Which scanner to choose ?

[Sinister]

Hi all,
I am new to Radio Reference and scanners in general. I have been reading alot of threads here on the forum and doing a little on line searching for more info. I still have much to learn from reading some of the threads here and what I need to know to make an informed decision on making a scanner purchase based on my location. I live in Southern New Hampshire and will looking to scan Salem, Pelham, Windham, Londonderry, Derry in N.H. and Methuen and Lawrence in Mass. Generally prefer listening too fire, police, ambulence services.
I was looking a starting with the Pro 2096 due to my scanning requirements, but would be willing to step up to a higher price if my need required it. I read the specs and options on the PSR600 and Uniden BCD996T, but Im thinking they may be more of an overkill for my purposes,

All suggestions welcome
Thanks in advanced from a beginner.

 

[hoser147]

The 96s are good scanners, I prefer the 600 over them however..........Hoser

 

[NYRHKY94]

Hi Sinister:

I'm monitoring the exact same area as you, which is essentially 100% digital for local & State PD's. Most of the FD's in Southern NH remain analog, as well as most of the PD's/FD's in Northern MA. I use the Pro-2096, Uniden BC796D & GRE PSR-600 for digital monitoring and would have to say that the new GRE offers the best bang for the buck overall.

It combines the great digital sound of the Pro-2096 and the feature set (and more) of the latest Uniden 996. Price-wise, a new GRE is right in the same ball park as a new 996, however you get more features and the programmming cable included in the price with the GRE. One of the great features of the GRE is the ability to program in the NAC code for digital frequencies (very helpful in NH).

As you probably know, the price for the Pro-2096 has dropped significantly since the GRE's came out, so that is something to consider. I use Win96 software to program the Pro-2096 and Win500 for the GRE. I use others for the Uniden. Once you decide on the scanner & software, I would be glad to send you a file that you could simply upload to get going right away.

 

[Sinister]

Most of what I would scan in New Hampshire would use P25 I believe so not sure if the price tag for the 600 is the best choice based on my scaning preferences. Still learning all the different scanner modes and what they mean and what I should focus on for a scanner that suites the needs of scanning in NH and close by in Mass.

You posted as I was typing this so sorry for the reduncancy in mypost NYRHKY94.

And thanks for info it would be appreciated when I get setup for the help with being able to get your file info.

 

[Sinister]

Hi Sinister:

I'm monitoring the exact same area as you, which is essentially 100% digital for local & State PD's. Most of the FD's in Southern NH remain analog, as well as most of the PD's/FD's in Northern MA. I use the Pro-2096, Uniden BC796D & GRE PSR-600 for digital monitoring and would have to say that the new GRE offers the best bang for the buck overall.

It combines the great digital sound of the Pro-2096 and the feature set (and more) of the latest Uniden 996. Price-wise, a new GRE is right in the same ball park as a new 996, however you get more features and the programmming cable included in the price with the GRE. One of the great features of the GRE is the ability to program in the NAC code for digital frequencies (very helpful in NH).

As you probably know, the price for the Pro-2096 has dropped significantly since the GRE's came out, so that is something to consider. I use Win96 software to program the Pro-2096 and Win500 for the GRE. I use others for the Uniden. Once you decide on the scanner & software, I would be glad to send you a file that you could simply upload to get going right away.

How do you feel the 2096 vs your 600 works proformance wise not taking into account additional options available with the 600?

 

[NYRHKY94]

Hi Again:

Well, my first digital scanners were the Pro-2096 & Pro-96 both of which I consider to be excellent scanners. The $379 price for new ones at RS is well below their usual $499 pricetag. The digital sound quality (P25) is widely regarded as excellent on these units. When compared to the Unidens, I would have to agree. If you're only interested in monitoring, then you will do very well with the digital RS models.

On the other hand, if you have any intention of "remotely" controlling your scanners via the internet (i.e. connecting to your scanner at home from work or when travelling), then you are out of luck with the RS models. Only the Unidens and the GRE offer this wonderful convenience. I remotely connect to my Uniden & GRE scanner all the time to program them and listen to them from work and when travelling. I also run 4 live feeds this way on www.scannewhamphire.com

From a performance standpoint, the GRE offers the exact same (if not better) digital sound as the RS models, but also incldes a signifcant number of features beyond that of the RS models. One good example is the NAC code feature. No other scanner on the market has that right now. I often get analog bleedover on the Londonderry PD frequency, but can block that out completely using the NAC code on the GRE. When the price for a new RS Pro-2096 and GRE PSR-600 were the same $499, it was a no brainer to get the GRE. The big price drop for the RS models makes that a much tougher choice is $$$ are tight.

NOTE: Do you have any plans on using an outside antenna? From my own experience, that will make a big difference in how much of Southern NH and Northern MA you can monitor (depending on your location).

 

[Sinister]

Thanks for your helpful response.
Yes I have a discone which will be mounted in the actic using RG8 coax.
Did you buy your units locally or on line ? As you must be aware of the Ham Radio Outlet in Salem. Not sure where to purchase can get the PSR 600 at the Outlet for 499.99.

 

[NYRHKY94]

Good news on the Discone. I bought all of my scanners on-line (Ebay, RR site & other dealers). I got my GRE for $499 with free shipping right after they first came out. HRO in Salem didn't have them in stock at that point, otherwise I would have driven right down there and purchased from them. I did buy my mobile scanner antenna (Larsen Tri-Band) from the HRO there.

 

[Sinister]

Thank you again NYRHKY94 for your helpful thoughts and advise.
Will be checking back with you soon on my new scanner purchase.

 

[eyes00only]

Hi Again:

Well, my first digital scanners were the Pro-2096 & Pro-96 both of which I consider to be excellent scanners. The $379 price for new ones at RS is well below their usual $499 pricetag. The digital sound quality (P25) is widely regarded as excellent on these units. When compared to the Unidens, I would have to agree. If you're only interested in monitoring, then you will do very well with the digital RS models.

On the other hand, if you have any intention of "remotely" controlling your scanners via the internet (i.e. connecting to your scanner at home from work or when travelling), then you are out of luck with the RS models. Only the Unidens and the GRE offer this wonderful convenience. I remotely connect to my Uniden & GRE scanner all the time to program them and listen to them from work and when travelling. I also run 4 live feeds this way on www.scannewhamphire.com

From a performance standpoint, the GRE offers the exact same (if not better) digital sound as the RS models, but also incldes a signifcant number of features beyond that of the RS models. One good example is the NAC code feature. No other scanner on the market has that right now. I often get analog bleedover on the Londonderry PD frequency, but can block that out completely using the NAC code on the GRE. When the price for a new RS Pro-2096 and GRE PSR-600 were the same $499, it was a no brainer to get the GRE. The big price drop for the RS models makes that a much tougher choice is $$$ are tight.

NOTE: Do you have any plans on using an outside antenna? From my own experience, that will make a big difference in how much of Southern NH and Northern MA you can monitor (depending on your location).

GEE, As far as I know, EVERY Radio Shack scanner is made by Uniden or GRE

Jerry

 

[Sinister]

Just read this thread http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113836&highlight=106 on the PRO 106 and the possibility of release in October November this year. Think Im going to hold off buying and see what the price levels are for RS clone (PRO 197)of the PSR 600 and what the price drop will be for the RS 2096 .

 

[NYRHKY94]

Glenn:

Sounds like a good plan for your situation. In the meantime, you can listen to my live feeds of Derry, Pelham, Hudson, Bedford, Londonderry, Manchester & Goffstown on www.scannewhamphire.com if you like.

Good luck with the future scanner purchase!

 

[Sinister]

Glenn:

Sounds like a good plan for your situation. In the meantime, you can listen to my live feeds of Derry, Pelham, Hudson, Bedford, Londonderry, Manchester & Goffstown on www.scannewhamphire.com if you like.

Good luck with the future scanner purchase!

Thanks I tryed the link get page can not be displayed
edit: K got it now thanks

 

[NYRHKY94]

Sorry. Should have used spell check ;-)

www.scannewhampshire.com

 

[geoff5093]

I've used several radios, the 2096, 396T, and PSR-500. I've had problems with both the GRE and Uniden radios, however the RS 2096 worked flawlessly for local PD and fire, P25 decoding is excellent. If I were to get another digital scanner, it would be the 2096 or 96!

 

[Sinister]

Already made the purchase of a PSR-600 today so just waiting for it to arrive now.
I thought about the 2096 but decided that having the additional options provided by the GRE for only $32.00 dollars more was the better decision.