Scanner thoughts...

[Southern6482]

Well, the old Bearcat bit the dust....

Time for something new...

What do you all think is the best portable scanner out there?  Battery life/recharge is a must.  Don't really fill one up with a ton of frequencies...  Would prefer one that picks up more than a mile! HAHA. 

[chipallen16]

I've got a Yaesu FT-270R. It's a little hard to program, but the manual is very clear and makes it much easier. Range is wonderful with a smileyantennas.com 5/8 slim duck antenna. The antenna needs an SMA female end to connect to the radio.

I love it, volume is good, it's very programmable yet works well with a couple of channels, and battery life goes for days. I'd recommend it (check out the Ham Radio Outlet for pricing and such).

-Chip 

[Ptrainman]

I used a Icom IC-V80 before I switched to Motorolas. I had good range and great battery life. It takes a BNC antenna connector. Universal Radio is where I got mine and I have gotten several other things from them. Here is the link to the V80 at Universal: http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/4380.html
As for antennas, the stock one is pretty good. I have switched to Laird EXH-160s on all my Motorola handhelds. They are RR band tuned 1/4 wave antennas and I see a difference over the stock Moto antennas. They make a BNC one nut finding it may be a different story. The BNC one is a EXH160BN.


Paul