Strong Signals
Scanner Features

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Introduction
To help complement my Scanner Model FAQ and Picking A Scanner/Receiver web page, I thought I'd create this FAQ to help break down the most often asked about or major features.

If you are looking for a scanner/receiver with a particular feature then hopefully you'll be able to quickly find the info you're looking for right here and narrow down your possible choices quickly and easily!

If you have ideas for features which you think should be listed here, or spot erroneous or missing information, please drop me a line.

Thank you, and enjoy!

Content Features

  • Alpha-tags
  • Auto Store
  • Bandscope
  • Banks (over 10)
  • Battery Meter
  • CTCSS
  • Channel Count
  • Channels (over 200)
  • Clock
  • Computer Interface
  • DCS
  • Rotary Control
  • S-meter
  • Search Limits (more than 1)
  • Search Skip
  • Service Search
  • Special Receive Modes
  • Squelch-Controlled Backlight
  • Trunked Radio System Tracking
  • Voice Inversion
  • Weather Alert
  • Wide Frequency Coverage

  • Reference Links

    Alpha-tags
    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht AE100T
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
    AOR AR5000
    AR8000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Camnis HSC-350
    Icom IC-R10
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    IC-R8500
    Racing Electronics RE2000Alpha
    RadioShack PRO-2053
    PRO-2067
    PRO-92
    PRO-93
    PRO-95
    RELM MS200
    Stabo XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident TRX-200
    Uniden BC250D
    BC296D
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC9000XLT
    SC180
    SC200
    UBC9000XLT
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    Auto Store

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht AE100T
    AE60T
    AE66T
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
    AOR AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Commtel COM215
    COM225
    Icom IC-R1
    IC-R10
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R7000
    IC-R8500
    RadioShack PRO-2035
    PRO-2036
    PRO-2041
    PRO-2042
    PRO-2043
    PRO-2044
    PRO-2045
    PRO-26
    PRO-64
    Stabo XR-2000
    XR-2001
    Uniden BC250D
    BC296D
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC3000XLT
    BC890XLT
    BC895XLT
    BC898T
    BC9000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    Bandscope

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
    AOR AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Camnis HSC-350
    Icom IC-PCR100
    IC-PCR1000
    IC-R10
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    Stabo XR1800
    XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Yaesu VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    Banks (over 10)

    Manufacturer # Model(s)
    Albrecht 20 AE100T
    Alinco 30 DJ-X10
      50 DJ-X2000
    AOR 63 AR2515
      20 AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8000/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Icom 26 IC-R20
      20 IC-R8500
      18 IC-R10
    IC-R5
    RadioShack 20 PRO-2052
    PRO-94
    PRO-94A
    Stabo 20 XR-2000
    XR-2001
    Uniden 20 BC3000XLT
    BC9000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
    Yaesu 100 VR-5000
    Yupiteru 20 MVT-9000

    Battery Meter

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht XR1800
    Alinco DJ-X2000
    AOR AR2700
    Icom IC-R2
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    Stabo XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden BC220XLT
    BC230XLT
    SC150
    UBC220XLT
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    Yupiteru MVT-9000
    MVT-7300
    MVT-9000 MkII

    CTCSS

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Alinco DJ-X2000 *
    AOR AR5000
    AR8200/B * (optional)
    AR8200/B MkII * (optional)
    AR8200/B MkIII * (optional)
    AR8600/B * (optional)
    AR8600/B MkII * (optional)
    Icom IC-R2 *
    IC-R20*
    IC-R3 *
    IC-R5 *
    Optoelectronics OptoCom +
    RadioShack PRO-2036 (optional)
    PRO-2045 (optional)
    PRO-2067 +
    PRO-92 +
    Racing Electronics RE2000Alpha
    RELM HS200
    MS200
    Uniden BC250D *
    BC296D *
    BC760XLT (optional)
    BC785D *
    BC796D *
    BC890XLT (optional)
    BC895XLT *
    BC898T +
    BC9000XLT (optional)
    BC950XLT (optional)
    SC200
    UBC890XLT (optional)
    UBC9000XLT (optional)
    Yaesu VR-150
    * = tone search feature
    + = instant decode

    Channel Count

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht AE100T
    AE60T
    AE66T
    RadioShack PRO-2036
    PRO-2045
    Uniden BC890XLT
    BC9000XLT
    UBC890XLT
    UBC9000XLT

    Channels (over 200)

    Manufacturer# Model(s)
    Albrecht 1000 XR1800
      500 AE100T
    Alinco 1200 DJ-X10
      1000 DJ-X5
      700 DJ-X2
    DJ-X3
      2000 DJ-X2000
    AOR 2016 AR2515
      1000 AR1000
    AR2000
    AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
      500 AR16B
    AR2700
      400 AR3000
    AR3000A
    Camnis 1000 HSC-010
    HSC-350
    Commtel 500 COM225
    Commtel 400 COM205
    COM216
    COM510
    Icom 1200 IC-R20
      1000 IC-R10
    IC-R5
    IC-R8500
    IC-R9000
      400 IC-R2
    IC-R3
    Uniden 500 BC9000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
      400 BC2500XLT
    BC3000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
      300 BC235XLT
    BC245XLT
    BC895XLT
    RadioShack 1000 PRO-2035
    PRO-2042
    PRO-2052
    PRO-94
    PRO-94A
    PRO-95
      500 PRO-2067
    PRO-92
      400 PRO-2005
    PRO-2006
    PRO-2041
    PRO-64
      300 PRO-2004
    PRO-2053
    PRO-93
    Sony 300 ICF-SC1
    ICF-SC1PC
    Stabo 1000 XR100
    XR1800
    XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident 1000 TR1200
    TR4000
    TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden 1000 BC250D
    BC296D
    BC785D
    BC796D
      500 BC898T
    BC9000XLT
      400 BC3000XLT
    Welz 800 WS2000
      400 WS1000
    Yaesu 2000 VR-5000
      1000 VR-150
    VR-500
      640 VR-120
    VR-120D
    Yupiteru 1000 MVT-7100
    MVT-7200
    MVT-7300
    MVT-9000

    Clock

    ManufacturerModel(s)
    Alinco DJ-X10
    AOR AR5000
    Icom IC-R1
    IC-R100
    Welz WS1000 (hidden)
    WS2000 (hidden)
    Yaesu VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-7300

    Computer Interface (standard)

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht XR1800
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2
    DJ-X2000
    DJ-X3
    DJ-X5
    AOR AR16B
    AR2002
    AR2515
    AR2700
    AR3000
    AR3000A
    AR5000
    AR5000+3
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Camnis HSC-050
    HSC-190
    HSC-200
    HSC-350
    Icom IC-PCR100
    IC-PCR1000
    IC-R10
    IC-R2
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    IC-R8500
    IC-R9000
    Optoelectronics OptoCom
    Race-Scan SC150
    Racing Electronics RE2000Alpha
    RadioShack PRO-2041
    PRO-2052
    PRO-64
    PRO-79
    PRO-2067
    PRO-2053
    PRO-92
    PRO-93
    PRO-95
    RELM MS200
    Sony ICF-SC1PC
    Stabo XR1810
    Trident TR2000
    TR2200
    TR4000
    TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden BC245XLT
    BC250D
    BC296D
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC895XLT
    BC898T
    SC200
    WiNRADiO WR-1000e
    WR-1000i
    WR-1500e
    WR-1500i
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-7300

    DCS

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Icom IC-R20*
    IC-R5 *
    Optoelectronics OptoCom +
    Racing ElectronicsRE2000Alpha
    RadioShack PRO-2067 +
    PRO-92 +
    RELM HS200
    MS200
    Uniden BC250D *
    BC296D *
    BC785D *
    BC796D *
    BC898T +
    SC200 *
    * = code search feature
    + = instant decode

    Rotary Control

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht AE100T
    AE60T
    AE66T
    XR1800
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
    DJ-X3
    DJ-X5
    AOR AR1000
    AR16B
    AR2000
    AR2002
    AR2700
    AR3000
    AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Camnis HSC-010
    HSC-050
    HSC-350
    Commtel COM225
    COM510
    Icom IC-R1
    IC-R10
    IC-R100
    IC-R2
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    IC-R8500
    IC-R9000
    Racing Electronics RE2000Alpha
    RadioShack PRO-2035
    PRO-2036
    PRO-2042
    PRO-2045
    RELM HS200
    Stabo XR100
    XR1500
    XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident TR980
    TR1200
    TR2000
    TR2200
    TR2400
    TR4000
    TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden BC2500XLT
    BC250D
    BC296D
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC8500XLT
    BC890XLT
    BC895XLT
    BC898T
    BC9000XLT
    SC180
    SC200
    UBC9000XLT
    Welz WS1000
    WS2000
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-3300
    MVT-7000
    MVT-7100
    MVT-7200
    MVT-7300
    MVT-8000
    MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    S-meter

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    Albrecht AE100T
    XR1800
    Alinco DJ-X10
    DJ-X2
    DJ-X2000
    DJ-X3
    DJ-X5
    AOR AR16B
    AR2000
    AR2002
    AR2700
    AR3000
    AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
    Camnis HSC-010
    HSC-050
    HSC-350
    Commtel COM225
    COM510
    Icom IC-R1
    IC-R10
    IC-R100
    IC-R2
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    IC-R8500
    IC-R9000
    Optoelectronics OptoCom
    Racing Electronics RE2000Alpha
    RELM HS100
    HS200
    Stabo XR100
    XR1500
    XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
    Trident TR980
    TR1200
    TR2000
    TR2200
    TR2400
    TR4000
    TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC895XLT
    BC898T
    Welz WS1000
    WS2000
    Yaesu VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    VR-500
    VR-5000
    Yupiteru MVT-3300
    MVT-7000
    MVT-7100
    MVT-7200
    MVT-7300
    MVT-8000
    MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    Search Limits (more than 1)

    Manufacturer# Model(s)
    Albrecht 10 AE100T
    XR1800
    Alinco 20 DJ-X10
    DJ-X2
    DJ-X2000
      10 DJ-X5
    AOR 20 AR5000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
      16 AR2515
      10 AR1000
    AR2000
    AR2700
      5 AR900
    AR905
    Camnis 10 HSC-010
    HSC-050
    HSC-350
    Commtel 10 COM205
    COM225
    COM510
    Icom 30 IC-R10
      25 IC-R2
    IC-R20
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
      10 IC-R1
    IC-R100
    IC-R8500
    RadioShack 10 PRO-2004
    PRO-2005
    PRO-2006
    PRO-2041
    PRO-2042
    PRO-2067
    PRO-64
    PRO-92
    Stabo 20 XR2000
    XR2001
      10 XR100
    XR1500
    XR1810
    Trident 10 TR1200
    TR2400
    TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden 10 BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC898T
    Welz 21 WS2000
      10 WS1000
    Yaesu 25 VR-5000
      10 VR-500
      8 VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    Yupiteru 20 MVT-9000
      10 MVT-3300
    MVT-7100
    MVT-7200
    MVT-7300

    Search Skip

    Manufacturer # Model(s)
    Albrecht 200AE100T
      100AE105H
      50XR1800
    Alinco 1000DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
      100DJ-X2
      50DJ-X5
    AOR 2100AR5000
      1000AR2000
    AR8000/B
    AR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
      100AR1000
      50AR2700
      20AR16B
    Camnis 1000HSC-010
    HSC-050
      50HSC-350
    Commtel 200COM225
      80COM510
    Icom 1000IC-R20
    IC-R5
      400IC-R2
    IC-R3
      100IC-R8500
      50IC-R10
      40IC-R1
    RadioShack 500PRO-2067
    PRO-92
      300PRO-2053
    PRO-93
    PRO-95
      200PRO-2035
    PRO-2041
    PRO-2042
    PRO-64
      50PRO-2040
    PRO-2052
    PRO-26
    PRO-79
      20PRO-2043
    PRO-2044
    PRO-2045
    PRO-2046
    PRO-2066
    PRO-28
    PRO-66
    PRO-67
    Racing Electronics 100RE2000Alpha
    RELM 100HS100
    HS200
    Sony 100ICF-SC1
    ICF-SC1PC
    Stabo 500XR100
    XR2000
    XR2001
      50XR1810
    Trident 1000TR1200
    TR2400
      50TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Uniden 200BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC898T
      100SC150
      50BC245XLT
    BC3000XLT
    BC9000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
      20BC235XLT
    BC895XLT
      10BC220XLT
    BC230XLT
    UBC230XLT
    Welz 90WS2000
      80WS1000
    Yaesu 64VR-120
    VR-120D
    VR-150
    Yupiteru 500MVT-7100
    MVT-7200
    MVT-7300
    MVT-9000
    MVT-9000 MkII

    Service Search

    Manufacturer Model(s)
    RadioShack PRO-2026
    PRO-2046
    PRO-2052
    PRO-2066
    PRO-51
    PRO-67
    PRO-79
    PRO-2053
    PRO-2067
    PRO-92
    PRO-93
    PRO-95
    Sony ICF-SC1
    ICF-SC1PC
    Uniden BC178XLT
    BC220XLT
    BC230XLT
    BC235XLT
    BC245XLT
    BC250D
    BC296D
    BC278XLT
    BC300
    BC350A
    BC560XLA
    BC700A
    BC760XLT
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BCT-7
    UBC220XLT
    UBC230XLT
    UBC760XLT

    Special Receive Modes

    ManufacturerModes Model(s)
    Albrecht WFM AE100T
    Alinco CW/SSB/WFM DJ-X10
    DJ-X2000
      WFM DJ-X2
    DJ-X3
    AOR CW/NAM/NFM/SFM/SSB/WAM/WFMAR8200/B
    AR8200/B MkII
    AR8600/B
      CW/SSB/WFM AR3000
    AR5000
    AR8000
    AR8000B
      WFM AR1000
    AR2000
    AR2002
    AR2515
    AR2700
    Camnis WFM HSC-010
      CW/SSB/WFM HSC-050
    HSC-350
    Commtel WFM COM205
    COM225
    COM510
    Icom CW/SSB/WFM IC-R10
    IC-R20
    IC-R8500
    IC-R9000
      WFM IC-R1
    IC-R2
    IC-R3
    IC-R5
    IC-R100
    RadioShack WFM PRO-2004
    PRO-2005
    PRO-2006
    PRO-2026
    PRO-2035
    PRO-2042
    PRO-26
    PRO-60
    Stabo CW/NAM/SSB/WFM XR1810
    XR2000
    XR2001
      SSB/WFM XR100
    Trident CW/SSB/WFM TR2400
    TRX-200
      WFM TR980
    TR1200
    Uniden NFM BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
      WFM BC3000XLT
    BC9000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
    Welz WFM WS1000
    WS2000
    Yaesu CW/NAM/WAM/SSB/WFM VR-5000
      CW/SSB/WFM VR-500
    Yupiteru CW/NAM/SSB/WFM MVT-7300
    MVT-9000
      NAM/SSB/WFM MVT-7200
      SSB/WFM MVT-7100
      WFM MVT-7000
    MVT-8000

    Squelch-Controlled Backlight

    ManufacturerModel(s)
    AOR AR8600 MkII
    Racing ElectronicsRE2000Alpha
    RadioShack PRO-94A
    Uniden BC245XLT
    SC180
    SC200

    Trunked Radio System Tracking

    ManufacturerModel(s) Types
    OptoelectronicsOptoCom Mot/EDACS/LTR
    RadioShack PRO-2050
    PRO-2066
    PRO-90
    PRO-91     		Mot
      PRO-2052
    PRO-2053
    PRO-93
    PRO-94
    PRO-94A
    PRO-95
    PRO-96     		Mot/EDACS
      PRO-2067
    PRO-92     		Mot/EDACS/LTR
    Uniden BC235XLT
    BC895XLT    		Mot
      BC245XLTMot/EDACS
      BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    BC898T     		Mot/EDACS/LTR

    Voice Inversion

    ManufacturerModel(s)
    Albrecht XR1800
    Alinco DJ-X2
    DJ-X2000
    DJ-X3
    AOR AR8200/B *
    AR8200/B MkII *
    AR8600/B *
    Camnis HSC-350
    Stabo XR1810
    Trident TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    Yupiteru MVT-3300
    MVT-7300
    MVT-9000 MkII
    * = optional

    Weather Alert

    ManufacturerModel(s)
    Icom IC-R20
    IC-R5
    RadioShack PRO-2036
    PRO-2045
    PRO-2052 *
    PRO-2053
    PRO-2067
    PRO-79
    PRO-92
    PRO-93
    PRO-95
    Uniden BC250D *
    BC296D *
    BC278CLT *
    BC780XLT *
    BC785D *
    BC796D *
    BC890XLT
    BC895XLT
    UBC890XLT
    * = models with FIPS code capability

    Wide Frequency Coverage

    ManufacturerRange Model(s)
    AOR 10kHz - 3300 AR-ONE
    Icom 150kHz - 3300 IC-R20
    AOR 100kHz - 3000 AR8600 MkIII
    AOR 500kHz - 3000 AR8200 MkIII
    AOR 10kHz - 2600 AR5000
    AR5000+3
    AOR 100kHz - 2600 VR-5000
    Icom 495kHz - 2450 IC-R3
    Alinco 100kHz - 2200 DJ-X5
    Albrecht 100kHz - 2200 XR1800
    Alinco 100kHz - 2150 DJ-X2000
    Camnis 100kHz - 2149 HSC-350
    Stabo 100kHz - 2149 XR1810
    Trident 100kHz - 2149 TRX-100XLT
    TRX-200
    AOR 500kHz - 2040 AR8200/B
    AOR 500kHz - 2040 AR8200 MkII
    AOR 500kHz - 2040 AR8600/B
    Stabo 530kHz - 2039 XR2000
    Stabo 530kHz - 2039 XR2001
    Yupiteru 530kHz - 2039 MVT-9000
    AOR 100KHz - 2000 AR7000
    Alinco 100kHz - 2000 DJ-X10
    Icom 100kHz - 2000 IC-R8500
    AOR 500kHz - 1900 AR8000
    Icom 100kHz - 1856 IC-R1
    Stabo 500kHz - 1650 XR100
    Yupiteru 500kHz - 1650 MVT-7100
    Yupiteru 531kHz - 1320 MVT-7300
    Icom 495kHz - 1310 IC-R2
    IC-R5
    Commtel 100kHz - 1300 COM510
    Welz 100kHz - 1300 WS2000
    Yaesu 100kHz - 1300 VR-120
    Yaesu 100kHz - 1300 VR-120D
    Yaesu 100kHz - 1300 VR-150
    Yaesu 100kHz - 1300 VR-500
    Icom 100kHz - 1300 IC-R10
    AOR 500kHz - 1300 AR16B
    Alinco 500kHz - 1300 DJ-X3
    Welz 500kHz - 1300 WS-1000
    Alinco 522kHz - 1000 DJ-X2
    Albrecht 25 - 1300 AE100T
    Commtel 25 - 1300 COM225
    Sony 25 - 1300 ICF-SC1
    ICF-SC1PC
    Albrecht 25-550 760-1300 AE100T
    Commtel 25-550 760-1300 COM216
    Uniden 25-550 760-1300 BC3000XLT
    BC9000XLT
    UBC3000XLT
    UBC9000XLT
    Commtel 25-520 760-1300 COM205
    RadioShack 25-520 760-1300 PRO-2006
    PRO-2035
    PRO-2042
    RadioShack 30-512 517-1300 PRO-26
    RadioShack 30-512 760-1000 PRO-60
    Uniden 25-512 806-956 1240-1300 BC250D
    BC296D
    BC780XLT
    BC785D
    BC796D
    RadioShack 29-54 108-174 180-512 806-956 1240-1300PRO-2052
    Uniden 29-54 108-174 216-512 806-956BC890XLT
    BC895XLT
    BC898T

    Reference Links
    Be sure to check out the Scanner Model FAQ for a rundown of more features for a large number of radios.

    For additional help in selecting a receiver, be sure to stop by my Picking A Scanner/Receiver page.

    To get up to speed on the terms and abbreviations used when talking about scanners/receivers, you might want to look over my Scanner Glossary page.

    Copyright © 2004 by Richard J. Wells Return to Home Page