Scanner Decision Time

[Ganuke]

Hello ..... long-time reader / sometimes poster here. And ..... yep ..... I am in the process of deciding which new scanner to purchase. I hope in my just saying that it has not already resulted in anyone leaving the thread with the thought of ' not another one of these questions. ' But it is another one of those questions of which would be ..... in your opinion ..... the best scanner to purchase.

It will be a replacement for the Radio Shack Pro 95 scanner I have had for around 5 years now. Over the past few months the buttons on this scanner have just stopped working. The first time this happened I opened the scanner up to take apart what I could and clean things up. It worked in having the buttons function again when pressing them. But that lasted about 2 weeks ..... and then again the buttons stopped working. So again I opened the RS Pro 95 up ...... and cleaned up what and where I could ..... and the buttons worked once again for about another 2 weeks. Well wash / rinse / repeat ..... while this method temporarily works it is getting rather frustrating to do and I figure it is only a matter of time until it will no longer work to make the buttons when pressed function any longer.

So that's the background ...... and I figure it may just be time for me to purchase a new scanner. I have already done some reading here at Radio Reference ...... as well as from some other sources online and have narrowed my choices down to 3 brands with 1 model from each. That would be either the Radio shack PRO-164, the GRE PSR-300, or the Uniden BC346XT.

Not long after purchasing my button-challenged RS Pro 95 ..... I had purchased the Diamond RH77CA antenna to use with it. Over time it has gotten slightly bent but with no decreased function of it ( I think ) ..... so assuming it is still considered a good + antenna to use ( correct me if I am wrong about that or anything I say here ) ..... I plan to still use it with a new scanner I purchase sometime soon. And I also have been using the Win95 software with my RS Pro 95 scanner...... and have seen other software options for each of the 3 scanners listed above. It would be nice to get the software for a new scanner to gather all the frequencies of use to me after the scanner purchase and while I wait for it to arrive. But first thing of course is to decide which scanner to purchase.

I live and mainly use a scanner in a rural / suburban area of West-Central Pennsylvania. Sometimes I do travel to a city environment such as Pittsburgh, PA ..... but a new scanner will primarily be used in the rural / suburban area where I live. I bring that up in case it could be of any use in a recommendation for which scanner would be best to purchase ..... but also that from what I can tell from the database here at Radio Reference and any other sources ..... digital scanner frequencies are not yet used in the area I live ..... ( again correct me if I am wrong about this ) ..... and I am assuming since it is a rural / suburban area where I live digital may not arrive here for use in scanners for quite some time on a large scale ..... maybe at least until I'd be up for yet another new scanner down the road.

So a new digital scanner considering the extra price seems as though it would be of little use to me. That is why of the 3 scanner brands / models I mention above ..... none of them are digital but I believe they are the latest conventional type scanners from each brand. Also ...... from what I have read here at Radio Reference ..... it seems as though the Radio Shack Pro 164 is essentially the same ( except for cosmetics ) as the GRE PSR 300. So maybe the Radio Shack Pro 164 could be eliminated as an option and it would be down to either the GRE PSR 300 or the Uniden BC346XT. The reason I say that is in what I have read here at Radio Reference in posts so far ..... there is often mention of the GRE PSR 300 having really good reception ..... ( maybe even too much ) ..... but with my living in and using a scanner primarily in a rural / suburban area this could be a very good thing I would think.

I have not yet gotten too deep into posts here about the Uniden BC34XT ..... so I'm not certain about reception abilities of that scanner compared to what I have read on the GRE PSR 300. ( I plan to read through the rest of the posts here on the Uniden BC34XT using the search feature as I already did with the Radio Shack Pro 164 and GRE PSR 300 ..... but wanted now first to make this thread to get opinions from everyone here since the next step after reading through those Uniden BC34XT posts will be purchase decision time. )

So of those 3 scanners ..... and maybe even just the GRE PSR 300 and Uniden BC34XT ..... which would be the best to purchase ( without really factoring in price since I think they all are around the same price ) ? What would be the pros and cons of each compared to one another ? From looking over the Radio Reference Wiki on each of the scanners ...... it seems as though the Uniden is a bit more ' feature rich ' over the GRE PSR 300 ..... am I seeing that right and would that warrant the Uniden BC34XT as the best one to purchase ? I think all 3 scanners support rebranding and have firmware updates that are frequent enough ..... correct ?

Really anything you could tell me about these scanners in regard to which is the best one to purchase would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to make the purchase decision in the next couple days. Thanks in advance to everyone who does post in reply.


Ganuke

 

[ka3jjz]

Ganuke, welcome. You're starting off by asking the right questions, and that's a good thing. I would suggest introducing yourself to the Pennsylvania forum and ask questions there about what scanners would be most useful in that area. There's also a (what appears to be) pretty active Yahoo scanning group for this area (link below). And of course, our database will also be a help.

wpascanner : Wstrn Pennsylvania & Pittsburgh scanner

I'm sure others will chime in here about your scanner questions (my area in Maryland is very heavily digital); let their experiences guide you. Do your homework (as I see you've started to do already) and you will make the right choice for the right money. 73 Mike

 

[Ganuke]

Thanks for the link to the Yahoo group Mr. ka3jjz. I will check both that one and the PA forum here at Radio Reference to see what is mentioned about scanners used by people that would be more local to where I live. I feel a bit hesitant about repeating this post in the Pennsylvania forum of Radio Reference though in asking which scanner would be best to purchase ...... don't want to clutter things up here. But maybe I will still ask in that forum as well.

After having created this thread last night ..... I took another deeper look at the frequency database here at Radio Reference for the state of Pennsylvania ..... and more specifically for the counties in PA of Cambria ( where I live ) as well as Blair county ( since I can pick up alot from there as well as I live pretty close to the Cambria / Blair county border in PA. )

When doing so I had seen that at the bottom of both the Cambria and Blair county frequency database pages is the subheading of " All Trunked Radio Systems in Cambria County. " And under that is another subheading of " System Name " with a link " Pennsylvania STARNet. " I click that link and in the page that opens it looks as though all trunking frequencies in PA would be digital if I take that right ..... using the TDMA Digital System Voice. And at the bottom of that page is written :

" RR Admin Notes:

Currently there are no plans to create a detailed tower or talkgroup listing for this system. There is no way for the hobbyist to track or listen to this OpenSky based network. "

So PA trunking frequencies would all be digital ...... but from the bottom of that page ...... there is no way for a person to track of listen to them ? So even if I would purchase a digital scanner it would do me no good at this time ? But also if trunking frequencies in PA are digital then my getting a conventional scanner with trunking abilities would do me no good as well. It seems as though these trunking frequencies are for state wide things such as Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and state police. ( I could swear though that I have still been picking up state police reception using my Radio Shack Pro 95 ...... conventional scanner. ) Yeah ....... has me somewhat confused.

Anyway thanks again for your reply ...... and anyone else please do reply with any reasons you think either the Uniden BC346XT or the GRE PSR 300 ..... or even the Radio Shack Pro 164 would be the best purchase ..... as I still may end up going with getting a conventional scanner instead of a digital one.


Ganuke

 

[Smerri]

Ganuke, I have a PSR-300 and a BR330T (more or less an older version of the 346) and in my personal experiences, I am more a fan of Uniden Scanners based solely on their memory system. They way I like to set everything up having system quick keys and group quick keys within the systems is ideal for me, so I am a Uniden fan myself.

However, if you are used to your PRO-95 with the bank memory, and are used to programming with the Starrsoft software, you can use WIN97 to program your PSR-300 (or a PRO-164). It is a great program and while I have never used a PRO-95 myself, I would imagine they are similar in nature and it wouldn't be a huge learning curve.

 

[Ganuke]

Thanks for the reply Smerri. As I said in a recent post ..... I am in the process of reading through posts here at Radio Reference doing a search for " BC346xt " ...... as well as looking for info on that scanner as well as the GRE PSR 300 elsewhere online ...... and of course always looking at any new replies in this thread and the one I made in the Pennsylvania scanning forum.

In doing so ...... yep ...... I've come to find out about the memory system used in the BC346xt. Not saying I fully understand the workings of it ..... just that I've come to realize that scanner has that type of frequencies holding different from what I have been use to with my now button defective RS Pro 95 ....... and I also read the same type of banks / channels.

I just finished reading a review on ScannerMaster.com about the BC346xt ..... where it mentions that scanner having something like a possible 9 thousand channel holding capacity. But then later on in the review it seems to mention about it having 1 thousand channel holding capacity..... not sure. Heck ..... even 1 thousand which my RS Pro 95 has would be good as I have yet to fill it up with active frequencies ( maybe I'm just not good and finding frequencies or something ) as I can't imagine having 9 thousand active frequencies.

As of right now I may be a bit leaning toward the BC346xt. The new frequency memory holding would be new to me ...... but I actually like using new technology ( even though I guess such memory type system in scanners isn't new ..... but would be for me. ) Still a few things holding me back and wondering about the GRE PSR 300 as still an option. That would be such things as having read about the ( maybe ? ) better reception / sensitivity the GRE PSR 300 has. Living in a rural / suburban area as I said before that could be a very good thing.

Also I've read where the BC 346xt speaker audio may not be as good ..... ( loud and clear ) as in the GRE PSR 300 ...... perhaps due to the scanners smaller size and, thus, smaller speaker. And the Uniden BC346xt has a multifunction knob on top I think used for both volume and squelch ( making me wonder if when trying to turn up the volume I'd also mess up a good squelch setting I have the scanner on. ) The smaller scanner size of the BC346xt also makes me wonder if the screen would be good enough viewable from a short / moderate distance compared to the GRE PSR 300.

And then I also just recently read where the BC34xt has a SMA antenna connection. The button defective RS Pro 95 I have has a BNC antenna connection and the Diamond RH77CA I purchased for my current gone bad scanner has the BNC connection for it. I read in that Scanner Master review though that it comes with a SMA to BNC adapter ( but it makes me wonder if I were to use my current antenna with that adapter on the BC346xt ...... if the adapter would cause lessened reception ? ) I guess I could end up purchasing a new antenna that has a SMA connection though it wasn't in my new scanner purchase plan.

Despite all these wonderings though ...... it does seem to me the BC34xt is a bit more feature rich over the GRE PSR 300 ...... which is a plus to me. How much of a plus over the concerns I have about that scanner is what is still leaving me undecided. Maybe I will end up reading something more on the GRE PSR 300 that would put it over the top ....... I think if it were not for reading about the GRE PSR 300 having really good reception / sensitivity ( with my thought that could be a very good thing when scanning in a rural / suburban area ) I may have already purchased the BC346xt.


Ganuke

 

[Ganuke]

Not sure if anyone is still checking up on this thread or not. But for those who have and those who have replied ...... thought I'd post that I thinkkkkkkkkkkkkk ..... I have come to a decision on which scanner to purchase. That would be the BC346XT.

Really it was very close ...... so close that in a matter of minutes I may undecide myself. lol But yeah ..... really it was the feature set of this scanner which has it win out for me over the GRE PSR 300 I was looking at. Yeah ..... I know I last posted in this thread about concerns I have with the BC346XT and they still exist ...... but hopefully they will be of no issue to me when using the scanner. Some of those things being hopefully the screen is big enough to read easily from a short distance away and hopefully the speaker volume is loud enough. But those two concerns in particular actually brought about a plus for the BC346xt to me ..... that being it is overall smaller than the GRE PSR 300. It seems the GRE model I was looking at I think is about the size of my button defective RS Pro 95. It may be nice carrying around a smaller / lighter scanner which I hope to be at least just as good as the GRE PSR 300 would be ( if not overall better ) ..... and definitely I strongly predict better than my current button defective RS Pro 95.

And after giving it more thought ..... the one main thing which has had me stalling the past day or so in making a decision ( that being having read from various sources that the GRE PSR 300 has great reception / sensitivity ) ...... that factor may have been what actually had me decide on the BC346XT. What I mean by that is ..... I had been thinking that a great reception / sensitivity scanner may be best suited for me since I live in a more rural / suburban area ..... using the scanner mainly in this area as well as in some nearby smaller city areas ...... and sometimes in a bigger city such as Pittsburgh, PA.. So my thought was a great reception / sensitivity would be well suited for the main area I plan to use the scanner in.

Well after giving it more thought on that...... it also made me think the GRE PSR 300 with great sensitivity could be prone to bringing in unwanted reception / noise ( for lack of better words on the tip of my tongue ) when I'd use the scanner around electronics. I have often used my button defective RS Pro 95 in a scenario such as ..... in the room with my computer making use of the wireless mouse and wireless keyboard while connected to the Internet and also having an LCD tv on connected to a DVR receiver that is recording something on the TV while I am watching a movie on my DVD player that I have connected to my Bose radio for the audio output ..... and I plan to do the same often with a new scanner I get. So my latest thought is ..... maybe the GRE PSR 300 would have some better reception / sensitivity which could be very good while out and about in my rural / suburban area scanning or just outside my home on the deck scanning taking in the Summer weather. But the GRE PSR 300 with the great sensitivity could ( ? ) be a negative while scanning in the room with the scenario I mentioned above ........ thinking all those electronics on at the same time could pull in unwanted noise into an extra sensitive scanner.

That being said ..... had me think of the one main factor stalling my decision be a possible negative for the GRE PSR 300. Unless I am all wrong about the scenario I mentioned above and electronics pulling in unwanted signals / noise into an extra sensitive scanner. I am definitely no electronics / scanner expert ..... so my thought may be completely wrong. If I am maybe someone could clear me up on that ...... and put me back into being undecided. lol

But as for now ..... I'm going to start looking for what the best price for a new BC346XT I can find is ..... and finally make the purchase. And in making that purchase I'm hoping that the BC346XT has real good reception / sensitivity ...... if not as great as the GRE PSR 300 ..... maybe close to it ...... but not to the point of finding myself in frustrating situations of unwanted noise when scanning around electronics. At the least I am hoping the reception of the BC346XT is as good as my button defective RS Pro 95 and maybe even better ..... and I never really had any complaints of reception with it using the Diamond RH77CA antenna.

Still though if anyone has additional information on either of these scanners which could sway my decision ...... don't hesitate to post up ..... as my price hunt may not be extremely fast. And once again thanks to everyone who has so far posted in this thread.


Ganuke

 

[Muskratt]

Ganuke, I too went through a long decision process on what scanner to buy. And like your area, there is not enough digital p25 here to justify a $500 scanner. The main decision was whether I wanted a super sensitive radio that would receive lots of signals (gre/rs) or a radio that would be good for portable use that wouldn't have excessive overload/intermod problems in different areas. I liked the idea of receiving lots of signals from far away, but really when it comes down to it, I am really only interested in what is going on around my area and the surrounding counties especially when severe wx moves through. I figured if I want to listen to scanner stuff from far away, there are plenty of internet scanners that I can listen to.

After weeks of research, I decided on the 346 and haven't regretted it one bit. A few days ago I learned how to use the quick keys. Had a road trip planned across the state, about 6 counties, and programmed the radio for the different areas I was driving through. I had several different systems programmed (motorola, edacs, edacs multi-site, and conventional systems). I programmed them and assigned them quick keys and as i moved from county to county, i just pressed one key to turn on/off the systems. There was always some fire/police activity to listen to, even out in the rural farm areas that just had the conventional systems. I used the RS800mhz antenna only and used an angle bnc connector so i could just lay the radio flat on the seat. I was pleased with the performance in high rf areas. The towers that were very close to the road would sometimes cause the radio to overload for a second or 2 as I passed the tower. Usually I wouldn't miss the transmission I was listening to, but 2 times the overload persisted for 3 or 4 seconds causing the scanner to continue scanning. Also had one instance where I had 2 close frequencies programmed and there was a tower about a quarter mile ahead. I had 154.370 and 154.385 programmed. The scanner stopped on 154.385 because the loud signal on 154.370 must have been so strong I was hearing the edge of it on 154.385. I hit scan and the scanner stopped on 154.370 - a very loud signal which was probably from the tower that was just ahead of me. Other than those brief instances of overload and one issue of the very strong signal on 154.370, the scanner worked flawlessly during the 6 hour trip. The sensitivity seems to be at just the right level. Sensitive enough to hear plenty of signals, but not overly sensitive to make the radio unpleasant to use on the road. I used headphones the whole time on my trip and with the lack of the squelch tails, the radio was very easy to listen to. At home or while driving around town or to/from work, I don't use headphones. Built-in speaker sounds good to me. I've had 2 people say how nice the radio sounded. I also like the big letters on the display. Very easy to see what is being received. Looks cool in the dark too with the backlit keys.

I've still got quite a bit to learn on this scanner. Just starting to learn how to do search ranges. And haven't tried the close call, tone-out, band scope, or wx alert features yet. I do have the radio programmed so that if there is activity on the local FD tac frequency or the PD chase frequency, the radio will put out an alert tone. I use that mode when I'm sleeping. I don't want to miss out on those police chases. I also haven't tried hooking it up to a computer. I don't have the cable (yet), but will get it some day. And I would also like to try this on an outdoor antenna sometime. I've only used the rs800 and supplied antenna on it so far in the house or in the car. The next antenna I want to get is the RH77CA, like you have.

I'm not a scanner/electronics expert either so I don't know how a super sensitive scanner would react to nearby electronics. I mostly use the 346 (with the rs800 antenna) in the computer/tv room when at home and haven't had any issues with unwanted noise or interference so far.

Good luck on your decision and price hunt Ganuke. I paid $220 for my 346 and got much more than I expected.

Muskratt

 

[Ganuke]

Thanks for the reply Muskratt. I believe I am decided on purchasing the BC346xt which I guess is what you also recently purchased. Good to hear your review of it in usage so far being mostly positive. I think / hope that I will be happy with the scanner as well. I think it should at least be a noticeable improvement over my current button defective Radio Shack Pro 95.

I think the GRE PSR 300 would be a really good scanner as well. But as I said in a previous post ..... where the mention of it being a really sensitive receiving scanner was for a while thought of as a plus to me ...... I just recently had the wondering if it could actually be a negative in it pulling in unwanted signals / noise because of that extra sensitivity..... especially when used with my Diamond RH77CA antenna which with some extra gain ( I think ) helps a scanner pull in reception better. So an extra sensitive GRE PSR 300 with that Diamond antenna may overdo it when I am scanning out of my local rural / suburban area and am doing so in some small nearby cities or when I'd use it if traveling to a city such as Pittsburgh. And ..... yeah ..... I still wonder about the issue of electronics when using an extra sensitive scanner. You mention experiencing no issue of that with the BC346xt ..... but maybe with the GRE PSR it would bring in unwanted signals / noise in a room where I'd have a computer, TV, DVR receiver, DVD player, and Bose radio on at the same time in close proximity to the scanner. I had the change of mind in thinking it may be better to have the BC346xt with I assume just a bit less sensitivity than the GRE PSR 300 ...... but in doing so also avoid some possible frustrating moments of having unwanted signals / noise being heard through the speaker.

And after I do make a purchase of the scanner ...... I plan to download Free Scan which I've hear good things about here at Radio Reference to use the scanner with my computer. From all the merchants online that I've found selling the BC346xt ...... they all list the scanner coming with a Serial port connector to use with a computer. You say you don't have a cable to use software with the scanner though. HHHmmmmm ..... it could be that the Serial connector did come with your purchase of the scanner ..... but maybe your computer has no serial port on it. I am ' lucky ' enough to have a computer that is going on 5 years old and does have a Serial port on it ..... which I've been using the Win 95 software for scanner - computer connection ..... after having purchase the Serial connector for my RS Pro 95 shortly after getting it. Maybe it is that your computer only has usb connections in which case ..... yeah ...... any Serial connector that comes with the BC346xt would be of no use to you. But I too have seen usb connectors for the BC346xt to make it work with software ..... not exactly cheap though ..... but I like to try and be a penny pincher where I can.

Right now I am in the price finding process. And just about having exhausted that ...... I may end up going with a purchase from Scanner Master which I have heard of and see listed here at Radio Reference as a recommended merchant. I've found a few places with the BC346xt cheaper than it is at Scanner Master after shipping costs are factored in ....... but not sure the price at those other places is less enough to risk a purchase from one of them ...... where I've heard of bad stories about various online merchants where one runs into problems ( shipped wrong item, big headache trying return wrong item for refund / replacement, etc ).

But you say of having gotten the BC346xt for $ 220. Is that the bottom line cost ( after shipping / tax ..... etc. is factored in ? ) If so ...... that would make it a bit cheaper than at Scanner Master. If you don't mind me asking ..... where did you purchase the scanner from ?


Ganuke

 

[Muskratt]

Ganuke, you're exactly right about that cable. I do have a cable, but can't hook it up to my computer (usb only). So far I've programmed everything manually which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Even have the descriptions entered. I've been working on getting the surrounding counties programmed in. Locally, it is mostly 800 trunked systems, but the 7 surrounding counties are primarily conventional systems on 155, 460, and one county that uses 800 simplex frequencies. I've been really happy with the results. Up until recently, I've mainly just listed to the local 800 trs activity, but the last couple days I've just been listening to the surrounding counties. I'm using a different antenna - it's actually a 2m telescoping whip antenna for ham radio, but it is picking up the 155, 460, and 800 simplex from the surrounding counties. I do have a RH77CA that should arrive tomorrow. I'll see how that does compared to what I'm using now, but I'm already hearing everything that I want to with this 2m antenna so may just stay with that. I did have a few minor problems with some frequencies. There is a local tower here that transmits noaa wx and pages the counties FD's, well I had 154.250 programmed in the scanner and once in awhile I could hear a brief moment of intermod on the frequency. I thought I might have to stop scanning 154.250 because it was irritating to have the radio stop every once in awhile on that frequency to only hear a brief moment of intermod, but then I remembered about the CTCSS tones. I looked up the tone here on RR for what I was trying to listen to on 154.250 and programmed it in. That stopped the problem and the radio only stops on 154.250 when there really is something being transmitted on that frequency. The other minor problem I had was similar to when I was traveling. Scanner stopped on a close frequency 154.445, but the actually transmission was on 154.430. 154.430 is the local FD/ems page frequency from the tower near me, and 154.445 is the county north of here. I am going to program a CTCSS tone for 154.445 so that the scanner will only stop there when there is really traffic there, not from intermod from 154.430. The last problem, which really isn't a problem, is that with the better antenna, I'm receiving too much. Am getting things from 2 counties away (50 miles) - So I am going to program some more CTCSS tones so I can block some of that dx traffic out. Overall, i've been quite impressed with the operation on the conventional frequencies. I'm going to listen over the next few days just to see what things I can consistently receive well. Some of them may be due to enhanced conditions which is common this time of year, but still this is receiving inside the house. Wonder how this would work outside the house

I purchased my radio at AES. I purchased it there because if I need to take it back, there is an AES local to the area. Have ordered other things from them with no problem. With tax and shipping, I paid $240, but the base price was $220. I've seen other places at $215.

 

[Muskratt]

Just a quick update on the antenna. I tried the rh77ca to see how it compared to the 2m antenna I have been using. On 460, it was the same, but on 150 and 800, the rh77ca was much worse. There is a 800 trs about 25 miles away that had 0 bars on the rh77ca, but the 2m antenna had 1-2 bars. On 150, the 2m antenna consistently had 1-2 bars higher than the rh77ca. So I'm going to use the rh77ca on a 2m/70cm ham radio ht. The 2m antenna I'll use on the scanner when at home, and i'll use the rs800 when carrying the ht around. I don't think they make the 2m antenna I have anymore (it is 20+ years old), it is a aea 2m hotrod antenna, and I think it is a 1/2 wave. Not sure if there is something similar to it being made today.

Muskratt

 

[Ganuke]

thanks again for the reply Muskratt. I actually did order up the BC346xt a couple days ago ( may actually arrive today ...... would be nice as it is my birthday. )

And ok ..... so I was right about the cable connection that comes with it ...... your computer doesn't have a Serial port but just usb connections. Like I said I guess I am lucky in this department in having a computer going on 5 years old that has a Serial port. So hopefully the cable connection that comes with this scanner will work for me using that with the Free Scan software.

Have you looked into that Free Scan software that I mentioned in a previous post. It wouldn't work for you with your computer until purchased the usb connection for the BC346xt ...... but still may not be bad to read about it on the makers website and maybe even download it to check it out. I did that yesterday to take a look at it and even begin getting some frequencies input.

It seems pretty easy to use ( copy / paste ) frequencies found on the Internet ...... such as here from the Radio Reference database and they load into Free Scan to be uploaded to the scanner. I think it is recommended to use the Firefox browser with Free Scan when doing the frequency copying. And from what I've read ..... if you have a Radio Reference subscription the process becomes even easier when inputting frequencies into Free Scan to then upload to the scanner.

I'm hoping Free Scan actually will be fully compatible with the BC346xt once it arrives and I try it out with that software. There is even an option to control the scanner from your computer. And Free Scan shows that it can even do frequency logging ( so you could have it connected to your computer with Free Scan on doing logging of what frequencies are coming in, how often, how long, etc. ) from what I've read about that software. To me sounds pretty neat and convenient ...... as my button defective RS Pro 95 never was able to do that using the Win 95 software. Hopefully it really does work with this scanner.

As for the Diamond antenna ..... I overall have liked it a lot but never really tried any other antenna to compare it against over the years since I first got the RS Pro 95 ( well other than the stock duckie antenna which of course it was an improvement over. ) I just heard it was a solid all around antenna to use for nearly all the frequency range ...... but yeah did hear it has ' issues ' with the 800 frequency area.

The RS Pro 95 does have trunking ability ...... but to be honest I never really input any frequencies to make use of it. I may try doing so now if such trunking frequencies exist for my area in what will be my new BC346xt ..... but as it is ...... I guess I may not even receive anything in the trunking area using the Diamond antenna I guess. If I find enough such trunking frequencies for my area ..... I guess I may next look for a 800 Mhz specific antenna to purchase just for times I'd want to listen to trunking frequencies. I think I've read that the RS800 I believe it is called is a solid performing antenna for the trunking frequencies. It just may be a bit of a pain swapping that antenna with my diamond inbetween the times I wanted to listen to trunking frequencies and the then the rest of the frequency range.

I havn't really researched on it much since I got that Diamond antenna to know if there is now anything better out on the market ...... something that would be able to pick up the full frequency range including 800 Mhz trunking frequencies ...... that could be placed onto the scanner and isn't an attic / outdoor antenna ..... hhhmmmmm .....


Ganuke

 

[Muskratt]

Congrats Ganuke on your purchase. You will really enjoy it. I've got mine programmed with all the nearby counties and I have quick keys assigned to each of them. I can turn on and off entire counties by pressing one key. And I just learned how to use the volume offset function. Very nice to be able to adjust the volume of some of those frequencies/channels.

I think I will check out that Freescan software you mentioned because guess what... I think I do have a serial port. I had forgotten about a HF radio I have connected to the computer and to do that I had to purchase some special cables and one of them was a usb/serial port something or other. The cable I have is from this link...
Personal Database Applications-StoreFront Product Detail Page
Do you think that will work? I'd hate to try to plug the scanner in and fry it. But it does look like the cable hooked up to the computer will mate with the cable that came with the scanner. And no problem with Firefox, I use that 99% of the time for web browsing.

I do like the Diamond antenna, doesn't receive as well as the aea 2m hotrod on 2m and 800, but it is alot lighter and smaller and less strain on the antenna connector. I do like the UHF performance though. Yeah, I don't know what antenna would could pick up the entire frequency range, but I'm mainly looking for the 150-160 range, 450-470, and 800-900. I may order that austin condor antenna to see how that performs.

One tip with the rechargable batteries. Before you put in the rechargable batteries, be sure to switch the little switch in the battery compartment to alkaline - this way if you use the dc adaptor, it won't charge the batteries. I've heard it's good to run the batteries down before giving them a recharge. So what I do is use the scanner until the batteries go dead (radio shuts off when it gets too low - starts a low battery beep around 3.5v i think). So once the batteries are dead, i switch that switch back to nicd/nimh and then plug in the dc adaptor in. I leave the scanner plugged in for 14 hours. You can turn on and off the scanner during that time...just don't interrupt the power source. Turning on and off the scanner doesn't effect the charge time. Wasn't sure at first if that would affect the charge time, but the last time i did it, the battery recharge finished exactly when it was suppose to...14 hours from the time I plugged it in. After the recharge cycle, i switch that switch in the back back to alkaline so that no more charging will be done until the batteries die and i switch it back to nicd/nimh. I didn't know that at first and noticed that the batteries felt really warm when using the dc adaptor. Probably because I was charging an already fully charged battery.

Muskratt

 

[Ganuke]

Muskratt ..... hello again. The linkage you provided in your last post to that cable ...... it looks to be a usb to serial / parallel port connection. The one end looks to be the small end usb ( not sure of the precise name for it ) which then leads to the native DB-9 ( serial ) computer connection ..... or I guess attached the DB-25 ( parallel ) computer connection to the DB-9 end depending on what you need to attach to a computer. I remember a previous printer of mine using the parallel connection.

But given the front end of that cable is the small usb connection ...... I don't think there is anywhere on the BC346xt to connect that to. ( I just got the BC346xt yesterday ..... and have yet to really get deeply involved with using it. And I also do not think the serial cable that came with the scanner will mate with that cable you link to. The one end of it will have to be attached to the computer ...... ( the DB-9 ' serial ' ) end ...... so the small usb end of that cable I don't believe will mate with the cable that came with the BC346xt.

For that matter ...... I would agree with ya in not even wanting to try it for fear of bricking / frying the scanner even if you could somehow get those cables to mate up. But if you say you are using that cable you linked to for another device you have connected to your computer...... then it would mean that you do have a serial port on your computer. Unless you wanted to buy the usb adapter cable for the BC346xt ( which is linked here from the Uniden website ) ..... I'd stick with using only the serial cable that came with the BC346xt to connect to your computer. I believe that usb adapter cable is also available from ScannerMaster.com ..... and ya may even be able to find it a bit cheaper from another online merchant if you search around ..... and also find a coupon code for another online merchant that sells it.

But yeah ..... my advice would be to either purchase the usb adapter cable ...... or stick with using the serial cable ( no attempt at mating it with any other cables ) that came with the scanner we both now have. For you to use the serial cable that came with the BC346xt ...... I guess it would mean you having to unplug the other cable you linked to from your computer and plug the serial cable that came with the BC346xt into the serial port on your computer.

However ...... as of just a day or so ago you had not thought you even had a serial port on your computer. Not all computers are built the same I know ...... but mine has 2 available serial ports. Maybe before ya would purchase the usb adapter cable for the scanner ...... give a good close look at your computer tower ...... maybe there is another serial port there next to the one you have your other device connected to. Now that would make it really nice ....... ya could have that other device and the BC346xt both connected to your computer without having to switch back and forth on the cables or purchase a usb adapter cable for this scanner.

Like I said just having gotten the BC346xt yesterday ..... been a bit busy to really get to try things out on it. So far I've just been trying to tune some things in from the service banks ( public safety, Railroad, Air, etc. ). And I've been setting up Free Scan with some frequencies ...... where I'd like to get a good number of them input ..... at least from the PA county I live in ..... then upload to the scanner for a good try.

My very first impression of the scanner once it arrived and I opened it ..... was Wow Small ! lol It looks like something my button defective Radio Shack Pro 95 picked out of its teeth in comparison of size. But as long as there is enough in the guts of this scanner to receive well for me ..... the small size will be a plus ..... much easier to carry around.

My biggest rant thus far is not really about the scanner ...... but about the owners manual for it. I found out now just a owner / user manual on cd. And when I put the cd in ..... nothing auto loaded ...... so I went and found what I guess is the pdf manual in the contents of the cd. And the pdf even states it is not a full / complete owners / user manual and advices to go to another site online for more information on how to use the scanner.

Now I am all for technology ...... but there is still part of me that likes the traditional way of things. One big part of that would be liking to have a hard copy owner / user manual by where I could take it from room-to-room ..... or even outside ..... while reading it over and trying out the scanner as I learn new things about it from the reading. I am on the computer a good bit ...... but just not really liking being bound to it for reading an owners / user manual for this scanner.

So right now I can't really say much more on the scanner not having really given it a big try yet. Basically just my first impression on the cosmetics of it. It does have a nice clean look to me ..... and I like the buttons which stand out to me better than those on my RS Pro 95. And I really like that the buttons can light up...... I can't remember how many times at night while sleeping I'd hear fire whistles going off in town ...... so I'd turn the RS Pro 95 on and fumble around with the buttons in a dark room. No more of that now.

Thanks also for the tip on the batteries. In the little reading I did of the cd owner / user manual I did come across about needing to switch that button inside the battery compartment for use of Alkaline or rechargeable batteries. I've used rechargeable batteries in my RS Pro 95 since I got it ( as well as in many other devices ) and plan to do with with the BC346xt. But in doing so I thought I'd never need to switch the button to Alkaline. In fact I had thought if I am using rechargeable batteries in the scanner I could not have that button set to Alkaline.

So really ...... that button assignment when switched to rechargeable is just mean to tell the scanner to charge the batteries inside anytime it is connected with the DC adapter ? What if I have the rechargeable batteries in the scanner ..... with the button switched to alkaline ..... and I have the scanner plugged in using the DC adapter ? It won't fry anything up would it ? ( Maybe best to just take the batteries out every time I'd have the scanner plugged in with the DC adapter ..... hhhmmmmm ..... ) I have a rechargeable battery charger that I use for all my rechargeable batteries. So my plan will be to let the rechargeable batteries drain down with scanner use and once that happens ..... take them out to recharge in the battery charger I have.

I'm just not sure about using the scanner as the battery charger. I kind of think of ti happening where I use just battery power for a while draining them down some ...... then I'd plug the scanner in with the DC adapter ..... and it would start charging the batteries back to full before they even got fully drained. And I think that would lessen the overall life of the batteries. ( Unless they make rechargeable batteries and scanners acting as battery chargers differently now. ) Not sure.

I am also wondering about antenna use for this scanner. Like I said I have that Diamond antenna ..... but it is a bnc connection. So for the BC346xt ..... I have to use the SMA to BNC adpapter. I'm wondering still if that adapter will lessen signal strength for reception. Maybe it would be best for me to get a new antenna ...... I know I seen before they sold the Diamond RH77CA also with a SMA connection that I could get as long as it is still sold. But yeah ..... wondering if there is now a better antenna out there to purchase that would offer even better gain and more range on the frequency scope.

That just may be my next research project. lol HHHmmmmm ..... maybe I will start with making a thread in the antenna forum of Radio Reference asking about it. I had done a search in that forum before ..... but unless I am missing it ..... there just seems to be alot about the bigger attic / outdoor type antennas people post of using with their scanner. So yeah .... maybe I will post in asking about this in that antenna forum soon ..... and risk getting told to ' just use the dang search feature. '


Ganuke

 

[rvictor]

The cable that comes with the scanner is a serial cable. It can be used directly to a serial port on the computer if one has one. For those that don't, it can also be used with an adapter which converts the serial cable to USB. Uniden also sells a cable which goes directly from the scanner to a USB port. That cable has a built-in serial to USB converter. If one is using either a serial to USB converter or the USB cable that includes the converter, you have to install the appropriate driver in order for the converter or cable to work. No need to do that if you use the serial cable directly to a serial port.

I've not heard anyone complain of a reduction in signal strength as a result of using the SMA to BNC antenna adapter that comes with the scanner.

Dick

 

[Muskratt]

Hey, good news...the cable that I mentioned above does work. I got brave and tried it out and was happy to see FreeScan recognize the scanner. One problem I had to work through was that the location in the room where the scanner works best is on the opposite site of where the computer is. This meant that I needed about 25 feet of cable to run from the scanner to the computer. One run for the control cable, and one run for the audio so I can hear it through the computer speakers. When I was done, for the control cable I have, starting from the computer, a 10 foot usb extention cable, then the usb to serial port cable mentioned above (6 ft), then a 6 foot serial extention cord (from RS), then the uniden cable. The audio was a bit tricky in that when the control cable is plugged into the scanner, the audio output from the headphone jack was not as strong. Worked fine when the control cable was not plugged in, but with the control cable plugged in, I could not get enough audio out of the headphone jack to provide clear audio to the computer speakers. I solved this by not using the headphone jack, and instead placed the computer microphone next to the scanner speaker and on the computer had to set the mic boost on. Sounds great now.

Muskratt

 

[rvictor]

Muskratt,

Glad you got it working. Frankly, I'm surprised that the mix and length of cables works reliably, but I'm glad that it does.

I run the audio from my 396XT from the earphone jack to the computer and haven't noticed any difference with or without the control cable plugged in.

If you have any type of accessory antenna for your scanner, you may be able to get the scanner closer to the computer and just run the antenna coax from the better location to the scanner. That would let you eliminate the microphone which will, of course, pick up room noise as well as the scanner output.

73
Dick

 

[Ganuke]

Glad to hear the rigging you have for your scanner setup is working for you as well ..... for what seems the most part. I too am surprised what you have done works ( but I'd also wonder if the cable rigging you used would end up decreasing reception / signal strength. ) Still though if that's how ya gotta have it ......

What rvictor mentioned might be a good idea ..... and I would think could help eliminate some of the cable rigging you have going on. I know I'd be afraid ( at least right now as my BC346XT is still so new and under warranty ) to have tried what you did. I'd of been afraid of frying the scanner. But in my hunt for what was available as a better antenna than the one I have had ( Diamond RH77CA ) with use on my previous scanner ..... I did read of what seemed to be some interesting rigging of scanners to attic / outdoor antennas ..... so I guess such combinations of connections with a scanner can be safely done.

One thing I was wondering just last night was if there was actually a longer computer cable available for use with the BC346XT ..... longer than the serial cable that came with this scanner ...... for connecting the scanner up to my computer to use Free Scan. With where I have my computer tower ..... and the serial connection port being on the back of the tower ...... I jjuuusssssttttttttt am able to connect the scanner to my computer and have the scanner sitting on the near edge of my computer desk right in the middle.

It would be nice to have a longer length cable to connect the scanner to my computer ..... and have the scanner sit in the area of the room my computer is in where it gets best reception. I guess possibilities would be what Muskratt tried ..... maybe some combination of cables connected together to get extra length from the computer to where I'd want the scanner placed in the room while connected to my computer ..... HHHmmmmm. I'm guessing the optional usb type connection available ( for instance from Scanner Master ) is of the same length as the serial connection that came with this scanner.

Not sure why the serial connection cable wasn't made longer than the ( I think ) 4 foot length it is ..... especially given it is a serial port connection. From all computers I've seen ..... serial port connection is in the back of a tower ...... so once you connect it there and run it to the front of the computer ..... not much length left to place the scanner somewhere other than right in front of ya on a computer desk it seems. Maybe I could get a an extra serial cable that would have the right male / female ends to connect the one end to the serial cable that came with this scanner and the other end to my computer. ( Probably something like the last part of Muskratt's rigging. ) There again though I'd be back in my wondering of it decreasing reception / signal strength.


Ganuke

 

[rvictor]

The long run of the control cable shouldn't have any effect on the signal strength/reception since the radio signal isn't going through that cable. What it may well affect is the reliability of the upload/download and control of the scanner since those are the things that the control cable is doing. While Muskratt has been able to make the long bunch of mixed cables work, it certainly isn't the kind of thing that one could count on. In some cases people (myself included) have had problems with just the single cable length. I wasn't getting reliable transfers using the USB cable and therefore bought a serial card to add two serial ports to my computer so that I could use the serial cable. Things have been troublefree since.

The USB standard for maximum length appears to be 5 meters. Serial cable maximum length depends on the quality of the cable and the speed at which the data is transferred but tends to be somewhat longer. So if you need a long run, it appears that a quality serial cable is going to be the best odds of making it work.

73
Dick

 

[Muskratt]

Ganuke, I agree with Dick...using a longer control cable doesn't change the reception. If you are going to try an extention cord, look for a DB9 extention cord. I got mine at RS, and I think they only had the 6ft one. Not sure if there are longer ones. Might be longer ones, and cheaper too. Got mine at RS since it was local and I was pretty much not expecting the hookup to work and it would be easy to return the cables. But, for over 2 weeks, have been running just fine with this mish-mosh of cables.

Dick, before trying these cables, I looked for almost a week at other antennas and coax cable that would allow me to receive a couple of 'just out of reach' 800mhz trs systems. But just by chance, I found that perfect spot in which I could receive both those systems, along with some distant 460mhz systems, indoors with the RS800mhz antenna. For now, this setup works well in that I don't have to keep switching antennas back and forth every day. I just keep the same antenna on whether I'm at home or mobile. One thing that may be helping make the long cable work is that I have the port speed set to 9600. I haven't tried a higher speed than that. If and when things go p25 around here, I'll probably need to look into a better antenna setup (along with a new radio) if I want to receive those faraway systems.

Muskratt

 

[rvictor]

Muskratt,

As they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". It's working for you and that's what counts. As you note, the lower bitrate may be helping.

73
Dick