Scanner listening can be addictive.....

[SpectreOZ]

I can relate on everything! On more than 1 occasion i have pulled up google maps and followed a pursuit out in the county.

I must confess to this also... it adds an extra level of understanding to the comm's interception IMHO

Had a scanner since I first got my driver's license though I find tracking 3 incoming streams sufficient and couldn't comprehend the "magnitude of scale" displayed by some of the more dedicated members here... perhaps that may come with time.

I've only recently opened up the world of scanners to my father in law and would you believe he soon needed a handheld as he couldn't take the modified desktop everywhere with him :lol:

 

[jeepinjeepin]

I enjoy listening in to the locals. I have my father in laws older Uniden Bearcat handheld. I can't remember the model number off hand. It's analog only and the top end freq is 520 or so. That cuts me out of most emergency traffic, but I can pick up some sheriff and fire around me. I'm a bit of a rail fan, but haven't been able to catch much RR traffic even though I have some tracks within just a few miles. Mostly I just snoop on the local 2 meter users around me. At least I'll know all of their call signs when I get my ham license soon.

 

[KI4VBR]

ME 2

I saved up my paper route money to pick this same radio up from RS back in the late 70s. Right after I purchased it, RS released a crop of new scanners driving the price down on the Pro-2 more than half. I felt betrayed...my hard earned chump-change paid full price! So to get back at RS, I purchased a Patrolman 4 for 50% off original price. I didn't need the radio as all of the features were already on the Pro-2, but it looked cool with two radios next to each other.......see where this is going? More radios... more antennas... and more late nights. Yes, tests and clinical data suggests there really is an addictive nature to scanners & long hours at the monitoring position.

Any rate, I loved that radio no matter what the sale price was. I would be up all hours of the night spinning the dial on the VHF high band mostly.

After while, I could detect a burning feeling inside of me wanting to get a 10 channel scanner. Merry Christmas from my parents....got an original 210 scanner and had to think hard how I would use all of those 10 memory slots.....it was hard to fathom that I would be able to hear 10 discrete frequencies almost at once.

Sorry for the long winded message....ya got me going.

Check out my bargains back in the 70s....My Patrolman 4

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

 

[CrabbyMilton]

The BEARCAT 210 was my very first scanner. I got it for Christmas in 1980. I loved that thing even though it only had 10 channels. Scanners have come light years since then but I think all of us have fond memories of our first scanner. Thanks for posting that.

 

[bee]

Also my first scanner.

 

[KI4VBR]

Bleeding Edge....

The BEARCAT 210 was my very first scanner. I got it for Christmas in 1980. I loved that thing even though it only had 10 channels. Scanners have come light years since then but I think all of us have fond memories of our first scanner. Thanks for posting that.

We were in too much of a hurry to get a scanner that we couldnt wait a few more months for the 210XL.....but who could possibly fill up "40 memory locations"!! How bout that green florescent display? Way cool.

Who ran their 210 into the ground and started wearing the numbers off of the keypad? No serial port programming here.....just lots of button-pushin & radio a beepin. How many of us thought that was going to be all we would need for years to come.....until your radio buddy mentioned something about the VHF air band and picking up g-men (govt.) freqs near the top of the band....must have more radios to reach those special frequency ranges.

Vince
KI4VBR EL88ob
Palm Harbor, FL


Oh yeah.....let's not forget about one of the original Patrolman radios.

 

[bear780ks]

Black Ink I can concur It cat get very exciting when your listening to several agencies so Much it can get somewhat confusing.. but in fun way but most of the Time i have both of my scanners Running my 396 for my Local police and fire let's not forget the KHP and my 996 to catch the stuff over in Wichita..

 

[AC2OY]

Where do you guys get theses amazing pictures from?!!

 

[Blackink]

I want to thank you all for the replies and some really cool pictures of some of the old scanners.....way before my time and still some very interesting stories you have to share.

I don't live in a big city so what I heard that day is a rarity but damn.....was it ever exciting.
I've been missing out on a lot of this stuff for many years now. I'm glad I'm part of it now....
Thanks all

 

[rbm]

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

That was the first 'real' police receiver I owned.
You could even put a crystal in it, but you still had to tune the RF section with the tuning knob.

The first day I had it, I turned it on and within 15 minutes I heard that a car had been hit by a train less than 1/4 mile from me. (multiple fatalities)

Then, I moved up to a 5 channel Sonar radio. Not a scanner, but if you whipped the switch back and forth, it kinda simulated what a scanner would do in the future.

Rich

Edit: I was wrong, it was a SIX channel radio.
I guess at the time I could only afford FIVE crystals!
Maybe that's why I now have so many scanners. Trying to make up for it!

Sonar FR-105

And ................. my first REAL SCANNER! A Sonar FR-2528

 

[KI4VBR]

My Retired, But Running Radios

Where do you guys get theses amazing pictures from?!!

Most of the pics I put up on this thread were from my collection of old radios. Some of them are stock photography.

We could talk about old radios all night......might be fun to have a chat session one night talking about all the old gear.

73 de KI4VBR
Vince

 

[AC2OY]

Most of the pics I put up on this thread were from my collection of old radios. Some of them are stock photography.

We could talk about old radios all night......might be fun to have a chat session one night talking about all the old gear.

73 de KI4VBR
Vince

We can do it on a repeater!! I know a 2meter one we can Qso or there's always echolink...LOL

 

[doublescan]

I want to thank you all for the replies and some really cool pictures of some of the old scanners.....way before my time and still some very interesting stories you have to share.

I don't live in a big city so what I heard that day is a rarity but damn.....was it ever exciting.
I've been missing out on a lot of this stuff for many years now. I'm glad I'm part of it now....
Thanks all

Blackink, you could always do what I did-become a police dispatcher! (20yrs6m)
That way, you really are there, lol, getting all the gory, or boring at times, details as they come in. You'll never look at the world the same way. Nor the media. After awhile, you'll think you're psychic, there really are a limited amount of things that can happen in the world of policing-just a lot of variations on the same things. But it was rarely boring for an entire 8 hour shift, haha.

 

[Blackink]

doublescan: I think my problem with trying that occupation is I wouldn't necessarily pay attention to what really needed paying attention to !!! I'd be all excited about listening, or wanting to listen to the "breaking" news happening at that moment that I'd forget something....like a fire truck needed dispatching, or the silent alarm at the local bank had been activated.....
Nope, I think I'll stick to listening to it right here in my home for now.

 

[desert-cheetah]

When I listen to my pro-106 I don't look up locations on google since most of the time I know where the location is. When I listen to San Diego online, however, and I don't recognize the location where an incident is happening then I MUST look it up. I also have a list of the most commonly used radio codes nearby to refer to when need be since they use different 10 codes and 11 codes than maricopa county (which doesn't use 11 codes at all)

 

[Talbarez]

I remember my first scanner. It was a regency TME-16 that I got from my grandmother who turned me on to scanning at 8. I was so excited when I got one, but she did not give me any crystals for it. I remember asking every neighbor what I could do for any spare change. A week later, got a ride up to RS and felt like the king of the world buying the 10 crystals I worked do hard to buy and after spending so much time in the old frequency books, determining what I needed.

Been hooked ever since. 4 scanners at home. Two 396xt and 2 996xt. One always with me st all times.

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