How long have you been scanning?

I was remembering my first scanning adventure. Actually I didn't have a scanner then, but I did have a multi-band receiver. It was a Wards Airline ten-band receiver.
It had various shortwave bands, AM and FM broadcast bands, and VHF Low, VHF Hi, and aircraft. Back in those days, that was all you really needed.
Most of the Nebraska public safety agencies used 39.90, 39.94, and 39.82 mHz; the state patrol used primarily 42.46 mHz. Of course, all of these agencies also used other frequencies that I don't remember. In order for the local police to talk to the state patrol, NSP had Plectron monitor receivers in the vehicles, and some of the dispatch offices for local authorities had a similar monitoring device, maybe even a crystal-controlled scanner of some type. The Plectron units were expensive, but they were made in Overton, NE. Now, most of the state and local agencies use a statewide P25 system, but not all.

 

[Paco-Jerte]

33 years for me, since 1992. First scanner was a Pro-42 (new) to listen to analog LAPD, sold it and got the Pro-34 (used) and Pro-2006 (new) thereafter.

 

[rf_patriot200]

The telescopic antenna created problems for my mom when I was born !

 

[Swipesy]

Since 1954 before scanners existed. A single crystal mounted on a piece of wood and a single ear plug allowed me to monitor my fireman dad's calls on 33.???

 

[kc2asb]

Since 1954 before scanners existed. A single crystal mounted on a piece of wood and a single ear plug allowed me to monitor my fireman dad's calls on 33.???

Very cool! In those days, there were still some public safety departments that operated just above the top of the AM broadcast band. The migration to VHF-low started in the late 40's and into the 50's.

The high-tech radios of that time were tunable receivers like this "Policalarm" from Radio Apparatus Corp of Indianapolis. I believe these evolved into the Monitoradios manufactured by Regency later on. I have two of these radios - one on VHF-hi and the other covering the 70Mhz band.

Policalarm PR-31A Radio Monitoradio; Indianapolis IN, build 1955 ? |Radiomuseum.org

Policalarm PR-31A Radio Monitoradio; Indianapolis IN, build 1955 ?, 6 pictures, 6 schematics, 6 tubes, United States of America , semiconductors, Broadcast

www.radiomuseum.org

 

[mjdewey]

I started scanning in 1972 when I was in high school. My Uncle bought me a Robyn Hi Lo 8+8 scanner. A couple of years later I got a Regency Monitorradio scanner. Then in 1977 I bought my first programmable scanner the Bearcat BC210. With everyone adding more and new channels to their systems I bought a Regency MX3000 thirty channel radio I thought I was in Heaven. In 1991 an adjacent county went to 800 mhz and I got a Realistic Pro2006. 1996 the State was starting to build a 800 mhz system and I got a Realistic Pro2042. The Statewide 800 mhz went from analog to digital in 2003 and I got my first Trunk Tracking Scanner Uniden BCD796. 2006 came along and I purchased a Uniden BCD996T, then 2009 I got a Uniden BCD996XT. In 2007 I decided to get a GRE PSR as our local Sheriff's Department was using a 800 mhz analog LTR system so I could trunk tracker it as well alot of businesses in my county was using 400 mhz and 800 mhz LTR systems. Then on 2014 I bought my last scanner Uniden BCD536 HP with the DMR and NXDN upgrades. I still have all of my scanners dating back to my first 800 mhz I purchased on 1991.

Listening to scanners made me decide I wanted to get involved in Public Safety. During my career I was a Reserve Police Officer, 911 Dispatcher, volunteer ambulance driver, volunteer partial paid fire fighter. Then the last of my Public Safety career i got very involved with Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

In 2001 I received my technician class amateur radio license. And all of this began from a fifteen year old who started listening to the scanner.

Amateur radios I have everything from HF to UHF on my ham shack.

 

[Archie]

Started in late 1978 with a used Bearcat 12 with 3 PD crystals for $127.00. Deeply regret not getting into much, much sooner. Now my PD is encrypted since late 2018.

 

[KCA6YU]

Couple years shy of 40

 

[teedee911]

My best friend at the time (1978) had just received a Bearcat 210 for his birthday and we spent that entire summer searching and loading frequencies. After pleading with my mother for months she finally caved and bought me my own Bearcat 210 in December of 1979 as a birthday/Christmas combo present and I couldn't have been more happy, the rest as they say is history. Over the years I've bought and sold so many scanners I can't even count them all but if I had to guess I'd say probably around 200. Radio Shack/Realisiic, Uniden, Icom, AOR, and a few other straglers along the way but pretty much Radio Shack and Uniden priamarily. My have the times changed, some for the better, some for the worse, c'est la vie.

 

[teedee911]

I started scanning in 1972 when I was in high school. My Uncle bought me a Robyn Hi Lo 8+8 scanner. A couple of years later I got a Regency Monitorradio scanner. Then in 1977 I bought my first programmable scanner the Bearcat BC210. With everyone adding more and new channels to their systems I bought a Regency MX3000 thirty channel radio I thought I was in Heaven. In 1991 an adjacent county went to 800 mhz and I got a Realistic Pro2006. 1996 the State was starting to build a 800 mhz system and I got a Realistic Pro2042. The Statewide 800 mhz went from analog to digital in 2003 and I got my first Trunk Tracking Scanner Uniden BCD796. 2006 came along and I purchased a Uniden BCD996T, then 2009 I got a Uniden BCD996XT. In 2007 I decided to get a GRE PSR as our local Sheriff's Department was using a 800 mhz analog LTR system so I could trunk tracker it as well alot of businesses in my county was using 400 mhz and 800 mhz LTR systems. Then on 2014 I bought my last scanner Uniden BCD536 HP with the DMR and NXDN upgrades. I still have all of my scanners dating back to my first 800 mhz I purchased on 1991.

Listening to scanners made me decide I wanted to get involved in Public Safety. During my career I was a Reserve Police Officer, 911 Dispatcher, volunteer ambulance driver, volunteer partial paid fire fighter. Then the last of my Public Safety career i got very involved with Emergency Management and Homeland Security.

In 2001 I received my technician class amateur radio license. And all of this began from a fifteen year old who started listening to the scanner.

Amateur radios I have everything from HF to UHF on my ham shack.

Lol.....Sounds pretty darn similar to my scanner history over the years.

 

[teedee911]

Bought my first scanner (BC-210) in 1978 and been buying ever since.

Yep, me too!

 

[Ensnared]

I have been monitoring since 1976, Electra Bearcat IV, 1st one.