I have always been interested in radio frequency scanners, however I never really took the plunge and purchased one.

I have documented myself a lot and i'm aware of the legal aspects of scanning, i'm aware that many sensitive communications are now digital (and even better, encrypted), i'm aware of the trouble you might get into if you always show up first on accident scenes etc.

My questions are pretty simple... Do you feel it is still worthwhile to purchase a scanner in 2008, as a hobbyist? Do we have several more years of scanning ahead or is everything going to be digital and encrypted in the next 2-3 years?

I am considering the portable Uniden BC-246T; any comments on this specific model?

Thanks.

I don't know about everything going digital....but here locally they went to 'trunk units' a couple of years ago(what ever that is) and I only lost a couple of channels(like the tactical ones). I use mine mostly to know when something is going on in my immediate neiborhood, and to know when one of my patients is being sent to the local emergency room(work as a RN suppervisor). Mine is on 24/7, now I can't sleep without it being on....

Just a note... Trunked is digital. Some have digital control channels with analog voice channels.

You can check out http://www.radioreference.com/index.php to see what type of systems are around your area and/or just google for your area.

The only problem is if the local police/fire use encrypted trunked systems. There is no easy or legal way of getting around this. Even 'tho the local police went to this, they still use the old open frequency for normal traffic. They seem to use the encrypted when handling sensitive information.

I still use the scanner to listen to police, local hams, and the power company. The last two are good in bad weather.

-Tommy

Only digital trunking is digital, analog trunking is not. For example the local police, fire, ems around me on an analog trunked system but the state police are on a digital trunked system. My pro 97 scanner does analog trunking but not digital so I can pick up local but not state.

This is what i've heard basically, in my area some police channels (tactical channels?) are digitally encrypted. However, that leaves plenty of open channels to monitor.

As for everybody going digital/encrypted, I have spoken with a veteran HAM operator and he told me that going that route is still pretty expensive so we should still have a few good years of listening enjoyment ahead.

P.S. : I just ordered a Uniden BC-246T online. Woohoo! :P

Larger cities are going digital, but most smaller ones are still analog. I have several scanners that by todays standards are out of date. RS Pro-2006, Pro 2021, Pro-51, 2 Pro-2026 and a few others.. I still have lots to listen to on them.


If you are concerned about it, buy a used one at a Hamfest (do a search for Hamfest they are going on all the time, almost every weekend of the year) Or you could buy one off e-bay, but the prices on e-bay are higher then a Hamfest.

I was correcting the trunking=digital post by saying that trunking doesn't mean digital since there is also analog trunking.

All my scanners are the non-trunking kind, I keep telling myself I need a trunking scanner but have not bought one yet. I’m going to the Dayton Hamfest in a few months (The biggest electronics flee market in the world) I’m going to look there for one to play with.

If any of you are interested in anything electronic the Dayton Hamfest is the place to go. People from every country on the planet go to this event every year. Almost every major radio and electronic company comes to this hamfest. There are hundreds of inside vendors (mostly the new electronic items) and thousands of outside vendors in the flee market area (it’s a very big area, almost impossible to see it all in any depth in one day)

I go to it almost every year; the saying is that if you can’t find it at Dayton, it’s probably not made. Two years ago a guy has an actual German WWII Enigma machine there, I never asked what it cost, had to be a lot. The flee market area is an interesting place to roam around; I always come home with a lot of new toys to play with from this event.

This year it’s on May 16, 17, & 18, 2008

Here is the web address for it.
http://www.hamvention.org/

I just did a search and the German WWII Enigma Cypher Machine is going for 100-thousand dollars right now.

Heck I should buy 2 of them, just to have a spare…

Use radio reference website to look at agencies in your area.(I think there are some Candian discussions and some data there)
Then look at the discussion forums for your area. You might learn of plans that would change the existing systems.

The State of Colorado went to digital trunking (APCO 25) about 8 (or more) years ago. Many smaller jurisdictions such as Counties and Cities are using the same system as occupants of the same towers/frequencies. More are moving onto the system as $$ permit.

If you can't receive digital trunking here you're missing a LOT.

There is also something called "rebanding." This has actually occurred in Colorado. What it has meant is that many digital trunked transmission sites were moved in frequency. Most of them remained within the capability of my Radio Shack scanners (Pro-96 and 2096)
Some additional towers were installed which are in the 700Mhz range and aren't usable by the Radio Shack products.
The Bearcat digital trunking scanners are ok and GRE (the oem of the Pro-96) has come out with new radios that can deal with the 700Mhz sites as well as a few other things.

There are some systems used in some juridicitions for which there are no scanners which work. (Aurora, CO. is one)
And encryption can be put onto the digital systems if agencies desire. So far these seem to be covert surveillance activities.

I find having these expensive scanners to be essential to my situational awareness on a long daily commute so I can re-route around accidents, drug busts, wrong-way drivers and so forth.

But they are costly and non-trivial to program.