turning feed off for event

Status
Not open for further replies.

kb8zxe

Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2004
Messages
73
Location
Wakefield, MI
My county recently experienced a jail escape and 4 day manhunt. Of course at first it was not a big deal but I would say that things got out of hand towards the end. I have several friends in public safety and they encourage the feed. This is a small county, about 11,000 people with an average of 25 listeners. This event went viral on the 4th night though. I was in contact with friends at the sheriff's office and they were saying that things were getting out of hand from the public. Simply put too many people were being idiots while listening to my feed. So once I hit 1000 listeners and the radio traffic was getting very intense I shut thd feed off. I honestly felt this was best for everyone. I was following social media after I shut the feed off and I learned a lot. First off almost no one has a clue that a human runs the feed. Also, after I shut it off the local news media had no more updates. They must not own a scanner. I also read comments from residents in the search area that no longer had a clue what was going on. I felt bad for these people.

I feel really weird for shutting the feed off but I still think it was best. Just curious if any other feed providers ever experienced anything like this.
 

alextuttle

Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
29
Location
Montrose, CO
I have turned mine off or switched off channels in an event too. It is an awkward feeling, but it helps keep the LEO's safe and if they feel safe they won't encrypt the channels.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 

paulears

Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2015
Messages
769
Location
Lowestoft - UK
Over here - the emergency services are encrypted and even if they weren't it would be an offence to broadcast their private comms. Seems you can do what you like in the US. Amazing.
 

FedFyrGuy

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
175
Location
Hagerstown, Maryland
"I also read comments from residents in the search area that no longer had a clue what was going on. I felt bad for these people."

Let them buy a real scanner....
 

IAmSixNine

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
2,443
Location
Dallas, TX
Years ago sheriffs office was chasing someone and they put it out on the air that they thought the suspect was using a phone app.
Shortly after that i shut my feed down hoping it would help them catch the guy. I think it was about 10 minutes after that they were finally able to spike the guy. Im sure taking my feed down had nothing to do with it,but it sure didnt hurt to do it.

On a side note. I had a chat with a local swat guy about radios (he purchased some from me years ago when i worked at a radio shop.) and scanner feeds online. I told him to use it to his advantage.
If they feel a guy is listening to a scanner feed to put out mis-information on it. Then coordinate the actual traffic on a swat channel.
 

marcotor

I ♥ÆS Ø
Feed Provider
Joined
Nov 4, 2004
Messages
1,132
Location
Sunny SoCal
I think you did the right thing. I can't tell you how many times there is something happening that the media is covering live (mostly pursuits and big protest marches) when the agency I feed goes to tac or simplex, that my mail blows up with "I CANT HEAR IT!!!!!!!!". Since the agency doesn't encrypt, and I believe in the rules Broadcastify has in place, I try to send them to a vendor to buy a scanner :)
 

swen_out_west

Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2016
Messages
236
Location
Upper Mojave,CA/NV
Did the right thing and don't feel bad, it drives home the point to people that live feeds are a courtesy to others at your expense. As such it is also your responsibility and prerogative to shut it down if you feel it's the right thing to do.

My main reason for even posting was to just say hi to a fellow Northlander. I'm from Ashland, WI and played many of hockey games in Wakefield back in the late 70's and early 80's.
 
Last edited:

paulmohr

Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2017
Messages
170
Location
Adrian MI
I think you definitely did the right thing. Scanners are fun to listen to, and I greatly appreciate those that stream their feeds. It gives me a way to hear things that are out of my range and it let me monitor long enough to decide if I wanted to invest in my own personal scanner. like for example I used to live in southern california, so I like to listen to that feed sometimes. Or my parents vacation in chandler Arizona, so it is nice to know what is going on there too. And I decided to go ahead and buy my own scanner recently.

However as interesting as they are to listen to, once they start to hinder an investigation or current on going event you just have to drop the feed. Depending on where you live a scanner may be illegal if you use it in a crime or to evade police. So if you are streaming your feed and someone is using it to break the law you may in some way be held accountable for it. And if the people listening don't like it they can just go get their own scanners and learn how to use them. I don't think they realize how much money some people have tied up in streaming one feed, let alone multiple ones. You would almost have to have a scanner dedicated just for your feed. Plus a computer with the right parts and software to capture the audio. Then you would have to leave it all run 24/7 like a server. That gets a bit pricey, no?

So to all you guys that stream feeds thanks a whole bunch.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top