new to scanning, thinking of a bct15

[lastgoodusername]

hello to everyone. new to scanning. i'm a truck driver that runs southeast and northeast US. thinking of a bct15 scanner. general listening , vista operating system but i run one computer on linux. any pros , cons mobile antennas , programming , anything to help a noob navigate these new waters would be greatly appreciated. thanks, johnny

 

[DaveIN]

Unless you want the BCT15 at a clearance price or a used one you may want to look at the updated BCT15X model: BCT15X - The RadioReference Wiki

The bold text are updates from the BCT15 Classic model.

As for the software I recommend looking at FreeSCAN. It's donate-ware and well supported. Not much out there for software scanner programmers that can be used with linux, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[safetyobc]

Also, lots of systems all across the country are going digital and to hear lots of these, you'll need a digital scanner. Might be worth stepping up to the BCD996XT (or GRE PSR 600). Just a thought.

 

[lastgoodusername]

that was on my mind as well. i know there is a lot of transition going on and i was worried that i may be buying something that in the very near future would be obsolete or at the best very limited.

 

[torontokris]

The bct15 is a nice analog scanner...
note it wont get digital.. so some cities/states have digital systems so you wont be able to get them

thats about the only drawback of the scanner

as others pointed out, unless you can get one cheap (or on clearance) go for the BCT15X..
The 15T wont be obsolete but why save only $5 off the new model.

hello to everyone. new to scanning. i'm a truck driver that runs southeast and northeast US. thinking of a bct15 scanner. general listening , vista operating system but i run one computer on linux. any pros , cons mobile antennas , programming , anything to help a noob navigate these new waters would be greatly appreciated. thanks, johnny

 

[torontokris]

Note note all BOLD items seem to be correct.. the BCT15 has multi-site (but its in bold on the 15X)... maybe just a copy paste error. But overall it gives a rough idea of the differences.

I totally agree with FREESCAN as well.

Unless you want the BCT15 at a clearance price or a used one you may want to look at the updated BCT15X model: BCT15X - The RadioReference Wiki

The bold text are updates from the BCT15 Classic model.

As for the software I recommend looking at FreeSCAN. It's donate-ware and well supported. Not much out there for software scanner programmers that can be used with linux, but I'm sure you know that.

 

[bushmonk]

Beware with the bct15x ,unless you can fly shuttle.......... 5.0 hours of pushin buttons and all i have heard is static in 12 different pitches and an alarm that will make you need new underware .A cd manual that is a waste of plastic and is in some kind of techno babble.
got this for xmas and not impressed!

 

[RobKB1FJR]

I would go for the newer version of the BC-15 and 996T. Since you will need more memories. I would program at the min. every State Police/Highway Patrol/Registry Police in every state you go through.

If memory allows. I would also program the local PD/FD in towns that are on the highways you travel. That inside of itself could be a daunting task.

It would make more sense to just program the State Police for the respective highways and the local stuff for the stops you make with the truck off of the highway.

 

[lastgoodusername]

thanks for all the info. any guesstimation on analog vs digital syatems in use? state police? or a site that has a rough estimate. i'm just wondering how much i can pick up and how much i would not with the 15x. thanks again, johnny

 

[torontokris]

use FREESCAN or another programming software (suggest premium membership and download directly from radioreference)

its pretty complicated to do by hand for a new member.

Beware with the bct15x ,unless you can fly shuttle.......... 5.0 hours of pushin buttons and all i have heard is static in 12 different pitches and an alarm that will make you need new underware .A cd manual that is a waste of plastic and is in some kind of techno babble.
got this for xmas and not impressed!

 

[torontokris]

I dont know about an estimate but this is the best site to see.. just go to the top right corner and type in where you are visiting and take a look at the system

Take for example illinois.. its a statewide P25 (digital system)
* StarCom21 Statewide Illinois P25 Trunking System, Statewide, Illinois - Scanner Frequencies

But new york is by individual city (new york city police dont look to be digital - not even trunked)
New York County, New York (NY) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference


Looks like most areas you travel are still analog.

thanks for all the info. any guesstimation on analog vs digital syatems in use? state police? or a site that has a rough estimate. i'm just wondering how much i can pick up and how much i would not with the 15x. thanks again, johnny

 

[K7CAR]

The BCT15X is an excellent scanner, BUT a real pain to program and learn. I've had mine for about a month and have spent over 100 hours messing with it, so there is a very steep learning curve. You won't have a paper manual, so you'll have to be close to a computer if you need to refer to the gazillion key functions or if you get some thing messed up. You will mess up ALL the time trying to learn, so be warned.

FreeScan for your computer is free and almost mandatory. I wanted to know how to program by hand and know my way around the scanner, so I tried to stay off FreeScan. Depending on your frustration level that may not be possible!......

Out of the box the 15X has the basic Police, Highway Patrol, Dept. Trans. pre programmed, so you should get a decent amount of traffic if you travel. I saw some where that the amount of digital around the country is less than 15%, so other than large cities I felt it wasn't worth spending $300 more for digital. You'll miss out on some, but if you are traveling you'll have a huge amount of frequencies available for years to come.

 

[bushmonk]

Thanks Torontokris, i take back what i said about the Bct15x
got freescan, had the bct15x programmed for fire and air in our area in 20 min.
this program is a breeze to use ,trying to use the Uniden manual was a nightmare
to bad uniden doesn't tell us about this!!
Cheers all !
And thanks