Things that would be cool to have in a scanner in addition

[RADIOGUY2002]

Things that would be cool to have in a scanner in addition to the new releases already

MDC1200 decoder and kenwood fleetzync decoder just my two cents, please redirect this if its not in the right spot.

 

[Airdorn]

Why don't they just make a scanner that does what scanners do now, but also decode every known data mode, have a discriminator and ethernet port built right in, and handle LTR Passport, iDEN, Tetra, Opensky, etc?

Ok I know that last part is probably impossible for legal reasons, but you get what I mean?

I see all these individual hobbyist programs to decode all the stuff with slicers and I'm thinking, why can't the scanner just do it right out of the box? One of those data slicer thingies could be a tiny section on the main board.

We could call it the GigaScan 2010 and put it in a really colorful box for maximum sales.

 

[sjcscanner]

umm... A CLOCK

 

[chrismol1]

umm... A CLOCK

porbably the best thing that could be on a scanner, along with data decoding and displaying the data on the screen like fire or ems pagers maybe. something like that would be very cool to have, since most of everything is data

 

[ScanDaBands]

Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter - Analog S-meter

 

[Gilligan]

I'd like to see a scanner that is also a cell phone. Call me crazy but people will take a cell phone anywhere, places that scanners look out of place. I don't like carrying both but it would be awesome if the two were combined.

 

[Airdorn]

How about add some bluetooth connectivity, so people could put that bannana in their ear they use for their cell phone and listen to the scanner.

 

[fredg]

As has been said: Ethernet and IP based and Bluetooth

 

[rescue128]

QCII decode, so if my pager was dead/forgotten you could set the priority to dispatch, and only go into alert when I get a call.

 

[jakegday]

a refillable lighter

 

[radio10-8]

A color screen that would allow me to add pictures instead of alpha tags.

 

[zz0468]

Decent phase noise performance on the LO. I don't care about the rest.

 

[glide]

cupholders.gotta have cupholders

 

[Pimpala03]

QCII decode, so if my pager was dead/forgotten you could set the priority to dispatch, and only go into alert when I get a call.

You can already do this with some scanners.

 

[RodStrong]

A built in bottle opener would benefit many.

 

[SCPD]

this needs to be moved to the RR tavern oooops wasteland :

 

[Zaratsu]

A whacker detector


Okay on the serious side. Analog S-meters dont use any power and are pretty cool tuning aids that many miss. What is old is cool again. ya hear?

A small white LED beam for lighting up the area in front of and below the scanner so that you can take notes, check manual etc.

A bottom-heavy scanner maybe? Every handheld out now is "tippy"

Dual simultaneous scanners. Maybe one digital, one analog feeding off the same UI and memory system?


SD memory card slot for added frequency storage, firmware updates, etc No longer have to hook into computer via silly usb dongle.

 

[gmclam]

Scanner dream features

This topic has already been discussed to death. One thing is that we don't need scanners turning into "cell phones" that have every possible feature included. I would rather have features that are HIGH quality and actually function correctly. Quality over quantity.

1. A PRIority function that is true. This requires a 2nd receiver so that the PRI channel is monitored constantly. None of this 2 second interruption checking the so-called PRI channel. That would also make it possible to make a TRS TalkGroup a priority channel.

2. Memory card interface. Certainly there is an extra expense for the connector and possible licensing fees; but this would be a great improvement. We could all have different memory cards programmed for when we travel. Perhaps the total channels programmed would only be limited by the capacity of our memory cards.

3. TCP/IP (or maybe USB) port. The computer companies are winning the war with regard to removing COM ports from PCs. Now many people have to acquire a cable to convert USB to COM to program their scanner(s). Just put the correct interface on the scanner, make the protocol available, and watch the 3rd party applications come out of the woodwork.

4. I customized several scanners back in the late 1970s with CPUs. I added some software features that do not exist anywhere else to this very day. I'd like those features added to new scanners.

5. Adjustable scan delay. Every channel should have an individually adjustable scan delay from near 0 to about 5 seconds. And the time should be accurate.

6. CT/DC tone exclude mode. Currently scanners can be set to CSQ or a specific tone. I'd like to program a channel to only open the squelch if the tone is NOT a specific value, and another setting that opens on ANY tone frequency (but a tone must be present).

7. A "hit" counter. Every time a channel receives a transmission a count is incremented. We should be able to download this info.

That's the start of my list. It is quite lengthy.

 

[Zaratsu]

5. Adjustable scan delay. Every channel should have an individually adjustable scan delay from near 0 to about 5 seconds. And the time should be accurate.

I LIKE that idea a lot!


A two level priority hierarchy would be cool too.

For example. Im monitoring 500 freqs in about 25-30 local agencies. Sometimes stuff heats up and there is a chase that involves multiple agencies accross jurisdictions. I want to be able to collapse that list of 500 freqs to maybe 20 localities and interagencies that only light up when something bad happens. At that point, I dont care about stupid 911 hangups in a town 20 miles away. Also I want to put additi0onal priority on my home town at that point and any of their broadcasts on their two frequencies take the list.

Or look at it this way. Something bad happens in my town, but i'm scanning the full list because priority will stick it back on my town PD primary channel, but they have a second channel that they use usually only when things get hot. I want to add extra priority to the secondary channel because thats where all the "good" stuff is. (the PD must think it is "secret" or something) Currently I turn on my old SportCat 150 to hold on the PD 2ndary channel so I dont miss anything.


a quick idea. Squelch level on the display (probably already on the digital capable scanners, but I havent seen this feature yet)

 

[xpawel15x]

I agree with gmclam, scanners should stay as scanners and do what they do best, scan. Useless features not related to actual scanning (ex. cell phone like features, camera, etc.) would just make the scanner more expensive. The features should only be related to actual radio scanning. I don't know if this was already said here, I didn't have time to read every post but I would like scanners to have audio control so the scanner can automatically set each channel to a specific audio so that every transmition is balanced and has the same volume. I hate having my hand on the volume knob turning it back and forth because one channel is loud and the other one is quiet. The Pro-96 has something like this but only on digital transmitions. This should be on all transmitions both digital and analog..