Question About purchasing a scanner

[fxfyrmedic]

I am in the market for a scanner however technology has come very far since I bought my first. When I lived in PA it was simple. All area fire/ems/police communicated on low band, VHF and UHF so a simple programable scanner was sufficient. I now live and work in Fairfax County, VA and Fire/Police operate on the following system: Motorola Type II SmartZone digital trunked. What type of scanner is best for me. I am not looking to break the bank but want something that will pick up these frequencies. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Kevin

 

[SkipSanders]

You will need a digital trunktracking scanner. There are many models, but unless you find one used, cheap is not one of the options.

Most of these run $400-$500, new.

See this page for info on the various Digital Trunk scanners, and how they're used.

Categoryigital Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[fxfyrmedic]

Two finds...opinions?

These are two I was able to find on Amazon for a decent price. Any comments?

Amazon.com: Uniden BCT15X BearTracker Mobile Tracking Scanner with GPS Support (Black): Electronics

Amazon.com: Uniden Bearcat BCT8 BearTracker Warning System with 800 MHz TrunkTracker III: Electronics

 

[BHinAZ]

The two scanners you listed are trunk scanners, but they are not digital. That means if the sites you want to hear transmit digital voice, then you will not hear any audio because these scanners do not have a digital decoder.

 

[lbpd719]

It might not be a bad idea to pose this question in the state forums, that way you can discuss it with someone who may already be familiar with your area, and be able to help you with specifics of the systems we in the "General" area would have to guess about.

There is no substitute for actual seat time with a system as opposed to on paper..