Looking to purchase a new scanner for my brother

[Victoria]

Hi.

Ive just joined and would like your advice if possible?

I asked my brother what he would like for his 40th birthday and he would like me to buy him a scanner.
I have a budget of upto £100 but I'm not sure if this is enough or what to look for?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks.

Vicky x

[Throbber]

Hey there Vicky,

Not easy to give advice love as scanning is a huge field !!!!!!, between scanners and antennas there are are thousands to pick from depending on budget and of interest in the hobby.
With a £100 i would go for a HANDHELD scanner, so there's no problem trying to find and site a homebase antenna, your brother can charge it up and go anywhere to listen to broadcasts, obviously the higher the ground the better.
What scanner to get is again going to be a big problem, every one of us has they own preference on what works best, and of course what do you think bruv wants to listen to ?, aircraft, digital again a big big subject.
For a starter into the hobby i would think that being able to listen to a lot of signals would be best so go for a scanner that will cover "AIRBAND" that's frequencies between 108 and 137 Mghz, most radio shops will clearly state a radio capable of Airband love.

Basically Vicky, do some research on the Ol Google and find one that fits your budget, don't fall for the "More you spend the better the kit" this is not always true.
With a £100 to spend have a look at the UBC75XLT Uniden Bearcat Radio Scanner, it covers quite a huge range of frequencies and has 300 channel memory so your brother can save the channels he here's, don't worry about being able to use it with a PC, all this does is make it easier to save loads of channels at once, thats NOT what scanning is about in my view, it's about listening to signals out there.

Sorry the post is a bit long winded, but as i say, it's a huge field to get into, no doubt others on here will be able to give you their views.

Throbber

[m0lsx]

Welcome to the forum. Basically I would say as above.
Are you buying for a specific reason? My sister brought her husband a scanner as he likes standing at the end of airport runways & because ships pass within a few hundred yards of their home.
Knowing what interests him will help us give the best advice.

[Victoria]

Hi.

Thanks for your advice both of you

I shall ask him what he intends to 'scan' with it and report back!

Vicky x

[Scan125]

Would just add as you have a nominal £100 budget if you could get your/his parents/family to chip in another £30 then the better UBC125XLT scanner will be in reach.

If your brother is into/would like full computer control over the scanner then the UBC125XLT would be the better option, especially when sitting at home as opposed to being "out and about".

Buying radio kit for other people is a very difficult task and you are probably better off saying "happy B'Day bro. Here is £100 towards the birthday present of your choice"!

[Minus1]

The UBC75 and the UBC125 are both a good starting scanners.
The big difference between the two is the lack of the UHF airband on the 75.
Though Band 3 is also omitted (mostly used by buses in some ares)

Depends on whether your brother wants to listen to military aircraft and navy ships, which may depend on where he lives …

Check out http://www.milscanners.org for frequencies.

[Six of Nine]

The UBC75 and the UBC125 are both a good starting scanners.
The big difference between the two is the lack of the UHF airband on the 75.
Though Band 3 is also omitted (mostly used by buses in some ares)

The 75 lacks also the channels alpha tagging (it would be very annoying if one stores hundreds of channels) and, above all,
it lacks the Close Call Hits Bank: IMNSHO this is the biggest con.
I consider the UBC125XLT the most cost-effective scanner in the low-end price range.
I own a BCD436HP too, and still use the 125 as a complement, so to speak.

[Shambles]

Just moving off the main topic,anyone know where I can get can an upto date version of the latest frequences

[m0lsx]

Just moving off the main topic,anyone know where I can get can an upto date version of the latest frequences

Maybe, but for what?
Kimmy's database which is sold via a link on this site is up to date & sold as either a national or a local version. But if you only want say marine or air band. Then maybe someone here can help.