Which scanner to buy?

Trains.com General Discussion (Trains.com)
1

I’m interested in buying a hand held scanner in the under $200 neighborhood and was wondering which models are prefered. I’m interested in the Uniden SC 180. How about dealers also. I’m looking at Scanner World and was wondering if anyone has had good or bad experience with them. Doc Otter and Gary Sturm had a very favorable review of the Relm HS-100 but I can’t find any dealer on the web that sells them. Are they not being made anymore?
Thanks for any help
Ken

2

I’ve always had success with Uniden products - I currently own a Uniden sportcat 100 channel scanner --I use for listening to trains- works just fine for me - was’nt too expensive to buy . I also have a Icom 100channel RC1 scanner - too involved for train use - I did get it from Scanner World - no hassels - even shipping it to Canada.

3

I have been thinking about getting a new scanner aswell. I have a Realistic Pro 32 from Radio Shack that is about 13 years old and works fine but I can hear a radio paging system bleeding in from another frequency. It sounds like the old video games and you can barely understand what is being said. During the day the pages are every 20 sec or so. VERY annoying. Does anyone know what I am talking about and would a newer scanner eliminate this?

4

Not entirely sure of your problem – never had the experience— but when I had a Realistic unit back in the 1980’s I found that It missed a lot of calls and chatter on the railroad band – after enqiries was told it was not sensitve enough . – Looked into a Uniden unit - checked the specs and have not experienced the problems any more.

5

I also have a Radio Shack scanner, and I am not happy with it. It does not squelch-off noise or weak signals even at the highest settings. The static (weak RF) will drive you crazy enough to turn the volume way down. My next scanner will not be a RS model for sure.

6

My family has a pro-82 scanner from radio Shack, and it works great for me. It was on sale for $100, and normally is $120.

Noah

7

Thanks to all of you guys for your recomendations. I ordered the Bearcat SC 180 from Scanner World today. Should be a lot of fun to play with.
Thanks again
Ken

8

Many happy hours of listening – let us know how you get on Cheers