new to scanning

[hawkeye0323]

i am new to scanning. i was wondering what kind of scanner i should get. i was looking in some different forums and people were talking about digital and analog scanners. i know digital are better but would one be worth my money? i am thinking about getting a Uniden Bearcat BC246T. would that be a good scanner to use around here?

 

[TinEar]

Hawkeye, if you got a 246, you wouldn't be able to copy DC Police or Fire, Montgomery, Howard, Harford Counties, Baltimore City, the Eastern Shore Consortium or any of the Northern Virginia nets which you're close enough to hear from your location. They are all digital.

 

[hawkeye0323]

what scanner would you Recommend that i get?

 

[TinEar]

Since you're talking about a 246, I'll assume you want a portable scanner, not a base/mobile. In that case, the Radio Shack PRO-96 or the Uniden BC296 are about the only choices. If you can find a BC250 (which needs the addition of a digital card), you could save a few bucks. Or, you could wait until late summer when Uniden comes out with the BC396 which has a whole raft of new features and will be perfect for an area like this with so many trunked systems. You're going to spend the best part of $500 for a new digital scanner. Or you could watch the "Equipment for Sale" thread here at radioreference for someone to sell a used unit. I just bought another BC785D (base digital unit) tonight from that list for $325.

 

[hawkeye0323]

i dont want to be paying 500 for one. is there any other ones that are not top ofthe line but still good.

 

[TinEar]

Unfortunately, not if you want a digital scanner. Other than used, you just can't get far away from that price. You haven't really let us know what you're interested in hearing. For instance, since you're in PG County, if that's all you wanted to hear, that 246 would be beautiful. You could also hear most of the fire dispatch frequencies since almost all the counties have kept a VHF/UHF frequency for this purpose even though they've gone to a trunked system.

If you just want to hear a scanner from this area, tune into the web site I have listed below my signature. I have a streaming scanner going at that site with both analog and digital trunked systems along with conventional systems.

Alan

 

[hawkeye0323]

thanks for the info. im going to look around and maybe i might stumble across a deal. i might look on ebay or something like that.

 

[TinEar]

Hawkeye, I just saw this on the Equipment for Sale thread which referenced a sale on Ebay here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5754400105

It's a Uniden BC296 that could turn out to be what you're looking for.