What is the best way to organize content within scan lists? It really is a matter of preferences. There is no single answer. The "best way" most likely depends upon the services of choice, the areas of travel, and listening interests. And the "best way" will undoubtedly change over time as interest evolve.
Some RR members like to put each service -- police, fire, EMS, business, aero -- into its own separate scan list. That approach might cross state and county boundaries. It might be a useful approach for media covering, say, a large metropolitan area.
Other users prefer to organize scan lists by area. All services -- police, fire, EMS, business, aero -- for an area are put into its own separate scan list. This approach might be useful for a user traveling in a wider region but only wishing to listen to the activity in the user's current location.
Yet other users use a mix of the two methodologies to include county, state, air and utilities:
- County A
- State
- County B
- County C
- Electric, gas, telephone utilities
- International and regional airports, ARTCC
Here's my scan list, with comments. I'm interested in what is going on around me. When home, scan lists 01 and 02 are active. Other scan lists are activated as stated.
- 01 - Burlington County, NJ (Police, fire and EMS is centrally dispatched, plus McGuire AFB -- 8 mi from me -- approach/departure, county highway department)
- 02 - State of New Jersey (state police including toll roads (TP/GSP), state helicopter medical, parks and forest fighting services; living in the Pine Barrens my district's FFS is of particular interest)
- 03 - Electric and telephone storm repair units for the service areas surrounding my home (list is activated when a storm takes out power, telephone; no gas or sewage service here)
- 04 - Camden County, NJ (P/F/E -- list activated when driving in the county)
- 05, 06... nn - Ibid (separate lists for other adjacent counties, e.g., Mercer, activated when driving in those counties)
- 10 - Philadelphia (police/traffic, news helicopters -- list activated when driving in the city)
- 11 - Philadelphia Intl Airport PHL (list of approach, tower, ground activated when meeting a flight)
- 12 - Pennsylvania Turnpike (list activated when traveling on toll road)
If I'm traveling on Amtrak somewhere, or spending time at a shore, I may add lists for the railroads, the travel destination or marine. Depends upon how much I want to carry, the duration of travel or stay, or my mood. I used to make a half-dozen drives to northern VT each year, and V-scan folders of state police networks for NY, CT and VT came in handy.
Hope these ideas help as you make up your own datafile.
