Handheld Radio Frequencies Question

[RFBURN26]

If money isn't much of an object...
http://www.optoelectronics.com/xplorer.htm

I do like the scouts, they are most badass when you use them with a computer controller and the software. But if you want to save some dough you can do something similar with an AR8200 + serial cable + software, and at the end of the day you still have an extremely capable scanner. The 8200 will run you close to $300 on ebay, but so will the scout/xplorer, and you still wont have an actual scanner.

www.butel.nl/products/ar8200/8200soft.html

That link will take you to the software.


What freq bands are you trying to mess with exactly? Because if you know what you're going for you could make you life a hell of a lot cheaper and easier. I've found some old school AR 2002's on ebay for as little as $50 that can cover 25-550mhz, 800-1300mhz. Good enough for government work.


RFBURN

[immabadspellor_]

I do like the scouts, they are most badass when you use them with a computer controller and the software. But if you want to save some dough you can do something similar with an AR8200 + serial cable + software, and at the end of the day you still have an extremely capable scanner. The 8200 will run you close to $300 on ebay, but so will the scout/xplorer, and you still wont have an actual scanner.

No doubt, AOR makes good stuff, the AR8200 being no exception but I would think it would be quite difficult to carry around the scanner plus a computer to use the software to find frequencies.  It's a lot easier to just take the Xplorer and hook an earbud up to it and walk around big box stores, the mall or wherever and let it log the frequencies, DCS/CTCSS tones, etc.  Plus, you don't have to have an idea of what frequency they're using since it scans DC to daylight in under 2 seconds.  You say getting the AR8200 saves you from getting a scanner, I'd say why bother even getting a scanner?  If your ultimate goal is "messing" with them, then you're going to need a radio capable of transmitting there.  Get a VX-7 or something and be done with it.  Besides, the VX-7 has a built in "Channel Counter" feature that will lock onto nearby strong signals as long as you can guess the frequency within 5MHz, 25MHz, 100MHz or something like that, with the larger swaths requiring stronger signals. 

There are other options too like a real spectrum analyzer or a software defined radio, but for portability it'd be hard to beat the functionality of an Xplorer and a good transceiver combination.

[RFBURN26]

What I was trying to get across was that the scout/explorer is excellent at what is does, sniffing freqs, but at the end of the day all you know is that there is power on a freq (not to knock on the scout, I use them and like them). Most environments are filled with so much bullshit though that it's not enough. I was just saying that with the right combination  of hardware and software, you can still have the capabilities of the scout plus a little more, without forking over the extra $300.

Also, why for over the $200+ for a brand new VX-7 when you could pick up and modify a FT-50 for half the money? I'm all about getting the best gear available, but to buy everything on my wish-list would cost me literally tens of thousands. I look at it the same way I look at tools, If I have something that can do the job, I can't justify buying another tool for the same purpose, even if it is a little better.

[immabadspellor_]

The xplorer and the scout are two very different animals.  The xplorer does much more than tell you if "there is power on a freq".  It has a speaker, so it does actually receive and demodulate FM signals.  It's a near field test receiver, not a frequency counter.  Makes it really easy to know if you've got the correct signal or not.  Not to mention it decodes, displays and records DCS, CTCSS, LTR and DTMF instantly.  As far as the bullshit is concerned, you can have it set to ignore certain ranges, and a $10 FM trap (88-108) takes care of broadcast stuff or its images from making problems.  Of course all of this comes at a cost so if you're just looking to play it's probably not a wise investment. 

Who says you have to get a brand new VX-7?  I personally like the VX-7 because of the wider receive and the 2 extra transmit bands.  The Channel Counter feature is just icing on the cake.  Not everyone will have a use for the extra capabilities, but I do.  To borrow your analogy, if I can find a multitool that will do the job, why would I spend extra in the long run to buy the individual tools?  I would just end up with more tools in the toolbox and more money out of my pocket.  Dozens of models will work, not just a VX-7 or an FT-50.  You could get an old Bearcat from Value Village for $10 or a 20 year old dual band HT off of eBay for $40.  That'll do the job for most analog walkie talkies businesses tend to use.