How Open Are You About Scanning

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pb_lonny

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Generally, how open are you about your scanning hobby? Do you proudly display your radios for everybody to see or are they hidden away and only come out when nobody is around? Do you carry a radio with you daily or do you prefer to keep them at home?

I am running a short survey on this: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5J7NHD
 

KK4JUG

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I did your survey, for what it's worth 'cause opinions are like as........ Well, you know.
 

mauiblue

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I used to carry my scanner with me but I find it unwieldy unless I clip it to my belt. But then people think I'm enforcement after that. :-/

Sent from my HTC6545LVW using Tapatalk
 

bailly2

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a little open. used to listen to drive thru frequencies with my brother who is not into scanners. now i just figure that if you are not in the hobby you dont get to know whats going on. ill hold it out in the open sometimes, with headphones on
 

ladn

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Please post the survey results for all of us to read and evaluate.

I'm fairly open about scanning, but I'm not a "wacker" and usually don't carry a portable scanner around unless there is a major incident near home.

Motorola has been pretty effective at shaping public opinion against scanner users by associating scanning with criminal activities in order to promote their own "solutions" (read full encryption and digital trunking).
 

bob550

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My radios are behind a false wall in a locked room, and monitored on a 24-hour basis by video surveillance. The only key to the alarmed door never leaves my possession. My outdoor antennas are disguised as pine trees. My wife has been sworn to absolute secrecy, and has very little idea of what is in the room ("I don't know, it's all HIS electrical stuff!").

Does that answer your question? ;)
 

jlochey

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My radios are behind a false wall in a locked room, and monitored on a 24-hour basis by video surveillance. The only key to the alarmed door never leaves my possession. My outdoor antennas are disguised as pine trees. My wife has been sworn to absolute secrecy, and has very little idea of what is in the room ("I don't know, it's all HIS electrical stuff!").

Does that answer your question? ;)



LOL!!!
 

KK4JUG

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My radios are behind a false wall in a locked room, and monitored on a 24-hour basis by video surveillance. The only key to the alarmed door never leaves my possession. My outdoor antennas are disguised as pine trees. My wife has been sworn to absolute secrecy, and has very little idea of what is in the room ("I don't know, it's all HIS electrical stuff!").

Does that answer your question? ;)

If I ever have to dispose of a body, I know who to contact.
 

rwier

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Phoenix, AZ
Generally, how open are you about your scanning hobby? Do you proudly display your radios for everybody to see or are they hidden away and only come out when nobody is around? Do you carry a radio with you daily or do you prefer to keep them at home?

I am running a short survey on this: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5J7NHD

Probably a faulty survey, as those who would tend to be secretive about a heavy scanner use probably won't want to talk about it.
 

bharvey2

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I think more in terms of radio as a hobby rather than just scanning. It may have skewed my answers. Sometimes I have a two way of some sort in the car, other times just a scanner. It depends upon my mood and plans.

Narrowing it down to just scanning with a real scanner and not a cell-phone app, I don't think that many people have an educated opinion as they may be surprised as to what technology exists. As an example, before they went to a P25 trunking system, I had a local city's PD and FD dispatch freqs in my work HT (receive only) A retired LEO who'd just come to work for our company was surprised that I could listen to them with my radio.

I think that if people understood scanning for its positive attributes (community information, understanding the scope of emergencies in an area (now, think hurricanes) and had minimal exposure to the whackers and the, we'd all be better off and we might not be needing to do battle over the encryption stuff.
 

KC4RAF

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People use to call me a "radio nut" because I had so many different types of radios, transceivers, antennas, etc.
"Open"? 100 % for all to see, inspect, what have ya.
Neighbors come to me and ask what's going on somewhere! lol
I rarely carry any of my "scanners" in the vehicle, not because of the laws, but because I carry my portable amateur HH radios.
And for "BOB550", I heard through the grape vine that you had a nosy neighbor that came up missing a few years back. For a lousy $550,000,000 I'll keep my mouth shut. lol
 

bharvey2

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People use to call me a "radio nut" because I had so many different types of radios, transceivers, antennas, etc.
"Open"? 100 % for all to see, inspect, what have ya.
Neighbors come to me and ask what's going on somewhere! lol
I rarely carry any of my "scanners" in the vehicle, not because of the laws, but because I carry my portable amateur HH radios.
And for "BOB550", I heard through the grape vine that you had a nosy neighbor that came up missing a few years back. For a lousy $550,000,000 I'll keep my mouth shut. lol

I'll do it for half that!
 

DJ11DLN

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I don't advertise but I don't hide either. My home scanners don't get stashed just because somebody stops by; depending on who it is they may not even get turned down. In vehicles they're out in the open unless I have to park someplace I'm not real sure about; being handhelds it's easy to unclip & stash them. I very seldom walk around in public with a scanner on my belt or in a coat pocket...that usually happens just here on the farm or out in the yard.
 

bob550

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Truthfully, I don't hide my hobby, and never have. I don't feel I have a reason to. My shack sits in a room that, while not exactly hidden, is not frequented by guests to my home either. I've had scanner antennas on the the roofs of the homes I've owned, and long wires adorning my backyards, for over 30 years. In all that time, I had only one comment ever made to me, and that was only two months ago. Then, the person asking about my discone up on the roof turned out to be a fellow SWL, and was curious about my hobby.

Scanner ownership isn't indicative of criminal activity. Anyway, far more people in this country own guns, and they're not thought of as being bank robbers.
 

baptistjcat

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Is it Bob550 or Bob5150. Im a keep things to my self kind of guy. I agree with Bob550 about not talking about scanning. Loose lips sinks ships. But as i say all that on a public forum.
 

pb_lonny

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My radios are behind a false wall in a locked room, and monitored on a 24-hour basis by video surveillance. The only key to the alarmed door never leaves my possession. My outdoor antennas are disguised as pine trees. My wife has been sworn to absolute secrecy, and has very little idea of what is in the room ("I don't know, it's all HIS electrical stuff!").

Does that answer your question? ;)

That is the sort of answer I was expecting. My question, why?
 

KE4ZNR

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Raleigh, NC
Generally, how open are you about your scanning hobby? Do you proudly display your radios for everybody to see or are they hidden away and only come out when nobody is around? Do you carry a radio with you daily or do you prefer to keep them at home?

I am running a short survey on this: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/F5J7NHD

Let's see...I work as a radio system engineer and work on, program, and are surrounded by public safety radios 8+ hours a day....nope never carry any radios with me anywhere. Everyone thinks that my true hobby is underwater basket weaving and I would like to leave it that way.

Marshall KE4ZNR
 
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