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Milcom Receiving Equipment

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Receivers/Scanners

Mini Handhelds

Care should be used when connecting any large antenna to these handhelds. Receivers in this range will likely overload, as their front ends simply can't handle the amount of RF such antennas may deliver. They are most useful in airshows, or if a base is geographically close to the user. A good set of earphones is strongly recommended.

Handhelds (full size)

  • Note 1 Programming UHF military air frequencies in the PRO-96 is only possible using Win96. In addition, sensitivity may not be optimum because the receiver was not designed for it. It's operation is otherwise normal in all other respects.
  • Note 2 In the November 2004 edition of Monitoring Times magazine, in the 'Scanner Equipment' column, author Bob Parnass AJ9S noted a pronounced loss of sensitivity in the 280-295 Mhz range.
  • Note 3 Icom receivers typically have a slow scan rate. Scanning large lists of frequencies effectively may not be possible. Software such as Radiomax may increase the available scan rate.
  • Note 4 Computer control and other logging functions using RS/GRE radios is not possible. Only up/download operations are supported.
  • Note 5 These scanners are capable of decoding the new 380 Mhz unencrypted P25 trunk systems being implemented at federal and military facilities

Base/Mobile

  • Note 1 Programming UHF military air frequencies in the PRO-2096 is only possible using Win96. In addition, sensitivity may not be optimum because the receiver was not designed for it. It's operation is otherwise normal in all other respects.
  • Note 2 The BC895XLT cannot receive the 138-144 mhz range in AM mode. The BC898T is capable of this operation
  • Note 3 Icom receivers typically have a slow scan rate. Scanning large lists of frequencies effectively may not be possible. Software such as Radiomax may increase the available scan rate.
  • Note 4 Computer control and other logging functions using RS/GRE radios is not possible. Only up/download operations are supported.
  • Note 5 The PRO-2052 can be forced into AM mode in the VHF land mobile band (138-144 Mhz); a circuit modification is required
  • Note 6 These scanners are capable of decoding the new 380 Mhz unencrypted P25 trunk systems being implemented at federal and military facilities

Computer Controlled Receivers



Other Sources of Reviews

Antennas

  • See our Scanner Antennas page for a large number of links.
  • Picking the right coax for your setup is very important. As you go higher in frequency, the loss from a cheap cable can be significant. Here's a good page on the subject.

Filters

For those living in urban areas, putting up a good antenna (with the proper coax) can cause overloading. Sometimes this overloading shows up as pagers and other unwanted signals showing up in places where you don't want to hear them. These links show a few manufacturers that make filters for specific problem areas of the spectrum;

Preamps/Splitters

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