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[ posted: 20 May 2004, updated: 17 Feb 2005 ]

My Various Frequency Scanners

RadioShack Pro-26	The RadioShack Pro-26 is probably my most valued scanner of them all. I purchased it new when I worked at RadioShack (please don't hold that against me...I was young and stupid.) right before they got sent back to the warehouse to collect dust. A few years later I ran across a company called Javiation which sold replacement logic boards for this unit. I purchased the VERY LAST one they had in stock and now this scanner boasts COMPLETE coverage from 27MHz-1.3Ghz. That's right, COMPLETE coverage. I'll let you deciper what that means. It features plenty of memories, selectable step, WX bands, and much more. Still my favorite piece in my scanner collection to this date.
Uniden BC245XLT	The Uniden BearCat 245XLT has become an icon representing the beginning of trunk tracking. Just about anyone who has gotten into trunk tracking has purchased one of these. With it's ability to trunk track Motorola Type I, Type II, Type IIi Hybrid and EDACS 9600 Baud it was a necessity for living in New Orleans. However, as of very recently, New Orleans PD has gone to Erricson ProVoice and is no longer scannable at this time. State agencies and public service (excluding police, fire, and EMS) are still trackable on the old EDACS and a Circle M Type II Hybrid. I purchased a 1700mAh NiMH battery for this unit from Lee's Electronics. Very simple fact here. If you're Uniden battery has gone south, or you just don't get enough scanning time out of it, BUY ONE OF THESE! They are $24.50 at the time of this writing and now 1800mAh! You will not be sorry! For info on trunked systems in Louisiana, or anywhere in the US, check out Radio Reference formally known as TrunkedRadio.net.
RadioShack Pro-2046	The RadioShack Pro-2046 mobile scanner is a good, basic, no frills scanner. It's old, I purchased it used when I worked at RadioShack back in '98 or so. It's got 100 channels with hyperscan, monitor banks, and all the other same features as most basic scanners. It also has the weather band, which is the main reason I purchased it at the time. It was something good to have in the car. It only found it's way into my collection because it was listed as damaged/defective merchandise and my manager offered it to me for something silly like $20. Turns out it shipped without a fuse and the customer returned it. Their loss was my gain. It's listed as an 800MHz scanner even though it does cover up to 956Mhz. Detailed coverage is as follows: 29-54Mhz, 108-136.9750Mhz, 137-174Mhz, 406-512Mhz, 806-823.9375Mhz, 851-868.9375, 896.1125-956Mhz. It's got the gov't bands and cellular blocked, which I think is silly since 99.99% of all cell sites are encrypted these days. Even if you can convince the radio to unsquelch all you manage to hear are disconcernable tones that make your fillings want to jump out of your teeth. It does well scanning the local repeaters and catching the weather. It's also excellent for listening to aircraft traffic. I wouldn't rush out to buy one, but if you found one cheap and just wanted to do simple scanning, I'd reccommend it to you.

There's tons out there to be heard,
Dave (KE5BMS)

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