/diy/ - Do It Yourself

OK guys I have some questions that maybe you can help me with. I'm new to HAM and I'm coming in with 0 knowledge but I am certainly fascinated. Been reading as much as I have some questions about things so that I might be able to wrap my head around this stuff a bit better.

Question 1: I have checked local frequencies on radioreference.com and have seen that the frequencies will go anywhere from the 150s all the way to the 850s. If I'm not mistaken, 30MHz-300MHz is VHF and 300MHz-3000MHz is UHF. So if I were to buy something like
https://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=111&encProdID=7CDB93B02164B1FB036530FBD7D37F1A&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0
that would only allow me to receive up to 580MHz which is only a portion of the UHF frequency. So I wouldn't be able to get the frequencies in the 850s that I looked up, am I reading this stuff right?

Question 2: Is hitting a repeater of the utmost importance? I am searching around but I'm not finding too many that seem to be within a reasonable distance from me. I am afraid this will impact my ability to get signals from home and that I'll need a big antennae to reach one.

Question 3: Let's say I want to listen to the EMS or police dispatch and I'm sitting on my ass at home. I'd need to be in range. Some of the handheld devices that I've seen seem to have something like a 15Km range. That's pretty far, but what if I'm not in range? Do I get a new antennae? Will hitting a repeater help me get more range? What does the setup look like for someone who can get 200 miles of transmission range?

Question 4: Do you have a recommendation for a good UHF/VHF transceiver or scanner for a beginner who knows jack shit? I don't have a license but I do learn better if I can play around a bit.

Thanks for letting me ask. I have to go to bed now but if I get any responses I can check them tomorrow. Wanted to get my thoughts out while they were still fresh. Thanks again.