Scanners as test equipment

This is something I've always wondered about. My first employer during the mid 70's encouraged me to develop a scanning circuit for use with the early com-spec boards using the rc elements to scan over the companies repeaters to identify community repeater user abuse. That worked out well and a good bonus and pay raise. Later i integrated several early programmable scanners with Helper Instruments MM901 that created a great installer evaluation tool. Later mods used a bulk purchases of GRE's 800 converters for trunked systems and later Optoelectronics tone/dcs readers and some earlier Helper prescaler/counter units. I did some successful conversions of dead Helper SM-512 units with Bearcat/Uniden BC-800xlt frames in place of the bc-210 frames used in the service monitor. Those were albatrosess in the first place, but as an evaluation tool, they were very cost effective conversions/repairs. The last ones I did were based on the now forgotten Shinwa 2001 which were near service monitors during the mid 90's. Just curious how many of you used a scanner as an evaluation tool. I don't remember the Regency model i did a bunch of mods with but it too was much like the BC-210 with a 10 memory and keypad entry to 512 that we bought about 30 of when they dumped them on the market for about $25 through a nationwide distributor. We had several of those on the sales desks with the GRE converters also dummped with the cell phone ban on coverage. I also had built up some group and collect 2 tone mark V decoders to assist in sales poaching from other dealerships.



Anyone ever use scanners for developing cheap test and evaluation equipment?