scanners

[Anonymous]

I am in the market to purchase a scanner for my railfanning activities. A couple of friends have bought one recently, but they don't seem to work all that well (don't pick up on all the freqs.; all the talk). So I would like to have some advise on what scanners I should look for. I do not want to spend a lot, but I do want good quality. Any suggestions?

[RudyRockvilleMD]

I have a Bearcat BC 100 XL which has been discontinued, and it does a pretty good job of picking up radio transmissions. The factors that affect the ability of a scanner to pick up transmissions are the strength of the signal, atmospheric conditions, the sensitivity of the receiver, and the terrain. Radio signals in the frequencies used by the railroads travel in straight lines so any obstruction will interfere with the signal.

Handheld scanners cost anywhere between $100 and
$300 depending on the features and the number of channels.

When you buy a scanner try to buy one that can be powered either by a NiCad battery pack or by Alkaline AA cells or just the AA cells alone. If you buy a scanner which is powered by a NiCad battery pack it might be a good idea to buy a second NiCad battery pack to have one that is well charged up when your first battery pack goes dead.

[Anonymous]

Just about any programmable scanner will do just fine. I use a "Radio-Shack" unit that cost about a hundred bucks. The most important thing is the antenna. You can buy "tuned" antennas, at a price, but if you want the best reception, you need a ground plane antenna, about 16 inches on all spikes. I don't know if you are looking for a base unit, or a mobile unit. But remember, radio waves travel best in the "line-of sight", in other words, the higher the antenna, the better the reception. You can even boost your reception with a "gain-box". Both my cousin and I have had great results using Radio-Shack T.V. booster boxes. They are also very easy to adapt to mobile use, as they are designed to take 120 volt A.C., and convert it to 12 volt D.C. It's just a matter of by-passing the transformer in the unit, then you can hook it up to your lighter in the car.

Hope this helps, let me know if you have more questions. Todd C.