I have 800 bux to blow on a scanner. I would like a handheld... Which
one should I get? I was leaning torwards the AOR... You opinions?

I have 800 bux to blow on a scanner. I would like a handheld... Which
one should I get? I was leaning torwards the AOR... You opinions?

$800?!? Why limit yourself to just one. Buy some others to keep it
company ...

First you should try to get an idea of what types of signals you can monitor
in your area. For instance, if your local police use an encrypted digital
system, no scanner will allow you to monitor them. If they use a
conventional analog trunked system, then I would recommend a trunk-tracking
scanner, like the PRO-94 or PRO-95. If you have a lot of unencrypted
digital (APCO-25) systems around you, then a digital-capable scanner like
the PRO-96 (which is also a trunk-tracking scanner) might be the best
choice. Of course, if you're in an area where they don't use digital or
trunking, then anything will do, and you can pocket most of that $800.

The AOR is a fine unit, but it is way overkill for most conventional
scanning. If you think you might get interested in HF and shortwave
listening, then you should consider a different type of unit altogether,
since the HF performance of the AOR (and pretty much any handheld HF-capable
receiver) will not be that great compared to most SW receivers, although for
standard SW broadcast, it should do just fine. Moreover, you probably will
never have a need for receiving anything over 1.3 GHz, since most, if not
all, of that uses digital or other specialized modes. In fact, I own an AOR
8600MkII, and I'm trying to figure out why they even sell analog-only
receivers that go as high as 3 GHz. On the other hand, maybe I'm just
underinformed about what's available to listen to above 1.3 GHz.

- Doug


"Talmadge" wrote in message
...
I have 800 bux to blow on a scanner. I would like a handheld... Which
one should I get? I was leaning torwards the AOR... You opinions?