MARCs scanning (Dayton Area)

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cellison1460

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I currently live in Piqua and work in the Shelby County and I have a Uniden scanner that I use to listen to both Miami and Shelby County. I guess I am questioning whether it is worth the $500.00 plus to buy a scanner so I can listen to OSP on MARCS. I would probably want to listen to Piqua, Dayton, and Wapakoneta posts.

How much do you hear out of the OSP units? Are there any units that are more "interesting" to listen to than others?
 

radioscan

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I don't think anyone here can answer that type of question.
What is interesting to me may not be interesting to you and vice versa.

I don't think one OSP post is any more or less interesting than another.

I want to listen to OSP, OIU, and everthing else on MARCS.

So the only answer I can give is that it was worth it to me to
shell out the $500 for my PSR-500. In just a few months of use I have
gotten a lot of enjoyment out of mine.

Plus the real fun is in discovering something new on MARCS when it
is received on your scanner and you try to figure out who it is.
 

wa8pyr

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radioscan said:
So the only answer I can give is that it was worth it to me to
shell out the $500 for my PSR-500. In just a few months of use I have
gotten a lot of enjoyment out of mine.

Plus the real fun is in discovering something new on MARCS when it
is received on your scanner and you try to figure out who it is.

I concur.

And MARCS has definitely put a lot of the fun back into scanning for me. For awhile there it was just another tool I used at work in the comm center, and I just didn't do that much listening away from work. Now that I'm in the administrative end of things actually running a radio system (and not listening to the police and fire because I have to), I find myself listening all day and getting some enjoyment out of it again.

Figuring out new stuff on MARCS is fun. You definitely have to put some research effort into some of these outfits, by looking up locations they give through Mapquest or whatever to pin down who they are.
 

SLWilson

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To buy or not to buy?

cellison1460 said:
I currently live in Piqua and work in the Shelby County and I have a Uniden scanner that I use to listen to both Miami and Shelby County. I guess I am questioning whether it is worth the $500.00 plus to buy a scanner so I can listen to OSP on MARCS. I would probably want to listen to Piqua, Dayton, and Wapakoneta posts.

How much do you hear out of the OSP units? Are there any units that are more "interesting" to listen to than others?

I'm in SE Ohio, down in Gallia County. We have some pretty entertaining OSP traffic from our post. But then we ARE hicks from the sticks down here!

wa8pyr said:
I concur.

And MARCS has definitely put a lot of the fun back into scanning for me. For awhile there it was just another tool I used at work in the comm center, and I just didn't do that much listening away from work. Now that I'm in the administrative end of things actually running a radio system (and not listening to the police and fire because I have to), I find myself listening all day and getting some enjoyment out of it again.

Figuring out new stuff on MARCS is fun. You definitely have to put some research effort into some of these outfits, by looking up locations they give through Mapquest or whatever to pin down who they are.

I know what you mean by listening "when you don't have to"...Kinda takes some of the fun out of it when it is what you do EVERY DAY for a living!!!! Same with me here now. Not on the desk "very much" but I have the 2096 sitting on my desk listening to our traffic (to make sure our equipment is working right & WE are working right) as well as all of the surrounding counties that are still conventional...

hoser147 said:
I believe Mark pretty well summed it up. Even with radio traffic cut back by the MDT, there is still plenty to listen to................Hoser

Actually, everyone that replied is right. MARCS is a great system. You never know what area of the state you might hear something from, no matter where you are located.

When some large event starts happening, they patch S.O.'s and PD's into MARCS and you can hear everyone plain as day!

Might be a good thing to use your Federal tax incentive for! Help out the economy!!!

Steve/KB8FAR :cool:
 
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wa8pyr

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SLWilson said:
I'm in SE Ohio, down in Gallia County. We have some pretty entertaining OSP traffic from our post. But then we ARE hicks from the sticks down here!

Some of the most entertaining listening I have is from the "sticks"... 4 years in Athens at OU, visiting relatives in that neck of the woods ever since, and now I've moved south of Columbus where I can hear a bunch of surrounding Southern Ohio counties (plus the Athens, Chillicothe and Lancaster posts on MARCS). There is some awfully entertaining activity in rural areas, especially in Appalachia...

I paraphrase: "Go down xxxx Road, turn right at Mr. Jackson's house, go 1/4 mile until you see the Mail Pouch barn, turn left down the dirt lane, go past Mrs. Martin's house, and then it's the third house down the dirt lane."

Some may laugh, but I actually heard those directions given once....
 

mdulrich

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wa8pyr said:
I paraphrase: "Go down xxxx Road, turn right at Mr. Jackson's house, go 1/4 mile until you see the Mail Pouch barn, turn left down the dirt lane, go past Mrs. Martin's house, and then it's the third house down the dirt lane."

You forgot the "turn right where the big oak tree used to be." :lol:

Mike
 

steveh552

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If I had the money to spare, I may consider having a digital scanner, but for me, there just is not enough in my area on digital (OSP and med flight only that I know of), so it is hard for me to justify that kind of money, especially paying 3.79 for gas and about the same for milk. I use my 2m HAM radios for scanners when I am not talking, there is only one agency I cannot hear.

To answer your question, only you can decide if it is worth it to you. For some, it is as they have said for others, it is not, only you can decide for you.
 

wa8pyr

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mdulrich said:
You forgot the "turn right where the big oak tree used to be." :lol:

That was a different house....
 
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