What was your very FIRST scanner?

[n0lqt]

Just curious, What was your very FIRST scanner? Do you remember what you listened to on it?

To start it off, I bought a SBE Communications "10Scan", 10 channel crystal controlled scanner in late 1973. It was one of the VERY early scanning receivers made. The thing was HUGE, probably 8 inches on a side, had 10 channels that took about 5 seconds to scan through and I had to buy crystals for each channel I wanted to listen to. I remember I could only afford 39.58, 39.46, and Winfield PD primary (I think they had just switched to 460.1 Mhz a few months before that). Later I got enough $$ to go buy some more xtals at Radio Shack for CL County Sheriff's Cars (I want to say 39.70Mhz), Ark City, and the Winfield Fire Dept (around 44 Mhz somewhere) which just about filled it up. If I remember correctly, I think I paid around $210 for the scanner and three xtals.... About a year after that they came out with their "Opti-Scan" optical card programmable scanner, but I couldn't swing that one since I was a poor college student by then. I used to drag it out with me in my car and sit out in a parking lot with friends on Main St listening to all the action in the evenings. I do remember it really PO'd several of the officers off that I had it out there and it was taken away from me a couple of times. Had to go down to the PD the next morning and get it back from Chief Froemming after listening to a lecture. I think that is why I probably became a cop myself after college....

 

[crayon]

Pro-94. The wife got it for me as a present and she has regreted it ever since!!

 

[KHPFAN]

I was given a Uniden BC60XLT 30 channel 10 band radio...I have since upgraded to a pro 2096 and a uniden bearcat sc150 twin turbo sport cat that is a little old but can still pick up 800mhz.

 

[N1508J]

Still have it too!

Just curious, What was your very FIRST scanner? Do you remember what you listened to on it?

To start it off, I bought a SBE Communications "10Scan", 10 channel crystal controlled scanner in late 1973. It was one of the VERY early scanning receivers made. The thing was HUGE, probably 8 inches on a side, had 10 channels that took about 5 seconds to scan through and I had to buy crystals for each channel I wanted to listen to. I remember I could only afford 39.58, 39.46, and Winfield PD primary (I think they had just switched to 460.1 Mhz a few months before that). Later I got enough $$ to go buy some more xtals at Radio Shack for CL County Sheriff's Cars (I want to say 39.70Mhz), Ark City, and the Winfield Fire Dept (around 44 Mhz somewhere) which just about filled it up. If I remember correctly, I think I paid around $210 for the scanner and three xtals.... About a year after that they came out with their "Opti-Scan" optical card programmable scanner, but I couldn't swing that one since I was a poor college student by then. I used to drag it out with me in my car and sit out in a parking lot with friends on Main St listening to all the action in the evenings. I do remember it really PO'd several of the officers off that I had it out there and it was taken away from me a couple of times. Had to go down to the PD the next morning and get it back from Chief Froemming after listening to a lecture. I think that is why I probably became a cop myself after college....

I still have my HP 2210 and it still works!

 

[bill44]

first scanner

the very first radio shack pro 1,still have it from the late 60es,works some times

 

[mustang108]

first scanner

I had a EF Johnson Duo Scan...8 channel , Hi/lo band crystal scanner..

 

[KE5MC]

Not really a scanner...

Heathkit VHF radio I built. Tuning by VFO or crystal of your choice. Mid 70 - Chula Vista, Ca.

 

[kskarma]

First Scanner.....

The first scanner I owned was an 8 channel Regency..have no idea what model it was. I think it was about 1968 or so and I believe I paid $170 for it...less crystals!! The 'rocks' were an additional $4 or $5 each so the total price was around $200. This had square channel lock out push buttons, but when you had a channel locked out, the scan would still spend the time pausing on that channel, it just would not break the squelch. So..if you had channels 2-7 locked out...it would light up for Chan 1..then..pause, pause, pause, pause...wait for it....THEN...Chan 8 would light up...Chan 1 again...and repeat..!
In those days, here in Topeka, 8 channels pretty much covered all that was active. KHP on 44.98, KHP cars on 44.82, SH SO on 39.68, Sheriff cars on 39.80 and State Sheriff on 39.58, Fire on 154.43, and PD on two other VHF channels I can't recall right now. I think I had KHP aircraft on 45.10 later on... There were no UHF users in those days, so a 'dual band' scanner was all that was needed.
When I pick up the modern scanners these days and realize they have thousands of channels, trunking, wide spectrum frequency ranges, User ID's...on and on...I am amazed at how far we have come. On the other hand....I could read the entire instruction book for that first Regency in about a half a minute...!!

 

[KC0QNB]

I had a EF Johnson Duo Scan...8 channel , Hi/lo band crystal scanner..

want another one?
When I started monitoring there were no scanners readily available ,tunable receivers were the only choice

 

[Duster]

An early early programmable Bearcat...I think it was called a 210XL or something like that. This was in the early 80's. I saved up enough money to buy a Regency HT1000, which was a handheld PROGRAMMABLE that worked like a portable radio. It was the bomb!!! LOL

 

[mpreece]

Like many, I had tunables before scanners. But the first scanner I had was also one of the first (if not THE first) portable scanner -- a VHF HI HyScan. It was 4 channels crystal controlled.


I had Overland Park PD 158.85. Johnson County SO 155.19 (had a great squelch tail on it so it really sounded like an old police radio on that channel). Shawnee Mission Twp Fire Dispatch on 154.25. and Johnson Co. CD on 155.76. No channels were repeated in the late '60s-early '70s, and OPPD and SO operated separate base/mobile freqs so dispatchers had to repeat everything.

Of course, I had the requisite plastic pill bottle with out-of-area crystals (i.e., KCMoPD) which I would carry around, too.

One advertised feature that never developed was supposedly you could change out the RF stage to make the unit UHF. I think the product was abandoned before this happened. The squelch was a variable control noise squelch and you could only lockout the first channel. I checked it a year or so ago and it still seems to work, though I have no crystals for local freqs any more.

Back then, there was a crystal manufacturer that I happened to find in Olathe. They would give me the "professional discount" (CD volunteer) and I could get crystals for $3 when the going rate was $6. I even called and ordered a special cut one morning and it was ready by afternoon. Great service in those days!

 

[rick521]

Older then scanners

I too had a tunable. Listened to Salina PD. And SPD was on 39.58. Wow the old days.

 

[KSquelch]

My first scanner is a Cobra SR900. It has 16 channels and recieved all I wanted to listen to back when KHP was on low band. It still works and has my local vhf and uhf freqs in it.

 

[edmondcops]

PRO-2006. Started out with the top of the line for its time. Man what a scanner.

 

[jleverin]

I don't even remember the model of my first scanner radio. It was some kind of multiple band radio that had AM/FM scanner frequencies on it. A great aunt gave it to me for Xmas because she was getting a scanner that used crystals- I remember her telling me they needed certain crystals for certain contacts- it was about 1975 I think.....I listened to that radio for a while and then discovered the FM band and started listening to Rick Dees on the Memphis radio station and never went back to scanning until about 6 months ago. That radio picked up local police frequencies really good. Might have been a RS model I just don't remember.

 

[rankin39]

My first experience with vhf 2-way radio was in about 1954 with a Hallicrafters SX-28 Super Skyrider that covered up to about 50 MHz. and allowed me to hear the Georgia State Patrol on 42.02 MHz. using slope detection. If you've never seen one, visit the Truman Library in Independence, MO and go to the reconstruction of the Oval Office. There's an SX-28 on the lower level of the table behind Truman's desk. Beautiful old radio!! The same receiver allowed reception of those old a.m. police transmitters in Cincinnati, Los Angeles and New Hampshire at night.

I had a Radio Shack low-band converter and a Monitoradio in the 60's, then some RS tunables and finally got a crystal-controlled Regency with (I think) 16 channels in the early 70's sometime. They've all provided lots of spare-time fun.

Bob, WoNXN

 

[N3LLO]

My first scanner was a Realistic Pro-37. 200 Channel hand-held programmable. 200ch was HUGE back then!

http://www.rigpix.com/rs-realistic/realistic_pro37.htm

 

[jngizzi]

Mine was a Bearcat Regency 16 Channel programmable. I forgot the model but it had two banks of 8 little red LED's, wood grain top, and a clear plastic keypad with blue numbers for freq entry.

It was an 8th grade graduation gift from my parents. Boy I wish I knew the model number..maybe I could find one on EBay!

I used to listen to Police, Fire, and cell conversations, 40Mhz phone. ) Thats when mostly Dr's and lawyers had cell phones.

 

[Nobodyknows713]

My first scanner, 1985ish i dont remember the model but i'm sure the scanner guys know this one. I had the Realistic (Also Uniden made the same thing) It was the 10 channel hand held programable, The 1 digit display showed 1 thru 10 as it scanned, It had 2 red buttons to the right of the display. Also had the switch in the battery compartment to go from rechargeables to normal. It was a great little radio,

 

[Nobodyknows713]

Oh found it at rigpics. Pro 38 RigPix Database - RadioShack/Realistic - Pro-38