* In a message to John Gardner on 08-24-97, BUD JAMISON said the following:
BJ> -> Radio Shack offers a 300 channel trunk tracker hand-held scanner in
BJ> -> their 1998 catalog. The part number is 20-520 with a price of $299.99
BJ> -> and there is a leather carrying case available for $19.99. It
BJ> -> appears to be a clone of the BC-235 scanner sold by Uniden.
BJ> 
BJ> It IS a clone.
        Depends on what you mean by clone.  Odds are, it comes off the
        same assembly line, with the only difference being which mask
        is used to apply the labels to its face.
BJ> -> According to the description in catalog, the TT uses a Ni-Cad
BJ> -> rechargable "battery pack". No salesman in the store could explain if
BJ> -> the word "battery pack" was referring to a Sealed pack of batteries
BJ> -> vs. individual AA batteries.  Up to this point Radio Shack has
BJ> -> always used individual AA batteries in all the hand-held scanners I
BJ> -> have seen.
BJ> 
BJ> It's the Uniden 5 AA NiCad pack, in a heatshrinked 'sleeve'.  RS only
BJ> gives you one battery pack, Uniden gives you 2, PLUS an extra charger
BJ> that allows you to charge both packs at the same time.  RS charges $35
BJ> for additional packs.
        If you *ever* need more detailed information on a product than
        the store can give you, you can ask for them to get you more
        detailed information and specification sheets by faxback, or
        you can call 1-800-THE-SHACK, get the faxback document number
        for the information you need, then call our faxback server at
        1-800-323-6586 and request the document(s) (up to 5) you need.
        They will be faxed to you free of charge, with Radio Shack
        even paying for the call.
        Interesting.  I haven't even got the product info sheets on
        this one yet, but it looks nice.  Covers VHF Air, Lo, & Hi,
        UHF, and (of course) 800MHz.  It uses triple conversion, has a
        band & service search, scans at 50 ch/sec, and searches at up
        to 300 steps/sec.  It's the only RS handheld that comes with a
        NiCd battery & AC adaptor/charger.  The DC adaptor/charger is
        $6.99, & is a regular stock item.  With these extras, and
        trunk tracking, it ends up costing $20 more than the 200
        channel model with no batteries, no adaptor, & no trunk
        tracking.  FYI, I work for Radio Shack, but unless you come
        see me personally, I have no stake in your purchase of this
        product, nor am I a spokesman for Radio Shack, Tandy, or its
        employees (other than me).
        Anyone who would like to speak to me about this can feel free
        to call me at Radio Shack @ 619-624-9603, or at home,
        619-298-8998.
 -- SPEED 2.00 #2712: A NAVY flier's nightmare ... NO CARRIER
--- GEcho 1.00
---------------