Can someone recommend a hi-qual, compact, user-friendly scanner? Ideally it would work well without an aux antenna. And it must have a headphone/earbud jack. Compactness is my biggest concern. Willing to pay a bit extra to get what I want.
Still in training.
I rarely use my Radio Shack "pocket" scanner any more. If possible, I use a ham radio handheld for whatever frequency I want to listen to.
At home and in the truck, I have Whistler TRX-2 scanners, since my county is switching over to trunked P25.
Since I assume you're planning on listening to railroads, consider going in now for a scanner that will handle NXDN, as I hear that's the future for railroad communications. When that change might occur I have no idea.
A quick search on-line showed a variety of scanners available, from just over $100 to over $500. I generally say to buy the best you can afford, assuming it meets your needs.
For antennas - once you decide on a radio, consider finding an aftermarket antenna. The stock antennas (rubber duck) are fair, at best, trying to be the best of all worlds. Gain is your friend. Again, a quick search found one with tuned elements listing at about $50. Worth your money.
If you'll be chasing in your vehicle, consider a tuned mobile antenna. There are places that sell them already tuned, but any good mobile antenna can be adjusted to your needs. A local radio dealer can do that for you.
For scanning at home, the mantra is elevation, elevation, elevation, of course. That assumes you can do an outside antenna. Relying on that rubber duck miles from the railroad, and through walls, etc, will give you sketchy results.
Happy listening!
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Thanks, Larry!
I picked up a Uniden BC-125AT online for about $100 last fall...and combined it with a Smiley Slim Duck antenna tuned to 160 mhz since I was focused on listening to railroads. The reception is outstanding...and it is very compact and easy to program. I take it everywhere with me...
Mark...
Thanks, Mark.
Why is there such a large jump in cost going from an analog to digital scanner? You can buy a laptop or phone (or two) for what the handheld digital scanners cost.
dubch87 Why is there such a large jump in cost going from an analog to digital scanner? You can buy a laptop or phone (or two) for what the handheld digital scanners cost.
An analog scanner is just an FM receiver that uses a processor to tell it which channels to scan and handle the usual display. Older crystal scanners might have used an IC or two to control scanning, etc.
The digital scanner has to have more processing power. Straightaway digital (such as P25 simplex/repeated) isn't hard to handle.
Trunking requires the radio to determine what the control channel is, listen to the control channel to find out who to listen to and when, plus process the digital information back into analog. It has to understand which talkgroups you want to listen to, and react appropriately when it hears a command to open up that talkgroup.
A trunked system may have a dozen channel pairs. One will be the control channel, the rest are assigned by the controller when needed. A single conversation may jump over almost all of those channels if there are enough exchanges between two subscribers.
A trunked digital scanner has to be able to handle that.
Fortunately, P25, and most of the other digital technologies, are available as open source or at least minimally licensed.
One technology has not been released for public consumption - that is Harris' "OpenSky." I know of a sheriff who went to that technology specifically because it's not scannable. It's possible someone could reverse engineer it, but if there's encryption layered in, even that would be very difficult.
dubch87Why is there such a large jump in cost going from an analog to digital scanner? You can buy a laptop or phone (or two) for what the handheld digital scanners cost.
Comcast cable TV 'back in the day' was analog and it could be connected directly to your TV's coax input and you play all the channels you were authorized. About a decade ago Comcast made the decision to go to a digital tranmission signal over their cable - to be able to recieve and decode the signal you eigther had to have a Set Top box or a Digital Transmission Adapter (DTA). Initially those devices were provided for no monthly charge, then $2 a month each etc. etc. etc. and currently $7.50 a month per device. The Set Top box is probably a $50 piece of electronic equipment, the DTA's are probably less than $10 to manufacture. So for $70 worth of electronic equipment, I get to pay $22.50 a month (Set Top Box + 2 DTA's) or $270 a year - IN ADDITION to the regular cable fees. Talk about a scam!
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
NielsenSLC I picked up a Uniden BC-125AT online for about $100 last fall...and combined it with a Smiley Slim Duck antenna tuned to 160 mhz since I was focused on listening to railroads. The reception is outstanding...and it is very compact and easy to program. I take it everywhere with me... Mark...
Mark, when you got the Slim Duck, did you do any kind of comparison test against the stock antenna?
Often I am hearing a loud signal, but it's voice (mostly unintelligable) mixed with loud static. Will a better antenna make those kinds of transmission more understandable.
I am amazed that anyone can understand about half of what's said, because of static, or poor annunciation, or speaking haste; or all of the above.
However, when the DS gets involved, everything (on both sides) is WAY clearer.
Lithonia Operator NielsenSLC I picked up a Uniden BC-125AT online for about $100 last fall...and combined it with a Smiley Slim Duck antenna tuned to 160 mhz since I was focused on listening to railroads. The reception is outstanding...and it is very compact and easy to program. I take it everywhere with me... Mark... Mark, when you got the Slim Duck, did you do any kind of comparison test against the stock antenna? Often I am hearing a loud signal, but it's voice (mostly unintelligable) mixed with loud static. Will a better antenna make those kinds of transmission more understandable. I am amazed that anyone can understand about half of what's said, because of static, or poor annunciation, or speaking haste; or all of the above. However, when the DS gets involved, everything (on both sides) is WAY clearer.
When the Dispatcher is transmitting - they are transmitting from a designated tower antenna. A tower that may be as high as 100 feet above the ground. The tower will also act as a 'repeater' when handling conversations between the Dispatcher and personnel on the ground.
The locomotive antenna is on the top of the locomotive - about 17 feet above the top of the rail. Crew men on hand sets are transmitting from approximatly 6 feet above the ground.
The strength of signal being received on a scanner is dependent on the strength of the transmitted signal from the transmitter as well as the height above ground from which the signal is transmitted.
I don't know what power is being used on Dispatcher radio towers. I 'think' the radio power on locomotives is on the order of 10 watts and I 'think' the power on crew carried hand sets is 5 watts.
The Dispatcher used towers are approximately 10 to 15 railroad miles apart. Sometimes when a crew 'tones in' the Dispatcher, two towers will 'light up' to announce the call; most times only a single tower light up. On the territories I worked, the Dispatcher's radio console had access to 3 channels - the Road Channel, the Dispatchers Channel and the MofW Channel. Needless to say, different Dispatcher desks have different channels on their consoles.
If you are serious about wanting best reception, buy or make a better antenna. The ARRL used to be a go-to resource for that, and I suspect they still are.
A very good design at these frequencies used to be something you could make at least semi-portable: it resembles an umbrella, with a central dielectric mast and elements arranged radially pointing down. You can easily make one of these to 'fold' into a rod shape for stowage and then expand to the correct angle (and hold it against wind) with a fixed stop. A magnetic socket lets you use it with your car roof as a ground plane and functional elevation.
Hand-held (portable) radios are usually five watts.
Locomotive radios are capable of 10-50 watts. I'd opine that most are set for fifty. Same for mobile radios in vehicles or used as base stations.
The radios in the towers will be 50-100 watts. Our repeater is 100 watts. We use a repeater to help with communications between units too far apart to communicate otherwise. It transmits on our road channel.
An upcoming upgrade will allow us to dial up the dispatcher.
One important consideration that is well known to amateur radio operators (hams) is band conditions, or propogation.
I frequently communicate on a repeater located about 50 miles from me on a frequency not far removed from the railroad band. Some days it really booms in. Other days I can barely hear it, and I've watched the signal strength during transmissions drop to zero.
This can tend to explain why one day you can hear just fine, and others you get static (or less).
All I can say is I had the scanner with the stock antenna for a couple of weeks before the tuned antenna came in the mail. The Smiley antenna definitely improved my range for the RR frequencies...no question. The stock antenna wasn't awful for the RR band, but the Smiley Slim Duck improved my range.
Like others have said, sometimes you might just pull in something on the fringes of your antenna's range, and you can barely make out anything. Other times you'll get a close DS tower and a nearby loco/handset, and everything is clear as a bell. The tuned antenna will help get those fringe signals in a little better, so you can hopefully understand them.
I will also say, some scanners are simply better than others in the VHF range. I have a Radio Shack Pro-197 digital scanner and it is awful in the VHF spectrum compared to my Bearcat. I can hook them both up to the same antenna and the difference is amazing...the Bearcat is superior in VHF. The RS scanner is awesome for digital...just weak in the VHF spectrum.
Mark
Thanks, Mark. I'm going to get the Slim Duck also.
NielsenSLCI will also say, some scanners are simply better than others in the VHF range.
The phrase "jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind...
Exactly!
Just a side note - depending on how you intend on using it, you may want to check local/state laws. For example, here in Minnesota, you can't have a scanner in your car unless you have a state license. Getting a license is easy and cheap. If you don't get one and are caught by law enforcement with a scanner in your car, it will be assumed you're using it to avoid being caught speeding and you will be ticketed.
There are sites that list scanner laws by state.
Michigan used to require a permit, but no longer does, IIRC. There were even signs warning race fans headed for MIS about it. I got a permit from the state police at the time because I had fire radios installed in my truck. But it didn't specify as such, so the scanner was covered, too.
In NY, an amateur radio license will get you off the hook, as long as you're not actually committing a crime.
I was in Lexington, KY years ago and got challenged for the scanner on my belt. It was a crystal model, and I didn't have the crystals for local police, not that I was interested - I follow fire. So I didn't have a problem. Apparently you can't have a scanner set for police outsidey your house in KY. Or couldn't.
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