Dear List,
Seeking advise on which mobile programable scanner to buy for railfanning.
Thank you in advance
John
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You don't need anything fancy, fortunately. For handhelds, I use Bearcat 100XLT, 200XLT/205XLT, but they are older models that will need the 6 cells in the battery packs replaced if it hasn't been done recently. Other similar, even simpler models for home or car use are 145XLT desktop and 560XLT base/mobile, which are very easy to program and have great sensitivity & audio.
Contemporary analog scanners would be the BC355N base/mobile, BC365CRS desktop, BC125AT handheld, all can be had for around $100 & less. The newer scanners have faster scan speeds and more search / service search options at the expense of complexity.
It is slow on scan, but a UV5R two way radio does do the job. About $25.00. Another $15.00 for programing cable. Chirp can program it. It can transmit, so do not if you do not have a license.
I use a Uniden HomePatrol-II digital touch screen base/mobile. $400+ but state of the art.
Dominic Mazoch posted:It is slow on scan, but a UV5R two way radio does do the job. About $25.00. Another $15.00 for programing cable. Chirp can program it. It can transmit, so do not if you do not have a license.
The UV5R is OK but has too many birdies that hang up the scanning and although it can be programmed manually, it is not at all intuitive. The extended life battery is excellent, and there are many available accessory antennas.
The transmit function can be turned off in programming with ChiRP and I recommend you do so.
