Scanner Help

[Grimlock]

Hi guys and girls. I am looking for some help about a scanner and getting my Ham License. I would like to get a scanner analog/digital for State Police and Local PD, Fire. I would also, if possible, like it to scan frequencies that I would be using a Ham License for. I want to get a better understanding before I take my test on how a Ham Operator broadcast. Any links or insight would be very appreciated.

All the best,

- Gray

 

[Martlet]

Why get a scanner? Most radios have a scan feature. Why not just get a radio?

 

[Grimlock]

See, your already schooling me.

Edit: Id like the scanner in the bedroom and a radio in my office.

 

[ItalianBostonian]

I have all Uniden scanners. I've had different models for about 15 years and all of them have been excellent with no problems. I highly recommend them.

They make both analog and digital scanners, and have a scanner that will scan both digital and analog at the same time. There aren't many digital frequencies here in MA that I know of, NH though I believe has gone mostly or all digital. Depending on what you want to listen to a digital scanner might be a waste of money as they are somewhat more expensive then just an analog scanner as I remember.

 

[Zappa]

There aren't many digital frequencies here in MA that I know of, NH though I believe has gone mostly or all digital. Depending on what you want to listen to a digital scanner might be a waste of money as they are somewhat more expensive then just an analog scanner.

True that all the police agencies have gone P25 digital in NH, but many of the FD's and other stuff is still analog. Any agency looking to upgrade their comm gear, using Homeland Security grant money, is mandated to be digital capable.
There aren't many agencies that have gone digital yet in Mass, but it IS coming.
I believe the Lincoln PD recently went digital, as did BUPD.
I hear that Waltham will be making the switch over soon, and Brookline also has the digital capable radios in their cruisers. Watertown just spent $14M for a new police station with a dispatch room and Emergency Operations Center that would make NASA jealous. Of course they have all the new digital gear, and all they need to do is throw a switch on the console and all the analog listeners are effectively shut off.
I wouldn't buy any scanner right now that wasn't digital.

Now for the OP, if you really intend to get your Ham ticket, get a Ham radio and just listen in while you study up for the test. You're going to buy a Ham rig anyway, so why even bother with a scanner. Many units will receive outside of the ham bands anyway and you can listen to the analog public safety stuff. Unless you want to receive the MSP, which is 800 band, a scanner is a waste of money.

I recommend a decent dual band 2m/440 mobile to get started with, like a Yaesu FT-8800.

 

[sean128]

Unless you plan on traveling to/ listening to NH or most federal agencies, an analog scanner will just fine for the forseeable future.

Also with the Scanner, you can listen to other Ham nets while to continue to be involved on your net on your ham radio.

For Example, You are deployed to assit with communitcations after a natural/manmade disaster. You have both a ham radio and a scanner. You the net control for a net on one repeater, and you listen to another Ham net on another repeater.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Well - here is my two cents.
Most local police . fire traffic is still located in the lower frequencies in my area - due to the fact that it would be impossible to outfit every fire station with all digital equipment.
In my area of the country - Pennsylvania - the fire and ambulance has all been moved up into the 400 MHZ bands.
Some of the local fire stuff is still in 33 mhz in Indiana county due to the fact that UHF does not work well in the mountains and they only have 3 repeaters in the whole county.

The State Police - along with several other agencies - has all been moved to the Star Net - which is a scrambled digital and cannot be listened to with a regular old scanner. As a matter of fact, they even have their own cell phone towers and they have their own internet inside of their vehicles - that even with GPS can get them to most any location.
The local EMS is even going to require every gas well site in Pennsylvania to have their own mail box and address.

So Star Net - along with cell phone frequencies has all be turned into digital garble and cannot be listened to anymore.
I'm not even sure if they support the older analog cell phones anymore - so about the only thing in my opinion that a scanner is good for - other then listening to air traffic controllers - between airplanes and airports would be the fire and the ambulance.
At least in my area.

I too have several Uniden scanners and about the best analog scanner I have found for my needs is a BC 890 XLT which was opened up for the cell frequencies and also upgraded to scan faster.

http://www.uniden.com/products/index.cfm?cat=scanners

For local traffic - you could probably get away with a hand held programmable scanner, or a nice base station such as a BCD 996XT
http://www.uniden.com/products/productdetail.cfm?product=BCD996XT&filter=Base

Most cities have gone to a trunking type system where more then one branch uses the same frequency at the same time and you cannot just program in one frequency and always get the same branch.
It even switches frequencies between one time that the mic is keyed and the next depending on which frequency is busy.

Two way radio - I would suggest that you join a ham radio club and get the skinny on owning a ham radio and being a ham radio before you take the plunge and plunk down hard earned money on something you might not be interested in - in the first place.