Concerning _Scanners_, Leah Rozhon said to All in SCANRADIO:
 LR> If you could have one scanner, would it be a hand held or a base model,
 LR> and why.
Depends on what you're using it for.  For home/car use, a base model might 
actually be better, but if you plan on carrying it at all...
 LR> What would be the best hand held from RS, not necessarily the most
 LR> expensive?
The Pro-43.  Oh, you mean the one that Radio Shack still sells!  :-)
A few friends of mine highly recommend the Pro-51.  It's double conversion, 
800 MHz, 200 channels, and has a very fast scan speed.
I personally can't make any recommendations as I haven't been keeping up with 
developments.  Once I got my Pro-43 handheld and my Pro-2042 base/car, I just 
haven't been looking for any more scanners.
 LR> Do the double conversion scanners made now eliminate the cell/cordless
 LR> phone intrusion on police frequencies?  The salesman tried to tell me
 LR> that this was no longer a problem as the scanners now are made to not
 LR> pick these up, but I don't think he understood exactly what I was
 LR> asking.  So is the triple conversion still the way to go to minimize
 LR> this?
Any scanner designed for U.S. sale made within the last few years (double 
conversion or not) will not allow you to intentionally tune cellular signals. 
That may be what he thought you were asking.  To my knowledge, there are none 
designed to keep you from tuning cordless signals, in spite of claims by some 
that this is now illegal. (No flames, please!)
Triple conversion will, in every instance I've personally tried it, keep 
unwanted signals from intruding on your desired frequency.  Double conversion 
quite simply won't.  In spite of any claim a Radio Shack or other dealer 
might make that they don't sell cellular-capable scanners, just about every 
double conversion 800 MHz scanner I've had my hands on will pick up cellular 
images and I imagine they would pick up cordless images if the signal was 
nearby.
 LR> There is now a scanner that has no gaps in the frequency range.  Is this
 LR> desirable?  How do they then prevent cell/cordless phone monitoring?
If designed for sale in the U.S., then in spite of any "no gap" claim, they 
will not cover the cellular frequencies.  Cordless phone monitoring is 
prevented by your neighbors selling theirs when they realize you have a 
scanner.  :-)
 LR> Are there any other points to carefully consider when choosing a
 LR> scanner?  We know it has to include the 800 band.  Anything else?
I assume you've got signals in the 800 MHz band that you want to listen to. 
Otherwise, don't spend money just for that.  Other factors include number of 
channels, search features, and scan speed.  Generally speaking, more is 
better. But if, for instance, all you want to do is listen to a dozen set 
frequencies, anything more than that is a waste of money.
... "Don't let them tell you you're crazy, Leah.  You're as sane as I am."
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