When was your first addition to the police scanner?

[ScanningRadio]

Mine was when I was about 15.

I got a Radio Shack Pro 64.

[b7spectra]

1975. I had my 1971 Boss 351 Mustang and got caught street racing. Went out and bought my first scanner - Radio Shack Pro-14. Shortly after that I gave up fast cars for 4 wheel drive trucks!

[CLynch7]

I started out with a GE multiband radio my Dad kept in the garage. I'd listen to it while playing with model trains. Then a got a Radio Shack Jetstream AM/FM/Air. Not exactly scanners, but to the same end.

[scannerboy65301]

pro-97 christmas 2005: fast forward to july 4, 2009 Pro-97, Pro-84, dx160, MCD VHF, fth-2009, vx170, ic2200h, ham license(kd0fmg) lost count of antenna's and power supplies lol

[N0TDL]

39 now , Started when i was 8 living in California , Mom was a sheriff dispacther for the San Bernadino Co SO . She bought us one so we could listen to her at night . Moved to MO in 2006 and witnessed my first tornado other than on tv , EF4 150 to 200 yds away from my backyard . Decided to become a weather spotter , After 3 1/2 years of classroom , online study and training and 4 tornados and a death of a friend , im now a spotter with the Lawrence / Barry CO and NWS here on the out skirts of tornado alley

[fineshot1]

Not sure exactly - it was about 1974 so i was about 16 and it was when radio shack used to stock crystals for the local pd, fd and ems so i purchased a 4 channel crystal portable scanner with all the crystals and had a lot of fun listening to all the local stuff.

[commscanaus]

Back in 1987, I saved for months delivering newspapers to finally get a Radioshack PRO-33!

It was just the best being able to hear what was going on in my own neighborhood and even better to hear areas that were unfamiliar!

I sold it in the 90's, but wished I still had it.

Commscanaus.

[engine3]

cant remember the year but mine was a 10 channel regency

wished i still had it..things were so much simpler then...lol

[DickH]

If you change that title to Public Safety Monitoring, then I can reply.
It was looooong before scanners - 1955 to be exact.

I first monitored Police, Fire and Public Works on 1.714MHz, just above the broadcast band.
Then it was Army surplus tunable tank radios on Lo Band (30-40MHz)
Then it was surplus taxi and business Motorola and GE two-ways on Lo Band and Hi Band..
Then finally, scanners.

[NYRHKY94]

It was 1973 for me. Saved up my paper route money and bought the Patrolman-6 (see my avatar picture) from my local Radio Shack at age 14. I used to sit up all night turning the dial back & forth trying to find frequencies for my local police & fire. Then I put little pieces of tape where the frequencies were so I could dial them up quickly ;-)

[ridgescan]

your first sting

^^^^^^^^Here's some cool ones from last year too

[gmclam]

Originally Posted by ScanningRadio

When was your first addiction to the police scanner?

Scanners - 1975. Monitoring public safety radio - 1967.

[Evert]

My first use of a scanner radio was in the mid 70s when I was thirty something.

But I am not addicted – I can stop anytime I want. In fact I quit three times last week.

[w8jjr]

first monitored Police on 1.750 MHz if I remember right 1957 - 58 on my grandfathers big Motorola.
couldnt wait to go visit him

[slingshot202]

I don't know what year, I am on the young side, (no sooner than 1980 that I can really remember, but thanks to my dad I definitely listened to an old radio. When with my dad he had a 4 channel (no scan) Sonar Radio that he used in his van with an external speaker.

At my grandfather's house he always had a scanner going and he listened to Newark, Orange, and East Orange (NJ) and they were busy. I don't know the name of the scanner, but it scanned and it had red LED's as it scanned through.

I'm not to bad right now, scanner in my home office, a Uniden Bearcat 16 channel. Definitely time for an upgrade and maybe an antenna out the window? I can't hear some of the stuff I want, but I think my connector is broken to, so I am glad I hear anything at all.

[DickH]

Originally Posted by w8jjr

first monitored Police on 1.750 MHz if I remember right 1957 - 58 on my grandfathers big Motorola.
couldnt wait to go visit him

Who was it? We used to get skip at night on 1.714 from the midwest. Cleveland, maybe?

[gewecke]

Actually got started after building my 1st shortwave tube receiver in jr.high school!
It was a Montgomery Wards 4ch.crystal scanner that my dad gave me!
Things just got completely out of hand after that!
N9ZAS.

[james32746]

A day before I turned 19 in 2003 I purchased a PRO-95 (broke in 2005) scanner from RadioShack which was my first scanner

Then:

PRO-96 (broke 2/2006) - 8/2004
BC-796D - 2/2005 (used for Seminole County Fire online feed)
PRO-97 (broke 3/2007 replaced with identical scanner 4/2007) - 11/2006
BCD-396T - 7/2006
PSR-500 - 10/2007
PRO-197 - 12/2008

[mrkelso]

I got my first police scanner sometime back in the late 60's. I think it was a bearcat. I have been unable to quit ever since. Now in my mid 50's i own several scanners,radios,computers. It never ends until you die.

[yaesu4real]

It started back in 1986 for me. My father bought me a radio shack PRO 2021. Later in 1998 the local police
started using a edacs trunking systeme with a anti scanner tone that was driving me nuts! later I met a technician that was able to modify the squelch on a PRO 43 to get rid of the anti scanner tone, but it was
not perfect. In 2000 i bought a PRO 94. I was surprise to see the porformance of this scanner and i am still using it for fire emergencies. For police communications, its game over for me because they are using a PRO VOICE trunking system.