Now, another choice - BC780XLT or Ham radio?

Post by **Code3Response** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 8:59 pm

I figure if Im gonna be spending like $350 on a SCANNER, should I just get a dual band HAM mobile thats modified out of band with an alphanumeric display so i have the capability to transmit at times (sometimes needed from home) or should stick with the 780? If you think I should go for HAM, what model would you choose that has the alpha head, and hopefully remote mount? Thanks! Anyone have a 780 for sale?

Dale Earnhardt · Post by **Dale Earnhardt** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 10:46 pm

You, wont be disappointed on the BC780, its a great scanner, I love it!!!!!!, espically alpha on there, and the zones too, its great, espically the trunking too, which can do motorola, edacs, and LTR, its to good, and had PL decoding, its a goood deal for your money, well worth spending.

That is just my thought, and my usuage out of it, its very great to use, and audio is great too.

Astro_Saber · Post by **Astro_Saber** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 10:50 pm

and you should know a modified out of band radio will get you in trouble if caught with it.

techie · Post by **techie** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 11:08 pm

There is no law against modifying a radio to
receive (or even transmit) out of band.

It is against the law to transmit on frequencies that you are not authorized to use.

It is against the law to use a modified ham radio for services other than ham, MARS, or CAP. (with appropriate authorization fro MARS/CAP)

Returning to the topic, some ham rigs will work very well as general coverage receivers, or even as scanners for conventional systems.

You won't find trunking capability in ham rigs, and most vhf/uhf rigs don't cover loband very well (if at all).

Also, most ham rigs have a limited number of memories, so if you want to scan a lot of channels, a real scanner works much better.

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Fri Mar 08, 2002 12:27 am

I have the Amateur ICOM 2800H Dual Band Mobile VHF/UHF with remote head color LCD display($500 range). Things I like about it are: alpha-numeric tags, bright display at night(washes out during the day), remote head mounting, 100 memories per band, computer programming, backlit mic. & dual band receive.

It has the capability for the extended receive but my experience has been the receive away from the Ham Bands is loaded with images and poor selectivity. I too thought this would make a neat out of band receiver in addition to being a Ham Transceiver but have been disappointed in that regard.

This is no different than other Ham ICOM's Kenwoods I have owned. The RX-preselector/Front-end can only cover so much bandwidth.

I also live in a large city loaded with RF. On the other hand this ICOM works great with no burps or other interference in the Ham Bands as this was what it was designed for.

The main offenders out of band seem to be VHF/UHF Paging and the TV Aural/Video carriers. I have had the same problem with my Kenwood VHF/UHF Mobiles as well on the RX out of band.

Would be nice to have it all in one box but there are tradeoffs.......

Currently, the 780XLT looks like the way to go with a mobile scanner. Lots of features in this model.

Eddie
N4UMJ

Post by Pj » Fri Mar 08, 2002 3:03 am

I too have the 2800. I find that a really good and grounded antenna makes a difference on rejecting intermod. Other than that, I love it.

And yes, it has been modified and works great through the entire band

Donnie5063 · Post by **Donnie5063** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 12:19 am

I just bought a BC780XLT scanner w/WINSCAN780 and I Love It. I am putting up a new All band outdoor antenna tomorrow but even with the standard antenna it picks up great hear for me, my buddy gave me the other antenna thats why im gonna use it. I also have a Yaesu FT-7100M Dual band mobile that is modified over to all the TX and RX and it has been doing good for me also it does VHF UHF and RX's 900mhz. If I had to pick between the two it would be a hard choice I would have to think alot on that one.

Also I got the BC780XLT with extras and all for $342 and the Yaesu FT-7100M on sale for $312

Have a nice day

N4UMJ · Post by **N4UMJ** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 12:47 am

Well.....I broke down at the local Hamfest yesterday in Charlotte NC and purchased the BC780XLT.

So far I am really, really impressed! This thing has 5 lines of info. on the LCD display. And the amber backlit keypad and display are begging to go mobile! This radio is really made for the mobile environment.

My previous trunking scanner was an BC895XLT and it did have it's strong points including a nicely laid, spaced out front panel. The 780 package was larger and heavier than I expected but still very compact. There must be alot of electronics under the covers.

I am also going to buy the software to run it with but have'nt made up my mind on the choice. I am leaning towards Scancat as that was rated tops in the Dec. Monitoring Times Review. Also the dealer I bought the 780 from also highly recommended it.(He had sold out)

As for the Winscan780 let us all know how it works out. I have been reading all over the internet how that Winscan has some real problems and the maker of it has yet to resolve them. Maybe the software problems have been fixed and the negative info. just keeps resurfacing.

Still reading the manual........

Ed
N4UMJ

raymond345 · Post by **raymond345** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 3:13 am

Hi there from CAnada.
It is not legal to transmit out of band on
canadian ham radio. (FCC)Industry Canada
stated this.The reason is that you do not
have in writing the same specs for ham as
commercial rigs.If you can see the freq. and see modulation then use it. Commercial has to
meet tough guidelines.Some radios like radioshack 242 mobile are bad out of band.
The Yeasu 2600 mobile with 175 ch. and alpha tags are 100% great out of band.
P.S. In an emergency ,in Canada you can use any freq.to transmit on. Go figure.

My two pennies from Canada Raymond

raymond345 · Post by **raymond345** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 3:15 am

In Canada

If a ham operator has the advance
radio cert. then they are allowed to
use commercial radio gear on the ham
bands. Raymond