A police car zips by you with lights flashing and siren blaring. A few seconds later an ambulance and a fire engine. What's going on? That's probably what the vast majority of people would be thinking in that particular situation.
Now some people might not give it much more though than that, but if you are one of those nosy types like me that just has to know what's going on, then a police scanner might be just the thing for you.
Also known as scanner radios or just scanners, these little electronic eavesdroppers have been around for quite a few years. I remember my first scanner radio back in the 1970's, a unit known as the Bearcat 3 by Electra. I was probably around 12 years old at the time and I had that thing on just about every waking hour of the day. I was hooked on scanning and still listen regularly today.
Advances in technology have transformed the scanner radio from that little 8-channel, crystal-controlled beauty of my younger days to programmable scanners that you can load up with hundreds of channels to monitor and also use to search the airwaves for new signals you did not know existed!
As you might expect, the most popular targets for scanner listeners are police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services. But what you may not know is that there is a whole world of other things to monitor beyond the typical "public safety" services.
The number of businesses and agencies that rely on radio communications every day is far beyond my ability to estimate. Here are just a few other things you can probably listen to with a radio scanner in your area:
Aircraft flying overhead, shopping mall security guards, utility crews, public works departments, boats and ships, delivery drivers, TV news crews, railroads, park rangers, taxi cabs, theme parks, hospitals, weather broadcasts and amateur radio operators. And that's just scratching the surface!
If you want to know what's going on in the world around you, it's hard to beat the information that a scanner radio is able to provide. It's real, it's sometimes exciting and it's always right up to date!
These days there are more options than ever when it comes to police scanners. There are units made to be used as "base" units inside your home or office, hand held units you can carry just about anywhere you go and others made for installation in your car. Be aware, however, that installing a scanner radio in your car is illegal in some areas!
Before you rush out and buy a scanner, make sure you do your research first. New technology has also fueled advancements in the radio systems that are used by those we would like to listen to, and in some cases, not just any scanner will allow you to hear the action you want to hear.
Digital radio is being used by more and more agencies as well as trunked systems which use a number of channels that are constantly being re-shuffled during use. Monitoring those types of systems require a scanner with special capabilities. Be sure you know what kind of capabilities your scanner must have before you open up your wallet.
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