need help choosing scanner

Hi,

I'm looking for a handheld scanner. It should have ac/dc capability so I can leave it plugged in to use as a weather radio. Weather function needs to have s.a.m.e. function. Any ideas? As far as batteries go, they really need to be removeable. AA cells would be nice.

If someone knows what all the scanner lingo (trunked/channels/etc) means, please fill me in on that. I'd love to be able to take this along on long car trips or listen to local police/fire/etc.

Channels - the number of "stations" you can put in the scanner for it to scan

Trunked- MANY (not all, and in many areas not even MOST) radio systems share channels - You might have police, the dog catcher, and the water meter people sharing frequencys - how does this work? You look at the AVERAGE number of frequncies the people you want to trunck are using at ONE time, add in some "buffer" size, and let's say you need 4 channels - you now take 5 frequencies - 4+1 control - all the radios listen to the control (which can rotate through all five btw). The radios are actually quite smart and have "talk groups". When the Dog catcher depresses the push to talk key, the radio says to the repeater (think of it as a central radio) I want to talk to the "dog catcher" group. The repeater then transmits to ALL the radios "if you are in the dog catcher group, listen to channel 1" (assuming channel 1 is available and not in use) - all the radios listen to channel one. - at the same time, all the police radios might be hearing a transmission on channel 2 - now if they moth stop talking, the next police transmission might be on channel one, and the dog catcher on channel 2 - you never know. A trunked scanner actually listens for these codes, and moves around knowing what to listen for

Banks - just a way to split up all the channels, so that you can turn a "set" (called a bank) of them on/off all at once is you don't want to listen to, say, the ambulance corps tonight

Thanks.

I have done some looking and reading. Would love to find a scanner/cb radio/weather radio all in one.

Oh - BTW be careful about scanners in cars - in some states, it's illegal to have one in the car (New York for one - with certain exceptions)

This is Mississippi, where laws don't matter.

Turbodog, check out :

www.strongsignals.net

www.radioreference.com

Hello Turbodog,

A while back I picked up a Radio Shack Pro 94 (1000 channels). I have no complaints, but I don't heavily use it.

Tom

I have an AOR 8200 MK II, and very happy with it !!
I don't know if it's the best product for U.S uses, but it's a very nice and performant product.
I have had a pro-43 hyperscan Realistic before, but it's the night and day /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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KC2IXE said:
Oh - BTW be careful about scanners in cars - in some states, it's illegal to have one in the car (New York for one - with certain exceptions)

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Get an amateur radio license and you'll be legal in every state. The FCC trumped the states on this one. It was the only reason I got my license, though now that I have it, I'm active in ham radio.

I'm a big fan of the Pro-95 from radio shack which does Motorola and EDACS trunking, but not LTR trunking which the Pro-95 does. You may not even need trunking though. Go to your local Radio Shack and talk to them about what in the area. Even if you don't buy from them, they should be pretty helpful.

I've not heard of a scanner/Wx radio/CB radio all in one, but I suppose it may exist. If you get your ham radio license, many handheld radios will have that but with ham radio bands, not CB bands.

Many scanners will pick up CB and NOAA weather, as these frequencies are included in most usual band ranges.

And in NY state, you need a permit for carrying scanners in the car, but as far as I know no one has figured out even who's supposed to issue them. Good law, huh? IIRC, even licensed hams have been stopped.

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Lenny7 said:
...snip...Get an amateur radio license and you'll be legal in every state. ...snip...

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Yep - Notice my ID? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif