Leah Rozhon writes in a message to All
 LR> If you could have one scanner, would it be a hand held or a 
 LR> base model, and why. 
Base.  They generally have better image rejection and overload specs.
  
 LR> What would be the best hand held from RS, not necessarily the 
 LR> most expensive? 
  
That depends on what you want to do with it.  For example, if you don't need 
800 MHz coverage and search, why pay for it?
  
 LR> Do the double conversion scanners made now eliminate the cell/cordless 
 LR> phone intrusion on police frequencies? The salesman tried to 
 LR> tell me that this was no longer a problem as the scanners now 
 LR> are made to not pick these up, but I don't think he understood 
 LR> exactly what I was asking. So is the triple conversion still 
 LR> the way to go to minimize this?
Triple conversion usually isn't needed if the RF stages are tightly tuned.  
But if they barn-door wide, get the triple conversion radio.
  
 LR> There is now a scanner that has no gaps in the frequency range. 
 LR> Is this desirable? How do they then prevent cell/cordless phone 
 LR> monitoring?
  
This would be a good thing if you were hunting Feds.  Otherwise you are 
paying for a feature you may never use.  As for preventing cordless phone 
listening - only the unenforcable ECPA law could do that...  But the cellular 
ranges are supposed to be blocked on any scanner, even the AOR radios...
  
 LR> Are there any other points to carefully consider when choosing 
 LR> a scanner? We know it has to include the 800 band. Anything 
 LR> else?
  
Listen to the scanner for good audio quality (low distortion and good volume 
output).  You can get mighty tired of listening to a distorted signal.  Look 
for a scanner that has specs in the .5 microvolt or lower range.  And look 
for the features that you figure that you will need.
 
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