PRS-500, Yeasu vx-8r

[Mastrax]

Ok, I'm new to all of this... so let's get this out of the way

I have a camp in a remote area where I fish, ATV, hike, etc. There is a TMR system used by the rangers, and other emergency agencies with a few towers in the area. Operating at about 173-4'ish frequency range. I'm not sure of the trunking type though. There maybe other CB, and private/amateur systems around that I'm not aware of.

I'd like to know everything that is out there, and then in cases of emergencies... be able to communicate through whatever repeaters, and or direct sources are available.

Should I get a scanner, like the PRS-500 to get to know what';s out there? Or should I just go to a Vx-8r? What scanning abilities will the Vx8r have? Anyone have suggestion on another approach?

 

[geoff5093]

Well as you obviously know only a modded VX-8R can transmit on non-amateur frequencies, so purely from a scanning point the PSR-500 does a MUCH better job at scanning, as that's what it was meant to do. Any HAM radio is going to scan much, much slower then an actual scanner, so if you have 50+ frequencies I would not want to try and scan them using a HAM radio. Another big decision is knowing if any of the systems are digital, as the 8R can not decode digital transmissions.