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GETTING A SCANNER

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So you want to get your scanner there are a few things that you need to check first to make sure that you can hear what you want to hear. Make sure your scanner is a 800MHz Trunking scanner as this will give you the best experience now a days. It seems we have moved away from conventional frequencies and moved into trunking frequencies. This is explained in another part of the stie.


If you do not yet have a scanner then you need to purchase one you can buy the same one I use the RadioShack Pro-96 or Pro-2096. They are really the same scanner just one is hand held and the other is a mobile/base scanner both are about $500. I ended up getting both of them one for my truck and one for this site.


The first thing to do is locate your user manual for your scanner. If you do not have it simply go to Google and search for your scanner by manufacturer and model. (RadioShack Pro-96 User Manual) This will produce several results but you should be able to locate your manual if not adjust the search maybe try RadioShack Pro-96. If all else fails e-mail me at scanner@htd.net and I'll do my best to assit you.


Next we need to make sure your scanner can hear what you want to hear. For example Fauquier County, Virginia is a Motorola Type II system which is a 800MHz Trunking System. The Pro-96 or Pro-2096 is a Digital 800MHz Trunking scanner so this will work. (there are several 800MHz Trunking scanners out there so look around)


If you are looking for another place on earth there is only one spot to locate you frequencies. The place to find any frequency anywhere in the world is Radio Reference. Look up the location by Country, State, County etc site is very impressive. Here you will notice a bunch of frequencies that your particular area uses and it should tell you what type of system it is run on and what they are for.


I ended up purchasing access to the database which lets you download the frequencies to your computer. This was at the low cost of $30 per year. Plus your supporting the Radio Reference database maintenance. Let's face it they designed a wonderful site.


Now programming your scanner depends on what type it is but we will continue to use the RadioShack Pro-96 scanner as an example. I ended up downloading a small program called Win96 again at the low cost of $30 and a USB Programming Cable also for $30.


(Other Scanners: You can find a USB to 9-Pin Serial connecter USB to Serial/PDA Converter Cable maybe you are programing more than one scanner with a 9-pin connection try the FTDI Chip with TX/RX LED USB 4 Port Serial DB-9 RS-232 Adapters for Vista and More VERY COOL but see your manual for the type of cable you will need if it will accept a cable, you also need to find software to allow you to configure it using that cable. Expect to use several different programs until you find the one that works best.)