Private feed from my Scanner

[camerongarney]

hello, sorry ahead of time but I am pretty new to setting up a stream from my scanner.

I would like to set up a stream from my scanner that only I and a couple people can listen to. I am very computer savvy and have no issues understanding the general setup however I do not know which software is best and if there is software that I can use between a Mac computer and then the ability to either download an app to listen to the stream and how to make sure it’s only available to people I share it with.

I know that the scanner will need to be connected to a computer that is always online however I would like know the most efficient way to accomplish this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am sorry if I left any information out and will gladly provide that information.

Thank you!
Cameron

 

[fxdscon]

hello, sorry ahead of time but I am pretty new to setting up a stream from my scanner.

I would like to set up a stream from my scanner that only I and a couple people can listen to. I am very computer savvy and have no issues understanding the general setup however I do not know which software is best and if there is software that I can use between a Mac computer and then the ability to either download an app to listen to the stream and how to make sure it’s only available to people I share it with.

I know that the scanner will need to be connected to a computer that is always online however I would like know the most efficient way to accomplish this.

Any help would be greatly appreciated and I am sorry if I left any information out and will gladly provide that information.

Thank you!
Cameron

Welcome to the forums!

You won’t find much in the way of software for scanners that will run natively on a Mac. You didn’t mention what scanner you are using, but if you’re using one of the supported Uniden scanners, ProScan for the PC is the best and easiest way to do what you’re looking for.

ProScan

Computer Aided Scanning Software for the Uniden BC125AT BC250D BC296D BC346XT BC346XTC BC780XLT BC785D BC796D BCD160DN BCD260DN BCD325P2 BCD396T BCD396XT BCD436HP BCD536HP BCD996P2 BCD996T BCD996XT BCT15 BCT15X BR330T SDS100 SDS100E SDS200 SDS200E UBC125XLT UBC126AT UBCD160DN UBCD260DN...

www.proscan.org

ProScan has a free 30 day fully functional trial, and it’s the most comprehensive and feature packed software you will find anywhere for scanners.

You can set up ProScan’s web server feature running on your home PC and then access your scanner remotely and privately using any device that has a web browser and an Internet connection without having to use any apps or special software on the remote device. You can set it up with passwords for different permission levels of access, monitoring, and control. And it can be accessed only by those that you have given the IP address/port to.

Some folks choose to post their server addresses publicly, which is strictly optional. You can check out a list of those here and access them to get a feel for what they look like.

Web Servers Directory

 

[camerongarney]

Thank you! I can probably just get a mini PC to dedicate to running proscan. That seems the easiest. I appreciate it. I’m using a BCD396T currently

 

[fxdscon]

Thank you! I can probably just get a mini PC to dedicate to running proscan. That seems the easiest. I appreciate it. I’m using a BCD396T currently

Sounds good, much easier than trying to run Windows virtually on a MAC. To connect to the PC, you'll need the USB programming cable ( Uniden USB-1 cable) for the 396T that has the Hirose serial connector at the scanner end (that end for the scanner's programming port is not USB). If it's the cable that came with the scanner, or an older cable, the drivers for the cable will no longer work with current Windows. I currently use several of these 3rd party cables with the serial to USB convertor built in, plug and play...

Amazon.com: Green-utech USB to RS232 Mini 4P Serial Adapter Cable for Uniden Bearcat BCT15X BCD996XT BCD996T BCD396T Scanner PC Programming Cable FT231XS Chip : Electronics

Buy Green-utech USB to RS232 Mini 4P Serial Adapter Cable for Uniden Bearcat BCT15X BCD996XT BCD996T BCD396T Scanner PC Programming Cable FT231XS Chip: USB Cables - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

a.co

You'll also need a male to male stereo audio cable to connect the scanner's audio from the scanner's headphone jack to the PC MIC in port.

You may also possibly need one of these if your feed ends up with a hum or other anomaly on the audio portion.

https://a.co/d/3jySZmh

Let us know if you have any other questions on the setup.

 

[jtwalker]

And your ISP & router need to allow port forwarding, or you’ll have to get creative with a more complicated solution.

 

[camerongarney]

Wow. This answered all of my questions including the cables I will need. I really appreciate you being so helpful!

 

[fxdscon]

Wow. This answered all of my questions including the cables I will need. I really appreciate you being so helpful!

And also... As well as port forwarding mentioned by jtwalker above, if the location of the PC running ProScan has a dynamic IP address from your ISP (most home service does), you'll want to have a DNS service so that your feed can always be reliably reached from an external IP address when your ISP changes your home IP address. This is a free one that I have used for years...

No-IP | Smarter DNS Starts Here

No-IP is a Free Dynamic DNS and Managed DNS provider with 100% uptime. Get free DDNS, plus domain registration and SSL certificates, for home and business

www.noip.com

 

[kg4ojj]

How about streaming it over Discord or Zello?

 

[DC31]

I second the Zello option, especially since you are savvy. The delay is in milliseconds rather than in minutes. You can easily control who can listen, etc. The Zello app is mature and well-supported. you can replay any transmission.

when you go to Zello.com look for the “sign in to our free app” in the fine print. you do not need to subscribe to Zello Work.

any computer that runs python can stream to Zello.

GitHub - aaknitt/zellostream: Python script to stream audio to and from a Zello channel

Python script to stream audio to and from a Zello channel - aaknitt/zellostream

github.com