LiveATC Discussion Forums
Air Traffic Monitoring => Listener Forum => Topic started by: notaperfectpilot on October 06, 2011, 11:57:33 AM
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I am looking for a hand held scanner that is relatively cheep but does a relatively good job at scanning. I don't know much about scanners at all. I know that a lot of you use them quite often. So the question is what do YOU think from your experience withe scanners would be the best one?
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What do you want to scan? Just aviation frequencies? Trunked radio? Police/fire P25? Scanning is a lot more complicated than it used to be and the options are so varied.
So what are your interests and what is the max you want to spend?
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just aviation frequencies...I am thinking around $150 or so max
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Hey the Sporty's Air-Scan VII Portable Scanner (aka SP-125) is a very nice scanner for the handheld, it is $150. If you wanted to go desktop you could go with the Air- Scan V desktop it is only $100. The link provided below includes both the handheld and the desktop. It also has the SP-400, I personally would not recommend this for just scanning cause the SP-400 has navigation options and I do believe you can transmit from the SP-400.
LINK: http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/category/833
Hope this helps!!
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yeah, those were the first ones I looked into...the handheld scanner was definitely on my list. I just wanted to see if there were any other ones that I could take under consideration before I went to the first one I saw :-) thanks
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Yep those are the ones.. I think they are reliable and durable.. Let me know if you need anymore help!!
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have you tried them before?
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I recommend a Bearcat BC72XLT:
http://www.scannermaster.com/Uniden_Bearcat_BC72XLT_Police_Scanner_p/01-500882.htm
Reasons:
1) It won't break the bank.
2) You only need a receiver, not a transceiver.
3) It has the Bearcat Close Call technology which lets you figure out what frequencies are in use when you are planespotting or near a transmitter.
4) The Sportys stuff is a bit overpriced, especially considering the fact that you can only listen to the aviation band and nothing else.
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Any other ideas?
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awww come on, I know there are more people out there that use scanners. What do you like? Give me your opinion!
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I would go with Dave's suggestion. I used that exact scanner to run the KROC feed for at least 2 years with no problems. Its now my backup scanner as I have a base unit that will also receive Mil-Air.
I recommend a Bearcat BC72XLT:
http://www.scannermaster.com/Uniden_Bearcat_BC72XLT_Police_Scanner_p/01-500882.htm
Reasons:
1) It won't break the bank.
2) You only need a receiver, not a transceiver.
3) It has the Bearcat Close Call technology which lets you figure out what frequencies are in use when you are planespotting or near a transmitter.
4) The Sportys stuff is a bit overpriced, especially considering the fact that you can only listen to the aviation band and nothing else.
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What about a transceiver? When I first started this topic, I was looking for a scanner more for airplane spotting. Since then, I have had the opportunity to get my pilots license. So, the question is, should I go with the scanner or maybe spend a little more money and go for a transceiver that could be used for the airplane spotting and for in the airplane?
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What about a transceiver? When I first started this topic, I was looking for a scanner more for airplane spotting. Since then, I have had the opportunity to get my pilots license. So, the question is, should I go with the scanner or maybe spend a little more money and go for a transceiver that could be used for the airplane spotting and for in the airplane?
First, congrats on your pilot's license!
Second, a transceiver might be your best investment if you intend to use the radio for planespotting and pilot use. I like the Yaesu VXA-7xx line - the one you would want is:
<http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&q=vxa-710&gs_upl=1986l1986l1l2114l1l0l0l1l1l0l0l0ll0l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1413&bih=682&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12893940366996618074&sa=X&ei=XemmTqneCObz0gHCv-ioDg&ved=0CDgQ8wIwAQ#ps-sellers>
The VXA-220 is a less expensive transceiver but also very good:
<http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=vxa-220&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=5020693363900203576&sa=X&ei=OOqmTty6Oafo0QGHy_iQDg&ved=0CF4Q8wIwAA#ps-sellers>
Icom also makes a good radio:
<http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=ic-a6&hl=en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=12617818845850066438&sa=X&ei=bOqmTu39Jojq0gGzqaT5DQ&ved=0CGQQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers>
You just need to look at each radio and decide what is important to you in the way of features.
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Thanks Dave! Yeah, I am really excited about getting my pilots license! A good friend and fellow pilot arranged with an instructor friend of his to teach me. The total cost? About 1/4 of what someone would usually pay! :lol: Anyways, are there any "rules" about using a transceiver for airplane spotting? Like you wouldn't want to interfere with any transmissions or something like that, correct?
Thanks for your help
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I'd like to add my thanks for this post and everyone's replies....was just thinking the other day I'd like to purchase a new portable scanner.
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So, I went ahead with Dave's suggestion.
I recommend a Bearcat BC72XLT:
http://www.scannermaster.com/Uniden_Bearcat_BC72XLT_Police_Scanner_p/01-500882.htm
Reasons:
1) It won't break the bank.
2) You only need a receiver, not a transceiver.
3) It has the Bearcat Close Call technology which lets you figure out what frequencies are in use when you are planespotting or near a transmitter.
4) The Sportys stuff is a bit overpriced, especially considering the fact that you can only listen to the aviation band and nothing else.
I did that for most of the reasons that Dave used to recommend it.
Welch88, I appreciate your suggestion but I did think that the Sporty's stuff was a bit over priced (though I looked at them first!).
Hey the Sporty's Air-Scan VII Portable Scanner (aka SP-125) is a very nice scanner for the handheld, it is $150. If you wanted to go desktop you could go with the Air- Scan V desktop it is only $100. The link provided below includes both the handheld and the desktop. It also has the SP-400, I personally would not recommend this for just scanning cause the SP-400 has navigation options and I do believe you can transmit from the SP-400.
LINK: http://www.sportys.com/PilotShop/category/833
Hope this helps!!
Another problem I had with the Sporty's one was that there was no connection for an another antenna. I didn't exactly like because I didn't know if I would like a longer range antenna later on.
So yesterday I took my scanner to the closest biggest airport to me (KROA). I had a lot of fun with it hearing the planes on Clearance Delivery, Ground, Tower, and Approach. One interesting thing was that shortly after I got there, this guy calls in on Clearance and says that they are doing a FAA check ride and would like a few different approaches into ROA if possible. That was knida interesting.
So, for those in the future to see this, I would sure go with Dave's suggestion (as shown above) if you want a cheep scanner. If you are looking for something with a little bit more range and other features, this might or might not float your boat. It works for me just fine for what I want.
Below, I have attached the current ATIS that I recorded from the scanner when I was there yesterday.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions!
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You can't go wrong with Sportys transceivers. They have gotten great reviews notably in Aviation Consumer. I have an older one and have been happy with it. The newest one has the capability to track an ILS and GS. I think any of them are better if you install a hard wired antenna. I carry mine as a back up.
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If you're looking for a handheld scanner (receiver) that only has civilian airband, I recommend the Maycom AR108. It's really small, has 99 scanable memory channels plus full range search, detachable antenna, and 10 VHF weather channels (7 NOAA Weather Radio and 3 Weatheradio Canada). I got mine with free shipping too.