Hand Held Scanner

[Dr. Dennis Stouffer]

Any opinions on a very good, UHF hand held scanner for clear reception? I have a


Radio Shack 800Mhz. that is pretty crappy at getting LAFD and LACoFD units, and


even the dispatchers are poorly received. Thanks for your opinions.

 

[Quentin]

how much are you wanting to spend?


I got a Radio Shack 164 and it picks up everything good. i have been looking in to a Uniden Bearcat BC346XT


http://www.scannermaster.com/Uniden_Bea ... 501357.htm


I also have a Uniden Bearcat BC996XT and its an amazing scanner, I live in Lincoln and i pick up Omaha 60+ miles and comes in clear

 

[rick h.]

Really depends on what you are listening to such as if it is analog or digital system.Analog will not pick up digital .A all round good scanner will be a Radio Shack pro-106 around 399.00 new or around 250.00 used ,or a gre pro-500 around 500.00 new or around 350.00 used .or if you need just analog you can get a good scanner for 130.00 - 170.00 new .such as pro-164 around 169.00 on sale, or a pro-107 around 189.00 on sale, the pro-107 has a memory card so you can upload more from your computer You can go to www.radioreference.com and go to the discussion tab and scroll down to California as there is a wealth of info there .

 

[Dr. Dennis Stouffer]

Thanks for your help, guys. The references were very useful. I will check out the recommendations, but probably go with Bearcat because of the fire tone out feature, very useful for me to hear notifications of major incidents without listening to everything.

 

[COMMTECH]

7-20-10 0022 HOURS EDT


Hi there.............


Since you also like the Uniden products and since a most of my law enforcement colleagues swear by them, I would definitely go for a Uniden BCD396XT as you will have all of the features for all available frequency ranges, fire tone out, close call, and digital as well as analog and trunking P25 etc.


At $495 it is somewhat pricey but feature wise and sound wise it is unbeatable. In addition, should you want it for mobile use as well, pick yourself up an RH96 remote head for it. I'm just


installing the mobile version (the BCD996XT) with the remote head for my unmarked cars. I hide the remote head in the console and the actual scanner in the glove box to save space and keep it out of sight. ScannerMaster is probably your best source. I would also recommend the Butel


ARCXT software for it and the Uniden USB1 cable unless you actually have an actual good old serial port on your P C. Good luck!!!

 

[unlisted]

I have both a pro 106 (radioshack scanner) and a uniden 396xt.


If listening to P-25- I prefer the Pro 106 hands down.. just decodes the sounds and voice so much better- from personal experience. I do prefer the 396xt for the size thou.. so overall, its a toss up.


Normally I am listening to the 106 all the time. If I am going out somewhere I don't want something as obvious- I use the xt.


Also, trust me on this- buy an aftermarket antenna, more so for 800 mhz. I bought the radioshack 800 mhz antenna and got 3 bars better reception overall- on BOTH scanners. Also make sure you have ATT off.

 

[VolEms]

I am looking for a portable scanner I want the smallest one on the market. Where can I find it?

 

[unlisted]

I am looking for a portable scanner I want the smallest one on the market. Where can I find it?

Uniden bcd396xt if you want all the bells and whistles. If you are just trying to listen to a simplex V or U channel, than there are other smaller options.. Icom makes some small simple receivers/basic scanners. (but no trunking, no p-25 options)