Newbie: Picking My First Scanner

[Buzzfuster1341]

Greetings All!

I am brand new to scanning and researching the purchase of my first scanner. My price range is under $200. I live in Linn County OR and intend to monitor mainly local law enforcement (city, county and state), and secondarily EMS/Fire, weather, maybe local airports. When we vacation at the OR coast I'd like to monitor local LE and Coast Guard. Nothing I might monitor appears to be trunked <http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=TRSDB&action=state&stid=41> That said, I was nevertheless looking at the BCT8 and the Pro-2052. Both seem to provide a lot of features (including trunking if I end up needing it) for my price range. I note that the Pro-2052 offers 1000 channels compared to the BCT8's mere 250.

First question: given what I intend to monitor, how many channels do I need?

Second question: I plan to use my scanner primarily at home, though I may pack it with me to work, camping and in the car. I note that the Bearcat comes with a cigarette lighter power cord. If I pack it along more and more, am I going to wish I had bought a handheld? I'm stearing away from the handhelds mainly because I don't want to deal with the constant cost of batteries (or start-up cost of rechargeables). Severe weather really isn't an issue here in the mid-Willamette Valley, so little need for battery powered monitoring during a disaster. I don't attend/monitor sporting events, so I don't have to consider that. I'm thinking that anywhere I'd want to take the scanner I'd be able to plug it in, but one never knows.

Final thought: I'm drawn to the Pro-2051 because it has 4x the channels of the Bearcat. On the other hand, the Bearcat has all the pre-loaded State Patrol freqs, Service Search, etc. and has a nice package of accessories. Communications Electronics has the Bearcat for $170 (S/H included), the Pro-2052 lists for $150 on Radio Shack's website. Although I've limited my discussion here to the above two scanners, if anyone has input on others I should be considering (esp since I don't *need* trunking in my area) please throw in your two cents.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[hiegtx]

re: Newbie: Picking My First Scanner

Don't discount trunking capability. Even though you may not need it right now, things can change, as county-wide or statewide trunking networks are established. Politicians like to keep their names in the paper. Announcing a new 'public works' project, like a new comm system, is one way to do it.

If you want to be able to monitor the Coast Guard, you probably should lean toward the 2052. It covers the military aircraft band that has some Coast Guard ops. The BCT-8 does not. However, the 2052 is apparently being discontinued. It shows as no longer in stock for online or phone ordering. Using the store availability function, only a scattering of stores in my area (Dallas) still have it. You may have to search for one in or near your location. Unless you have an extremely large number of frequencies to monitor, the difference in number of channels is not really significant. Even here in my area, I find it easier to split things up by service & counties rather than load every scanner up to the brim.

There are a number of other scanners going up for sale as the 396's are being delivered. I would say your first decision is how important military air band coverage is. That is going to limit which scanners will do what you want. Someone in the Oregon discussion forum may be able to guide you as to which frequencies the Coast Guard uses the most in your area of interest.

If milair capabilty for the Coast Guard is not a priority, then you might try to find a deal on a BC246T. It's a hand held that comes with 2 "AA" rechargeables, plus the ac adapter. Price new is around $220, slightly above your target. However, you may find one for less in the equipment for sale area from someone who has upgraded to the new BC396, or on Ebay.

The 2052 is basically a desktop. The dc adapter is extra. The BCT-8 was set up for mobile use. If you want to carry your scanner with you, in the long run a hand held is the better option. Use it at home with the ac adapter. Grab it & go in your vehicle, or just out on the patio. The Uniden hand held scanners generally come with a set of rechargeable batteries (or a proprietary battery pack) and an ac adapter. The Radio Shack units are usually set up to use disposable batteries; a set of rechargeables and ac adapter are almost always sold at an extra cost.

Having multiple scanners, I prefer the handhelds. Easier to take with me, whether to another room, or another town.

 

[jred184]

If I were you I would get a trunktracker b/c you would hate for one of the conventional systems you monitor to switch to trunked 6 months down the road. The BC246T is right at $199+ $8.00 shipping on http://www.bearcatscanner.com/staticpages/BC246T.htm .

Below is what I found on Uniden's site


JRed



PRODUCT FEATURE LIST


1600 Channels Typical / 2500 Maximum

Dynamically Allocated Channel Memory - Makes It Easier to Program and Use Your Scanner Without Wasting Channels.

TrunkTracker III Technology - So you can keep up with the action on Motorola, EDACS and LTR systems.

Close Call™ RF Capture Technology - Instantly tunes to signals from nearby transmitters

Alpha Tagging** - Systems, Channel Groups, Channels, Search Ranges, and SAME Groups.

S.A.M.E. Weather Alert - Specific Area Message Encoding - During a NOAA Weather or Emergency Alert, a code for your specific location will alert you to severe conditions in your immediate area.

10 Custom Search Ranges - Helps you find unlisted frequencies in use in your area

10 Preprogrammed Service Searches - Public Safety, Railroad (by channel), Air, Marine (by channel), CB (by channel), GMRS/FRS (by channel), News Media, Ham Radio and Special

Automatic Repeater Reverse - Automatically Tunes to the Repeater Output Frequency When It Finds a Transmission on a Common Input Frequency.

DCS/CTCSS Rapid Decode - Instantly Detects and Displays the Subaudible Tone So You Can Quickly Determine the System Settings.

Pager Skip - Skips Transmissions on Common Pager Frequencies During Search and Close Call Operation.

Channel Alert - Alerts You When Channels You Specify Become Active.

Backlit Display** - Lets You Adjust the Backlight So It Turns on When Squelch Opens, When You Press Any Key, or Manually.

PC Control - Includes a PC Cable So You Can Transfer Information into Your Scanner Using Your Computer (Demo Software Available by Download Here.)

Frequency Coverage*** - 25-54, 108-174, 216-225, 400-512, 806-956, 1240-1300 MHz (Excluding Cellular)

 

[MacombMonitor]

You might want to consider Radio Shack's PRO-97. In addition to doing all that you want/need it to do, it's a great MilAir scanner. While it does use batteries, you can purchase an AC adapter for the home. It uses standard "AA" batteries and gets pretty good life from them.

 

[Buzzfuster1341]

Thanks

Thanks to the three of you for your feedback.

I went to Radio Shack to check out the 2052 and came away really liking the handhelds. The more I thought about portability the more clunky the mobile units looked. Based on that I got myself a BC246T per your advice. Listening to the Coasties will have to wait till my second scanner (I can see where this hobby is leading!). I looked for Pro-97s (per Bill's suggestion) and couldn't find them anywhere at Radio Shack or on the Internet. Obviously they're discontinued and hard to come by. :?:

jred--thanks for the link to bearcatscanner.com! I did a search for the 246 and found LOTS of places on the Internet that sell it. However, the link you provided was the absolute cheapest price of them all! I ordered it and it was here 3 days later.

Thanks again for helping the newbie!

 

[crazyboy]

The Pro-97 is actually a fairly new scanner. It is on Radioshacks website. It came out to replace the Pro-95. Here is a link to it on Radioshacks website.

http://tinyurl.com/9vlym

 

[nexus]

Re: Thanks

Thanks to the three of you for your feedback.

I went to Radio Shack to check out the 2052 and came away really liking the handhelds. The more I thought about portability the more clunky the mobile units looked. Based on that I got myself a BC246T per your advice. Listening to the Coasties will have to wait till my second scanner (I can see where this hobby is leading!). I looked for Pro-97s (per Bill's suggestion) and couldn't find them anywhere at Radio Shack or on the Internet. Obviously they're discontinued and hard to come by. :?:

jred--thanks for the link to bearcatscanner.com! I did a search for the 246 and found LOTS of places on the Internet that sell it. However, the link you provided was the absolute cheapest price of them all! I ordered it and it was here 3 days later.

Thanks again for helping the newbie!

Most USCG operations are conducted on Marine Channels 21 and 22 for the Coast Guard, that includes Ship to Shore and Ship to Air and Shore to Air communications. Just because it doesn't cover MILAIR doesn't mean you're going to miss exciting and important CG Comms from either Land Sea or Air. Also listen to your local Airport frequencies you'll hear USCG Falcon's or Dolphins making requests for practice runs, landings, touch and go's etc.

P.S. I think you made a great choice, the BC-246T is a great non-digital scanner. The alphatagging, closecall, and dynamic memory allocations make it a winner. WOW that's an awesome price too.

 

[loumaag]

I think that is a good choice also.

Now, how about helping us out. The Linn County Oregon entry here in the database has nothing in it! Since you are going to monitor all the local public safety stuff, how about submitting that information to the DB so others can find it also.

 

[Buzzfuster1341]

crazyboy--right you are! Either RS just updated their web site in the past few days (very possible) or I am completely blind (also possible). :shock: Oddly enough, the "check store availability" link shows that my local store has the Pro-97 available, though I saw none on the shelf last night when I was there getting a new cell phone.

nexus--thanks for the info about the USCG comms. I see that I'll get their "communication" channel but not the air-to-air ops, going by the freqs that I've seen listed on the Internet. Good to know that I'll get something though, assuming I don't go out and buy a Pro-97 before our coastal vacation this fall!

loumaag--thanks for the suggestion, I've submitted some of our local freqs and will submit more once I've confirmed that they're accurate.