Icom IC r6???

dc99

Hi Is the Icom IC R6 any good?
Is it old tech now?
I’m kinda interested in radio scanning and was thinking of getting the Uniden Bearcat 125xlt or the Icom IC R6 (the dearer of the two...)
I know that there is digital radios scanners now available, but starting out I’m not gonna spend that on a hand held. (I am probably gonna get an SDR dongle for home for that?)
But anywho. I drive a lot and would use this for that time.

Is the Icom capabale of alpha tagging channels? Is it better that the Bearcat?

Thanks.

will27

Hi I have at least 5 different types of radio scanners and I seldom use them daily.
However, I would suggest that you buy yourself a Radio Tone Zello phone which is just like a radio.
These use the internet for communication and various shops in the UK sell them, just google Zello radios.
I have two radios. Radio tone 3 and radio tone 4. Radio tone 4 is the best but the other one is smaller both are handheld units. You can also buy a data card to insert into the radio and it can be used anywhere you have a phone signal. These radios are actually a mobile telephone and you can use it in this way.
Once you set up an account with zello. You will then be able to join different radio groups from around the world listen in or talk to them. These radios use wifi so no need for big antennas.
If you do not want to buy a radio then download the zello app and see if you like it.
Zello is always busy and many ham operators world wide use them and there are loads of interesting conversations to listen into.
I have talked to people from America NewZeland UK and other countries .
Do some research on Zello you can even set up your own channel. If you go on line with Zello one of my talk groups is Hope4u. Send me a request to join reminding me of board IE.
All the best.

dc99

Hi. Thanks for reply, but don't think that's what I'm looking for.

micko45

So i have had the bearcat and its a very basic scanner that does the job. Unfortunately these days there is not a lot to listen too. However if you have patience you still can find interesting stuff out there.

I would recommend you keep a watch on adverts and pick up a UBC 3500xlt. This is one of the best value hand held scanners you can get and I got one for 90 euro in perfect condition.

With the right cable you can hook up to pc and this really changes your scanning. You can leave it on scanning/recording to your pc using software called Freescan and browse the recordings at your leisure. Leaving it running for a full Friday night can make for some interesting listening on a Saturday.

The 3500xlt is capable of tagging/grouping/etc. And with the pc cable (20 euros) its a lot easier.

Best to get into HF ( Shortwave ) and check out the uncountable amount of frequencies to listen to and investigate some of the newer digital modes.

Get your HAM radio license and experiment with antennas and radios and start receiving some digital modes, there are satellites too, you can get weather data, etc. You don't need a license to receive of course and play with receiving antennas.

Learn about which antennas work best at different bands and conditions.

There are lots of Aeronautical transmissions.

Shortwave is highly active and will never die, there will always be analogue shortwave and there will always be digital on Shortwave, more and more in the future.

Check out my SDR's http://emeraldsdr1.ddns.net:8073/

http://emeraldsdr.ddns.net:8074/

Also check out sdr.hu for others,

Shortwave is truly fascinating !

icom

dc99 wrote: »

Hi Is the Icom IC R6 any good?
Is it old tech now?
I’m kinda interested in radio scanning and was thinking of getting the Uniden Bearcat 125xlt or the Icom IC R6 (the dearer of the two...)
I know that there is digital radios scanners now available, but starting out I’m not gonna spend that on a hand held. (I am probably gonna get an SDR dongle for home for that?)
But anywho. I drive a lot and would use this for that time.

Is the Icom capabale of alpha tagging channels? Is it better that the Bearcat?

Thanks.

I have the Icom R5, got it about 5 years ago. It's small and handy to carry around and take on holiday. Good coverage from 150KHz right up to 1.3 GHz.

It's very sensitive, and can be easy to overload if there are a lot of strong signals in the vicinity. You can Alpha Tag the memory channels. It wouldn't scan as fast as a Bearcat, but it's acceptable.

For driving I think one of the mobile Bearcat scanners with an external magmount antenna might suit you better and you can plug it into the 12 volt in the car, so no need to worry about recharging batteries etc. The volume on the R6 might be a bit low for comfortable listening in the car, unless it's electric and you don't have any engine noise !