Pierce County Newbie

[Ishyid]

Hi. I am new to this whole Scanner business. I have done a significant amount of research on them. First of all i am looking for a good scanner that isnt to expensive. I mostly want to listen in on the Fire Department and Police channels. Specificaly i live in Bonney Lake. I have been looking at the Uniden BCT15 scanner. Is that i good scanner for a newbie or not. If not what are some other suggestions. Also is it hard to enter in a frequency? Lets say i know the frequency for Firecom. Is that all i need to know is the frequency and then i enter it in, and i hear everything that is said over that channel? And lastly, is there anything else that i should know about scanners that might be helpful?

Thank you very much,
Josh

 

[SCPD]

Josh,

If you are *only* concerned about your specific area, then you might be in luck here. First off, you're local police is all VHF. I'm guessing your Fire is probably too. Wash St Patrol is as well.

If this is all you're really looking to hear, then the BCT-15 is way too much radio. Now, if you plan to get into trunking - listening to Tacoma PD for example, then this might be a worthwhile investment.

The only downside is that I find the BCT-15 a pain to program quickly. I like the old-fashioned Radio Shack scanners. Hit the Program button and punch in the frequency. Pretty simple. Nowadays, you have to go thru a bunch of menus, etc. The BCT-15 is best programmed thru your computer. You can get free software to do this (and the computer cable is included with the scanner.)

Needless to say, the BCT-15 can be a bit daunting to new scanner listeners.

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If you do NOT want to go into the trunking realm yet - then I'd highly recommend an alternative.

You can get the Pro-135/Uniden BC72/Pro-136 for $99 (from Radio Shack). The models vary based upon what kind of scanner you want (portable or base.) These are the kind you can punch in the frequency and go. You generally do not have to do much more than that.

If you're ever thinking about getting into HAM radio, then you can get a handheld or mobile radio which will let you listen to your local interests as well. (HAM radios do not do trunking however.)

(If you're thinking of putting the scanner in the vehicle, then I can recommend some options there as well.)


-Nick