The best old time radio scanner???

[AB3MT-702]

So how about a discussion on radio scanners that were more sensative on the old low band 33.0 mhz and the vhf 150mhz. The scanners of today are trunked, APCO 25 digital or 800mhz, well how about those old time scanners that only made it up to just the 400mhz band and that was it. Was there a scanner of the old day that was better then the rest to receive on these bands? Are the scanners of today more sensative on the digital and trunked systems then the convential low band? Anybody out there from the hay days of scanning the low band remember the best radio scanner of that day?

 

[fineshot1]

Back in the mid to late 1980's I had a Bearcat model 300 which if i recall correctly was a 50 channel
scanner - an early programable scanner that had a real hot receiver and all i needed was the little
antenna that screwed into the top cover hole. It also had a really useful search feature with a hit
counter. Before that in the crystal scanner era I had the bearcat III which was also a very hot
receiving scanner.

 

[charlielinn]

Not real old..but my RS 2034 60 ch. scanner is still workin' very well on Lowband VHF.
Highway patrol, and 2 mtr, 6 mtr, and 440 Ham is in there, too. Receives the highway smokys
better than my new stuff.
Also, although the BC 895XLT ( I know, isn't THAT old ) but is to some, that old girl has better
ears down low and otherwise than all of my newer stuff. And the audio is "full" and loud, no distortion
even when up to max. ) Slow scanning ( both) but no problems with either of 'em ever, can't say that about my "new" stuff.
I figure you're talkin' about the "crystal" scanners and such..mine are all gone, now..( darn) but the audio was mucho better than the "tinny sounding stuff built now, me thinks.

 

[radioman12]

Back in the mid 1970's, I had an old Radio Shack "Patrolman" tunable model.

Then later I bought a "Patrolman 7", I think, that did a good job. Of course it was a crystal type and one of our local TV stations came in on the fire dispatch frequency. I did get another crystal for that frequency and that eliminated that.

Both were pretty good.

 

[ka0blc]

I remember mine as being the patrolman mini, 9 volt batt. and tuneable. I knew where the P.D. and Sheriff's office were on the dial, I would sit and tune back and forth. I guess that made it my first scanner

 

[bee]

Although I have a 996t--bcd 15--and a psr 500-- among others, I have a Bearcat 145 XL I listen to most of the time.

It only has 16 channels but that is about all I need. The main reason listen to is because, of a much better "sound"!

 

[Confuzzled]

I don't remember the model numbers or their performance, but I had one of the old Regency crystal controlled 8 channel units that had red plastic bubbles with incandescent lamps as channel indicators.

Also had an RS 4 channel handheld. I think those were among the first really useful portables. I know everybody went nuts over them when they first came out. I think I still have it somewhere.

 

[chrismol1]

Patrolman!!!!

 

[joetnymedic]

one of my first scanners was a radio shack 4 channel xtal controlled it was low band and vhf. (Orange PD and Fire(plus Woodbridge-same freq) and West Haven Fire were low band and West Haven PD were on VHF. I put that scanner thru hell. It was one tough scanner My father in law probably still has it in a drawer somewhere. That thing had the best ears of any radio I had. I then graduated to a regency that did UHF too and a bearcat. I also had a BC100 and 145. Then when New Haven Fire went 800 I bought a bearcat that had a blue lcd screen like a calculator back then forgot the model number. But they were all great scanners I think the old xtal controlled ones were alot more sensitive than the scanners of today, but todays scanners are alot better as far as scan speeds, amount of channels, etc. Wow thanks for the trip down memory lane.......

Joe

 

[KR4BD]

I don't remember the model numbers or their performance, but I had one of the old Regency crystal controlled 8 channel units that had red plastic bubbles with incandescent lamps as channel indicators.

Also had an RS 4 channel handheld. I think those were among the first really useful portables. I know everybody went nuts over them when they first came out. I think I still have it somewhere.

The first scanner you are describing sounds like the Regency Model TMR-8H which was an 8 channel crystal scanner for the 150-160 MHz range. I bought one new in 1971 or 72 and still have it. It was a well built scanner with very sensitive receive specs. It had a nice, large speaker with punching, clear audio, too.

 

[Confuzzled]

Just remembered another one I had years ago. It was a Tennelec or Tennetrac crystal controlled tabletop unit with illuminated rectangular pushbuttons that doubled as lock-out/indicators with interchangeable colored plastic bezels. I think they came with red, blue, green and maybe yellow you could use to indicate the service the channel was set for. I can't remember if it was 10 or 12 channel.

 

[dxradio2003]

1st radios

Hi,

My first police band receiver was a Radio Shack Patrolman, portable AM/VHFhi band tunable radio. It was great for me at the time. Still have one.

The jump ahead in technology was the Patrolman Pro-3 (then the Pro-3A) tunable models. Still have the 3A. The selectivity was fantastic! That was a 3 band model (VHFhi/lo, UHF 450-512Mhz).

 

[Tramagod]

I remember my first scanner purchase. It was a Bearcar 210XL, 10 channel programmable scanner. Very simple, but one of the first user programmable scanners to my understanding. Before that I had a Radio Shack Patrolman, crystal scanner that was given to me, that's the one that gave me "the bug".

 

[SCPD]

My vote would be for my first scanner, a Regency ACT-R-106 10 channel, crystal controlled job with the flashing Red LEDs. One summer morning back in the mid-1970s, I heard a weird accent on the channel reserved for the Orange County (CA) Fire Department on 46.14 MHz. I'm hearing this Philly-New York-Boston hybrid accent dispatching unfamilar units to unfamilar streets and giving timeouts that are exactly three hours ahead of California time. Fascinating. Fortunately, the mystery was solved at the top of the hour, when the weird accent came on and gave a "W" call sign and announced "Providence Fire Department."

Dave
KA6TJF

 

[DeeCeee]

Bc 210

I think this was like a 16 channel unit. I put an external antenna on my car back in 1983 and could hear every Missouri Higway Patrol troop in Missouri (42 MHz) as I drove back and forth to college.

 

[shadcall]

Mine would be a Bearcat I had. Can't recall the model. I think it was 10 channels, all crystal controlled. I lived in a small town in Wisconsin so I could monitor all that was worthwhile. I remember monitoring the local PD, country sheriff, local FD, State Patrol (low band), hospital and railroad. In the winter I would take out the RR and put in the county highway department. Best road reports you could get.

The best frequency to monitor was the one and only cab company. I remember seeing one of the drivers sitting and waiting for a fare while drinking out of a flask. The dispatcher was in a wheelchair and was said to be unable to walk. However late at night you could go by the office and see him walking around.

Those were good times long before trunking and digital and even encryption. To think you could monitor about everything you wanted using only 10 channels.

Shadcall
Pro 106 Pro 163 Pro 164 Pro 62 Pro 2027
DX-390

 

[rwier]

Hi,

My first police band receiver was a Radio Shack Patrolman, portable AM/VHFhi band tunable radio. It was great for me at the time. Still have one.

The jump ahead in technology was the Patrolman Pro-3 (then the Pro-3A) tunable models. Still have the 3A. The selectivity was fantastic! That was a 3 band model (VHFhi/lo, UHF 450-512Mhz).

I thank you and all the other "Patrolman tunable" memories. I would have to look at a set of old photos to tell what I had.

Even though I took it with me in a vehicle (I used an inverter? A ceramic cylinder in a wire coil that got red or white hot), I would not describe it as portable. I carried it by the large mounting bracket.I put tiny strips of tape over the dial to quickly tune fav's.

Back then, mobile (really semi-mobile in a heavy suitcase) telephones were "in the clear", and those that owned them (not me) were well enough off that they all seemed to have girl friends on the side.

I'll be a few hours late "honey", gotta work late on a big case". 30 seconds later: Sweet thing says "Hi baby, where you at?" Late worker says "Outside, in your driveway baby!"

lol!

 

[eaf1956]

Tennetrac

So how about a discussion on radio scanners that were more sensative on the old low band 33.0 mhz and the vhf 150mhz. The scanners of today are trunked, APCO 25 digital or 800mhz, well how about those old time scanners that only made it up to just the 400mhz band and that was it. Was there a scanner of the old day that was better then the rest to receive on these bands? Are the scanners of today more sensative on the digital and trunked systems then the convential low band? Anybody out there from the hay days of scanning the low band remember the best radio scanner of that day?

The BEST scanner (audio and reception wise) I ever had was a Tennetrac scanner: Had little colored plastic pieces to color code each lock out button.

 

[kb2hpw]

Uniden 800XLT was a fun scanner, first "real" scanner I bought back in late 80's. Had 800 band which was coming into vogue around here back then. Plus all the cell phone calls that would "drift" in from time to time. Really liked that radio. Fun days of radio back then.

Not a scanner but the first radio that I used to listen on as a kid was a Midland (I think) portable AM/VHF-HI radio. Picked up at a garage sale for $5, had analog dial, used to listen to 2m ham, local sheriff, PD, DPW, plus all the darned voice pagers that were on VHF hi at the time. Plus aircraft band too. About the size of a VHS tape, not huge, very portable. Really wish I had that radio today!

 

[Turbojet]

I am 2 weeks new into scanners. My friend gave me a Realistic Patrolman Pro 48 that was in a box of stuff he bought at an auction. He lives in St. Louis and said he could not get anything but a bunch of noise, and laughed when he gave it to me. I live 50 miles out of the city in a rural area of Franklin County. This radio works GREAT for me. I however would like to get some different crystals for it, for my area.