Message posted by Joerg (Webmaster) on July 26, 2009 at 10:53:58 PST:

Welcome to the Dreamland Resort discussion forum. Probably the most important feature to look for in a scanner (for our purposes) is that it covers the mil. air band from 225 to 400 MHz. That is the frequency range used by pilots and controllers during Red Flag air exercises etc. Good sensitivity and ease of use and programming are also important. Most newer scanners can be programmed with a PC software and an adapter cable.

The three scanners I use are: Icom IC-R20, Uniden BCD396T and Yupiteru MVT-7100. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. If I had to pick one, it would probably be the BCD-396T. It is not quite as sensitive as the other two in certain bands, but that can be an advantage in urban areas. Especially my MVT-7100 tends to overload and go "deaf" in the vicinity of strong transmitter towers in Las Vegas. The main advantage of the BCD-396T is that it can decode "trunked" systems frequently used by law enforcement and also at Nellis and many other bases. It is compact, very easy to program (with the PC software), allows somewhat meaningful frequency labels and I personally find it very intuitive to use.

As with all portable scanners, you can get much better range with an aftermarket antenna. I use the Diamond RH-77 in the field most of the time. You can find it for about $25 on Ebay.

I hope this helps. I know this can be a bit confusing. We are all here to help.

In Reply to: A good receiver? posted by spdorje on July 26, 2009 at 9:43:11 PST:

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