I'm sure many here have seen the "Portable Emergency Monitoring Station" that ScannerMaster has to offer, and quite frankly, they make it look beautiful...but for the starving college student that I am, the price wasn't something within my reach. However, I wanted to capture the spirit of what they were doing with what I had lying around, and decided to build something myself.
I forewarn any with an artistic eye that I am by NO MEANS a perfectionist. On top of that, I'm legally blind, so sight in general for me is an issue, so if you see minor imperfections here and there, they'll probably be addressed in the future, but I just didn't catch them at the time I took the photos.
I have three scanners
- BC92XLT: Used for monitoring the railroads, weather, and anything that can be still heard with it
- BC246T: Used for monitoring the local 800Mhz public safety system, as well as other VHF/UHF public safety and local utilities
- BCD396XT: Used for monitoring the same as above, but with the addition of the new 700Mhz systems going up here in the next couple of years or so
The main idea is portability - I want to be able to take this with me wherever I go. Having one scanner is usually all I need, but sometimes I like having all of them on hand. Usually when I take them, I just throw them into a bag with whatever batteries I have lying around. This way - everything is together and easy to grab. Also, this is easier to find and operate during a power outage (another reason why I like the idea of PEMS).
Besides the scanners themselves, all I really did here was gutted an old briefcase meant to carry a laptop; drilled holes in three places to place some BNC couplers to join the coax and antennas together; and added some Pelican 1401 foam (which, I didn't realize that the foam would not only be different colors, but also different cuts, even though I ordered the same thing twice).
As you can see, there is storage for the stock antennas, plus a Watson 881 Super Gainer, and an extra set of batteries for each scanner (they already have them installed, so there are 14 total here, but the foam is pick and pluck, so I can just add room for more later). Also, there are some cuts here and there on both the main foam and the panels covering the wires - those are there to allow the case to close without crushing the foam.
Each scanner is pre-wired, so it's just a matter of adding the antenna, and powering up! It's a pretty slick setup.
Now you'll probably notice the foam panels on the upper half are sticking out - I'm not 100% set on how the cables are placed behind them, and I need to make some more cuts, so they probably won't be glued down until I fix a few cosmetic issues.
My plan is to add some laminated lists of what's on what channel and bank, and attach them to the panels by way of some adhesive Velcro, and probably add some small flexible LED lights to illuminate the case. I'm also looking at the idea of some small plastic caps to cover the BNC connectors when they're not being used.
So there ya go - a fun weekend project that didn't really cost an arm and a leg. I may make some changes here soon, so I'll add photos if I do.
Thanks for checking out my DIY PEMS!
I forewarn any with an artistic eye that I am by NO MEANS a perfectionist. On top of that, I'm legally blind, so sight in general for me is an issue, so if you see minor imperfections here and there, they'll probably be addressed in the future, but I just didn't catch them at the time I took the photos.
I have three scanners
- BC92XLT: Used for monitoring the railroads, weather, and anything that can be still heard with it
- BC246T: Used for monitoring the local 800Mhz public safety system, as well as other VHF/UHF public safety and local utilities
- BCD396XT: Used for monitoring the same as above, but with the addition of the new 700Mhz systems going up here in the next couple of years or so
The main idea is portability - I want to be able to take this with me wherever I go. Having one scanner is usually all I need, but sometimes I like having all of them on hand. Usually when I take them, I just throw them into a bag with whatever batteries I have lying around. This way - everything is together and easy to grab. Also, this is easier to find and operate during a power outage (another reason why I like the idea of PEMS).
Besides the scanners themselves, all I really did here was gutted an old briefcase meant to carry a laptop; drilled holes in three places to place some BNC couplers to join the coax and antennas together; and added some Pelican 1401 foam (which, I didn't realize that the foam would not only be different colors, but also different cuts, even though I ordered the same thing twice).
As you can see, there is storage for the stock antennas, plus a Watson 881 Super Gainer, and an extra set of batteries for each scanner (they already have them installed, so there are 14 total here, but the foam is pick and pluck, so I can just add room for more later). Also, there are some cuts here and there on both the main foam and the panels covering the wires - those are there to allow the case to close without crushing the foam.
Each scanner is pre-wired, so it's just a matter of adding the antenna, and powering up! It's a pretty slick setup.
Now you'll probably notice the foam panels on the upper half are sticking out - I'm not 100% set on how the cables are placed behind them, and I need to make some more cuts, so they probably won't be glued down until I fix a few cosmetic issues.
My plan is to add some laminated lists of what's on what channel and bank, and attach them to the panels by way of some adhesive Velcro, and probably add some small flexible LED lights to illuminate the case. I'm also looking at the idea of some small plastic caps to cover the BNC connectors when they're not being used.
So there ya go - a fun weekend project that didn't really cost an arm and a leg. I may make some changes here soon, so I'll add photos if I do.
Thanks for checking out my DIY PEMS!
