Your first scanner ,,,

[twotoejoe]

Here is the Regency Scanner that was my second scanner, purchased in 1976 and still working in my shop. Local fire/EMS still simulcast and I can hear them on it. My first scanner was a 4 channel, mobile unit, Midland I think. I graduated to a 16 channel Bearcat (101 maybe?) that you toggled the switches to program it by a chart. Pain in the butt if you lost the programming chart. Then several Radio Shack scanners over the years, Now a Uniden BCD536. I've had it over 2 years and still haven't figured out all the talkgroups, Id's etc. I just use Sentinel and program in all my favorites.

Keeps telling me my file is too large. I tried to resize it but still get this message.

 

[Cognomen]

I started with a Patrolman 4-ch portable; don't remember the model#, but it was the version with the screw-in duck. I remember jumping the resistor of the RC circuit with another resistor, and increasing the scanning speed. I gave it away when I got my first programmable.

Remember going into Radio Shack and buying crystals? The counter guy would bring out his compartmentalized box of crystals, and you could buy them for about $20 (Canadian) each. I could only afford 2 crystals at the time, having just purchased the scanner, but I was able to borrow a third from a buddy at high school.

I recently started "collecting" some crystal scanners. Just last year, a guy I'd met the year before, who used to manage some Radio Shacks, dug out his old compartmentalized box with about 50 crystals in it, and gave it to me! Some of the frequencies are still in use, or have been repurposed.

 

[dwell1650]

My first scanner was an old orange Handic 006 8-ch crystal scanner that my father gave me.
After a year or so I bought me a Uniden Bearcat 55xlt. I can still remember how happy I was when it arriwed.

 

[N9JCQ]

Ours ws a Patrolman 8 crystal controlled scanne in the 70s.

 

[BushDoctor]

Interesting, never considered that public safety started off in the low band, makes sense. I do remember the state police being around 42 mhz, by the time I got in in the mid 80's most everything was 155 range or 453.

Back in the 1950's we thought the taxi freq like 154.27 were in the microwave zone. Never did we ever imagine police and fire would be in the 800MHz someday. In the olden days a county could cover the county with a main transmitter on a hill somewhere and a standby one with its antenna on top of the police department. When the FCC opened up all those new 800 freq they all went there if they could afford it but sadly they didn't listen to Motorola and cut the recomended repeater sites in half which led to a strain for range and cell phone towers 5 mile radius causing repeater receivers problems so FCC made cell phone companies pay for moving police and fire depts to new freq band below 800 in upper range. That in a nutshell is about what happened many years after i retired from motorola

 

[NC1]

My very first one was this Montgomery Ward 4 channel crystal scanner. It must have been around 1978-79. Great little unit for it's time.

 

[jeatock]

Back in the late 70's my first scanner was a huge desktop 16 channel receiver from Sears with vhf-lo, vhf-hi and uhf, and was programmed by popping holes in a plastic card and inserting it into a slot. I had a different card for each area of interest and learned to keep the popped out "holes" in an envelope to make changes with. Worked great on 39.5, which was the primary channel used by rural Illinois PD's.


Aside note: I was a local cop back then, and my GE MASTR Pro patrol car radio had two channels, 39.5 and "F2". You couldn't call dispatch when any other county in a fifty mile radius was talking. When you started the car you needed to wait for the tubes to heat up before you could transmit, and when you did the headlights dimmed.

Nobody knew what F2 was. Early-early one morning my 85 yr-old county dispatcher had fallen asleep again. I was the Lone Ranger in the county at 3AM so on a whim I tried F2. The Montana State Patrol was happy to hear from me (in Illinois).

Now I get a service ticket every time an officer hears a single pop of static.

 

[BushDoctor]

Back in the late 70's my first scanner was a huge desktop 16 channel receiver from Sears with vhf-lo, vhf-hi and uhf, and was programmed by popping holes in a plastic card and inserting it into a slot. I had a different card for each area of interest and learned to keep the popped out "holes" in an envelope to make changes with. Worked great on 39.5, which was the primary channel used by rural Illinois PD's.
View attachment 82739

Aside note: I was a local cop back then, and my GE MASTR Pro patrol car radio had two channels, 39.5 and "F2". You couldn't call dispatch when any other county in a fifty mile radius was talking. When you started the car you needed to wait for the tubes to heat up before you could transmit, and when you did the headlights dimmed.

Nobody knew what F2 was. Early-early one morning my 85 yr-old county dispatcher had fallen asleep again. I was the Lone Ranger in the county at 3AM so on a whim I tried F2. The Montana State Patrol was happy to hear from me (in Illinois).

Now I get a service ticket every time an officer hears a single pop of static.

I remember 39.50 hearing skip on it and most departments in VA were on it back in the old days

 

[scannerjunkie]

My first scanner was the realistic pro 54 patrolman back in the early 80s. I got it as a gift from my parents when I was a kid. they loaded it with 4 crystals to get me started. I remember mowing lawns to make extra money to buy more crystals. finally all 8 banks were filled. I used to have the radio shack store call my house to let me know when new crystals arrived. listened to my friends get chased and sometimes caught by the cops. AHH THOSE WERE THE DAYS!

 

[fxdscon]

Back in the late 70's my first scanner was a huge desktop 16 channel receiver from Sears with vhf-lo, vhf-hi and uhf, and was programmed by popping holes in a plastic card and inserting it into a slot. I had a different card for each area of interest and learned to keep the popped out "holes" in an envelope to make changes with. Worked great on 39.5, which was the primary channel used by rural Illinois PD's.

I have one of those scanning away on my desk as I type this. Fully restored, home made punch cards, looks and works just like new.

My first was a Radio Shack Patrolman 4 tuneable receiver.

.

 

[Archie]

Bob1955
What a small world. Bought my
Bearcat Thin Scan from Forbees, Yonkers in 1983. In 1978 bought a used Bearcat 12 from CRS when he was located next the Yonkers library on Central Ave. Nice guy owned it. Joe and wife at J&M in White Plains are good people too. Interesting the Fanon owner was a local resident.

 

[AdamHLG]

Wow this thread took me down a path of memory lane.

My first scanner? Back in the 1970s, my mom gifted me my first scanner. I was probably 10 years old living on Long Island, NY. She would notice that I would stare out the window of our apartment any time I heard the fire siren on top of the firehouse roof about two miles away and would wonder what was happening out there for the latest fire call. It was exciting. (Flash forward to this day - I am in my 50s and a volunteer FF/EMT).

She bought me a hand held scanner receiver radio back when I was about 10 years old. I am pretty sure it was VHF low band but it might have been VHF hi also. But here is the kicker: It was "tune-able". It had 4 channels with a red LED for each channel, and each channel had a knob on the front to tune in the frequency. It would then 'scan' channels 1 - 4.

Now, mind you, I had no idea what frequency I was searching for, but I was tuning the dials back and forth every time I heard that roof top siren. I will never forget the day I heard a dispatcher say "Chief, the fire is at ________ road". That was the very first broadcast I ever heard - verbatim. For days and weeks and months to come I would run to that radio to turn it on every time I heard that siren, and I always heard the address being broadcast. It was never broadcast before the siren, but the chief was always told the location of the call a minute or two after the siren.

This started my hobby. I just spent 30 minutes on the Internet searching for a picture of that radio with no luck. I see it in my memories clear as day and I would recognize it if I saw it again. No crystals. But tune-able. color black. Handheld with telescoping antenna. 1970s. Owned that until my first Radio Shack 4 channel crystal radio. But my true first scanner was this tune-able radio.

Thanks for all the pics in this thread. I owned many of these through the last 45 years. I just purchased a Unication G5 10 days ago and love it. Man how times have changed with this tiny radio decoding P25 trunked broadcasts and talk groups.

 

[fxdscon]

I just spent 30 minutes on the Internet searching for a picture of that radio with no luck. I see it in my memories clear as day and I would recognize it if I saw it again.

Have you tried looking here?

RigPix Database - Main

RigPix database - the source of information and pictures of radios, accessories and more

www.rigpix.com

or if it may have been a Radio Shack model, maybe here?

Radio Shack Catalogs - General Catalogs

Radio Shack Catalogs - An Archive of 1939 to 2005 Radio Shack Catalogs

www.radioshackcatalogs.com

.

 

[AdamHLG]

Have you tried looking here?

RigPix Database - Main

RigPix database - the source of information and pictures of radios, accessories and more

www.rigpix.com

or if it may have been a Radio Shack model, maybe here?

Radio Shack Catalogs - General Catalogs

Radio Shack Catalogs - An Archive of 1939 to 2005 Radio Shack Catalogs

www.radioshackcatalogs.com

.

No - but I just tried with no luck. But those radio shack vintage catalogs were cool!

 

[storm777]

No - but I just tried with no luck. But those radio shack vintage catalogs were cool!

I love taking a trip down memory lane with those old catalogs.

Here's another site you can check out, @AdamHLG , when you have time. Let us know if you find out anything!

RadioPics Database - Main

RadioPics database - the source of information and pictures of radios, accessories and more

www.radiopics.com

 

[AdamHLG]

Wow I never realized how many models there were in the 70s and 80s. This is unbelievable!

 

[buddrousa]

Back in the 70's one of my scanners cost more than I made in a month.
1976 I made less than $80 a week.

 

[jaspence]

My first one was a Radio Shack Pro 4. It ate 9 volt batteries, but the RS free battery card kept me going until rechargeable 9 V. (actually 8.4) came out. The four crystals were enough to handle all the police action in Kalamazoo County. I still have a Pro 4. RadioShack / Realistic Pro-4, Handheld VHF Scanner / receiver | RigReference.com

 

[Mark102]

Wow this thread took me down a path of memory lane.

My first scanner? Back in the 1970s, my mom gifted me my first scanner. I was probably 10 years old living on Long Island, NY. She would notice that I would stare out the window of our apartment any time I heard the fire siren on top of the firehouse roof about two miles away and would wonder what was happening out there for the latest fire call. It was exciting. (Flash forward to this day - I am in my 50s and a volunteer FF/EMT).

She bought me a hand held scanner receiver radio back when I was about 10 years old. I am pretty sure it was VHF low band but it might have been VHF hi also. But here is the kicker: It was "tune-able". It had 4 channels with a red LED for each channel, and each channel had a knob on the front to tune in the frequency. It would then 'scan' channels 1 - 4.

Now, mind you, I had no idea what frequency I was searching for, but I was tuning the dials back and forth every time I heard that roof top siren. I will never forget the day I heard a dispatcher say "Chief, the fire is at ________ road". That was the very first broadcast I ever heard - verbatim. For days and weeks and months to come I would run to that radio to turn it on every time I heard that siren, and I always heard the address being broadcast. It was never broadcast before the siren, but the chief was always told the location of the call a minute or two after the siren.

This started my hobby. I just spent 30 minutes on the Internet searching for a picture of that radio with no luck. I see it in my memories clear as day and I would recognize it if I saw it again. No crystals. But tune-able. color black. Handheld with telescoping antenna. 1970s. Owned that until my first Radio Shack 4 channel crystal radio. But my true first scanner was this tune-able radio.

Thanks for all the pics in this thread. I owned many of these through the last 45 years. I just purchased a Unication G5 10 days ago and love it. Man how times have changed with this tiny radio decoding P25 trunked broadcasts and talk groups.

GE Searcher ?

RadioPics Database - Other Radio Scanners - General Electric Searcher {Model No. 7-2985A}

 

[jaspence]

I had a GE like the one above. Worked ok, but frustrating if you accidentally moved a knob.