parnass@ihu1h.UUCP (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (01/16/86)
x Scanner Survey: Regency Bob Parnass, AJ9S K500: Nice wood-like cabinet. Discontinued 40 channel model with every feature Regency could dream of in one scanner, except aircraft band. Idle tone bypass feature for mobile phone stations works about 50% of the time. Weather alert feature. Service Search in several banks. Search and Store facility not implemented as well as BC250, but better than none. Built in clock when radio off or in manual mode. Can be programmed out of band. Reasonable performance, but sensitivity could be better. Spring contacts on membrane keyboard may need soldering after prolonged use. K100: Bare bones version of the K500. 10 channels, no priority feature. Same wood-like cabinet and reasonable performance as K500. Spring contacts on membrane keyboard may need soldering after prolonged use. M400: 30 channel replacement for K500, but now discontin- ued. Service Search, but no aircraft. Easily programmable out of band. Built in clock when radio off or in manual mode. Backlighted keyboard good for night viewing and mobile use but generates RFI into nearby SW receivers. A favorite. MX3000: Current, 30 channel replacement for M400, but basic features only. Nice lighted keyboard, but may cause RFI into nearby SW receivers. Easily programmable out of band, but no aircraft. All 30 channels are in a single bank, and lack of direct channel access make this model more difficult to operate. Good first scanner, and the most scanner for the money ($180 typical discount price). M100: Discontinued 10 channel unit. Same as MX3000 except different color and fewer channels. Nice lighted keyboard, but may cause RFI into nearby SW receivers. HX1000: Good, fairly rugged, 30 channel handheld syn- thesized unit. Generous out of band coverage but no AM air- craft coverage. Built by Azden. Very sensitive on UHF, but annoying audio hiss leaks through speaker when squelched. Belt clip chintzy, but can be directly replaced with better clip from Kenwood TR2600A. Like the MX3000, all 30 channels are in a single bank, and lack of direct channel access make this model more difficult to operate. Low discount price makes this best choice for programmable portable. HX650/H604: 6 channel crystal portable. Likely made by Sanyo. Same as Fannon and Bearcat Thin Scan units, (except that Bearcat has 10.8 MHz IF frequency, and is harder to get crystals for), but scans faster. Small size and common cry- stals (available at Radio Shack), make this 1st choice for bare bones portable scanner. -- =============================================================================== Bob Parnass, Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihu1h!parnass - (312)979-5414