I just finished putting my scanner stream 'over the phone.'
Anyone can call 1-360-227-6171 and listen to my local scanner feed.
So how did I do it, and how much did it cost?
Well, the cost was FREE!
All you need to get a scanner over the phone setup is an old computer (I'm using a 400 Mhz computer with 128 MB ram), a scanner, and a cord to connect the headphone jack from the scanner to the microphone jack on the computer.
The software to run on the computer is called Asterisk@Home (http://asteriskathome.sourceforge.net/). Asterisk@Home is a complete free PBX solution for businesses and home users. Primarily made around VoIP, it can connect to standard phone lines (POTS). But to get the stream 'over the phone' you don't even need to connect it to any phone line. There is a website, that gives away free phone numbers (www.ipkall.com) that can connect directly to your A@H box. So now you have a free incoming phone number that you can connect to your scanner.
I'm not very good at writing step-by-step guides. But if you can get Asterisk installed and running (I wouldn't suggest using the latest version, maybe 2.7 as it seems to be more newbie friendly) this guide should help you in getting IPKall setup and connected to your Asterisk box (http://samyantoun.50webs.com/asterisk/athome/setup/ipkall).
Now one thing I forgot to mention is that you actually need two computers. Your second computer needs to have what is called a softphone installed. I use X-Lite (http://www.counterpath.net/), as it can run in the task bar. The x-lite program will also connect to your A@H box. What I did was made a conference room, and connected my x-lite phone to the conference room, then made it so that anyone calling on my free ipkall number, it gets forwarded to the same conference room. So there is actually an unlimitted (depending on your internet bandwidth) number of people that can call in and listen to your scanner.
This really comes in handy if you don't mind leaving two computers on at the same time. I've been using A@H for over 6 months now for my home phone PBX system, so I already have that computer running, and my main computer is always running, so for me, I already had everything up and running, it was just a matter of getting the softphone working on my main computer, and hooking my scanner up to my computer.
Now on the weekends when I am out of my house, I can call myself using my cell phone (since I have free weekends on my cell phone) and still listen to the scanner. Or when driving around, and I see a bunch of emergency vehicles, I can call my scanner and see what's going on.
It's a pretty neat system once setup, and I think it is alot better than an online broadcast.
Like I posted before, I am not very good at making tutorials/guides, and it is 12:30 in the morning, and I am probably missing several things needed, so if anyone is attempting to set this up, and can't figure it out, feel free to ask questions, and I look forward to anyones comments on my setup.
Anyone can call 1-360-227-6171 and listen to my local scanner feed.
So how did I do it, and how much did it cost?
Well, the cost was FREE!
All you need to get a scanner over the phone setup is an old computer (I'm using a 400 Mhz computer with 128 MB ram), a scanner, and a cord to connect the headphone jack from the scanner to the microphone jack on the computer.
The software to run on the computer is called Asterisk@Home (http://asteriskathome.sourceforge.net/). Asterisk@Home is a complete free PBX solution for businesses and home users. Primarily made around VoIP, it can connect to standard phone lines (POTS). But to get the stream 'over the phone' you don't even need to connect it to any phone line. There is a website, that gives away free phone numbers (www.ipkall.com) that can connect directly to your A@H box. So now you have a free incoming phone number that you can connect to your scanner.
I'm not very good at writing step-by-step guides. But if you can get Asterisk installed and running (I wouldn't suggest using the latest version, maybe 2.7 as it seems to be more newbie friendly) this guide should help you in getting IPKall setup and connected to your Asterisk box (http://samyantoun.50webs.com/asterisk/athome/setup/ipkall).
Now one thing I forgot to mention is that you actually need two computers. Your second computer needs to have what is called a softphone installed. I use X-Lite (http://www.counterpath.net/), as it can run in the task bar. The x-lite program will also connect to your A@H box. What I did was made a conference room, and connected my x-lite phone to the conference room, then made it so that anyone calling on my free ipkall number, it gets forwarded to the same conference room. So there is actually an unlimitted (depending on your internet bandwidth) number of people that can call in and listen to your scanner.
This really comes in handy if you don't mind leaving two computers on at the same time. I've been using A@H for over 6 months now for my home phone PBX system, so I already have that computer running, and my main computer is always running, so for me, I already had everything up and running, it was just a matter of getting the softphone working on my main computer, and hooking my scanner up to my computer.
Now on the weekends when I am out of my house, I can call myself using my cell phone (since I have free weekends on my cell phone) and still listen to the scanner. Or when driving around, and I see a bunch of emergency vehicles, I can call my scanner and see what's going on.
It's a pretty neat system once setup, and I think it is alot better than an online broadcast.
Like I posted before, I am not very good at making tutorials/guides, and it is 12:30 in the morning, and I am probably missing several things needed, so if anyone is attempting to set this up, and can't figure it out, feel free to ask questions, and I look forward to anyones comments on my setup.
