Before you buy a scanner, consider what you want to do with it and ask yourself a few questions:

• Do you want a portable one for on the go or a basic one for home use?
• What frequencies do you want to be able to listen to with it?
• How much money do you want to spend on it?

REMARK: The larger the frequency range (higher number) of a scanner, the more frequencies it can listen to.

Analog and digital scanners

Analog scanners pick up analog (non-digital) communications. A keypad allows frequencies to be entered and stored in the scanner's memory. Many small towns and rural areas use analog radio transmissions.

Digital scanners have a longer reception range and clearer sound. Channels can be encrypted on digital scanners so that only authorized users hear the communication. Digital scanners can receive analog, trunked and digital communication and are more expensive to purchase than analog scanners.

Alpha Tagging function on a scanner

Alpha tags are short descriptions of up to 12 characters used to name frequencies and talk groups in radio communications.