So why exactly do you use your scanner?

[RedPenguin]

I know this topic may have been beaten to death in the past but I have searched through the forums for a while and could not find this exact topic anywhere in the results.

I can't believe how many times people that I see from day to day, ask me, why do I care about scanners and why on earth would I invest so much money and time in to it (though often people ask me why I care about computers also, LoL.). They usually mean how a good scanner can be at least $200+ and how I dedicate computer(s), just to recording audio and identifying PLs/DPLs on channels that have little traffic or trying to see if a frequency is used at all.

I just tell them the truth, that I am not a cop chase, I just find two-way radios a great invention and find it kinda challenging and a puzzle to figure out others radio plan without actually asking them. Plus, when it comes to finding new freqs or tones, I use them not only for my self, but I submit them to all the sites for my area and RR so that others can benefit.

Same with this question, I figured, not only would it be interesting to me to find out what other people do with their scanners, but it hopefully will be in the path of a newbie, and will understand why we use our scanners.

So I guess my question is, the same as the topic.

 

[KE4ZNR]

1) To keep up with close friends that work in public safety
2) I do public safety communications consulting as a side job so keeping up with the local radio systems is a must
3) gives me something to listen to as background noise when I am home...and I end up knowing stuff before the media does!
Happy Monitoring!
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[Navycop]

I listen for the accidents and road closures (fire trucks in the way) so I can avoid them. I do hospital security so I listen to the EMS. This tells my if I am going to have a good day or bad (i.e. drunks, overdose, morgue).

 

[coldbricks]

Basically if you want to get that question a lot go into ProAudio and recording. Its very easy to spend $4000 on a piece of gear that will do the same thing as a $200 one, just sound a little better..haha


I scan because it's fun and because people don't fully understand it. If they did, everyone would have a scanner and it wouldnt be fun anymore. I love behind the scenes stuff.

 

[SWCOScanner]

Why do I scan? That's actually a good question. I'm not entirely sure why I started - I was raised in a firefighting family, so there was always a radio on, and I guess I just got used to hearing what was going on. I got my first scanner back in the early days of Radio Shack crystal scanners, and since then, I've always had one or two around. A lot of jobs I've had have been public service or related (firefighter, security guard, tow truck driver), so of course I wanted to know what was going on. Now I own and run a towing and recovery business, so once again, it's kind of a matter of business, combined with the fact that I guess I just like to know what's going on. Like RedPenguin, I also find it a challenge to find and identify every frequency I can. When you come right down to it, it's a little hard to explain it all - I see why scanner nuts like me are often seen as a little crazy...

 

[GrayJeep]

My short answer is- I gain situational about the accidents and problems along my commute route. Using my scanners has saved me many, many hours that I didn't have to sit tied up in traffic because of a crash.

Longer answer includes the above and adds - wildlife callouts, cops chasing down perverts, knowing that I'm going to be in the middle of a felony stop shortly at this here intersection.....

 

[ka5lqj]

Why I "monitor"....

Hi!

I got interested in "radio/electronics" at age 12 in 1958. First, I got hooked into AM Broadcast Band DX'ing. It was fun to listen to Chicago and Harry "Holy Cow!" Cary. I was hearing stations on an old 5-tube, Crosley receiver. The warm glow of the # 47 pilot lamps in a dark room made it fun and adventurous. Soon, I heard other stations, WCCO, Minneapolis, WWL, New Orleans, WCKY, Cincinnati, and WOAI, in San Antonio. Then, one night, I heard this strange "voice", talking about "grid leaks" "Colpitts oscillators" and modulation "peaks".... The radio would tune up to 1900 kcs and what I was hearing were 160 meter AM "hams". I took another old, 5-tube radio and made a short-wave receiver that tuned up to 12 mcs. I heard all kinds of stations. Morse code, AM, "numbers stations" and even some funny talking like "Donald Duck"(single sideband) were also there for me to listen too. Then in 1964, I took my 2nd Class Radio-Telephone test and passed. I worked briefly in broadcast FM, then later opened up my own two-way radio shop. Radio Shack had just come out with the continuously tunable (like AM radio) 'PATROLMAN' radio. I bought one, just to listen to the local Shreveport Fire Department (KKR877) as I had high school friends who had become firemen.

Now-a-days, I have a bunch of scanners and amateur radio gear to enjoy my "hobbies". The scanners are set-up to monitor Part 90 Public Safety Conventional & Trunked frequencies. Most of what I listen to is still fire and ems calls. Now, when bad weather approaches, the scanners are switched to ALL agencies: local police, sheriff, ems, local government, parish & county sheriff's, and parish & county surrounding local governments to monitor THEIR radio traffic for wx conditions and damage reports. These are relayed to the local NOAA Wx Service for their analysis. But, MOST of the time, the scanners are only on the local and area fire departments.

Being disabled, it passes the time away and my brain doesn't "rot" watching television, LOL! I like 'entertaining' venues, such as History, Science, Medical, and stories about the Universe and, of course
music of most ALL kinds, but metal and rap. I even like "Opera", "Grand Ol' Opry" and "The Barber of Seville"...Figaro, Figaro, Figaro! The ONLY "Redneck Indulgence" I partake in is watching NASCAR, eatin' a bologna sammich, Lay's potato chips and drinking a Diet Coke. LOL!

Blessings,
73,

Don/KA5LQJ

 

[Turbo68]

I started out when my dad bought a little Airband receiver that u had to tune manually and then started going to the airport with him to pick passengers up because he was a taxi driver he would go and have a rest and just before the plane lands i would go and wake him and as soon as i started working i bought my first scanner which u had to buy the crystals for it and enjoyed it ever since and mainly monitor the airbands but lately been monitoring Amateur Radio/Buses/Marine/Shopping Centres/Trams/Trains/Tow Trucks and i always take a scanner with me incase we have to divert from the location because of an accident.

Regards Lino.

ALINCO-DJX2000
AOR-3000/AOR-3000A/AOR-8200MK3
GRE-PSR500
ICOM-R3/ICOM-R5/ICOM-R20/ICOM-PCR1000/ICOM-PCR1500/ICOM-PCR2500/ICOM-R9500/ICOM-92AD
JRC NRD-545
REALISTIC-PRO2035
UNIDEN-245/UNIDEN-396/UNIDEN-780/UNIDEN-996
YAESU-VX7R/YAESU-FT8800/YAESU-VR500/YAESU-VR5000

 

[ab2ms]

I grew up with a scanner always on, and especially after getting my ham license I became a radio "nut" of sorts. I like knowing what's going on and finding new stuff to listen to.
The way I explain it to my wife is "it's a RADIO, so I need one (OK more than one)" she just shakes her head and walks away.

Besides, it comes in handy as a member of RACES.

 

[CrabbyMilton]

The short answer, I get great enjoyment more than ever even after nearly 29 years. I like to monitor just about everything but mostly fire calls. Our local bus system is another so called standard for me. This time of the year, county snowplowing and shopping malls are fun to monitor.

 

[smokeyjones666]

I do this because I'm curious about the world around me. I know there's all these electromagnetic signals zipping around and scanning allows me to reach into the air and take a sample of what's out there.

I got started relatively recently compared to most of you, in the last 3 or 4 years or so. I'd had enough of my job at a local cable tv contractor, a good friend of mine who managed a Radio Shack needed an extra body and I needed a disposable job to get me through until I could find a better one. I drove past Mpls/St. Paul Intl. on the way to work every day and I was curious, so I bought a cheap scanner with my employee discount and hooked it up to the CB whip on my van. The reception was terrible, but I was immediately smitten. Every day I'd listen to air band frequencies on my way to and from work and started trying to understand the lingo. (I was also starting to question the inadequate training provided by my new employer, it seemed that this was a subject that you couldn't teach in a 15-minute powerpoint-style tutorial.)

After I'd had enough of that scanner, I traded up for a Pro-97 and started monitoring other things. Local utilities, analog public safety, local area malls. Eventually what was left of the analog public safety went away and I had to step up again to a Pro-96 (I kept the 97 this time.) Grew frustrated with the 96 and sold it to fund a PSR-500. My latest adventure is my recently-aquired Pro-2006, which I've been working on restoring to it's former glory (some contact cleaner and a scratchy volume pot, dirty carbon contacts on the keypad, clipped a couple of diodes that were potentially holding me back )

It's mostly been an adventure in figuring out what is BS and what is truth. I've learned there's a lot of misinformation out there and I'll think I know something for certain - until I find out I was completely wrong the entire time. There's a lot of snake oil, a lot of half-truths and a lot of things that we do just because "my friend who knows about these things" told us to do them (hey, this is almost exactly like working with computers!)

Antennas, feed line, grounding, the National Electrical Code, birdies, intermod (inter-what?), ground planes, counterpoise, dual conversion, triple conversion, IF stages, CW, SSB, crazy lingo! Not to mention - filters, filters, filters!

I seem to have acquired yet another expensive hobby.

 

[jeffy]

scanners...

like someone else here I got into a.m. dx'ing (didn't call it that then) as a boy growing up in foster homes. My last home (spent 8+yrs. there) was a farm. It was a lonely existence and a.m. radio was my best friend... my escape from my realty. I wasn't allowed to have my radio on at bedtime... but ain't that why they invented pillows? Pillows to hide the sound of a transistor radio about the size of your hand. LOL! Once I got out on my own and in the service I started listening to scanners some... mostly other people's scanners at work. After I got married and had children riding buses I bought my own scanner(s). Up until this year I had kids in school and I monitored the buses. It was especially handy on snow days. My youngest (15 yrs.) is home schooled now. Still... I listen. I'm retired now and besides buses I listen to my old wokmates at the highway dept. Also, I know guys at the S.O'.s office, the phone company and the power company so plenty of listening there. Our S.O. went digital so I had to buy a digital (pro 96) to stay tuned. We live waaay out in the country so whenever the ambulance or Sheriff goes by with lights and /or siren... we usually have an idea what's going on within minutes. So there's a curiosity factor too with scanning.

jeff

 

[AllenKelly]

Great Thread

This is a Great Thread, reading of why ya'll do it. The reasons are as diverse as the people... I got started on Christmas of 1978, I was 14 years old and for several months I had enjoyed my dads new toy a CB radio. My dad was a preacher and several of his church members had CB's and they would talk to each other and of course I thought that was so cool. Well on this afor mentioned Christmas morning I awoke, not to a bike or a bunch of useless gifts, but to a brand spanking new, wood grained housed, 23 channel, CB base station set up on my homework desk with a coax that went to an antenna in a tree out the side of the house and a crome D104 microphone. To say the least I was smitten. About a year or so later he sent me on a mission to pick out my Birthday present with my mom and I wound up in Raleigh where they purchased me a 4 channel handheld crystel controlled scanner with my local town police, county sheriff and local fire rescue freq. in it and the rest is history. Thirty years later this month I love the sport more than ever... I do not watch the news on TV to find out what's going on I watch it to see the video of the incident that started hours ago, to see the fruit of my calling the station to send them out to get the footage. Many may think I'm crazy, but when news is happening, they call me to ask what is going on or what happened...

 

[w0fg]

Why do I listen to scanners?
1. Every job I've had for the past 40 years has had a connection, either direct or indirect, with two-way radio communications.
2. I'm a pilot and member of the local airport commission and I like to keep track of the activity at our airfield.
3. I have several LEO friends and I like to keep track to them.
4. I've been a ham for over 45 years and just like playing with radios.
5. Because I can.

 

[jleverin]

I have been interested in radios since I was a kid and got a pair of walkie talkies for christmas one year. I had a great aunt in the early 70's who had a scanner and listened all the time. She upgraded her scanner one year when I was about 12 and gave me her old radio. I was hooked from there on. Unfortunately when I got married I quit listening, one neighbor we had was a busybody old lady who had a scanner and used it to find out everything that was going on in the vicinity. My husband hated her and joked about her "sitting with her scanner next to her chair" so I never indulged my radio hobby until we moved to another state and about 2 years ago I remembered my scanner, I went out and bought an inexpensive Pro82 scanner and loved it. I kept it private until recently and I started carrying the radio in the car and listening to it whenever I wanted. I am planning on getting my Technician ham ticket in a few months and I listen to my scanners all the time, despite the ribbing I subtimes get

 

[rfradioconsult]

Blah, blah and blah; fess up guys you listen to your scanner so you can dodge all the checkpoints while hauling a car full of dope from Matamoris to Chicago or is it a rental truck full of illegals! Just kidding.

 

[slicerwizard]

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=127017

 

[n5usr]

I listen for a variety of reasons.

Primarily, I'm a tech nut. Radio just fascinates me, anything I can play with that involves radios is fun! Started as a kid with Radio Shack 47MHz walkie-talkies, CB for a brief period in high school, then ham radio. Along the way, I started volunteering with the Red Cross disaster teams and got my first taste of scanners and public safety traffic.

I'm also a listener. I enjoy hearing others talk. Talk radio on AM (don't like commercials, though!), hams chatting about nothing in particular, or the police/fire/medics going about their business.

I have a particular interest in police and fire. Quite a few friends are police officers, and I thought seriously about becoming a firefighter at one point, and still love it. Had the great fortune of being able to listen to OKC FD for years, they basically used the radio as their documentation for any incident, so essentially everything was said over their repeaters. You could follow a fire attack right through to the finish by listening to the scanner! Now, unfortunately, they are ProVoice... *sigh* But I still enjoy listening to other agencies. I really don't care *what* they are doing, so much as enjoy hearing *how* they do. I rarely remember the specifics of any call I hear, unless it's particularly unusual.

Of course, I also pay closer attention to my hometown PD/FD, to the point of a dedicated radio (not scanner!) that sits to one side, always on. It helps that Bethany is pretty small, so the traffic is fairly light most of the time. I like knowing what's up in my community, what kind of problems they are dealing with.

I've rarely heard anything while driving that helped me avoid a major tieup, but it has happened once or twice so that's a handy thing too!

 

[Swipesy]

I listen because more than 50 years ago, before scanners, I had a one crystal listening device that I could listen for fire calls. My Dad was a fireman and it was a way of listening if he was in harm's way. Of course one crystal listening devices have grown into today's marvelous digital scanners, etc. and I have just stuck with listening which became a hobby.

 

[KT4HX]

I scan for a lot of the same reasons as others; to know what's going on in my community, avoid traffic problems, keep tabs on threatening weather, etc. But mostly, and seemingly like the majority here, I just have a love of radio communications. And I can't discount the comfort of having radio chatter as a relaxing backdrop to whatever I might be doing at the time!

I started as an SWL back in 1969 when my mom gave me an AM-FM-SW radio (Ross brand) for Christmas from Monkey Wards . I was amazed at all the shortwave broadcasters I could receive and would spend hours every evening listening and logging stations. With a progression of receivers I eventually starting listening to ham radio operators, then in 1979 found out about classes being held by a local minister who was a ham. So did that and got my novice ticket. That progressed on to a General license and eventually Advanced. Even after all this time, I have started studying for my Extra Class license.

My job took me overseas so I had the pleasure of operating ham radio from several countries - and found it is much more fun being the DX! In fact the hobby got me my job in telecommunications with the federal government. I never had a scanner until about 1990, a Uniden BC-210XLT. I have progressed through several over the years and am always selling off equipment to buy other pieces. Like most here, I do like to try out different radios! Radios will always be a part of my life, and my family knows and accepts this - which is a good thing. I would do it anyway. :lol: