RCA 16S300 police scanner: can anyone tell me anything about this scanner? What year was it made?
- Thread starter MJH933
- Start date
I can't tell you anything, but Google certainly can: RCA 16S300 police scanner: - Google Search
I did a short (poorly done) video on the 16S400 a couple of years ago. The crystals are the 10.7 IF variety, same as Regency and Radio Shack Scanners, and of course it's 8 channels instead of 10. If it's working it should be a LOUD scanner as well capable of filling up a room with substantial background noise.
The specifications many be similar for scanning speed and volume, but it *MAY* also be lacking the UHF-T band if I remember correctly. If I'm not I hope someone corrects me on this.
Anyway you can get the manual for 16S400 I made into a PDF a couple of years ago in << THIS THREAD MESSAGE >> while it may not be 100% accurate for the 16S300 it might give you some insights.
I use my 16S400 daily for my favorite frequencies and the one thing I love about this crystal scanner ovey my other sythesized radios is the lack of hiss on the audio.
The specifications many be similar for scanning speed and volume, but it *MAY* also be lacking the UHF-T band if I remember correctly. If I'm not I hope someone corrects me on this.
Anyway you can get the manual for 16S400 I made into a PDF a couple of years ago in << THIS THREAD MESSAGE >> while it may not be 100% accurate for the 16S300 it might give you some insights.
I use my 16S400 daily for my favorite frequencies and the one thing I love about this crystal scanner ovey my other sythesized radios is the lack of hiss on the audio.
Bob1955
Member
MJH933- I had one when I lived at home and it was around November of 1975 or so and it was a great VHF hi/lo/uhf scanner with (2) telescoping antenna and a nice left side mounted speaker too.
The crystal compartment lid was up top. They manufactured this as a (1) and (8) channel.
Hope this helps you out.
Where can I get crystals for this scanner 10.7?
Since this scanner uses the same xtal cut as the (far) more popular Regency scanners, you might have some luck on eBay (Scanners Crystals for sale | eBay). Know that xtals "age" over time and hence may drift off frequency. Some of the radio's components may also have aged and caused the alignment to drifft or become less sensitive.
There was also a pretty good thread here on RR about xtals: Scanner Crystals
Remember, too, this radio was designed for what are called "wide band" channels today, but most radio services (except ham and sometimes GMRS and remote broadcast) have been forced to switch to "narrow band".
Narrow band transmissions will tend to have lower volume and may sound weak and the radio may have problems resolving a narrow band split channel if the adjacent channels have strong signals.
One way to test the radio without a lot of fancy gear is to monitor a NOAA weatherradio station. These stations broadcast continuously on several channels from 162.400-162.550 MHz. and have a strong, high quality signal. NOAA Weather Radio
I had one of these back in the late 70's and early 80's. It was highly sensitive and selective, worked great. It also seemed bulletproof, unlike the plastic scanners of today.
Not much but I just bought one today!! There are 2 active channels in mine, one in the Public Safety band and one weather channel on 162.550. There are 3 low band VHF crystals in it (I think) for the Oklahoma highway patrol on 44.7 and 44.9. QRP Labs now sells programmable crystals so I may try one out in this radio.
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