New to scanning

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billmcbride0128

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Overland Park, KS
I am new to scanning and looking for opinions on which scanner to buy. I am looking at the Uniden Bearcat BCD396XT and the comparable Radio Shack version... Any thoughts?
 

K6ARL

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Jun 2, 2011
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Crown, Minnesota
depends on what radio systems you want to listen to. If you're going to listen to analog, get an analog scanner. if, however, you are going to listen to digital, or trunked systems, you'll need a more expensive piece of equipment. try to find out what the agencies you will be scanning are using, and whether they will be switching systems in the near future.
73s
K6ARL
 

russellmaher

KC1ANC
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Apr 13, 2010
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Enfield, CT
I totally agree with Bob's statement, so I suggest doing your own comparison. If you have dealers in your area, try to check out both brands, feel them, operate them and let your gut tell you which is the best for you.

I own several scanners (Unidens and Radio Shacks). They are all good and give me hours of enjoyment, so it's an individual preference. Good luck in your search, and welcome to the hobby and to RR.

Russell
 

jrskaggs

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Jul 4, 2009
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florida 33809
Is the extra 99.00 dollar download for the home patrol worth it and does it actually help the reception on the digital P25 broadcasts
 

troygly

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Cawker City KS
Hi, newvbie to this forum but I got myself gre psr-600, about 1 hr ago I finally got it programmed with p25 system both troop's c&d and a couple of analog frequencies, also I am ham radio operator, in Cawker City.
 

billmcbride0128

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Overland Park, KS
Well, I went with the BCD 396TX and even popped for the ARC-XT Pro software to make programming easier... I cant figure the freaking software out. I did everything it said to do and cant get any transmissions on the scanner. I have tried for the last three days and not 1 thing to come out. I am trying to program for Kansas: Johnson County Sheriff, Olathe PD & Overland Park PD to start with. I am about to just forget it and return the whole lot!
 

divemaster500

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Dec 13, 2011
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Central Pennsylvania
Well, I went with the BCD 396TX and even popped for the ARC-XT Pro software to make programming easier... I cant figure the freaking software out. I did everything it said to do and cant get any transmissions on the scanner. I have tried for the last three days and not 1 thing to come out. I am trying to program for Kansas: Johnson County Sheriff, Olathe PD & Overland Park PD to start with. I am about to just forget it and return the whole lot!

Don't get frustrated and give up, there is a learning curve with ANY radio. I have a GRE-PSR 800 and even with software, written materials and lots of help there are still things that come up that make you crazy. Anyway, welcome to the Radio Reference boards and the exciting world of scanning!
 

KC9VZV

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Well, I went with the BCD 396TX and even popped for the ARC-XT Pro software to make programming easier... I cant figure the freaking software out. I did everything it said to do and cant get any transmissions on the scanner. I have tried for the last three days and not 1 thing to come out. I am trying to program for Kansas: Johnson County Sheriff, Olathe PD & Overland Park PD to start with. I am about to just forget it and return the whole lot!

Welcome to the hobby of scanning and to the RadioReference Forums!

First of all, don't get discouraged because your area is on a P25 radio system, which simply put is very complicated to program into any scanner. It was a good idea to get the software to assist in programming the radio. I am not familiar with that particular software, but you may want to try FreeSCAN. It is a great, free, and easy to use scanner programming software. It can download directly from the RadioReference frequency database to your scanner if you have a premium membership, which I see that you do. This should be fairly straight-forward, but if you need any help, feel free to post any questions you may have!
 

ka3jjz

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Jul 22, 2002
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Bowie, Md.
Our wiki houses the user guide for FreeScan here...

FreeScan User Guide - The RadioReference Wiki

As its freeware, you lose nothing by getting your feet wet here. You can always move back to ARC-XT later.

The article I linked to earlier will be a good jumping off point; there are many new concepts to be learned, things about loading USB drivers and much more. There's lots to learn - read up and ask questions. No doubt someone here can answer pretty much anything you might ask.

Mike
 

ajbalzer

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May 1, 2012
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Location
Osage County, KS
My first scanner just showed up today as well. Trying to understand it all. I think I got my channels programmed but I erased all the preloaded v-scanner channels from GRE. It is a GRE PSR-500. It shows to be scanning but I don't hear any traffic. Added Osage, Lyon, Coffey, KHP and Franklin County.

Are the Storm Spotter frequencies on here good for the state of Kansas?
 
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