whats the range on one of these things?

If your news office has a scanner then you can just get the freq's off there. Regular scanners pick up conventional VHF and UHF (1xx-4xx). Trunked scanners pick up both conventional and trunked (1xx-4xx, 8xx).

A radio shack trunked scanner would probably be all you need, but I'd reccomend you get an authentic Motorola radio, my favorites are the XTS5000 and CP200 for when I need a small radio. They cost a lot more but once you've heard the crystal clear sound without all the intermod you'd get on a cheap radio shack scanner you can't go back.

Depends on the model you want. I'd speculate that at this point in the game, you could get into radio scanning with an adequate digital unit for less than $250-300, depending on what kind of deal you can find on eBay or other sites.

But if you're just looking for cheap thrills, I'd say find them elsewhere. Most radio chatter is pretty uneventful, as opposed to a more common notion that it's essentially Cops but with only audio. The only reason I'm interested is living in a small rural town with zero media leads me to believe that perhaps I should keep an ear on my goings on (double homicide/suicide a summer ago, a pretty viscious attack on a place across from work last summer) and that I've got a family pedigree in EMS/Fire/LEO work (my dad and stepdad were both volunteer firemen, and I've got retired police officers in the family).

If you guys want, I can throw up an audio file of some of the chatter I hear (with the breaks in traffic edited, of course) so you can see how mundane it actually is.

EDIT: Never mind. This is stuff from some unknown date here in Laramie, WY. I've got Police Dispatch/Police Tactical 1, Police Tactical 2, Albany County Sheriff, EMS/Fire Dispatch, EMS/Fire Tactical 1, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and Wyoming Mutual Aid (Interagency) on these two files in varying degrees.

http://www.zshare.net/audio/6559233b4c4815/ Thursday night traffic from some ungodly night.
http://www.zshare.net/audio/6559308c32da23/ Saturday night traffic, probably from the same weekend.

As you can see, this stuff is pretty mundane. Here in rural Wyoming, you don't have as much radio traffic as you would in a location with higher population. For reference, Laramie Fire oversees four departments just because of the lack of population out here. Fire/EMS Dispatch and Fire Tac 1 and 2 users include Centennial, Little Laramie, Big Laramie, Rock River, Vedauwoo and Tie Siding Volunteer Fire Departments.

However, just because there more traffic in other locations doesn't mean it's more interesting. As far as a journalism job goes? You'll need the freqs and you might see if someone locally has the codes for you, seeing as it's mostly jibber jabber if you don't have those on hand.

If you are looking for a good price own a scanner check out Uniden store on line the sale new and like new http://www.unidendirect.com/itemlist.cfm?cattype=prd&catid=3

I wonder if radio chatter in say... downtown seattle... would be any more interesting than some of the other places mentioned here in this thread.

Why don't you have a listen to find out? (http://www.scanseattle.net/index.php)

heres some of what I hear in chicago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwfjHmHendA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko17jr8R0so

I find that highly unlikely. Somehow, I think Chicago PD has more pressing issues to talk about than what was recorded there.

I find that highly unlikely. Somehow, I think Chicago PD has more pressing issues to talk about than what was recorded there.

it's real, recorded with VOXrecorder. chicago cops avoid contact with shitheads as much as possible. street stops and all other kinds of active policing only lead to lawsuits and complaints. when chicago cops do real work and arrest someone the county prosecutor almost always refuses to press felony charges without a recorded confession.

it's real, recorded with VOXrecorder. chicago cops avoid contact with shitheads as much as possible. street stops and all other kinds of active policing only lead to lawsuits and complaints. when chicago cops do real work and arrest someone the county prosecutor almost always refuses to press felony charges without a recorded confession.

What particular model of scanner are you using to monitor this radio traffic?

make

SURE

you have p-25 with/without trunking.

Could you elaborate on p25 (researched and just got confuzzled)

Well, I can give you a down and dirty version. APCO Project 25 is a set of guidelines and standards that are going to be overseeing all public safety radio communications from the federal level down. The purpose is to provide interoperability for mutual aid and resource sharing in crisis and emergency situations.

The hell of it is that all P25 communications are going to be digital, and given that the digital technology is pretty new, and the proprietary license isn't in high demand due to P25 not being adopted for various reasons (budget problems being the largest), the technology remains rather expensive. Expect to give $500-600 for a new scanner that can deal with not only P25 digital signals, but also be ready for rebanding when it comes down the pipe.

Keep in mind, if you're wanting to start monitoring, it's a big investment, and it's not like you can just listen to them straight out of the box. If you can't put your head around understanding the very basics of how public safety agencies make use of the radio spectrum, I'd put good money on you not being able to operate a scanner above the most basic beginner level competently. Trunked radio gets confusing, and, while some listeners and HAMS don't always play well with others, that does not mean they are of sub-par intelligence. Govern yourself accordingly before you go dropping $500 on a a new GRE/Uniden receiver.

My area is mostly digital so I have a Radioshack Pro-96. It works great, and is easy to use and doesn't take too long to learn. It is $500 but it is a great investment. I use mine to just listen to cops to see whats going on around my town but sometimes I use it if I'm up to no good and it's saved my ass so many times. If your area isn't digital yet, it probably will be soon so I'd reccomend going with the Pro-96. You also have the Uniden bcd396t to choose from but I tried using one before and it's waayyy more complicated than the Pro-96.

Pro 96 machines are all but outdated at this point. Since many systems are moving to the 700 Mhz band, you'll want to invest in a Uniden or a GRE if you need digital capabilities. Radio Shack's machines can scan in the 700 Mhz area, but they won't trunk track, which would likely defeat the whole purpose. I know, rebanding is a bitch.

And once a person gets used to Uniden's memory system, it's not a big deal. If you're going to invest $500 into a scanner, I really recommend getting a machine that is top of the line, not borderline outdated.

Sorry to hijack this thread, but I didn't wanna start another.

I'm currently looking into picking up a scanner for entertainment purposes.

The stuff I'm looking for.

Budget: cheaper the better
Tech: Would prefer both digital and analog w/ trunking since in my area both are being utilized. Handheld would be preferred too.

Listening in on police and fire chatter, and then for rail-way chatter while doing a bit of train-hopping (although most of this is still analog I hear)

Again, any suggestions or tips?

Your location? What's your price range?

Since different radio systems use different types of trunking and what not. If you can provide your location, I can point you to some resources.

Fresno/Clovis, Ca but I also spend about half my time in San Jose and San Francisco (all digital)

After looking around a bit the scanners that also pick up digital signals are pretty expensive, so I'm thinking just a trunking scanner. Budget is kinda flexible really, but above $400 is pushing it.

Fresno/Clovis, Ca but I also spend about half my time in San Jose and San Francisco (all digital)

After looking around a bit the scanners that also pick up digital signals are pretty expensive, so I'm thinking just a trunking scanner. Budget is kinda flexible really, but above $400 is pushing it.

That's probably wise. If they're digital, there's a good chance that the interesting stuff is encrypted as well, so you wouldn't be able to hear it.

California Forum over at RadioReference.com. (http://www.radioreference.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37) Posting your questions there would probably be more fruitful.

That's probably wise. If they're digital, there's a good chance that the interesting stuff is encrypted as well, so you wouldn't be able to hear it.

California Forum over at RadioReference.com. (http://www.radioreference.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37) Posting your questions there would probably be more fruitful.

Ah okay. Thanks for that link.

yeha I use a uniden bct8 and it's trunked, but no digital. so you can tell if they're txing but can't hear anything except a really annoying buzz. still though, you can pick up a fair amount of stuff. but my state police use apco-25 trunked systems, (delaware) and most places are upgrading.

happy scanning or whatever

Not all systems are up at 700 yet...and wont be for a very long time.


The Pro-96 is still good, depends on what you're trying to monitor. (www.radioreference.com)

Although I have Unidens and one Pro-82 Conventional, I have to say GRE is much MUCH better for performance. While Uniden is just easier to program.