Type of Scanner (Nassau/Suffolk)?

[capmeo]

New to the hobby and looking to purchase a scanner...I live in Nassau County on the Suffolk County border. I would like to listen to both Nassau and Suffolk Police frequencies. Do I need a digital scanner for Suffolk County? Any recommendation on a good scanner would also be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[K2KOH]

In my opinion, go for a Radio Shack Pro 106 for portable, or a Pro 197 for the house. They are $399, and do APCO P25 digital, which I believe NCPD will be when they complete their UHF trunking system.
Welcome to a fun hobby!

 

[capmeo]

Thanks for the help - I will look at the Radio Shack units; I am also researching the Uniden BC396XT and GRE PSR-500...on the expensive side but I feel they will be a better fit for future use.

 

[scannerman5555]

go with the Bearcat scanners the BC 346XT hand held / BC 15 XT moblie - base 9,000 ch.'s to play with it's about $ 215 for both !

 

[w2lie]

Don - I think you mean its about $215 for EACH

Mike, since you asked the same question on my forum, and you stated you were thinking ahead to Nassau's new P25 system, I will copy/paste my reply here:

Welcome to the scanner hobby.

No, you don't need a digital scanner for Suffolk, but you will need something that trunks Motorola. If you are looking at a used radio, make sure it will work on a Rebanded system.
Basically, Suffolk County needs to move the trunk system down 15mhz and not all Trunk scanners will work after the switch. There is some digital stuff on SCPD, but not much.

A digital scanner will be needed for Nassau when they move to their new trunk system. I have been monitoring that system for changes..

What type of scanner do you want? Mobile or base?? How much are you looking to spend?

If you wanted a digital mobile, the Uniden BC996XT is the newest model. I've setup a few of those for customers and they are great radios. The audio is a bit "tinny" though. An external speaker takes care of that.

GRE makes the PSR-600, which is the same as the Radioshack PRO-197.

If you go used, the Uniden BCD996T, and PRO-2096 are good choices. I prefer the Uniden Models.
Expect a new radio to cost over $400, used around $300.