in the same way.

The BCD436HP is pretty good with analog, better than the SDS, but as N8IAA said, generally the analog only scanners are best for analog

 

[moorfan]

If throwing an sma connector on your cable will solve the need of you needing another scanner, period, then do that. I have my BCD436HP hooked up to base antenna in the same way.

The BCD436HP is pretty good with analog, better than the SDS, but as N8IAA said, generally the analog only scanners are best for analog

That is something that I have definitely noticed, that the 436HP seems much better with the frequencies in my area than the SDS.

 

[marksmith]

You are over invested owning an sds100 where you are. Without a ton of trunked active systems, that radio is not as good as a basic 125AT

I go back and forth from rural areas and heavy urban areas. The sds100 is terrific in dense areas of trunked systems..

I never bother with it when I hit the rural areas. I usually use 396xt as my choice there.

While the sds200 is a fabulous radio in the right environment my recommendation for you would probably be a 996xt (if you can find one) or a 996p2 (of you can't). They are basically the same radio with the only difference being phase2 vs phase1 digital trunking, which is meaningless to you.

 

[eaf1956]

If you have no digital modes in your area on the 150/4450 MHz frequencies, the 15X will outperform either the 436 or the 100.
You may even put those two scanners in a box and just use the 15X.

Mine is outstanding on VHF/UHF conventional. Using an indoor antenna, I can monitor two counties away. One of the best scanner purchases I've ever made.

I think I'd still even with no current digital in his area recommend the BCD 996P2. Just a kind of future proofing. 1 local county just changed from high band VHF analog to high band VHF digital in my area.

 

[popnokick]

I now live in a rural area, and am going to be putting up a base antenna (Diamond V2000a). I am 65 miles away from the nearest trunked system, so I don't expect to hear those. Most of the emergency services in my area are in the 155mHz range as well as the 450mHz range.

The Diamond V2000A (I have one and like it very much) is a narrowly-tuned antenna for the 6 meter, 2 meter, and 70cm ham bands. It's not the best antenna for general scanning in the 155 mHz VHF and 450 mHz UHF public service ranges. Particularly if you're not a ham and not transmitting, there are better antennas available for the listening interest you stated.

 

[Bob1955]

If you have no digital modes in your area on the 150/4450 MHz frequencies, the 15X will outperform either the 436 or the 100.
You may even put those two scanners in a box and just use the 15X.

Mine is outstanding on VHF/UHF conventional. Using an indoor antenna, I can monitor two counties away. One of the best scanner purchases I've ever made.

N8lAA, You are 100% correct. My buddies 436HP us NOT good at all. His window frame was closed for a return. He would of been WAY better off with either the BCD-996P2 or the BCD-325P2 as he owned the BC-125 AT before. Then The City of New Rochelle Police went P.25 simulcast digital but only on (1) frequency of 155.130/NAC100 and they have (3) transmitters throughout the city. Everyone over-buys and gets feature and benefit that in "Most" cases, are necessary. I do admit that if someone hold a GENERAL ham radio license and is really into $2,000 Icom base units...then spending $699.95 on a SDS-200 is their prerogative!

 

[jim202]

I would not connect the LMR-400 directly to any radio. It is too stiff and would be hard to keep the scanner connected directly with the SMA connection. You would be much better off with a short flexible jumper to take the tension off of the SMA or even a BNC connector on a radio. A one or two foot section of RG-58 won't kill the sensitivity enough to notice.

Jim

 

[pb_lonny]

To me it is about the right radio for the right area / system. Get a analogue base radio and you will be set.