Digital trunking scanners are a great way to keep tabs on what is going on in the neighborhood. A trunking scanner allows the user to monitor and follow police, fire, and emergency medical service transmissions in a trunk radio system. There is no need to wait until the six o’clock news to find out the reason behind those sirens. A trunking scanner is the only way to follow a trunk radio system.
Some digital trunking scanners are handheld and portable. A portable trunking scanner is great for anyone who wants or needs to be able to monitor the airwaves at all times. Many journalists rely on trunking scanners to track potential stories, but these portable scanners are also popular amongst groups of casual scanner enthusiasts and hobbyists.
Despite their small size, many digital trunking scanners offer the same range and control as their larger, home-use, counterparts. Most of these trunking scanners will cover almost the entire range of frequencies, from 25 MHz to 1.3 GHz. Of course, trunking scanners cannot monitor cell phone conversations as such activity is a violation of federal law.
Portable trunking scanners that also serve as radios are invaluable tools for the leaders of certain operations. These scanners allow the user to not only monitor particular talk groups and individual user IDs, but also to track individual radios. With this type of scanner/radio it is possible to track individual transmissions.
When purchasing a hand-held trunking scanner, be sure to research battery life, as a low battery life essentially renders this type of scanner useless. Likewise, make sure the scanner has a built-in digital decoder. Otherwise, an external decoder will need to be purchased. All of this information should be explained in the spec sections of each scanner. Sometimes it is worth it to pay a bit more for the sake of a good scanner.