I have a radio currently in my vehicle for recieving only, on a 800 Mhz trunking system. I do not transmit on this radio and I dont know a lot about radios. This is the Harris County, Texas county law enforcement system. Recently they have done some rebaning on the towers and radios and my current radio will not receive the way it use to. I get lots of static and in lots of places I dont receive at all. I guess its time to get a scanner that can handle the P25 and digital systems. What I am looking for is a scanner that is easy to operate, easy and large dispaly to read. I wont really be scanning on this radio just mainly on one channel at a time. It will only be used for the law enforcement channels that are all on a 800 Mhz trunking system. What Scanner will be best for me?
What scanner
- Thread starter aaronwork
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If you need to decode digital talk groups there are three main choices, namely the GRE 800, the Uniden PC-396xt and the Uniden Home Patrol.
The cheapest of the three is the 800, which is the reason I plumped for it. But the easiest to use with the biggest screen is probably the Home Patrol, which can even be connected to a GPS and switch systems as you drive your car on long trips.
The 800 is very easy to set up and program. The 396 is not. The 396 and the Home Patrol cost about the same in most places, but you might find any of them on sale for less. Each will handle 800 Mhz and above with no problem. My 800 picks up a local ham repeater at 1.2 gigahertz. Which is best for you depends on many factors and how important each factor is to you.
Both the GRE and the Home Patrol come with a chip with the Radioreference database on it for the whole of the USA and Canada. It is updated weekly by the people who use this forum. The 396 has third party (free) software you can download that will allow you to do the same thing but you'll have to become a paying user to get it to download directly. You can, of course, always scan through the RR database and enter the frequencies yourself for free.
The cheapest of the three is the 800, which is the reason I plumped for it. But the easiest to use with the biggest screen is probably the Home Patrol, which can even be connected to a GPS and switch systems as you drive your car on long trips.
The 800 is very easy to set up and program. The 396 is not. The 396 and the Home Patrol cost about the same in most places, but you might find any of them on sale for less. Each will handle 800 Mhz and above with no problem. My 800 picks up a local ham repeater at 1.2 gigahertz. Which is best for you depends on many factors and how important each factor is to you.
Both the GRE and the Home Patrol come with a chip with the Radioreference database on it for the whole of the USA and Canada. It is updated weekly by the people who use this forum. The 396 has third party (free) software you can download that will allow you to do the same thing but you'll have to become a paying user to get it to download directly. You can, of course, always scan through the RR database and enter the frequencies yourself for free.
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