Scanner advise please

[Matt Handley]

Hello all!
My first post! Happy to be here. I am a spotter from Central Iowa. I have a question about scanners. First I'll give you the run down on my spotting vehicle for Skywarn.

98 Isuzu Rodeo 4x4
Mobile Threat Net
RAM mount
Toshiba Lap Top running XP
basic CB


Just the basics. I was looking to get a good (and cost effective) scanner to use for listening in on local Ham and Emergency agencies.

I was looking at the Uniden BC355C 800MHz 300-Channel ($88) it seems like a pretty good deal, just curious what you guys thought. Also looking for a decent magnet base antenna for it, any suggestions?

I do plan to get my Ham license one day, but not anytime real soon. Maybe for next season.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this, and hope you guys can help point me in the right direction.

Thanks again!
Matt

 

[Jim Hunt]

Matt,

I am not directly familiar with Iowa and your area. However, I took a look at Radio Reference and see most of the local municipalities are on conventional channels but I did see some suburban Des Moines cities using a trunked system.

Iowa State Police is also using conventional frequencies.

So a cursory look suggests your scanner would work fine providing you are willing to miss out on a few suburban channels.

 

[Matt Handley]

Thanks so much Jim! I happen to live just down the road from Iowa State University and they have some students that are amateur radio operators and also spot for Skywarn, many of them are enrolled in the Meteorology program there and I'd really like to be able to listen in on their communications. Stupid question, can I pick them up with a basic scanner? Sorry if that's a dumb question, total noob here.

 

[Matt Handley]

Also, Thank you Jim for taking the time to look that up. It's very appreciated

 

[Elinor McLennon]

go to qrz.com and you can take practice tests for you ham license. the first test is simple. i passed it with flying colors and i'm not a technical person. the license is good for 10 years.

 

[Matt Handley]

Thanks Elinor! I will be looking into that.

Okay upon further research I found I can listen in on Ham. So the only issue now is to find a good scanner antenna to work with the Uniden BC355C. I would like a magnet base antenna for the top of the truck, I've read mixed reviews on the glass mount antennas and would prefer the magnet mount. Any ideas? Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Matt Handley]

Oh and it's a BNC antenna jack on the scanner

 

[Bryan Stokes]

Great question Matt -- I'm eagerly waiting to hear some people's replies to your question. Last year I bought a Uniden Scanner, but it only came with a BNC wire-antenna that you stick to the inside of the windshield with a couple of suction cups. I could barely pick up anything with that type of set-up, and I'm pretty sure it was due to the antenna.

Bryan

 

[Matt Handley]

Hey Bryan,
After a lot of research from this forum and a few others I think I might go with this antenna http://www.theantennafarm.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1050

and this mount http://www.theantennafarm.com/catal...oduct_info&cPath=264_265_276&products_id=1585

I've read both good and bad things about the antenna farm's customer service, but it seems to be a good all around antenna for what I want to do with it. Unless you guys think otherwise.

 

[Matt Tottle]

I use a glass mount for my scanner and it works just fine. But I would never use one for a ham or any other two-way radio. Basically they are awful for transmitting no matter what, and usually receive problems are caused by metallic tints and metal-embedded glass trapping the signal. It's the same thing that causes problems with RFID toll tags in certain vehicles. I'm not a big fan of mag mounts anymore though. I had a mag for my ham radio, and I changed to a permanent mount after it came off several times.. A few times from smacking a low branch or the clearance bar at drive-thrus, and once it came off on the highway from the wind - that was the end of it.. So if you're going to use mag, make sure it's got a HUGE honkin magnet.

Also, one thing to keep in mind that hasn't been mentioned.. A lot of state and local agencies are upgrading their radios to digital because of a mandate by the FCC and an availability of government funds to do so. A conventional analog scanner (which is what you are looking at) will not be able to pick these up when your agencies make the changeover. If you were to venture into Kansas, you wouldn't pick up very much at all, because most of the state is now running on digital, including KHP, KBI, KDOT, and a lot of city and county police/fire (even my little town went digital last summer).

My recommendation would be to put that money towards a digital scanner. Not only will it not go obsolete in the near future, but the digital scanners have a ton more bang for the buck as far as features go (honestly I would never buy a scanner/radio without Alpha tagging again). Digitals start around $300, plus $20ish for the USB cable and $15 (I think?) for access to the RadioReference database (makes programming as easy as a few mouse clicks).

 

[Elinor McLennon]

I have to agree with matt on everything he has said. i'm not a fan of magnetic antennas nor glass ones. the digital scanner will be a must depending on the areas that you want to venture in to. right now my trunking analog scanner is working for me in okc. plus some police that have gone digital are still simulcasting on analog. but, when i head down to the dallas area, alot of them are digital. just depends on where you want to go. check out radio reference...its an excellent site. see who is digital in the areas you want to go.
my next investment will be a digital scanner!

 

[John Wetter]

Not to be the wet blanket here, but remember that having a scanner in your car and not having a ham radio license is illegal in many states...

 

[Matt Tottle]

A few states. Not many. Florida, New York, Minnesota, Indiana, and Kentucky have the outright ban on mobile scanners unless you are licensed. Some other states specifically ban them when used in the commission of a crime (basically just gives them another charge they can tack on if they nail you for a robbery or something), and the rest (including Iowa) have no state laws related to scanners. But when you get your ham ticket, you won't have to worry about it.

 

[rdale]

Great resource for that is http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/scanlaws/

Get the Uniden HP-1 or GRE PSR-800 if "trunking" and "EDACS" and "P25" are terms you aren't comfortable with. The HP1 will even hook up to a GPS and automatically tune in the local agencies as you drive around.

 

[Matt Handley]

Man you guys are great! Thank you so much! Tons of great info. Thanks again!