I've decided that I want a scanner for IL and WV. Seems like Joliet would be a good place to look for one.
Do you IL-savvy folks think a Best Buy there would have a Uniden Bearcat bc125at? If not, any suggestions?
Still in training.
If I was willing to, say, pay $150 more, in layman's terms what does that get me?
Unsure about Best Buy in Joliet (or anywhere) having scanners.
There is a company in Tn which advertises in Trains which sells scanners. The last one I purchased was from them...several years ago.
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It's funny, because you do a search for Uniden, and get gobs of hits for Best Buy, but then you check their in-store inventory, and it's mostly radar detectors.
Amazon next-day might be the way to go.
Walmart, Lowes, and Home Depot also came up in search results for that specific scanner, both Lowes and Walmart were promising in store pickup by June 21, while Home Depot was promising June 15 with up to 144 units available. So, that suggests Home Depot at least has them in stock on this continent.
You won't find radio scanners at Best Buy. Only scanners with all in one printers... Your best bet would be your local Pawn Shop, or Radio Shack which is now an online store. You can also try this shop Universal Radio. I buy most of my radio stuff from them. They're located in Ohio.
They are also on Amazon.com online..............probably a better selection than you will get in any single store.
Hamradio.com has most of the Uniden scanners, ranging from $169 to $700...
You can also check scannermaster.com.
Disclaimer: I have no involvement with either company.
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...
I bought my BC125AT through Walmart online because you can get an extended warranty for really cheap though them. Got it delivered in less than a week. Price was as good as I could find anywhere back last fall...maybe $119 or so + the cost of the warranty. I understand the cost of scanners has risen significantly over the last 6-8 months though.
Mark
NielsenSLC I bought my BC125AT through Walmart online because you can get an extended warranty for really cheap though them. Got it delivered in less than a week. Price was as good as I could find anywhere back last fall...maybe $119 or so + the cost of the warranty. I understand the cost of scanners has risen significantly over the last 6-8 months though. Mark
Mark, I'm just cloning what you did. Ordered the scanner from The Uniden Store, will get in two days in Galesburg.
Smiley wants to know what base I need for the Slim Duck. What's the correct answer?
Thanks, man.
And thanks to everyone else who responded.
Lithonia OperatorSmiley wants to know what base I need for the Slim Duck. What's the correct answer?
BNC.
Did you buy the programming cable?
Using your computer to program the scanner will be a lot easier than hand-jamming the information.
tree68 Lithonia Operator Smiley wants to know what base I need for the Slim Duck. What's the correct answer? BNC. Did you buy the programming cable? Using your computer to program the scanner will be a lot easier than hand-jamming the information.
Lithonia Operator Smiley wants to know what base I need for the Slim Duck. What's the correct answer?
Thanks, Larry. I thought BNC was it, but not real sure. I ordered only the scanner for now; we don't have a computer with us. The scanner will be sent to my hotel in Galesburg.
Turns out the Slim Duck only ships USPS; so I'm holding off, as it might never catch up with us.
I'll still have fun with the stock antenna, and it should help me photograph more efficiently.
We're having a great time.
Once you get settled in at home again, and are able to program the scanner, give some serious thought to how you're going to use it.
The radio has 500 channels in 10 "banks." I would recommend you consider your usual travels and load your regular destinations into the various banks. Or you could load by railroad.
My Whistler will handle something like 100 scan lists - I have it set up so when I visit an area I fire up that scan list. You can do something similar with the banks.
If you run out of banks for individual locations, consider putting disparate locations in the same bank.
One very good reason for using your computer for programming is that it will be that much easier to put in the alpha tags. It's a lot easier to recognize "BNSF Galesburg" than "160.xxx."
If you don't fill up the banks with destinations, you might consider simply loading up most, or all, of the AAR channels. The new frequencies aren't in common use yet, that I know of, so you're looking at just under 100 frequencies.
Happy scanning!
When you get around locations that are served by multiple rairoads - a lot of AAR channels will be in use for the various purposes each railroad needs.
Road ChannelYard Channel (can be more than one if more than one yard in area)Dispatchers ChannelMofW Channeland potentially other channels for other operations taking place in the area.
Channels for each railroad need to be separate from all the other railroads.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
BaltACDChannels for each railroad need to be separate from all the other railroads.
Another reason for setting up the alpha tags.
A great site to bookmark for frequencies
https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?coid=1
Correct...BNC is the connector you need for your antenna when you decide to upgrade that. The programming cable came with my scanner when I received mine. It was very easy to download the Uniden software and load the scanner with all of the AAR channels for railroading into a couple banks.
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