Depending on the laws of the section of the city of the municipality of the country that this website is located, this thread could be against the rules. If I am violating the code of conduct in any way by discussing broad range radio scanners that can tune into police frequencies (which is currently legal to do in the United States), I extend my hand to the moderators to delete this thread with absolutely no bitterness coming from my end. --- Anyway, with that little disclaimer out of the way, I'm using this thread to put out a friendly welcome to anyone who has as much of an obsession with radios as I do. I learned most of the local CB frequencies as a child and spent much of my time sitting in the garage listening to the NOAA Weather Broadcast system on my dad's Marine Radio. Sure we had the Weather Channel, but fuck. My latest addiction that I can't afford has been picking up a very broad spectrum Mobile/Base Scanner (to pick up frequencies all the way from 25 MHz to 1300 MHz) and listening in on the police and fire bands. Not to mention the fact that there are so many Air Force bases in my area that I could tune in to all of the air traffic coming from them. I also live fifteen miles away from Colorado Springs Municipal Airport and I have printouts of all of the Tower, Ground and Aircraft Frequencies. I know for a fact that there are several people on this forum with Police Scanners that I would like to chime in as well. I've been taking a look at the Uniden BCT-15, which isn't bad for a home/mobile scanner (It's also fairly inconspicuous looking in case I decide to mount it inside of a car), but I'd like you guys to offer your insight on what you have and what's working for you. Here are the frequencies I've been having a shit load of fun with on my buddy's hand-held RadioShack Scanner. Colorado Springs Fire Department 1: 460.625 Colorado Springs Police 5: 458.750 County Sheriff: 155.610 State Patrol Mobiles and Dispatch (haven't you ever been curious about where the speed traps happen to be today?): 154.770 and 154.935 US Air Force Academy Flight School: 407.500
Look for the Bearcats they sell at truckstops. I think they are called Beartracker, and Uniden makes them. They are great in a vehicle. They will warn you of a nearby cop even if they are not transmitting. Squad cars emit a signal that they pick up, and warn you when they are within a certain distance. I'm not an expert on them, I'm just going by what other driver's have said. I've got a Uniden 300 channel in my bedroom. I forget the model #. I've had it over 5 years, but it works great. I'm within 15 miles of an airport and a large metro area, so it stays busy. I get the fire, ambulance, and I hear the pilots on their final approaches. It can be entertaining, but frightening sometimes. Like 2 weeks ago when my dad's address came across about an intruder at his condo. I felt better when the dispatcher came back to warn the responding officers that the caller,my dad, was armed with a shotgun. Turned out to be an extremely fucked up college kid that was lost. He had broke through the neighbors screen door on their back porch. My father had him face down on the sidewalk when the cops got there. He didn't have his shotgun though, he had just told the operator to hurry, because if the guy tried to come in his house, he was going to shoot the son of a bitch. My old man is 65, but I still wouldn't fuck with him. He just simply told the guy to get down on the ground, the guy took one look at him, and hit the ground. He's 6'4",240, and he looks like he's in his early 50's at most.
Yeah, my dad had one of those 200-300 channel Unidens in his car at one point and one time, when I was in Kindergarten, there was a serious bomb threat sent to our school. I always thought it was funny that he arrived at the scene before most of the police units.
I'm probably going to get a beartracker for the car. I hear they are 10 times better than radar detectors. They pick up the car, not the radar. Plus you can program for the states you will be going through. There is nothing wrong with being informed. With the storms and tornadoes that have been popping up, it's nice to get the info directly from the spotters. You know what to expect before the tv or radio tells you. I've rushed the family to the basement 2 minutes before the sirens have sounded. Of course I then stood on the back deck and watched the funnel cloud pass to the south, It didn't touch down til about 1 mile east of the town, so it just messed up some corn stalks. I think everybody should have them. It's cops live, 24/7 There was even a bunch a drunk teenagers a couple months back having a small party. They had a scanner, and they were listening to the cops about to raid a party. They should have paid closer attention to the address, cause it was the 1 they were at. I can see how that could happen, but it's still funny as hell. You know that you listen to the scanner too much if when some asks you to spell your name and you are like, " S-Sam, M-mary,I-Ida,T-Tom, H-henry
This sounds like something I should get into =P One night when my friend and I took a road trip a state over to a concert, while we were smoking on the way there, he had a radio that picked up the trucker's signals. It was funny listening to them, and dicking with them now and then on the way there. That's all I had to say =P
Not cool messin with truckers on a cb. They have a way of finding your location, and relaying it to other drivers without you knowing it. You find out when one of them runs you off the road. I've driven over 2 million miles, and I've seen it done many times. I've even seen smart ass truck drivers get their asses kicked for pissing off the wrong driver in a truckstop. Idk if you pay attention to statistics, but truck driving is one of the most stressfull and dangerous jobs there is. You really want to piss off a guy behind the wheel of 40 tons, and you are in a 2 ton tin can? Some of those dudes are close to snapping. I've had that job,and it fucking sucked. There are good driving jobs out there, but not many. I'm lucky enough to have a good one. I work 3 days a week, 12 hrs. a day, and make over 50k a year. It's pretty much stress free too. A 4 day weekend every week.
my friend had a police scanner-like thing. it had one light for when a cop was within 300 yards of your car, another if they had a radar gun, one if the gun was locked on to you, and the fourth flashed when the cop decided to give chase to you. a very interesting gadget.
Heh, you could try doing that on a cheap Citizen's Band with some slight modifications. In fact there are some out there that you can buy (at Truck Stops, as 20fan said) between one and three hundred dollars that are already programmed for those frequencies. I had one for five or six years before it finally died out on me; Really great thing to have for road trips. Truckers always know the best (and worst) places to be on the road at all times.
Very, very true. It's always better to just listen in on the Trucker channels rather than giving them even the faintest idea of where you might be by saying 'Hello there. Over.'
police scanners are so helpful! saved my ass many times out painting, hearing that little beep. especially hitting highway spots where you cant really see the cars coming at you since there is so many, helps to know that absolutely none of them are cops.
They can be very helpful or hurtful. For the most part, they are decent. It's just that most people only see the assholes. TV and movies are not all that kind either. We are a bunch of beer drinking, coke snorting, whore chasing dirtbags. The 1st 2 are rare. Most are pretty straight when it comes to that. As for the whores, that's prolly 1 in 5.
Oh, I'm sure that not all of them would fit the more negatively placed stereotype that's been cast onto all truckers, but how do they usually react if you try and hail them? I'm not sure if it's accepted or more like a taboo that will get you 'run off the road'. Oh, I forgot to mention, the BCT-15 I was looking at is a BearTracker. Picks up signals from emergency vehicles within three miles of your car. Nice. http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2476543&cp=2032052.2032072&parentPage=family
oh this is just awesome. i think im gonna get one. Im gonna start my research! if you know any relatively cheap but good scanners, please post.
Go to practically any RadioShack, believe it or not. They sell inexpensive handheld models for under a hundred dollars. Their range is good, but not great, so I would pick up an external antenna that you can hook up outside of a window or on your roof. Hm.. this one's good: http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...052.2032075.2032078.2032098&parentPage=family
Good call, mate! Don't be squeamish about saying what you mean, either, you don't really have to be since they're 100% legal for what they're used for. The first time I went looking for them, I gave this long, drawn out explanation of what I was looking for and the guy just came out and said, "Oh, you mean police scanners? Sure. Over there."
Since we're also on the topic of "keeping safe", I have one of these handy: http://www.amazon.com/Escort-Cordless-Radar-Laser-Detector/dp/B00009K7E3 What a waste.
A friend of mine bought one of those for about the same price and it didn't save him once. Apparently it only went off if there was a radar gun pointed directly at his car, in which case it was too late. I'm not saying they're all that useless, but you have to be really careful about which one you buy.
I've stopped at 1:30am about 10 miles south of Joliet and gave a guy a ride. I could see the trail of oil behind his pick up, so I took a chance. Besides, I usually pack my tomcat. It was like fate. the dude lived right around the corner from where I was going. Guy even offered cash, I said no, but he wadded up 2 10's and threw them at me and ran. Most truckers would stop if you summoned for help on the cb. Not some of the new breeds, but most of the one's that have been around a while. I'm just not a fan of the billy big riggers. They give the rest of us a bad name. They dress the same, and they all sound the same. It's kind of funny when you see one. They got the cowboy hat, boots, and belt buckle that can also be used as a dinner plate. Not a single one has ever stepped in cow shit. I've run across some from the northeast. I was unaware that they were still herding cattle through New Jersey. But, those guys would probably stop and help. I don't know if I'd ride with one though. Most of 'em ride with the air dumped out of the seat. Idk how they see over the dash.