what do I need?

[Gamble]

for the most basic and cost effective but not cheap as in crappy setup to listen to the following frequencies in my area? Thanks for your help. I'm totally new to scanners and radios etc but am getting into the mindset where I want to hear local police/fire/news stuff if necessary. Is there such a thing as this, which a novice like me could use:? --a small unit that sits on my desk, it has a display and some keys , maybe a knob or two, and it lets me punch or dial in a freq and voila!? Or is it a more nuanced process which is going to involve lots of work and money on my part just to hear anything I can make sense of. I would be willing to spend I guess as much as $250 for a device like that. Possible?

this link will bring you to RR's available frequencies for my area, zip is 10930
Orange County, New York (NY) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference


Apologies in advance if the protocol is off with this post

 

[sjlamb]

Check out this one. Pretty much "idiot proof" unit that has received very good reviews from both beginners and expert users alike: RadioShack® PRO-107 Handheld iScan Trunking Scanner - RadioShack.com

Also can give this thread a read. It's just one of many on the Pro-107 that can be found on this site: http://forums.radioreference.com/co...658-radioshacks-pro-107-iscan-can-do-esk.html

 

[Gamble]

Thanks so much! It looks perfect except I use a Mac, which sounds like it will be a problem...am I wrong on this?

thanks again,
Gamble

 

[gmclam]

Welcome to RadioReference.com, you've come to the right place!

I'm totally new to scanners and radios etc but am getting into the mindset where I want to hear local police/fire/news stuff if necessary. Is there such a thing as this, which a novice like me could use:? --a small unit that sits on my desk, it has a display and some keys , maybe a knob or two, and it lets me punch or dial in a freq and voila!?

You might already have something sitting on your desk that will do the job without much additional effort or cost. Have you looked here? You can select what you want to hear and listen with your computer.

While you can just key in a frequency on most scanner radios and start to listen, there are types of radio systems out there which require quite a bit more programming of the scanner. Many of us now use computers to program our scanners because it is too much work to enter all the stuff needed directly in to the scanner to receive these systems correctly and as we desire.

I would be willing to spend I guess as much as $250 for a device like that. Possible?

Yes. But don't spend it all on the radio. You'll need to consider the additional costs for things like: AC adapter, programming cable, programming software, outside antenna & coax, and possible subscription fees.

 

[jrholm]

Since the majority of the freq's in your area appear to be analog still you should be able to find an affordable scanner. Look at the wiki here under scanners and see what you like.