VERY FIRST UHF SCANNER: Invented by...???

[Archie]

Was looking at some old Lafayette and Radio Shack catalogs, and after looking at scanner ads wondered who actually invented the very first UHF scanner???

Was it both Regency and Unimetrics Dura Scan ???

And based on the Unimetrics ad, did you have to buy the band with interface modules for their scanners to be operational???

Bearcat made the first VHF scanner????

Many Thanks

 

[NowhereMan66]

I don't know. I remember my grandmother having a Bearcat IV scanner and she listened to Pittsburgh Police on it. Pittsburgh was UHF then, circa 1974, as it is now and using the same freqs. I've been trying to find out went Pittsburgh went UHF, late 1960's or early 1970's. My uncle's brother was a Pittsburgh policeman, maybe I can have my uncle ask him on that, but I have to guess the first UHF scanners had to be early 1970's.

 

[RoninJoliet]

Been in scanning 52 years and the first UHF I remember is Regency 16 channel crystal , I think you set the pins inside for VHF-UHF , two ports on back for VHF-UHF antennas.....

 

[Archie]

VINTAGE SCANNERS:The very first UHF pocket scanner??

Who was the very first to create a UHF pocket scanners???

Based on their online catalogs, looks like it might have been Radio Shack
in 1975 or if not, somebody else like Bearcat actually did it much sooner with
their Five-Six model ???

Many Thanks, Happy New Year to all.

 

[trap5858]

I recall fannon-courier had 4 channel crystal controlled scanners in the 70's. I do not remember model numbers or any of that. You might try rig-pix to locate early models.

 

[davidzimmerman]

i remember back in the middle 70s i had a 4 channel Crystal Radio Shack Pocket Scanner was GREAT then came out their 8 Channel Crystal Pocket Scanner

 

[popnokick]

Hy-Gain had a four channel crystal controlled pocket scanner called the Hy-Scan in the 70's.

 

[buddrousa]

Bearcat 4 6 Thin Scan was the first HH scanner I had 1976ish

 

[LEH]

I am trying to recall my first handheld UHF scanner. I know I had a 4 channel VHF-UHF crystal controlled scanner in my car as early as 1974. I think it was a Radio Shack, but I won't swear to it.

I know I purchased a VHF Lo/Hi and UHF four channel handheld in 1978. I bought some 30 MHz range crystals so I could listen to the aircraft maintenance at RAF Bentwaters (where I was stationed in aircraft maintenance). I had to get the schematic and take the scanner to our radio shop and adjust the sensitivity so it would pickup around 5 miles with a stock rubber duck.

 

[Tech1]

My first pocket scanner was a Regency HX-1500 55 channels.

 

[LEH]

My first pocket scanner was a Regency HX-1500 55 channels.

You must have had BIG pockets. I still have my 1500 and though handheld, it certainly lives up to the name of a 'brick'. That is about the size of it.

 

[DaveNF2G]

My first portable scanner was labeled for Channel Master. 4-channel crystal tuned. I don't know who actually manufactured it.

First UHF? Most likely Uniden Bearcat. They have been building scanners for Radio Shack and other companies for a long time.

 

[bb911]

My first portable scanner was labeled for Channel Master. 4-channel crystal tuned. I don't know who actually manufactured it.

First UHF? Most likely Uniden Bearcat. They have been building scanners for Radio Shack and other companies for a long time.

Back in those days there was Electra Bearcat, who later sold out to Uniden. I doubt if anyone here remembers MacDonald Instruments scanners. They may have been the first to produce UHF crystal scanners, as they offered several multiband scanners. They were top notch in ruggedness, and had great audio. I could still use one here in SoCal, as VHF Hi is still active, and some of the freqs haven't changed since the 1970's.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Back in those days there was Electra Bearcat, who later sold out to Uniden.

Oh, yeah, I forgot all about Electra.

 

[pro92b]

The first UHF portables seem to date from about 1975. Radio Shack PRO-5, Midland 13-903, and Fanon Scanfare come to mind. All the very oldest Radio Shack branded scanners were manufactured by GRE.

 

[thevfdguy]

I had a Fanon Courier handheld back in the late 60's or early 70's. It was a 6 channel low, high, UHF bands. Gave it to my FIL so he could listen to the local PD.

 

[lmrtek]

I had a tennelec programmable scanner back in 1974.
Bearcat and others still only offered crystal scanners.
So it was one of the first programmable scanners sold.

 

[jcardani]

From vintage Radio Shack catalogs on the net, earliest scanner listings with UHF coverage :

1971 Electra Bearcat model BCU UHF 8 channel crystal scanner
1971 Peterson UHF-4460 4 channel UHF scanner
1971 Radio Shack Pro 3 VHF (L/H) and UHF tunable receiver (not a scanner)
1973 Realistic PRO-88 - First Radio Shack branded scanner with UHF

Also Tennelec models in the early 70's or Regency Monitoradios. I had 2 Tennelecs (12 channel with red lights and a 16 channel with blue lights) Circa 1972 to 1973. Regency was 1974 model I believe.

 

[Archie]

Reply

Upon digging more, it looks like Unimetrics had their own separate UHF and VHF Digi Scan scanners in the 1970 Lafayette catalog, but it's not clear in the catalog ad that you could actually add modules resulting in conversion of a single band into a multi band scanner....Correct ????

Many Thanks

 

[Golay]

Similar

Bearcat 4 6 Thin Scan was the first HH scanner I had 1976ish

I just took a look at the radio you had. It seems my first pocket scanner was very similar to that. 4 channel crystals. But the antenna connector was an audio jack.