Whats the point in spending all that money for a scanner???

[ka3nxn]

I'm seeing that a lot of VA agencies are now encrypted. I was going to buy the new Uniden 100 portable, but if I can't listen to most police departments anymore, what's the point in spending almost $600? I see our hobby being grossly limited. I can't see spending that kind of money so I can just listen to school buses and trash trucks.

Your thoughts?

KA3NXN

 

[n5ims]

To each its own but there's more to listening than the rare (but exciting) large police SWAT action or multi-city chase. Most PD traffic now days is pretty dull. "9278, check MDC for assignment" or "New Mexico ABC-123 clear, no wants, no warrants". The exciting stuff is mostly encrypted or done using the MDC.

It may not sound interesting, but I used to enjoy listening to the city's golf course operations, specifically the food & drink team. There was never a code-3 chase using a golf cart going after a golfer that failed to reset their divot, but the interaction between the fairly young cart wranglers (mostly male) and the food and drink folks (mostly female) was fun to listen to. Much better than any of those MTV "reality" shows. After a major flood, the city sold the course (they kept the land, but all operations were sold to a company that restored the course and now runs it) their operations moved from the city system and is now done using some other method (cell, I believe) and is no longer monitorable.

 

[mmckenna]

...what's the point in spending almost $600?

I'm pretty sure Uniden appreciates it.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

To each its own but there's more to listening than the rare (but exciting) large police SWAT action or multi-city chase. Most PD traffic now days is pretty dull. "9278, check MDC for assignment" or "New Mexico ABC-123 clear, no wants, no warrants". The exciting stuff is mostly encrypted or done using the MDC.

It may not sound interesting, but I used to enjoy listening to the city's golf course operations, specifically the food & drink team. There was never a code-3 chase using a golf cart going after a golfer that failed to reset their divot, but the interaction between the fairly young cart wranglers (mostly male) and the food and drink folks (mostly female) was fun to listen to. Much better than any of those MTV "reality" shows. After a major flood, the city sold the course (they kept the land, but all operations were sold to a company that restored the course and now runs it) their operations moved from the city system and is now done using some other method (cell, I believe) and is no longer monitorable.

Sounds like "Caddy Shack" 2.0!

 

[ka3nxn]

I drive all around the state for my job and like to listen to public svc when I go to a particular area, especially police. But most police agencies are going encrypted here in VA

 

[ka3nxn]

Sounds like "Caddy Shack" 2.0!

Although it would be pretty funny to listen to the clean up crew removing a Baby Ruth bar from a swimming pool. ;0)

 

[laidback]

Check out Railroad and Mil-Air, No need for a fancy upgradable scanner.

 

[trentbob]

I listen to it all as I live by the water and on the East Coast near the Northeast Corridor. You name it, I listen to it, on multiple radios, always did, big Aviation listener

Not being able to listen to my local police Zone that patrols my street I live on is a major issue for me. It just a matter of situational awareness. Also I've been listening to the police non-stop for 57 years since I was 10 years old and it led me to a rewarding career that I'm retired from as a newspaperman... not going to get into contributing factors here...

I have so many interesting things I listen to but I have to say that rapid deliberate encryption often justified by the same reason could be hurting the sales of "police scanners". I can't say that I blame you poster. Being able to listen to my local police was the glue that held it all together for me.

 

[laidback]

Also I live 4 miles from a McDonalds and other fast food. BC125AT is a great scanner to find the freq. you need. The ooold saying "kids say the darndest things" my dad said it differently but we knew what he meant.

 

[FedFyrGuy]

Broadcastify! Can't listen to my local PD or Sheriff (encryption) but I can still listen to riots and mayhem in some of the largest cities in the country. Go figure......
Rail operations, Marine and Aircraft communications can still be pretty interesting....and usually a much cheaper scanner can fit the bill.

 

[BoxAlarm187]

I'm seeing that a lot of VA agencies are now encrypted...Your thoughts?

Yes, if law enforcement is your main interest, then you probably don't want to shell out the cash for a new 100/200 series scanner. But as the others have said, there is still plenty to listen to that's not LE (fire, EMS, Pegasus helo from Charlottesville, rail, air, etc). In an area as rural as Arvonia, you likely wouldn't have many businesses to listen to aside from perhaps the lumber mill and the Buckingham Branch RR, but there are still many other things.

It's all about what your return on investment is against your budget.

 

[T0matoPaste]

Yeah, there's a lot more out there to monitor than just LEO. Honestly I hadn't really only monitored my local trunk system sporadically when it was still in the clear FM, and have yet to touch it now that it's all digi. Really, I find a lot of the local business/transport/marine comms a lot more interesting/entertaining though I do monitor the local VHF fire simulcasts and national forest comms sometimes. My county's utility frequencies get monitored a lot during windstorm season (late November-mid December) and they're still FM.

And a lot of the business LMR stuff is also going digi so I suppose an IC-R30 (with AA box) might be in my future one of these years. Be a nice upgrade from my decrepit PRO-97 anyways.

 

[trentbob]

Also I live 4 miles from a McDonalds and other fast food. BC125AT is a great scanner to find the freq. you need. The ooold saying "kids say the darndest things" my dad said it differently but we knew what he meant.

Yeah, and McDonald's drive-thru or a Walmart stock clerk is something I actually have never listen to nor pursued LOL. I do listen to our fire police on their own frequency off the county system and they were issued RX only County radios so they can hear the encrypted police. And no, none of them will stream that privately, LOL.

 

[kainixon2187]

Lot's of the drive thru headsets are unmonitorable now (i believe.) A few things I like to listen to are rec centers, state parks, etc. Businesses such as target, harris teeter, food lion, walmart, etc are fun to listen to if you're nearby since they use low power radios. You'll hear lots of interesting conversations on there. Another thing I like to do is put my scanner on search mode and see what I find.

 

[TexTAC]

It all depends on where you live. I live north of Dallas Texas and the Dallas PD and FD still use conventional channels which are active and interesting to listen to 24 hours a day. There’s always something going on … sometimes includes multi-city interops and police helicopters. The town and county I live in use P25 trunked systems. Some channels are encrypted but dispatch is not. Still interesting to hear what is being dispatched in my neighborhood/vicinity.

I sometimes have three radios going on at once. The SDS100 for local PD/FD, another cheap scanner or handheld tranciever for Dallas PD/FD, and a base transceiver for ham radio.

 

[maus92]

Lol, I listen to Fire and Rescue almost exclusively, which is almost non-stop around here. Police is pretty boring, but routine ops are generally not encrypted in DC region's more populous jurisdictions (with the significant exceptions like MPDC, Baltimore (eventually,) and little podunk sheriff's offices.)

 

[kg4icg]

Here in Prince William county, Get Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Loudon, Fauqier/Culpepper, Stafford/Spotsylvania, PG, Charles, Montgomery, DC and fed and mil all on my SDS200 no problems. Some not all are encrypted, oh and let;'s not forget Va STARS which is in the clear unless something special is happening

 

[awal]

Lol, I listen to Fire and Rescue almost exclusively, which is almost non-stop around here. Police is pretty boring, but routine ops are generally not encrypted in DC region's more populous jurisdictions (with the significant exceptions like MPDC, Baltimore (eventually,) and little podunk sheriff's offices.)

Same here, really. I have family in fire dept (AAFD) and I mostly listen for that reason. I think listening to license checks are pretty mundane. And I get a kick out of listening to PG & MoCo school bus drivers. Much more interesting that a license check on a 80-year old on Rt. 301 😁

 

[trentbob]

It really does matter where you live and what type of area you are in. Our police is fully encrypted now but we used to have at least dispatch. Data and car checks were always done on a separate channel nobody wants to hear that lol

I can understand in some communities it's car stops and barking dog calls. I live just south of Trenton New Jersey and on the border just north of Philadelphia PA. My section of town is fairly safe but is surrounded by not so safe areas and my Police Zone which I can't hear anymore is constantly busy with violent crime, mostly gang related from... Trenton and Philly.

So we have drive-by shootings on a regular basis even if they don't hit their mark, most car stops result in an arrest being that there are so many outstanding warrants, many cars are not registered or insured because of the socio-economic situation, car accidents often lead to people fleeing the scene. A lot of drug activity. Our K9 dogs are always sniffing somebody out LOL, it's a very active area.

Bank robberies, shootings, felony arrests, hostage situations, violent domestics and constant serious car accidents get pretty routine when you hear it all the time but when it happens on the next block and there's a foot pursuit with an armed suspect going in the backyards and heading towards me, that's the situational awareness I miss. I like knowing what make and model car is fleeing with several armed suspects who did a drive-by shooting and they're heading in my direction.

Some zones in my County are just barking dogs, car stops and unfounded burglar alarms.

It really does depend on where you live.

 

[maus92]

I have 3 cops as neighbors, so even the drug dealers keep it on the down low around here. lol. Instead they do drive up service: no hanging on corners like in Baltimore. I do listen to the Annapolis Police as they have a community policing philosophy and answer all kinds of calls for service, so it's not just traffic stops and records checks. But I suppose owning a scanner in a more rural area that doesn't run a lot of fire / rescue calls and has a (needlessly) fully encrypted sheriff's department could be difficult to justify.