Radios for situational awareness?

[KB2GOM]

Does anyone else find radios useful for situational awareness?

If so, what do listen to and how do you do it? Are there any specifics that you would recommend?

 

[trentbob]

I used to use my radios all my life as a newspaper photographer and reporter, a valuable tool.

I always counted on my scanners for situational awareness. I'm not in a bad neighborhood but I border on bad neighborhoods. Just good to know what's going on regarding shootings, manhunts, suspicious persons, pursuits and bolos who might be walking down my street or escaping down my street or even my backyard.

I've always listened to a broad scope of agencies and disciplines but had one radio sitting on my Police Zone that I was in. If something happened, it would be on police dispatch. Been listening since I was a kid.. led me to be newspaper man.

2 years ago I lost that ability after a lifetime of listening to hear my local police Zone. Still not used to not having situational awareness on the street that I live. Never really got past it.

False alarms, dumpster fires, car accidents all day, every day don't give me the situation awareness I'm looking for. You've seen one house fire you've seen them all.

If your local police district or Zone or Precinct that you live in is not encrypted always have a radio sitting on police dispatch and it will be the best situational awareness available.

 

[kc8jwt]

I've always had some sort of scanner or way to listen to stuff since I was 16. I've always liked to know what is going on around me. I'm not one of those folks that will get in car and go looking for it, but always good to have awareness.

I have a scanner at home that I have setup with ProScan to stream it. I work for a local school district and my excuse is to listen to it in case of issues local to us. We have numerous chemical plants in our area and one that is less than 2 miles from our elementary school. There is another one that is around 3 to 5 miles away on top of the other one. I like to have that available in case of an issue I sorta know what is going on and can relay that information to our administrator to tell them what is going on to make informed decisions.

When I was younger I was a member of RACES where I grew up and I was constantly listening to the scanner during weather in case there was a weather emergency and we were needed. We would always start a net and then stand by in case the EMA director had assignments for us. Most of us had scanners so knowing what our FD and PD were relaying to their dispatchers helped us to know where to go and not be in the way in case we were needed.

 

[RichardKramer]

I worked for a large department store warehouse in security; always had my scanner on my belt. I would relay accident info or bad weather related info to our truck fleet office and the other depts so they would be informed and could take any action necessary for everyone to be safe. Been listening to public safety calls since I was12 yrs old. I'm pushing 67 now. I find listening to the school bus freqs and the local public bus (Barta) freqs are a good way to get a handle on traffic issues in my area.

 

[ladn]

If your local police district or Zone or Precinct that you live in is not encrypted always have a radio sitting on police dispatch and it will be the best situational awareness available.

I have a similar monitoring and professional background, but I live in the City of Los Angeles. LAPD dispatch channels are just too busy with (mostly) low grad calls. I've found monitoring the TAC, METRO and SWAT channels to be far more productive for situational awareness.

My home is located very close to the Angeles National Forest (ANF), so I keep a radio locked on the ANF forest net channel. This keeps me appraised about what's going on in the forest, and because of mutual aid agreements, adjacent areas as well.

The LA County Sheriff's Department as gone full encryption on everything (except dispatch), but many LE incidents on the ANF end up on the ANF radio system.

When I'm 4Wheeling in the backcountry, I have a scanner bank with a mix of frequencies that include USFS, BLM, interop, Highway Patrol, aviation and marine channel 16. I have other banks with more complete comm plans for various agencies as well, but my "backcountry" bank is usually quite adequate for my needs.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I scan my local PD almost exclusively. But if TSHTF for real, I will be listening to NIFOG mutual aid, CB, GMRS etc just as intently.

 

[bearcatrp]

Any type of coms is beneficial for situation awareness wether it’s a scanner, receiver, ham radio or cb. I have all 4. But if you don’t know how to use them, then they are worthless. You have to learn the equipment your using.

 

[trentbob]

I scan my local PD almost exclusively. But if TSHTF for real, I will be listening to NIFOG mutual aid, CB, GMRS etc just as intently.

Of course, as a newsman if the TSHTF, for real, I had a well stocked, including licensed to carry firearm and extra ammo and medication go bag in my trunk LOL. I still do even though I'm retired.

After all, I would be situationally aware, and the first to know, as I fled.

 

[SA_tx_88116]

I use my radio all the time for my local pd you may think your city is a nice place until you hear about an attempted robbery that led to a hour long police chase and the suspects coming back to felons and wanted gang members and a dead person being found along I-35. For situational awareness I recommend listening to dispatch channels specifically from your area and tac channel’s if unencrypted and I would recommend you do your homework on your local system and see if your towers are simulcast or p25 2 or EDACS pro voice or anything that would require a specific scanner or upgrade.

 

[MUTNAV]

What kind of Situational Awareness are you addressing? Local area, or strategic warning of countries starting to get annoyed more than normal.... I assume local...

If local, I have to agree with others... with the extension of getting a good 'feel' for what is 'normal' where you are.... Many non-listeners are surprised at the amount of crime and activity happening on a regular basis.

Thanks
Joel

 

[merlin]

Where I live, about all 'sit aware' is public safety and now encrypted.
Features in radios are man down-GPS enabled emergency call.
No more "shots fired/officer down" sort of thing.
Once in a great while I get a dispatch call "Be advised, PR is armed".

 

[PrivatelyJeff]

Does anyone else find radios useful for situational awareness?

If so, what do listen to and how do you do it? Are there any specifics that you would recommend?

For home: local police and fire

For vehicles: state police and regional fire. I’m a truck driver and listen to CHP and fire departments in the area I’m driving through so I can be aware of accidents and vehicle fires on my route. They are fixed routes so I just turn areas on and off as I move through them.

 

[GlobalNorth]

The local PD is grossly understaffed, so they aren't proactive. The local FD has enough units and I occasionally listen. I spend more time listening to State and Fed wildland fire crews in season due to the possibility of needing to exfil. Same with flood alerts in season. NOAA gets listened to in the AM, repeat in the PM, and once at night.

 

[N4DES]

If your FD sends its CAD information to PulsePoint it's a great phone App to get the initial notification that something is going on and you don't have to be tied to listening to the FD radio traffic. I've lost track of how many times it's assisted me on avoiding a traffic tie-up when I had a daily 30 mile commute amongst other things.

 

[MTS2000des]

I've gotta say, the O/P's county is one of the most documented and disclosed radio/E911 systems I've ever seen!

Emergency Services Communications | Rensselaer County, NY

Review online resources and forms related to Rensselaer County Emergency Services Communications.

www.rensco.com

While I don't see CAD notifications, it looks like they will notify you of everything and anything gov related you can ponder...impressive. This is a model for how county/cities should do it:

Notify Me • Rensselaer County, NY • CivicEngage

www.rensco.com

 

[ctiller]

I do. Just a few months ago I was driving home from work and happened to have my handheld with me, which I usually don't. Anyway I heard a very dangerous chase of an armed person coming toward me on the highway I was on and I was able to move over and slow down well before they got to me (blew by me at about 120mph). I was also able to warn my wife about it as she was on the same road at the time.

 

[mark40]

Situational awareness is what I'm listening in for these days with a narrow focus on local LE, EMS and Fire.

In days past, listened to anything and everything with every new scanner/innovation adding a lot of excitement as to what was possible.

So I'm back to where I started in the 70s, listening in to local LE, EMS and Fire. Back then it was a Regency VHF-hi receiver, Pearce Simpson 8- channel scanner, Bearcat 4- channel hand held.

 

[SigIntel8600]

My local PD is encrypted on a UHF Phase 1 P25 system.. FD, EMS, local government and schools are on the same system but not encrypted. The bus drivers are a good source for local traffic conditions. FD and EMS can be helpful with situational awareness based on the incident they are responding to but not having local PD makes it difficult. I can monitor our State Police that cover major highways and our County Sheriff puts out countywide crime bulletins in the clear.

 

[DVINTHEHOUSEMAN]

I almost always have a portable scanner with me, I keep my local and neighboring counties' sheriff, police, fire/EMS, and public works channels in my scanner, as well as WSP, DNR, federal services (USFS/NPS, USSS, NIFOG), local businesses and GMRS/FRS channels.

It's definitely nice to have, it's kept me away from a couple reported drunk drivers and also out of the way of fire/EMS, not to mention existing traffic conditions. It's also just interesting to listen to in general.

 

[serial14]

I agree with the view/perspective that communications are a force multiplier, both 2 way communications and simply monitoring things. I also believe that its important to know your gear, environment, and what your goal or mission is. This forum is full of really cool radio gadgets, but do you know how to use what you have? Do you know how to use what's readily available?

Like many on this forum, I simultaneously have too many radios and not enough radios at the same time. Over the years I've used various combinations of them to achieve my goal. Some times its a cheap Chinese radio like the Baofeng, and sometimes its an ultra spiffy expensive thing. But it still comes down to knowing what is out there and how to use the gear you have with you at the time.

There are many great suggestions in this thread for what to listen to. I traditionally gravitate towards non obvious sources of information on the radio waves. For example, if I'm interested in road conditions or how a storm is impacting the area I'm in. I've discovered that a certain concrete / gravel companies radio system is very informative to listen to in addition to the City Bus and City Snow plow talk group.

As another example when ever I'm around/near/attending large events, I try to find the various radio systems/freqs in use for the event and monitor those. There have been many instances where I learn about a situation before the "general public" of the event because I'm monitoring the command/ops radio channel and I can CHOOSE how I'm going to ACT for that situation.