someguy123
Member
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2011
- Messages
- 5
I'm totally new to scanning, but very technical/computer experienced. I even have an amateur license.
I do a lot of winter travelling, at night, in storms. I mostly travel in western Canada and NW US. I guess its not just winter either. Twice we've had close calls with tornados and we have been in several severe weather summer storms. I keep getting the premonition that I should be better prepared for an event than I am.
I never seem to know what is going on in the area I'm in weather and traffic wise. It always seems like I'm driving in a storm and trying to figure out if the road is closed 20 miles in front of me or if the weather is getting better or worse or just what is happening.
I have a Cobra 75WXST CB radio with the weather channels. I find it a bit annoying to use and generally don't plug it in unless the weather is bad. It gets the weather channels fine, but the CB radio operation is a bit clumsy. Once in a while I ask truckers for road conditions, etc. I find it has very short range when meeting trucks travelling in the opposite direction in a snowstorm. Like about 30 seconds of conversation before they fade out.
So... I am trying to figure out if I should get a scanner and/or upgrade my CB radio to get a better handle on things.
I think talking with truckers (travelling in the opposite direction) is essential. I'd like to get an export cb radio with a bit more power. Something like a Magnum 257HP. This particular radio DOES NOT have weather channel access.
I'm thinking of augmenting it with a scanner. I'm thinking that if I listened to the police, fires and tow trucks, I'd have a better idea of what is going on. In winter, 75% of the time I wouldn't need it. But 25% of the time it would be extremely handy.
Then it comes down to the scanner itself. I don't like the Uniden HP because it appears to be "constrained". I like the idea of the 996XT, but I've read complaints about issues with P25 trunking. I don't want to buy something that isn't somewhat prepared for the future.
And then there is the mounting issue. These devices would be going in my F350 truck. It seems like it would have lots of room, but the factory nav system takes up a lot of the dash and I'm trying to mount an iPad on it as well.
If I got a 996XT, could I bury it in the fold down console and control it on the iPad touch screen ? Then I would only have to mount the CB where it could be seen and operated.
Sorry for the ramble... I know I should be more organized, but the more I read the more convergent my thought process becomes.
I do a lot of winter travelling, at night, in storms. I mostly travel in western Canada and NW US. I guess its not just winter either. Twice we've had close calls with tornados and we have been in several severe weather summer storms. I keep getting the premonition that I should be better prepared for an event than I am.
I never seem to know what is going on in the area I'm in weather and traffic wise. It always seems like I'm driving in a storm and trying to figure out if the road is closed 20 miles in front of me or if the weather is getting better or worse or just what is happening.
I have a Cobra 75WXST CB radio with the weather channels. I find it a bit annoying to use and generally don't plug it in unless the weather is bad. It gets the weather channels fine, but the CB radio operation is a bit clumsy. Once in a while I ask truckers for road conditions, etc. I find it has very short range when meeting trucks travelling in the opposite direction in a snowstorm. Like about 30 seconds of conversation before they fade out.
So... I am trying to figure out if I should get a scanner and/or upgrade my CB radio to get a better handle on things.
I think talking with truckers (travelling in the opposite direction) is essential. I'd like to get an export cb radio with a bit more power. Something like a Magnum 257HP. This particular radio DOES NOT have weather channel access.
I'm thinking of augmenting it with a scanner. I'm thinking that if I listened to the police, fires and tow trucks, I'd have a better idea of what is going on. In winter, 75% of the time I wouldn't need it. But 25% of the time it would be extremely handy.
Then it comes down to the scanner itself. I don't like the Uniden HP because it appears to be "constrained". I like the idea of the 996XT, but I've read complaints about issues with P25 trunking. I don't want to buy something that isn't somewhat prepared for the future.
And then there is the mounting issue. These devices would be going in my F350 truck. It seems like it would have lots of room, but the factory nav system takes up a lot of the dash and I'm trying to mount an iPad on it as well.
If I got a 996XT, could I bury it in the fold down console and control it on the iPad touch screen ? Then I would only have to mount the CB where it could be seen and operated.
Sorry for the ramble... I know I should be more organized, but the more I read the more convergent my thought process becomes.