Radio shack sells a regulated wall wort that's switchable 3-4.5-6-9-12 volts. Radio shack also sells the same unregulated. I paid something like $30 USD for the regulated one. Definently get the regulated one that cost more $$.
In an unregulated power supply, the voltage output depends on the current draw from the scanner (or other device). Any scanner will draw more current while receiveing and volume is up. When the squelch closes, the current draw is much lower, and voltage goes up. If the scanner is put into battery save mode, the current draw will go up then down at regular intervals. When this happens the voltage will be all over the place. I can definently see issues cropping up if using unregulated power supply.
A good general rule of thumb is: if the wall wort is very light weight, it's a regulated switching power supply and should be safe to use. If the wall wort is heavy (containing a big transformer), then you need to inspect it to see is "regulated" or "unregulated". Most of the heavy wall worts are UNREGULATED and not safe to use.
