Which of these scanners should I purchase???

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KC8WLZ

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Joined
Dec 17, 2004
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Location
NE Ohio
Hello,

I know that simliar questions have been asked in the past. I am considering the purchase of a new scanner that is > $300. Most likely it will be a handheld. Preferably it will be "rebandable". I'm curious if anyone has suggestions on the units below or from a UHF milair perspective, how they compare to one another.

- Uniden BC250D (I know it doesn't support rebanding)
- Uniden 330T
- Radio Shack Pro97

Another one thrown in even though it isn't a handheld would be the new Uniden CR370 clock radio unit. I know that it covers the UHF milair freqs, but I can't seem to find any milair range sensitivity or selectivity specs.

Thanks!
 

cristisphoto

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2004
Messages
743
WHich scanner depends on what you wish too hear...

IF you are concerned about the rebanidng it still a couple of years away from being finished

Then the UNiden would be your best bet..
However if your main cconcern is MIl scanning then a 97 would be good
I own the BCD396t,
And the Pro97,
with a Icom IC R3 on the way as well as an AOR 8200M2
However the 97 is a tad more sensitive
whilst the Uniden has a more stable future and is digital...
remember that some Mil ops are HF
und USB
so the IC R3 and/or AOR would help in that area...
ANyways,
Whatever you buy Make sure you grab a good antenna also...
It not fair to judge a reciver for not picking up much when you are only using the Stock duckie antennas....

ANyways ,
Happy shopping
Crista


And, more importanltly
Scannersunlimited.com
is great place to shop
It's a mom and Pop type store
And they have the 97 in stock
NO I do NOT work for them
I am just pleased with the service given...
 

KB4REA

Radio Aficionado
Joined
Jun 28, 2005
Messages
366
Location
FL - St. Johns Co.
I say Pro-97

For quality and price I'd go with the Pro-97...

Slap on a Diamond RH77A antenna and you're set for Milair scanning
 

hoser147

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Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
4,449
Location
Grand Lake St. Marys Ohio
The Pro 97 is a good scanner Ive programed several of them for friends, you can pick it up for under 150 then youll need a power adapter aprox 14 bucks and an antenna 14to 30 bucks. don starrs starsoft programing and cable for downloading from 14 bucks thru GRE to 25 thru radio shack and you can download from the database here all for under 300........Good Scannin.......hoser147
 

n8chb

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
145
KC8WLZ said:
Hello,

I know that simliar questions have been asked in the past. I am considering the purchase of a new scanner that is > $300. Most likely it will be a handheld. Preferably it will be "rebandable". I'm curious if anyone has suggestions on the units below or from a UHF milair perspective, how they compare to one another.

- Uniden BC250D (I know it doesn't support rebanding)
- Uniden 330T
- Radio Shack Pro97

Another one thrown in even though it isn't a handheld would be the new Uniden CR370 clock radio unit. I know that it covers the UHF milair freqs, but I can't seem to find any milair range sensitivity or selectivity specs.

Thanks!

Mark kc8wlz

Why would you want to spend that much for a scanner when you could pick up a dual band
ham rig for less money and unless you cut the grass and walk around all the time get a mobile rig. Hand held radios are junk. hi


Roger - n8chb
 

hoser147

Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
4,449
Location
Grand Lake St. Marys Ohio
Ive had some portable radios for years and never had a bit of problem with them lots of people on this forum have the Pro 97 and most like them...............hoser147
 

n8chb

Member
Joined
Nov 14, 2004
Messages
145
hoser147 said:
Ive had some portable radios for years and never had a bit of problem with them lots of people on this forum have the Pro 97 and most like them...............hoser147

Don't take what I said seriously.
It was a joke.

When ever you see something followed by "HI"

it's a CW short responce meaning something funny.


Roger n8chb
 

cristisphoto

Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2004
Messages
743
SAY what

n8chb said:
Mark kc8wlz

Why would you want to spend that much for a scanner when you could pick up a dual band
ham rig for less money and unless you cut the grass and walk around all the time get a mobile rig. Hand held radios are junk. hi


Roger - n8chb

OH how darest thou!!!!!:mad: :lol:
LOL
Most handheld are NOT
Ive had many base and handhelds
I Prefere handhelds
If the power fails
Live in a major City
etc
HAndhelds are just better..
I can go ANYWHERE with them the bus commuting taveling
and often more than not I've had better reception onmy hands than with base/Mobile

Besides it's all bout the Anttenas
IT's like the whole Pc verses MAc thing....
I despice MACs
Pay more get less
YOIU can do moe with PC's .
Same situation with hands you can do more
AND pay less...

Simply put IF you hav a storm or quake and you power fails
and your using a BAse then oyu are screwed.. PERIOD
ANyways
Yeah go with he Pro 97 then..
the 246 and 330T by UNIDEN are awesome but wil cost you more and aren't as sensitive.
Crista
 

wa8vzq

Member
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
91
Location
Minnesota
Can't speak about the other models but I've owned several BC250D's & 785D's and they are wonderful for milair listening. I'd recommend the BC250D for several reasons.

First, you should easily be able find one in the low $200 range. At that price, you may be able to dedicate it 100% to aviation scanning. If 800 MHz listening is another interest, think about buying a second scanner for that purpose.

Second, its scan rate is about 100 ch/sec which increases your chances of intercepting milair activity. Most often, milair transmissions are very brief followed by minutes of dead space so you will need to cover a lot of channels very quickly. Even though these are 1000 channel scanners, as far as milair is concerned there is a practical limit as to how many channels you try to scan at once.

There are many frequencies ID'd as nationwide, but your best bet is to establish a list of probable freq's for units within a few hundered miles of your locale and concentrate on them at first. While I do hear activity on the nationwide assignments, 90% of my intercepts are from units within my state and surrounding states. I've learned over the years to pare down my listening list. I try to limit the number of channels scanned to less than 500 even though I have 1000 channels programmed. I often use a separate scanner for VHF milcom and yet a 3rd for ARTCC.

By narrowing the field you increase your chances of intercept. That's why many of use run several scanners at once. If I remember correctly the PRO-97's scan rate is in the 60 ch/sec rate. Still very usable but the longer you listen, the more channels you will eventually add.

Third you can use ARC-250 Pro to record when you're not there. Milair listening is often sparse, it's not uncommon to go for hours without hearing anything. I usually run ARC-250 Pro 24X7 on one of my 785D's. Even though the BC250D doesn't have a dedicated record output you can still use it with ARC-250 Pro by plugging the earphone jack into the mic input. Works just fine. The only objection is that the 250D doesn't have the same delay features as the 785D. You can use a VOX recorder with any scanner but ARC-250 saves the file with a name that id's the frequency and the time of the intercept which is very handy.

Dan
Apple Valley, MN
 
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