How to listen to police scanners - RR on Bay News 9 - Tampa Bay, FL

[tampabaynews]

Bay News 9 in Tampa Bay posted a video on how to listen to scanners on RR. Good PR!

http://www.baynews9.com/VideoPlayer/...erence_Dot_Com

[gatorhater]

Very Cool!

[hoser147]

Cant beat a good plug on the news.

[n8myc]

I wonder if Roy is a member of RR.

[gmclam]

It looked more like a blatant commercial for RadioReference.com than it did a news story. Also, I did not like the language he used that police & fire communications are on a scanner. LOL. They are out there over the air waves and ONE of the devices you can use to pick them up is a scanner (or the website), etc.

[JoeyC]

Its no wonder society is filled with misinformation - some people look at these guys as role models.

[khoelldobler]

still great PR for the website and the hobby.

[texasemt13]

When it shows the LiveAudio link and says:

"A subscription gives you access to their archives, listen to what happened while you were sleeping or in the past."

Does RR record all the live scanners for playback (even to subscribing members)?

[blantonl]

Yes, we record and archive approx 15 days of audio for every feed broadcasted and make the archives available to premium subscribers.

[Kevinbb]

very cool..but can't help to think of some "official" out there somewhere freaking out and the highway encryption boys and alike laughing their ass's off

[MPSCS]

The reporter made it sound as if all the "scanners" you hear are at the police departments. He also made it sound as if it were the police department archives that you can access. I think he's a little confused.

[holmdt]

That is what he said that the scanners are at the EMS office. Nice but short.

[ltjweiss]

Outstanding!

[ScanManQSL]

How awesome is that! I'll give you my two thumbs up.

[W2GLD]

I'd have to say that while it's always nice to have publicity, this is a bad one. Think about all of the criminals that watch TV, somewhere someone has now seen this and will use this information to commit a crime. It's things like this that a driving the widespread introduction of encryption to many agencies. Point in case, the Florida SLERS system... Can be tracked, but not heard... Many police departments around the country have gotten wise to internet broadcasting and are seeking ways to cease it's existence. While I enjoy it as much as the next guy, it does get abused...

Eventually you will see this become illegal, it's just a matter of time now...

Thanks news media for telling the criminals about a good hobby that now will surely end up in a bad spotlight in the future...

Some stories are better left untold!

Regards,

Jerry - W2GLD

[Homeboys-Scanna]

Yeah, I'm with Jerry. Hey tampabaynews, did you get my private message about the pager programming?

[aharry]

BayNews 9 is a 24/7 new channel that is operated by BrightHouse Networks in the TampaBay area. The original broadcast feature was done by a different reporter who does a regular feature called "Extra on the Web" , it appears that the clip on the web was made for the web and is not the one that aired on the actual news channel, at least not the one I saw a couple of weeks ago. I was going to also post about the original story but they did not post the original clip on the website so I was waiting until they did, instead this on showed up.

[Chauffeur6]

Originally Posted by W2GLD

I'd have to say that while it's always nice to have publicity, this is a bad one. Think about all of the criminals that watch TV, somewhere someone has now seen this and will use this information to commit a crime. It's things like this that a driving the widespread introduction of encryption to many agencies. Point in case, the Florida SLERS system... Can be tracked, but not heard... Many police departments around the country have gotten wise to internet broadcasting and are seeking ways to cease it's existence. While I enjoy it as much as the next guy, it does get abused...

Eventually you will see this become illegal, it's just a matter of time now...

Thanks news media for telling the criminals about a good hobby that now will surely end up in a bad spotlight in the future...

Some stories are better left untold!

Regards,

Jerry - W2GLD

There's always at least one person who sounds the panic alarm over the fear of their supposedly "secret" hobby getting too much attention. Rather than give into paranoia, let's look at the facts instead.

First of all, scanners have been around for decades, they are hardly a well guarded secret. Thousands of Radio Shacks all across the county that any Joe Schmo can walk right into and find scanners on display, usually blaring out audio of the local emergency services. Most of them come pre-programmed these days, or can be programmed to local frequencies right there in the store. If you honestly think criminal types aren't aware of scanners and the ability to monitor local law enforcement transmissions, you are seriously underestimating the criminal mind.

Secondly, to your point about law enforcement moving to encryption en mass because they don't want the public being able to monitor their activities, consider the opposite effect widespread public awareness might just have. The more citizens who get into the hobby of monitoring, the more pressure you can put on agencies to either stay in the clear, or drop encryption altogether. Believe it or not, it has happened where public outcry has had an effect on these agencies. No one wants to drop $500 on a scanner at Radio Shack after watching this newscast, only to discover that they can't actually hear their local PD because they employ encryption. You get enough of those types packing local government board meetings asking just what they're hiding, and it might well make a difference.

So, instead of looking at this from a negative standpoint, consider the benefits a larger monitoring community might bring.

[Harry_Dick]

I freelance for Baynews 9. They did air the story and a stupid one at that. They dont listen to feeds from RR. They have 10 796D`s not the mention the EDACS radio that Hillsborough County provides all the news agencies in the Tampa Bay area , which can monitor the ENC channels.

[JoeyC]

I would have to agree with W2 and Homeboys. Although a very cool idea to us hobbyists, I believe there is nothing positive to be gained in the eyes of law enforcement with regards to online scanners. Many cops already look upon scannists negatively and to multiply the number of eavesdroppers exponentially by making their radio traffic as easy to listen to as opening a web browser is certain to have an effect on what is and isn't said over the radio, or worse yet, the implementation of more secure communications - ENCRYPTION - to protect themselves from undue scrutiny by the public where the public is ignorant of police matters.

Regarding the criminal using a scanner nonsense. A couple of the THOUSANDS of people arrested on a daily basis may utilize a scanner in their mischievous activities. Where do people come up with the silly idea that this is so prevalent?

As far as increasing the number of hobbyists? I don't think many real enthusiasts are to be gained by the TV plugs. Look at all the fraud that has occurred as of late since the for-sale forums blossomed here. Also, the number of new users flocking here with little or no radio knowledge or interest but just want to listen to the scanners. A lot of new users (or you can call them a larger monitoring community if you must) does not necessarily translate into something positive to the community.

Public outcry had an effect on some agencies dropping encryption? More likely a change in LE administration had different thoughts on the matter.