I have a BCT-10 Beartracker. I don't think they make them anymore due to their small, concealable size (clips to visor like a radar detector). What did you want to know?
I'm looking at the BCT-8. How useful is it in determining police presence within the specified radius?
Honestly, I would say not very. It works, don't get me wrong, but the range IMO is far greater than 3 miles even with the squelch turned all the way down. This can make it difficult to pinpoint proximity and direction. The Beartracker feature is novel, but it only picks up the frequencies of a pig when using his mobile extender (the Motorola CB clipped to his uniform). Therefore, when the Beartracker alarm goes off, the cop is usually outside his vehicle because he has already popped someone...and there was little risk that he was still running a speed trap. I use it for entertainment mostly. If I see a cop with his lights lit up I will turn it on to listen in. The BCT-8 may have newer technology or features that I'm not aware of.
You may want to check out this site, had some useful information when I was looking for a scanner. http://www.radardetector.net/ (I am in no way affiliated with this site). I think you should consider a digital scanner like the BC296D though as law enforcement will be switching to digital in near future.
