WichitaFallsComplete.com


There's a Lot More to Scanning than Just Your Local Police

I'm a big proponent of keeping oneself informed of their surroundings in order to obtain the earliest possible warning of trouble.

For example, you're not going to get the earliest warning of the mugging procedure that's about to be performed on you if you're walking across the mall parking lost with your face glued to your cell phone screen while texting.

Do you listen in on your local law enforcement agencies? I hope that you do monitor them to keep up with what's going on in your area. However, the police are not the only radio source of information for those wanting the earliest possible warning of trouble.

You can learn a lot by listening in on the radio communications of some of the possible sources of trouble, and some of the agencies that can report trouble.

For example, you may hear on your scanner that the police have been dispatched to a school near you to investigate suspicious activity. However, if you live near the school, you could probably have learned of this activity sooner, even as it was developing, by listening in on the radio traffic from the school itself. Most schools equip key staff with portable two-way radios that operate in the MURS (Multi Use Radio Service) band that you can easily monitor on any scanner.

Speaking of schools, the school bus frequency is another source of information. However, you are much more likely to be entertained by all the noise and confusion, and you might even want to suggest a pay raise, or combat pay, for the poor bus drivers.

Do you have a mall in your city? Radio traffic from mall security and maintenance can yield a lot of good information on shoplifters, disturbances, and even the dreaded "man with a gun" report. If you shop a lot, you might benefit from knowing shoplifter vehicle and suspect information just in case they leave the reporting store and show up where you are shopping.

City services such as the sanitation, street, water, and animal control departments are another good source of radio intelligence.

Some service companies still use two-way radios and may report suspicious activity back to their dispatchers. Many, however, are simply using cell phones for their communications needs.

Taxi companies are another good source of crime-in-progress information. They're out and about 24 hours a day and see it all. Sometimes they're right in the middle of it. All too often, the cab drivers themselves end up being the victim.

Amateur (ham) Radio operators are another great source of information. Many cities have ham radio clubs and many of those clubs hold weekly on-the-air meetings commonly known as "nets". During severe weather, you can listen to storm spotter activity if your area has a spotter group.

Hospital security and other staff are a super source of information. The emergency room is a magnet for trouble. Families like to gather there and fight about the assault and shooting victims that are being patched up inside.

You'll need an outside antenna if you're going to be able to listen to anything more than a block or two away. An exception to that rule is if the people you are monitoring are using a repeater with an antenna high up on a tower or building. Amateur Radio nets are normally conducted through a repeater and you should be able to monitor those local transmissions using an indoor antenna.

You can also monitor drive thru restaurants on your basic scanner. Maybe not a wealth of information here but it sure can be entertaining.

You can purchase a simple scanner and antenna from Radio Shack or from my favorite source, Scanner Master. You can find a push-up mast that can get your antenna up to 30 feet off the ground at Lowe's or Home Depot. I live in a small town (100,000 population) with an area of about 80 square miles. It's mostly level terrain and an antenna just 25 feet off the ground can pick up just about any signal in town.

Maynard Hawkins