lone geep
On that note, what are some suggestions for good radio scanners?
Depends on where you live and what you want to do with it.
If all you want to listen to is railroad traffic, a decent analog scanner will do just fine, although you may want to look into upgrading the antenna (the usual weak spot). With the exception of EOT devices, almost all railroad comms are in the 160-161 MHz range. There are those who suggest "go big or go home." I tend to suggest that you buy the best scanner you can afford...
The question "base/mobile or handheld" is best answered by how you'll be using it. If you watch a distance from your vehicle, a handheld (pocket) scanner would be best.
The next hurdle is whether you listen to local emergency services or other services. You'll need to know what frequencies they use and get a scanner that includes those.
And the next hurdle, if you listen to local emergency services is digital/trunking. You'll have to learn how to set up your scanner with the frequencies being used as well as talkgroups if the system is trunked.
The railroads aren't headed to digital in the immediate future, although they may well go there eventually. The downside there is that there have been suggestions that the railroads may go with NXDN. Since I haven't shopped for scanners lately, I don't know if there are any that handle NXDN.
An option some folks go to is to pick up a transceiver (walkie talkie) and program it for the desired frequencies. The danger is that they might also set up transmit frequencies, and transmitting on a frequency you aren't authorized to use can get expensive if the FCC gets involved...
Be sure you are aware of local/state laws regarding scanners, especially in vehicles.
