Radio with constant scan feature?

[chandlerpeay]

Hello I am looking for an inexpensive VHF radio that will always reactivate the scan feature after transmitting. I have looked at Baofeng and Anytone but cannot tell if this feature is available. To explain I want to have say 20 channels programmed into the radio, I want to be set to transmit on a specific channel but still scan all 20 channels when I am not transmitting without having to hit the "scan" button after each time I transmit. I hope this makes sense and hope someone can recommend a radio! Thank you in advance!

 

[mmckenna]

Mobile, portable, base????

Most commercial radios will do that. Since this is in the "Amateur" forum, I'm going to guess that you want a radio capable of transmitting in the 2 meter amateur radio band. With a commercial radio, you'd give up some of the ham friendly features, like VFO, front panel programming etc. But they'll do the scan function you want.

 

[chandlerpeay]

Mobile, portable, base????

Most commercial radios will do that. Since this is in the "Amateur" forum, I'm going to guess that you want a radio capable of transmitting in the 2 meter amateur radio band. With a commercial radio, you'd give up some of the ham friendly features, like VFO, front panel programming etc. But they'll do the scan function you want.

Portable radio. I work for a small public safety agency and our communications administrator allows us to purchase a secondary radio to use for certain situations. We CAREY Motorola XTS2500’s but o want something smaller and obviously much cheaper than the Motorola. He programs them for us and other employees have bought the radios o mentioned above but the ones they have don’t scan again after they transmit.

 

[mmckenna]

OK, probably need a moderator to move this out of the Amateur radio section, as that isn't the right place for this.

You'd need to know some specifics about what kind of radio system they are using.
XTS-2500's and similar radios will do trunking, digital, etc. That may limit you to a very few expensive set of radios if that's the case. It would be impossible to recommend a radio without knowing what kind of system you need to connect to.

Since Quincy is a pretty small town, I suspect they are not running a trunking system, if they are running digital, you'll need to find a P25 capable radio.

You'll need to know the specific frequencies, too.

Might just be easier to buy a used XTS-2500 and have your administrator can program it for you with their existing software/programming cables. Buying a radio they do not have software or programming cables for is going to be an issue.

Even if you buy an XTS-2500, you may need to have a specific feature flashcode for it to work correctly. I'd really recommend doing some homework before buying a radio. It's easy to end up with something that won't be compatible with the system.

 

[chandlerpeay]

Thanks for all the feedback. Our frequencies range from 154.xxx to 156.xxx many of the guys have already bought Baufangs and Anytones and they work great and our admin has the capabilities to program those and more. We are not trunked I know that for sure and I also don’t believe we are digital. I just don’t want to it the ones they have as I really want the continual scan feature, like my work radio. Have thought about a used Motorola but the cost is still so much higher.

 

[mmckenna]

The Motorola's will limit you to 15 scan members plus the channel you selected. So, that won't be an option.

Baofengs are awful radios and I'd not trust one in any sort of application other than hobby use. They are not suitable for any sort of pubic safety use, even just "monitoring".

If I was in your shoes...
Kenwood TK-2180 will do what you want, good radio, reasonable price, but make sure they have programming software/cables. If not, they can be purchased at a reasonable price. Get your co-workers to ditch the Chinese junk and get similar radios to spread the cost out.

 

[nd5y]

Baofeng radios will not resume scanning after transmitting, power cycling, or pushing any keys.
They also scan about 3 channels per second. If you want to scan 20 channel and not miss transmissions it won't work.

 

[chandlerpeay]

The Motorola's will limit you to 15 scan members plus the channel you selected. So, that won't be an option.

Baofengs are awful radios and I'd not trust one in any sort of application other than hobby use. They are not suitable for any sort of pubic safety use, even just "monitoring".

If I was in your shoes...
Kenwood TK-2180 will do what you want, good radio, reasonable price, but make sure they have programming software/cables. If not, they can be purchased at a reasonable price. Get your co-workers to ditch the Chinese junk and get similar radios to spread the cost out.

Awesome! Thank you so much for all your help and direction!

 

[jeepsandradios]

The HT750/1250 and XTS1500 is another option, although as stated they will only scan 15 channels, but being you use the XTS already 16 channels should not be an issue. Really depends n your needs. If i had an option of a HT1250 or a Baofeng I'd get the 1250...