Ham Radio → Got A Scanner In Your Shack?

Just curious what you have for a scanner, if any.

I currently use a Uniden BCD996XT for my main scanner, but I also have some older analog, non-trunking I use for things like aircraft.

Have a couple of PRO-2006's and PRO-2030's. One of my 2006's has the Opto-Scan board in it, and is handy for finding non-trunked stuff that pops up out here.

Out in the living room I have a Home Patrol with the firmware update that lets it do a lot more. I don't use all the features, but it's a good little scanner.

Absolutely.. several.. 996XT, 996X, 536HP and several others..

Yup. My workhorse is a BC796D but it's getting a bit long in the tooth. I also have a GRE PSR-600.

The 796D was my first trunking and digital scanner.

Still works great!

I do not have a dedicated scanner, as there's nothing interesting to listen to around here outside the HF bands.

The local police, fire, and ambulance services have all gone digital and AFAIK it's encrypted. Not interested in listening to taxi cab dispatch, truckers, and whatever other commercial activities use two-way radios. Airport frequencies do not interest me either.

I have however recently acquired a JRC NRD-525 general coverage receiver which has the VHF/UHF options equipped so it covers 90kHz-60MHz, 114-174MHz, and 423-456MHz. It has some scanning capabilities which I haven't used yet, but I guess if I were ever so inclined I could use it for such a purpose. Anyways, it's a wonderful receiver and the audio is really nice to listen to on HF.

I've heard those are excellent receivers.

Forgot what model but some 200 channel Radio Shack base station that I use for aviation and a few other things.

I've got several I've bought over the years but the one I use most often is a 436HP. We have a really large trunked system that spans the majority of the state with just about every agency using it. The 436 and 536 are the only ones that can currently monitor the THP.

I have several but my go-tos are BCD996XT and Pro96 when mobile.

Although I have and always will love listening to public safety, I live near a large shopping area so I also listen to the retail stores around here like Home Depot, I've gotten some good deals when I heard the cashiers doing price checks on items on clearance... and it makes it easy to keep tabs on the wait time for a table at a restaurant.

At home, XTS1500
In my truck, M7100
In the wifes truck, PRO-163

Home, I have my 3 scanners streaming to RR (a BC785D and 2 BC144's), and a 996XT and BC780XLT on my desk.
At work, I have 2 996XT's
I also have 396XT and 346XT portables.

I also have a Radio Shack Pro-92 but haven't programmed it yet. Still learning about trunking and scanning.

While I certainly understand your desire to learn about trunking, and I don't want to bring up the "cable or keypad" debate here, a trunking scanner is one case where you're way ahead if you get a subscription to Radio Reference, and use some software that can can "read" their site to program your scanner.

Having tried to do it numerous times, and knowing a fair amount about trunked systems, I can tell you that doing it through the keypad can be an exercise in futility!

I have the cable to program it. Just need to find the time to get all the frequencies in order.

Good luck!

Its not in my shack, but in the livingroom.. I have had for *years* a (ashamed to say) Radio Shack Pro-2052. It works great, runs off 12VDC,

Its a non-trunking scanner, but our PD and Fire dont have trunked radio networks. The wife and I will use it if / when theres something going on around us.

I call it the "Mahemometer" as in.. "Ooh, helicopters overhead, lets turn on the mayhemometer, see whats going on!!"



Edit: I was wrong, I guess. It *is* a dual-trunking scanner.. Must, read, more, about, this.. Heh.

HAH!

Great nickname for it!

Shortly after I put the Home Patrol in the living room, my wife and the kids were asking me how to use it, and for the same reasons.

Anytime they heard sirens or the choppers. they'd turn it on to see what was going on.

"turn it on"?

You mean people turn them off? What a concept...
Mine are on 24/7 (but, I'm a dispatcher...) I tune it out most of the time, but drop the tones and my ears perk up like a beagle's...

yup.. I keep a printed list of our PDs 10- codes, and such under the scanner.. Just for easy reference. Generally, theyre the same as recognized elsewhere (10-4, still means 10-4.. 10-20, still means 10-20) but they use other codes differently here, like 10-35, and 10-98... Nice to have a guide to look 'em up