Need help with older scanner

[july1baby]

I have a 1980 Regency Touch ACT-K100 scanner that my dad used to use when he lived in PA.He has since passed and now I have it. I want to sell it but I want to be sure it works first. I don't know anything about police scanners and it's only an interest when I hear a siren driving by. It has an antennae and the red lights come on -- it appears to be scanning. Everything seems to work but I don't pick up anything. I move the squelch and volume back and forth and still nothing. I've manually entered local frequencies that I found on this site and still don't pick up anything. Can someone offer any useful advice as to what the problem might be. I'd really appreciate it.

 

[firerick100]

Hi July1baby- first off sorry about your fathers passing,i hope your doing ok it tough losing a family member.
anyway lets see if i can shed some light for you,first off i looked up your scanner and its a very old one,you can try and sell it and maybe someone will buy it because they dont make them kind anymore,i looked up your town and what frequencies they use in essex and area towns,it seems like no one uses trunking or digital system so that good for someone that has an anaolg scanner such as this one you have.

now you did say you were not familiar with police scanners,there could be a few reasons why your not picking anything up.When programming the frequncies are you entering the decimal point in there? when i first started scanning back in the day i did not know anything and i entered all the numbers ( I.E 154400) instead of using the decimal (I.E. 154.400if 0you did put the decimal point in then that should be ok.

second maybe there is an issue wtih the antennae,check to see if has a tight connection on the back of the unit.if it is then possibly something could be not working properly on the inside such as a burned out circuit board or a broken wire.or the antena connetion on the inside.

you said you moved the squelch back and fouth so thats not an issue-

and then third is maybe theres no action in your area lol seriously though i never had this exact scanner but i had enough of them to know what usually goes wrong,maybe someone else will post some info that i didnt think of and may also help,

and if you were to get into the hobby and wanted to but a scanner ,all you would need is a cheap anolg scanner if you are just monitoring your town and county,there is no need to spends a fortune on a trunking digital scanner.
i hope you fix your problem

 

[july1baby]

Thanks for the suggestions firerick. I tightened the antennae and yes, I was typing the decimal point. One thing I noticed was once I typed the decimal I could only type 2 more numbers. On the frequency charts it might have a string of zeros after it.

I had also take the case off of it earlier to see if it was rusted out or full of mouse nests or anything. It wasn't. It appeared to be clean inside so that was the extent of my investigation since I'm not an electronics person.

Again, thanks for replying.

 

[FPOWLD]

program in the weather frequency and see if that comes in....162.550 for my area. If it does then the scanner is working.

 

[doctordialtone]

Good idea

program in the weather frequency and see if that comes in.....

KIG-60 on 162.400 megahertz - MOUNT MANSFIELD, VT
WXM-44 on 162.475 megahertz - MOUNT ASCUTNEY, VT
WWG-50 on 162.425 megahertz - BURKE MOUNTAIN, VT
WNG-671 on 162.500 megahertz - GRANDPA'S KNOB, VT

By nature and design, NOAA Weather Radio coverage is generally limited to an area within 40 miles of the transmitter. The quality of what is heard is dictated by the distance from the transmitter, local terrain, and the quality and location of the receiver.

WWG-50 serves the following Counties:
VT- Caledonia, Essex, Orleans, Orange

NOAA's National Weather Service - Burlington, VT - NOAA Weather Radio Information

Good luck!

 

[july1baby]

I live in Chittenden County, Village of Essex. The Burlington International Airport is about 3 miles from me. I should be picking up something. I'm unable to pick up any of the weather channels whose frequencies I've seen.

What I have determined is that something is wrong with the display. The 2nd digit following the decimal point does not print. So if there's six digits allowed, the fifth one doesn't print and on the display it skips to the sixth. I've decided the scanner doesn't work and isn't going to work so I'm going to post it to my local Freecycle board and maybe someone will take it to tinker with.

The good news is that this has gotten me interested in having a working unit. Can anyone make a recommendation of an inexpensive brand that would work in this area that would not be too complicated to operate. I certainly appreciate the feedback I've gotten here.

 

[Rt169Radio]

These are the freqs for where you live.

Chittenden County, Vermont (VT) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Now these scanners below will be able to scan those freqs, the freqs in your area are just common VHF/UHF freqs so you don't need any trunking digital scanner.

Uniden Bearcat BC340CRS Police Scanner Radio

Uniden Bearcat BC355N Police Scanner

Uniden Bearcat BC75XLT Police Scanner

Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Police Scanner

Uniden Bearcat BC72XLT Police Scanner Radio

Uniden Bearcat BC95XLT Police Scanner Radio