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Originally, individual transmissions were carried on a single frequency for the entire conversation. Examples of conventional two-way radio are security firms which use a specific frequency for each officer and one or more frequencies which may be used by all, or a drive-thru window that uses a specific frequency. Another common use for conventional scanners is scanning the amateur radio frequencies used by storm chasers and weather-watchers, allowing up-to-the-minute weather information during dangerous weather conditions such as strong storms or tornadoes.
Because most organizations needed to have multiple conversations simultaneously, they would need to use a different frequency for each radio or department. Over time, this led to the two-way radio bands becoming very crowded. A new method had to be devised. That new method was the trunked communications system. However, conventional radio systems continue to exist as a lower-cost option for consumers that do not need to have multiple conversations (such as scanning the amateur frequencies, in the example above).
RadioShack sells a number of conventional programmable scanners, both on-line and through your local RadioShack store. |
