RadioShack PRO-96 5500-Channel Digital Handheld Scanner Review

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(More customer reviews)This is my first "real" scanner. Received as a gift. I spent the first two days trying to figure out how to program it! There is a lot to this scanner. Be prepared to put some time into programming it. The payoff is worth it.
Let's talk about hardware first. Out of the box, the scanner comes with a standard antenna. It has decent pickup of VHF, UHF, and 100-1300Mhz ranges. The unit comes with a 120page manual, two battery holders (one for rechargeables, one for standard), and the antenna. That's it. No AC adapter. No car adapter. No carrying case.
You will want both of the adapters. This unit eats 4 x AA batteries every few days. I'm on my second set in a week of heavy use. What is worse is that the manual doesn't provide specific part numbers. The RadioShack website doesn't even list this scanner anymore either. Still, considering the alternative if feeding batteries every few days, hunting down the adapters is worth it.
The scanner can follow a vast number of frequencies and channels. Trunked systems, Motorola Analog, Motorola Digital, APCO-25 trunking systems, EDACS trunking, VHF and UHF trunks, and 800Mhz splinter systems are just a few of the systems this scanner can track. You can also listen to CB, Ham radio, TV channels, Aircraft frequencies, railroads, and more. The Pro-96 can store up to 500 channels in 10 storage banks of 50 channels each. For trunking systems, you can store up to 1500 trunk IDs.
To give you an idea of how much space that is, I have 6 different county systems in my scanner (Northern VA, DC, PG County MD) with over 250 trunk IDs plus most of the Commonwealth of Virginia (another 100 frequencies) plus most of known Washington DC frequencies for Federal and local and still have another 300 or so open channels. It's a HUGE number.
I've listened to local police, fire and rescue, state police, water/sewer dept, railroad engineers, one airplane, a Medical Evac helicopter, a taxi company, several department stores, multiple weather channels, a CB channel (19), and some HAM radio operators (I think).
I've heard about a car on fire on an Interstate, a high-speed pursuit involving two counties and the state police, a robbery in progress, multiple traffic stops and domestic incidents, multiple fires, and more.
Unfortunately, programing those banks using the keypad is a time-consuming and tedious process. I highly recommend you get ARC96 software (google it) and the RadioShack USB cable. The ARC96 software handles all the features of your Pro-96 easily with point-click-program ease.
I'm having an absolute blast with mine. It rides shotgun in my car whenever I am driving. Thanks to this scanner, I avoided several accidents and major traffic backups.
Other misc features:
1) a backlight;
2) one button weather reports;
3) keylock;
4) a big ole belt clip; and
5) pre-programmed frequencies to get you started;
The scanner isn't for the person who wants to just listen to local police channels out of the box -- but if you put some time into it, this scanner will provide weeks/months/years of entertainment.


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