Scanner listening can be addictive.....

[Blackink]

Wow, this stuff is a rush!
Here's the link to the story I'm describing:Armed robbery in Cambridge - WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports.
OK, so I was listening to my scanner the other day when the State Police dispatch in Williston, VT. breaks squelch and I hear about a "B.O.L."(Be on the lookout) an armed robbery at Kinney Drugs that just happened, early afternoon, and they have a description of the car and the direction it headed.

Well.....it wasn't long before multiple State police radioed back and even a Fish & Game unit was in the area looking for info and was headed to that area.
And I'm listening to this stuff live, as it's happening!

The next thing I know, I'm pulling up Google Maps and punching in the area the robbery was in, about 30 miles from me, and I'm furiously typing in the roads I'm hearing the State Police radio back that they're on.
Suddenly, the suspects are spotted on such and such a road and there I go again, typing on my keyboard like there's no tomorrow, trying to "tail" these crooks, just as the State police are doing...what a rush.

It's the first time I've actually listened to a live police chase involving a day time robbery and in no time at all, the suspects were spotted and police were in hot pursuit....

Who needs drugs when you can listen to this and be "virtually" involved.

Very cool indeed.
p.s. Written by just another "addicted" scanner listener!

 

[CrabbyMilton]

I have been addicted to this crazyness called scanning for almost 34 years now. If someone out there has a treatment program, I don't want it.

 

[jfhtm350]

Some people have 5 or 6 scanners going at the same time. I have 2 going and its hard to listen to both when something is going on, but if I didnt have two going I would have missed alot of traffic because the sheriff and city police, sheriff and fire, city police and fire, or all three wants to talk at the same time.

 

[reconrider8]

Amen to that I've heard a few also another thing is like dea or aganrs tracking someone . Short story we were riding down i95 one day and I hear dea on viper which is out state wide system and they are like a mile or so ahead of is tracking a driver a few counties down from where we were going getting the ping on their phone as soon as they could

 

[Blackink]

I have been addicted to this crazyness called scanning for almost 34 years now. If someone out there has a treatment program, I don't want it.

I couldn't have said it better myself.....

 

[KI4VBR]

Welcome to our world Steve. Most of us tend to go overboard with time spent listening and the ill-fated "gear aquisition syndrome" or G.A.S. for short (purchasing too much radio hardware). As mentioned here, you may find yourself running multiple scanners at home and possibly in your car (depending on state laws). I even had one at my office and one on the boat.

If you start having dreams of high-end receivers, discone & log-periodic antennas at 120', crypto-cracking programs for RF/Audio.....well it might be time to join a support group for scanner additcts. Hopefully you will find a way to keep peace with the family and not hear your home address dispatched while you are listening. JK.

I wish you the best of luck with exploring a fascinating hobby Steve. There are so many areas to explore and never enough time.

Best regards,
Vince
KI4VBR - EL88ob
Palm Harbor, FL

 

[wtp]

two

going into a store one day a guy asked "why two scanners"
so i said "two things can happen at once"
in 1972 i got started tuning in my local cops
been hooked since!

 

[russellmaher]

Steve - you're right on the mark when you talk about the rush when you are following an incident in real time on the scanner. The information obtained from local news sources is usually hours old or if you're real lucky maybe minutes old, but on the scanner...it's happening as you're listening.

I've heard the usual scanner stuff like car thefts, store shop-lifters, traffic violations, cars driving down the interstate on the wrong side of the highway, etc...but the biggest one I listened to was in August 2010 in Manchester, CT.

An employee of Hartford Distributors (Budweiser Beer) was caught stealing and given the opportunity to be fired or resign, After signing the paperwork and being walked out the door, he pulled two handguns from his lunchbox and began firing. He killed 8 and wounded 2 co-workers before he put the gun to his head and took the easy way out. I followed this incident for hours listening to the local police, state police, SWAT units from many departments, fire and EMS also. Fascinating stuff and all happening at my fingertips.

You can google search HARTFORD DISTRIBUTORS SHOOTOUT and read all the details about this massacre, or you may have even heard of it.

The next big one was the bombing of the Boston Marathon. I wasn't able to monitor the Boston police activity in Boston itself, but had no problem picking up the repeater of the MA State Police and all their cars and helo chatter.

So, I'll agree with you all....this is some addiction we have here!

Russell

 

[ButlerAlerts]

Our county likes to have many,many units over riding each other. I f I had enough money, I would like to have 6 Scanners for just one county. So I can hear everything without disruption.

 

[russellmaher]

A lot of members here are in the "multiple scanners" group and I list myself in that category.

That said, it makes me wonder what the radio room at the news department, whether local or national, looks like? Row after row of scanners??

Or maybe, they're members of Broadcastify?

Russell

 

[rbm]

Some people have 5 or 6 scanners going at the same time.

How about 40+ scanners at the same time? ;-) (And seven live feeds online.)
Check out my shack photo at the link above.
That's a few years old and shows only half of my den.
Since then I've added another 15 scanners.

And when I get a Close Call hit ..... a video for you.
Quite noisy.

Uniden Close Call - CC DND - YouTube

Around 15 years ago, a friend who owned one scanner asked why I had so many.
I said ... "You'll figure it out eventually." ;-)
Now he has more than 15 of them.

Rich

I've been doing this since I was 8 years old and built my first radio from scratch.
That was a LONG time ago.

 

[russellmaher]

Rich: That's outstanding! Did you take a room in the house or did you build a house around the shack?

That video was great! I'll bet you wake up quick when that happens.

Russell

 

[AC2OY]

Wow!!!! In many radio shacks I notice that a lot of people have a Realistic Pro-2006,before I joined this website I sold mine. I'm still kicking myself for that bonehead move. Amazing shack Richard!!! I think I see two 2006's there very sweet!!!!

 

[rbm]

Rich: That's outstanding! Did you take a room in the house or did you build a house around the shack?

That video was great! I'll bet you wake up quick when that happens.

Russell

Thanks Russell.

Yes, it's impossible NOT to notice when I get a Close Call hit.

I usually have CC DND active on only 20 of the scanners at one time.
And even then, there are times when I only get a hit on 4 or 5 at once.
It all depends on whether the other scanners are stopped on active frequencies at the time.

I've been in this house for just over 20 years.
When I was looking to move, the requirements were that it had to be high, in the clear, and have a room for scanners.
This place fit that well.

My 'kids' are grown and have their own families so, the 'family room' in this house became the 'scanner room'.
I do have one scanner in the kitchen, one in the living room, and one in the garage.
That was my 'allowable' limit outside of the 'scanner room'. ;-)

My wife does complain about all the scanners but she's always asking me .... "Did you just hear that on the scanner?"


Rich

 

[rbm]

Wow!!!! In many radio shacks I notice that a lot of people have a Realistic Pro-2006,before I joined this website I sold mine. I'm still kicking myself for that bonehead move.

At one time, the PRO-2006 was THE scanner to have!

I used to have 15 of them, until a lighting hit took out 8 of them in 2007. ;(

I built a CE-232 interface into each of them and they were my very first computer controlled logging and programmable scanners.
I wrote a lot of software for them and I could make them do just about anything I could think of.

But ................... they didn't have PL decoders to separate different agencies on the same frequency.
And with good antennas, I would pick up as many as five agencies on the same frequency.

They were 'bullet proof'!
Just not 'lightning proof'! ;(

Rich

 

[Blackink]

If someone out there has a treatment program, I don't want it.

That is such a cool statement I had to reply to it again.
Thanks for the great quote.....

 

[AC2OY]

At one time, the PRO-2006 was THE scanner to have!

I used to have 15 of them, until a lighting hit took out 8 of them in 2007. ;(

I built a CE-232 interface into each of them and they were my very first computer controlled logging and programmable scanners.
I wrote a lot of software for them and I could make them do just about anything I could think of.

But ................... they didn't have PL decoders to separate different agencies on the same frequency.
And with good antennas, I would pick up as many as five agencies on the same frequency.

They were 'bullet proof'!
Just not 'lightning proof'! ;(

Rich

Aww sorry to hear man that is sad. 15 wow your making me feel better...LOL I'm glad you still have a few. As far as the addiction statement...me too.

 

[SquierStrat]

I can relate on everything! On more than 1 occasion i have pulled up google maps and followed a pursuit out in the county. As far as how many scanners does a person need? I'd say 1 scanner for every channel you want to listen to. When you dont need to "scan" anymore, and can just "hold" each scanner on each individual channel, you're set!


Welcome aboard!

 

[hippieman556]

I have been into this hobby for over 13 years and I always learn new things everytime I tune in.

 

[mikepdx]

Listening since 1971
This was my first receiver.
Not exactly scanning.