Scanners - a few questions for the Scanning folks.

Are they difficult to learn how to use? Just curious. I always thought it would be awesome to have a scanner! I saw someone comment on here that they can listen to a feed online? What type of "easy to operate" scanner would one recommend for a novice? What type of cost would that be? How often do you use your scanner, and finally... how did you get interested in scanners? Sorry 'bout all the questions. An inquiring mind wants to know.

Thanks!

Lady Coyote

LadyCoyote said:

Are they difficult to learn how to use? Just curious. I always thought it would be awesome to have a scanner! I saw someone comment on here that they can listen to a feed online? What type of "easy to operate" scanner would one recommend for a novice? What type of cost would that be? How often do you use your scanner, and finally... how did you get interested in scanners? Sorry 'bout all the questions. An inquiring mind wants to know.

Thanks!

Lady Coyote

Click to expand...

No, for the most part, they aren't difficult to use. It's a matter of adjusting the squelch. If you buy a Radioshack scanner, Radioshack will program it for you, so all the frequencies are preloaded.
Feeds are avaliable online, either thru SOMD.com, thebaynet, calvertnews and various other sources.
As far as easy to operate scanners, it depends. I would say the easiest would probably be any handheld scanner, namely because it's a matter of turning the volume on and adjusting the squelch so that you can pick up what's being broadcast.
I use my scanner everyday. I'm a firefighter, so I have to. However, my scanner is mainly police unless the fire side gets switched over to a tac channel, at which point I go with them.
You can get interested in scanners in different ways -- it's really about being nosey, in all honesty. It takes awhile to understand the code, but once you do it's all pretty much second nature. If you don't want to buy a scanner, you can try the feeds here and then refer to the 'What you need to know..' thread here.

I started listning to scanners many years ago. My father in law in MA was allowed to respond in his personal car to fire/EMS calls. I used to tag along for the ride, I was hooked. I am a volunteer EMT myself now. They are nice to have just to know what's going on around your neck of the woods.

Depending on where you live, will depend on how much a scanner will cost you. If you live in Charles County your going to need a digital trunking scanner, which easly start at $350 and up. Most of today's scanners come pre-programmed or you can pay a little extra to have it programmed for you. After that, just turn it on and listen. My scanner is on constantly and it just seems to blend in with everything else. You learn to pick up things that are of importance.

I have the Radio Shack Pro-96 handheld so I can take it with me in the truck.

Lately Charles has added computers to their police cars and most of the day to day calls go directly to the computers and are not put out over the air so you can hear them on the scanner. But all the serious and real emergency calls are put out over the air.

bobbyb said:

Lately Charles has added computers to their police cars and most of the day to day calls go directly to the computers and are not put out over the air so you can hear them on the scanner. But all the serious and real emergency calls are put out over the air.

Click to expand...

Those are called simulcasts. Simulcasts are broadcast when an incident requires more than one officer. That reminds me to add that to the list, thanks.

My uncle is a with a small community VFD in Ohio. My Grandparent's lived next door to him. We used to go to Ohio every summer & stay with my Grandparents and the scanner was just part of the everyday routine. It was always on & as a kid I found it so interesting to listen. The noise of it was no different than having a radio on at a moderate level.

This early childhood experience grew into a continued interest and a few years ago my father bought me a scanner for a gift.

While I do not leave mine on 24/7, there are nights when I get bored and turn it on to see what's happening. It's always interesting. I recommend the online scanner on Baynet.com to get a feel for what it's all about. There is a handy chart for understanding the codes on that site as well as GIG4 put together an awesome reference within this section of the forums. Of course there are other references, but you'll find all you need here.

Have fun and I think you'll see once you start listening to the scanner, you might be hooked.

G1G4 said:

Those are called simulcasts. Simulcasts are broadcast when an incident requires more than one officer. That reminds me to add that to the list, thanks.

Click to expand...

While your at you might want to add the Charles County HAZMAT Response units to Fire Co 16

Is Company 16 it's own department? That's a good thing you reminded me, because I totally forgot about St. Mary's Hazmat Team.

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond! I really appreciate all of the info.


Lady Coyote