Bruce W.1 wrote:

What's a good simple scanner for VHF and UHF?

Let me clarify that. I used to have a Radio Shack Pro 2006 scanner.
Whenever I got around to using it I couldn't figure it out and had to
read the manual again.

I'd like to be able to turn it on and just enter a frequency, period. A
tuning knob for the VFO would be nice too, so I could easily search
around. This feature is more common on a communications receiver, which
is maybe what I need. But I don't see any reason why a scanner couldn't
have a knob too.

It doesn't need to have a gazillion memories, ten would be fine. And it
would be nice if the memories could be labelled (alphabetic). It should
not have an internal lithium battery (for the memory) that dies every
five years, unless it's easily replaced (not soldered on to the circuit
board).

And lastly, it doesn't need to be a new current model. It could be
twenty years old, so long as it has a good solid circuits.

Does anyone have recommendations?

Thanks for your help.

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"Simple" is the key word here. Depends on what you mean when you say you
want a "simple" scanner. When you say "simple" and it can be twenty years
old, do you mean cheap? If so, don't bother reading anymore.

How about an Icom IC-R8500? It'll do everything you're asking for. That's
what I use. Looking for anything else?

It has a direct entry key pad--that enables you to directly enter a
frequency. I use this all the time. It also has a tuning knob. So once
you enter that frequency directly, you can tune around. It's also very
easy to change how fast you want to tune around. Steps are from 10 Hz to 1
Mhz.

Memory? Memory is cheap these days. It has 1000. 20 banks of 40 memory
channels each. Plus 20 scan edges and a priority channel. I use three
banks. Each bank has a set of frequencies in it grouped the way I want
them. Sure, it has a lot of memory... doesn't mean you have to use them
all. By default, it looks like it only has 40 memory channels.

Each memory channel can be labeled with 8 alphanumeric characters. Each
bank can be labeled with 8 alphanumeric characters. I don't use this but I
can see where it would come in handy sometimes. I like to see the
frequency since I don't monitor too many.

Solid circuits? The sensitivity numbers aren't as good as some of the
top-of-the-line receivers I've looked at, but they're better than most
Radio Shack numbers I've seen. Plus, the numbers by themselves are not
complete enough to really compare with other receivers. Personally, I
think it's the best scanner on the planet. I can't think of anything I
can't make it do. I'd like to hear if anybody else has found an
application that this scanner cannot fulfill.

Battery? It does not have one. It uses EEPROM. No need for a battery.

Oh, it does HF also. Lots of neat stuff to listen to on HF. 100 Khz to
832.99999 Mhz, 849.00001 Mhz - 868.99999 Mhz, and 894.00001 Mhz -
1999.99999 Mhz. (Breaks in coverage are Cell Phone frequencies.)

Rumor is, move some surface mount diodes around and it could be 100 Khz -
1999.99999 Mhz. But I have a feeling that it's just a rumor.

Did I mention I personally think this is the best scanner on the planet?
But that's just me. One key point people tend to forget is how important
your antenna is. It's easy to show that an "el-cheapo" scanner can
out-perform a more refined, more expensive scanner depending on where you
put the bent coat hanger and the ground-plane or yagi up 100 feet.

Guy