Information about various police scanners, including Radio Shack and Uniden models. This site is for both the experienced listener and for those wanting to learn more about the hobby.
This a VHF-Hi/UHF Outdoor Scanner Antenna by RadioShack (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103641&cp=2032052.2032075.2032078.2032098&parentPage=family ). The antenna is about 20 inches long. It is almost 30 feet above the ground. The pole is actually a sailboarding mast; an acquaintance of mine broke the pole at the bottom and gave it to me, so I just sawed the bad part off. I get very good reception with it. However, it sometimes receives too well and picks up interference on some channels. All in all though, it is a very good addition to any police scanner. I can listen to communications from five counties! The BNC outlet was bought off eBay.
At the beginning of the video, I used my little old Uniden FRS400 to make a creative introduction. The scanner you see at the end of the video is a Uniden BCD396T Trunktracker IV (http://www.uniden.com/products/productdetail.cfm?product=BCD396T&filter=Handheld). I also have an RS Pro-91, which is why I have two BNC cords hooked up to the antenna.
The Uniden BCD396T is my favorite police scanner. It can be controlled by a computer and is capable of just about anything (it seems). Having the capability of hooking up a scanner to a PC makes it a lot easier to upload new frequencies to it. Another thing I love about new scanners like this, in addition to its dynamic allocated channel memory, is that you can title (or text tag) frequencies and talk groups. So instead of seeing 155.580 MHz, you can make it say "Seattle WSP Disp" under the group "West WSP" and the system "WA State Gov." It has 100 quick keys for systems and 10 for each group in the system. It is preprogrammed with 12 service searches that are actually up-to-date: ". . . Public Safety, News, HAM Radio, Marine, Railroad, Air, CB Radio, FRS/GMRS, Racing, TV Broadcast, FM Broadcast, and Special searches. . ." (BCD396T Manual). It of course has CTCSS and DCS squelch modes. In addition, the analog and digital audio AGC makes it nicer to listen to than most scanners (because the volume stays generally level no matter what channel). The fire tone-out standby feature is interesting, but I never got that to work. The trunk tracker IV allows the scanner to follow, ". . . unencrypted conversations on analog Motorola, Motorola Astro 25 (APCO 25), EDACS, EDACS SCAT, and LTR trunked radio systems, including systems in VHF, UHF, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands. The scanner can scan both conventional and trunked systems at the same time" (BCD396T Manual). Also with this scanner, you only have to input the control channel of trunked Motorola systems (not the other voice channels). It has a frequency step of 5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5,15, 20, 25, 50 or 100 kHz depending on what you prefer. There are so many things you can do to customize this scanner that I don't have room to write them all in this description. But if you are going to get this, you got to save up: they usually cost around $500.
BCD396T information can be found at http://wiki.radioreference.com/index....
Memory: 400 systems (20 groups per system and/or 200 channels per trunked system) Up to 6,000 channels
Also, lots of people have asked me about how I programmed the intro-screen. I did it with a free program called ScanControl, and you can download at http://www.scannersoft.com (click the "Radio Settings" button).
The RS Pro-91 is one of my older, but reliable, police scanners. It is capable of trunking and can store 150 channels. Overall, this is one tough scanner; even though I have dropped it many times, gotten it soaking wet, and left it in my car with the outside temperature being over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, it has always worked perfectly (except it sometimes says "low battery" when the batter is not actually low). The Pro-91 is, ". . . designed to track Motorola Type I and Type II (such as Smartnet and Privacy Plus) and hybrid analog trunking systems, which are extensively used in many 800 MHz communication systems" (Pro-91 Manual). It has 5 storage banks that hold 30 frequencies each. It also has a backlight that stays on for about 15 seconds at a time. I think when I got this a few years ago, it cost $150.
Search Speed: Normal: 100 Steps per Second Hypersearch: 300 Steps per Second Service: 50 Frequencies per Second
Size: 61/4 in. (H) × 21/2 in. (W) × 19/16 in. (D)
The book shown at the end is the 10th edition of Northwest Frequency Directory (NWFD) edited by Dan Rollman and published by Scannerstuff LLC. This book has frequencies for all over the United States, not just the northwest. Not only does it have public safety channels and talkgroups for police, fire, and medical; it also has business frequencies, airplane frequencies, federal government frequencies, amateur radio frequencies, radio codes, terms, maps, background information, and more. I highly recommend it for people who want to be or are radio monitors. For more info on this book, go to http://scannerstuff.com
