Police scanners

[Ronald]

Does anybody have any suggestions for a nice, affordable police scanner for my den? I don't need anything fancy really, but I'd like to get a small unit to listen to my local county/city when I'm in there working. I don't know much about about them and don't know where to start, really. (Good brands, models, etc.) Also, I assume I would need to find my department's local frequency and input that into the scanner, correct?

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Need to start with where you are, and the systems you want to listen to. There are a lot of systems in the 800MHz band now, with trunking and whatnot. Whether you need that will determine what you need to get to listen to it.

 

[Expat]

When I bought mine, I went to the local Radio Shack. They have some good ones (or they did when I bought mine 10 years ago) and if you get a good clerk they can give you a lot of good advice on what you need to hear the local stuff.
http://www.eham.net/reviews/products/25

 

[TVon]

You will want to be sure to get a digital scanner. Most of Indiana's emergency responders are now on the Indiana SAFE-T system. If you don't have a digital scanner, you won't be able to listen in. You should be able to get a decent portable scanner like Uniden's "Uniden" BCD396XT Compact APCO 25 Handheld Scanner at Uniden for about $500.00. If you're from Indy, check Fry's in Castleton. Don't cheap out on your purchase or you will be disappointed. An 800 MHz trunk tracker is not enough these days.

I would highly recommend you visit this website .. The RadioReference.com Forums - Powered by vBulletin. Pay for the membership. It will give you access to their databases and make programming your scanner that much easier. Programming your scanner will be a lot more difficult then you expect but look at it as a hobby. I found that researching and programming the radio is as fun as actually listening in. The website also has plenty of reviews on equipment.

T

Feel free to PM me if you have any additional specific questions.

 

[fire259]

Just use that computer in front of you. There are several website that stream live radio traffic from all over the country to your desktop. I use www.radioreference.com

 

[mrjarrell]

Fry's is in Fishers. Don't get lost. LOL.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Oh, just coz it's north of 96th, jeez. Fishers gets all de luv. Yeah, I have a 996 in one car, and one of those home patrol things for the other. I'm about to download the updates and upgrade for that. Some sweet features, there.

Anyway, this guy may not be in an area where he needs digital P25 yet, so let's see what he says.

 

[snapping turtle]

Don't have it mobile. The po po don't like mobile police scanner for some reason...............................................I could not understand why.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

IC 35.44.3.12. It's illegal to have a device capable of intercepting police communications mobile or portable. There is a specific exemption for radar detectors, then there are various exemptions, including working for a radio manufacturer, or having a ham license. I used to have both, but now only the ham license. You're not really supposed to listen to them mobile, but they can't do anything about it. I use it mostly to avoid roads closed due to fire/police issues. It's come in real handy a couple of times.

 

[Freedom_Bound]

I recommend getting a digital scanner for the 800 mhz channels. The analog channels are quickly becoming obsolete. Here is a web site to find agency channels: RadioReference.com - Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

 

[ISHOOTHST'S]

Just use that computer in front of you. There are several website that stream live radio traffic from all over the country to your desktop. I use www.radioreference.com

This!

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Oh my, let's find out where this guy is and what he wants to listen to, before we go all digital P25 trunked system on him. He's just a n00b.

 

[TVon]

Oh my, let's find out where this guy is and what he wants to listen to, before we go all digital P25 trunked system on him. He's just a n00b.

I agree, but if you don't want to be throwing money away you might as well get the digital system now. They will all be digital sooner then later.

 

[ralphb72]

Happened to me. I paid 200 for a top of the line analog scanner because nothing in my area was digital. 1 year later, Police, and Sheriff are now totally digital so another 399 later I can hear them again.

 

[Gabriel]

If you have a smart phone there's probably an app you can download thathas your local police on it. I have 5-0 Radio on my Iphone and it works pretty well. Although that isn't quite what you're looking for, it may be a cheap way to see if it's as interesting to you as you think it may be (personally, I don't like listening to it when at home).

 

[TVon]

There are apps for smart phones. I have "Scanner Radio" for my Android. The smart phone apps are very limited. If you live in a remote area (ie not Indy), you may not find someone streaming your local agencies. Also, if you're listening to a larger group like IMPD, you won't be able to hold on a specific sub-group. The apps are good for casual listening but not so good if you want more control.

 

[bwframe]

If you have a smart phone there's probably an app you can download thathas your local police on it. I have 5-0 Radio on my Iphone and it works pretty well. Although that isn't quite what you're looking for, it may be a cheap way to see if it's as interesting to you as you think it may be (personally, I don't like listening to it when at home).

There are apps for smart phones. I have "Scanner Radio" for my Android. The smart phone apps are very limited. If you live in a remote area (ie not Indy), you may not find someone streaming your local agencies. Also, if you're listening to a larger group like IMPD, you won't be able to hold on a specific sub-group. The apps are good for casual listening but not so good if you want more control.

As a long time scanner listener, this was a great find a couple years ago. In the past few months, our local (Monroe County) feeds have been "down for maintenance" more than they have been up.

 

[bigus_D]

I looked at frys. They don't have scanners. CBs, sure... No scanners though. Then again I could have been lost.

The bcd396xt is what I use. I'm a computer programmer (To give a general impression of my technical skill) and I had to spend a good amount of time getting this thing setup.

In Indiana, I would absolutey not purchase an analog scanner for police listening. Even if it works today, you are just asking to go obsolete ASAP.

You may want an improved antenna if you get a mobile version (I'm not sure what the base versions come with). The law was sited above I believe, take note. Uniden homepatroll is an often referenced base unit that I'd look at. Get the USB programming cable and try the free software. Radioreference.com is the place to answer all your questions.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Fry's has some. That's where I got my Home Patrol. I have the 996 mounted in dash in the Thunderchicken, with a mag mount on the roof. For the Home Patrol, I have a suction cup mount and just use the antenna it came with so far. Heh, I wind up with a GPS, a radar detector and a scanner suction cupped on my windshield sometimes.

 

[vitamink]

I personally think the best options are the bearcat bcd996t or xt. The xt has more features but you can hear the same stuff so it's not that deep. The homepatrol thing is nice to as it sets itself up. Yes you can use a computer scanner, but most don't have what you want to hear and jump from channel to channel so you're listening to jailers transport prisoners, then parking enforcement saying a meter has been ran over.