What was your first scanner model?

[lbpd719]

Also a BC-210 in 75 - still works to this day - spent many a year listening to it shout out whatever it could receive from the top of our Fridge.. That was followed by a BC-300xlt and a Regency MX-7000 - now there are too many to list/count

 

[Signal3and2]

Radioshack Pro-2066. It just snowballed from there.

 

[hogwmn]

My first scanner

Radio Shack PRO-2006

 

[kelltara]

My father and grandfather both bought pro-28s which I loved to play with as a kid, then My dad got a Pro-88
I have a bearcat but forgot the model and it's in another state right now.
I still use the old tunable vhf Hi/Lo pro 28 for a dedicated weather radio in the kitchen.

 

[whacker]

Electra Bearcat BC101, inherited from my late father, who purchased it it 1977. Great on VHF Low Band.

Second was a Uniden Bearcat BC100XL, purchased around 1986, which I still have. Solid as a rock.

 

[N3KGD]

My first scanner was a Regency 10 channel crystal control scanner (model number escapes me right now) back in 1973. My first programmable scanner was a Tenelec Memoryscan MS-2. I got it in 1973.It has 16 channels and each frequency had to be entered by entering 16 digits of "0"'s and "1"'s. It took forever but it worked great.

Binary... How fun lol.

My first scanner was a RadioShack Pro 82 Portable. It took so much damage in the snow/mud and continued to work like brand new. I sold it recently and have like 18 Transceivers and Scanners!

 

[RiceCake]

Actually, we had an even older scanner but I can't remember what it was or even really what it looked like.

It was basically an AM/FM radio with an analog tuning dial, but it covered like the whole VHF band.

 

[LarryMax]

Rat-Shack Pro-46. I loved listening to my neighbors cordless phone (46mhz) I modded it for the 800 then a few years later sold it on Ebay for way too much money. Still got a Pro-2022 that I put a discriminator tap on for MDT decoding. Not much use for it now.

 

[cousinkix1953]

Some of The SCANNERS I Used To Own

I still have this early 70s Vintage PRO 77-A VHF dyal bander in the closet.

The PRO 2006 is my current back up rig if needed.

If you like old scanners, there are dozens of them for sale on EBAY...

 

[lucas2121]

Radio Shack Pro-95 I remember I got it for Christmas. That radio started it all even though I have only had one other radio and that is the IC-V8.

 

[fredburgess]

Just wondering what was your first scanner model?

Mine was a 10 channel Realistic Pro 36, bought way back in 1988.
Fred Burgess

 

[n2deep]

Pro 2052

 

[emscapt9816]

Bearcat 6 channel SlimScan HLU pocket scanner.

 

[W6SAE]

My first scanner was a Realistic PRO-31 from Radio Shack, purchased in the mid/late-1980s when I was a teenager.

 

[jondeaux]

Realistic Pro-42, 10 channel, 512 mhz

 

[typesix]

Regency ACT-T16K "Touch" base model in 1978, for $275.

 

[simmsrep]

The first one that was new and I paid for all myself was a Realistic Pro-2020. Got it new in 1983.

 

[willtorres918]

I had a 10 channel Realistic Pro 42 that was given to me by an uncle. I needed a few more channels for my area so I got a Uniden-Bearcat BC60XLT. This was the first scanner I ever purchased.

http://forums.radioreference.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=51447&stc=1&d=1436482685

 

[n1das]

bearcat 210 in 75

IIRC, the Electra Bearcat 210 didn't exist until 1977.

My first scanner was a Heathkit GR-1132 8 channel crystal base/mobile scanner that I built myself back in 1977. I received the GR-1132 as a Christmas gift. I couldn't afford a Bearcat 210 back in those days.

I remember the SBE Opti-Scan base/mobile scanner. You inserted a punched card that had all your channels programmed. The scanner optically scanned the card and the BCD binary data directly programmed a PLL synthesizer to tune the receiver. For each channel you punched holes representing the 4-bit binary coded decimal (BCD) digit for each digit of the frequency. So it was one line of BCD data for each channel and the card had enough dots that could be punched to hold 8 or 16 channels. I never owned one of these but have seen them. One mistake and the card is trashed and you need to start over with a new card. IIRC, the scanner came with a bunch of blank cards ready to be punched.

The technology leap made by the Bearcat 210 was that a microprocessor controlled the PLL synthesizer and provided a LED display and a keypad for entering frequencies. Channel information was stored in the microprocessor's memory instead of on a punched card. Scanners like the SBE Opti-Scan was an intermediate step from individual crystals to PLL synthesized and microprocessor controlled programming.

 

[K9JRF]

My first scanner wasn't an actual scanner. It was a RELM 4ch VHF 2 way radio that took crystals for transmit and receive. I purchased receive crystals at radio shack and then had to do some soldering to attach them inside the radio. Which allowed to listen to local Police Department, Sheriff Department, and Fire and EMS. This was back in 1986.