I don't think a crystal scanner would work well in So. Cal.
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Get the latest weather?
I put an old crystal scanner back into service... with a new trick even the most expensive scanner does not have. You might want to too!
- Thread starter Omega-TI
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Heck, I don't think I would work well in So. Cal.
"OFF" = Official Frequency Filtering
The payoff wasn't worth the hype the thread title generated.
Sorry to disappoint you.
Ubbe
Member
It's just a click bait, but for what purpose beats me. All modern and expensive scanners I know of can be used with a power switch and will start scanning when they are powered on, so not unique to crystal scanners.
/Ubbe
Okay, you are an expert that knows everything about all scanners. Good for you. Click bait? I will call that opinion. Now I personally found it useful and thought I'd share. I guess the old saying that goes "You can't please everyone, no matter how hard you try" applies in this case. Have a good day.
217
Sporadic E enthusiast
I read this far in wondering if there was a video of the 16S400 in action.
K5MPH
Member
Old School.............
Geez! For the amount of times you'd have to turn a scanner that wasn't at arm's length back on due to a power failure, you could just get up off your butt and turn it back on. And if you live in an area whose power grid is that unstable, get an uninterruptible power supply, or simply use a handheld scanner.
Jeez? I feel the same way about people going negative that either don't bother to read or comprehend, like when in my original message I clearly stated, that it was out of sight and not easy to get to.
I also find it hard to comprehend why some people jump to conclusions, assuming for instance, that someone may not be old with mobility issues or have a disability. Something like this could greatly benefit them.
I agree, Mine is only off if the power is off for an extended time and I run out of batteries and charge packs.
I have my trusty old BC250 turn on when I turn on the basement lights. I can still hear the fire dispatch channels on VHF analog on it.
You can also use X10 appliance modules for control.
You can also use X10 appliance modules for control.
eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
Any headline with "weird", "trick", or "sneaky" qualifies as clickbait.
BinaryMode
Blondie Once Said To Call Her But Never Answerd
Amateur radio repeaters/GMRS. I'm sure SAR and who knows what else is still analog...
Last year I bought a Regency crystal controlled 4 channel scanner. Model ACT-C4 H/L/U year of 1976 (good year) at Goodwill. It's super cool and love the vintage look and how each light lights up when the scanner cycles the channels. Certainly nothing like today, but it's great to hear the town's FD rebroadcast on 2 meters, weather, and a ham radio repeater. Lots of crystals can be found on eBay.
The best part? Made in the USA.
In lieu of privacy invading Amazon, check out Mycroft. You'll need a CPU with the AVX instruction set... Then there's IFTTT and the Home Assistant project...
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Ah yes, the old X10 appliance modules! I had used them since the late 70's. I still have a dozen or so in a box someplace. I took mine out-of-service a few years ago. Why? Well, because the receiver modules would not always receive the signal from the remotes and for some strange reason I actually needed two receiver modules for different parts of the old house. The remotes were getting old and breaking down and replacements on Ebay starting climbing in cost. After my appliance modules started breaking down after working for years, I started swapping out the broken ones with a new system, but I got tired of having multiple remotes in every room cluttering things up. But the main thing, was the X10 stuff is local only, I could not control everything remotely with the smartphone when away from home. So I settled on the Alexa compatible devices.
Now to be 100% frank, I could care less if some file exists in an Amazon computer somewhere about how many times a day I turn on or off the lights, scanner, or change the temperature. I'm just an old man trying to simplify my life. If they want to deduce what time of night I get up to pee, more power to them, but it's useless information.
BinaryMode
Blondie Once Said To Call Her But Never Answerd
I can't find the article now, but I read a city is using "smart" technology to hear people's coughs on public transportation. City may have been Seattle.
One day the toilet will analyze your pee... The results will go to the Feds - I mean your doctor.
I have a BC350a driven by a smartplug in my living room. I addition to being addressable from my Google Home devices, it's also integrated into Home Assistant, which looks for MQTT pubs that drop when various departments in my county are dispatched. The scanner comes on and I can tell which department was activated by the color of the LED light that comes on behind the TV.
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