scanners getting cheaper?

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ryradio

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My area has gone to P2 system, I had to pony up for a new, expensive scanner.... which is on the way. I hope I haven't developed buyers remorse because I was thinking.....

will the prices of P2 capable scanners be getting cheaper in the near future?
 

safetyobc

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Doubt it. P25 scanners took several years to drop in price for a used radio and even now a new P25 scanner will cost you about $500 give or take. But the good news is, they have stayed around $500 even with the addition of P2, DMR, etc.
 

ryradio

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thanks... i feared that i would see the P25 scanners at 100-150 next year. or comparable in price to a basic analog scanner.. you made me feel better.
 

baayers

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The cheapest you will be able to find is the 325P2 and that normally goes for around $350. I'm sure by the time we see prices lower than that something new will be taking its place.
 

ofd8001

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About the only time you see scanners drop in price is after they've been replaced by a couple of models (which do "more" things).

Back in October someone was posting they found a 996XT on clearance for $360 where "regular" price was $470. The 996XT came out in 2009 or so.

Scanners seem to hold up pretty good. Rarely have I tossed a scanner because it went bad, usually its because radio technology changes: Analog/Digital/Phase I/Phase II.

Given the relatively recent (3-4 years) FCC narrowbanding, any radio technology has peaked. I don't see many governments pressing manufacturers to come up with something new or even interest in buying new technology not currently receivable by scanners. They are probably still paying on bonds to cover their most recent purchases.
 

bob550

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The market forces at work here are different for scanners than for, let's say, televisions. With TV's, you have a product that is in roughly 95% of homes in the U.S. TV's are available through countless retailers. But scanners are purchased by a relatively small segment of the population, are only available through a comparatively small number of retailers, and are not subject to the same price fluctuations as other home electronics. As an example, a top-of-the-line RadioShack PRO-2006 (a crude antique by today's standards) retailed for $399.95 in 1993. Factoring in inflation, that same scanner would sell for $669 today! So, considering what you get in a Uniden BCD536hp or Whistler WS1098 at around $100 less, you're getting an incredible value!
 

br0adband

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Does nobody consider the potential of used hardware anymore or is it just me? :D

I found a Radio Shack Pro-668 in a pawn shop recently and put it on layaway at a decent price I suppose ($180, for the record) but some folks found them for a lot less when Radio Shack sortakinda went under in 2015 - I saw some people around here reporting they had found them in stores marked down to as low as $99 out the door. But then again some of those people went in, grabbed as many as they could find from every store in their area - and in the process preventing others from getting a good deal - and then resold them for big profits which I find to be a damned lame thing to do but whatever, that's humanity for you.

Anyway, it's a P25 Phase I and Phase II capable device, basically the rebranded version of the Whistler 1080 scanner which based all based on the GRE PSR-800 to begin with, and I did some testing of the hardware prior to actually committing to the layaway/purchase (because once I give 'em the cash to hold it that cash is gone and I can't get it back due to their ridiculous layaway/restocking BS fees) and it worked fine so I don't expect to have any issues with it once I do pick it up at some point.

It's too easy to just spout off the full retail pricing figures or even close to it and that's just not an absolute necessity. Yes if you do spend all that cash and get a scanner brand new you do get the factory warranty if you have problems so that's one thing that needs to be considered with such a purchase but it's not the end-all-be-all must have kind of thing I suppose. I know there's a chance this Pro-668 could die on me at any time like most any other consumer electronics hardware so it's a risk to purchase it but I've never owned a physical digital scanner over the decades and it's about time I do get one so when I see this I decided it was there for a reason aka me.

You can absolutely find P25 Phase I and II capable hardware in the used marketplaces like eBay, craigslist, pawn shops, and other places so it's of course worth the time and effort to do the research and looking around for such devices. Would I like to have a Uniden 436HP or a Whistler TRX-1 at this point? Absolutely, but they're just too far out of my price range to even consider getting such hardware unless I win a poker tournament or someone drops a wad of cash on me just because I'm a nice guy (really, I am). :p

Look around, check out those sites and if you have pawn shops in your area keep an eye on those as well, local buy/sell circulars or websites, all sorts of places. There's always the Classifieds section here at RR as well - someone just listed a Whister 1080 for $255 just a few days ago so you never know when a good deal could just drop in your lap unexpected.

On top of all that you can monitor P25 Phase I and Phase II systems with a $10-25 "cheap USB TV tuner" these days and OP25 (requires using Linux/Ubuntu however but it does work remarkably well for conventional and trunked systems) - if you only need P25 Phase I support you could use DSD+ (Windows based) and get the job done just the same too. It's not as convenient as just having a digital handheld scanner right there to work with but it does offer the potential to do actual monitoring of P25 and DMR and NXDN systems for an extremely low entry-point in terms of price.

Always something to consider. I've been using RTL-based sticks for a few years now to monitor P25 Phase I and DMR as well as a very few NXDN systems here in my area, spent like $25 total (already had the laptop and the antennas) and I've had no issues I'd complain about, it takes time and effort to learn how everything works together but again it does actually work.
 

pinballwiz86

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When there is a good sale going on, someone will always come to the forum and tell everybody about it! You just gotta be able to move quick to get the deal.
 
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