Scanner Tip: Indoor Antennas

Chances are, if you have a scanner in the house, you have wondered if you need an outside antenna. While an outside antenna will almost always work better than an indoor antenna, sometimes that just isn’t feasible. If you live in a rental property, apartment or condo, or in an HOA restricted area you may not be able or allowed to install an outside antenna. Sometimes you just don’t want to go thru the work to do it. Maybe the spouse or significant other just won’t allow it.

There are alternatives, but as they are also compromises, they may work as well. They may however be good enough to allow you to listen to your targets. Depending on your unique situation, some or all of these ideas may or not work for you. Remember: There is never a guarantee that any of these ideas will ensure that you will be able to monitor your targets.

Let’s start with the simple ideas first. Your new scanner comes with a back of the set (or side of the set for a Home Patrol) antenna. This is usually a metal telescoping rod or a rubber-duck style antenna. Sometimes better reception may be had by a simple relocation or tilting the existing antenna. Maybe move the radio with its antenna closer to a window or away from the large metal objects will help.

The next step would be a better BOS (Back Of Set) antenna. ScannerMaster sells a variety of antennas, from direct replacements (if you lost or broke the one that came with the radio) as well as more advanced antennas. If you mostly monitor 700/800 MHz. systems a specialized antenna for these bands will work better than a general use antenna.

If these don’t help, then you may need a remote inside antenna like the Nomad. The Nomad is a wire antenna and is amplified (active). This allows you to mount the antenna in a better location and leave the radio where you want it.

The next step might be using a base station antenna indoors. ScannerMaster has several of these types. Basically this means a base station antenna with some sort of base to support it along with appropriate coax and connectors. These can be set up on a balcony or behind the drapes for aesthetic purposes.

You can also try a mobile antenna adapted to home use. Try a magnet mount antenna on top of a large metal cabinet, window air conditioner or balcony railing. Window mount antennas can be mounted on an apartment window just like you would on a car. Suction cup mounts work in a home just as well as in a car.

If you have access to an attic then you might try putting a base station antenna there. Try to stay away from large metal objects. If you have metallic shingle liners or solar panels they would likely interfere with your reception.

If you install an antenna outside, either on the roof or a tower, make sure to properly ground the installation to protect from lightening and watch out for electrical wires! Consider having them professionally installed. Use a high quality coax. Usually thicker cables work better at higher frequencies and longer distances. 50 or 75-ohm cable is fine for scanners since you will not be transmitting thru them. We will have a blog post soon all about Coax!

What Is the Best Police Scanner?

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One frequently asked question by people in the scanner world, as well as those interested in purchasing their first new scanner, is which one is the best police scanner to own. The most straightforward answer is: it depends on the situation. There are several key factors that need to be evaluated to determine what radios scanners are most appropriate for your needs and, from there, these can then be narrowed down to the best scanner radio.

  1. What scanner frequencies are you going to be listening to? Do you want to monitor police, fire, and EMT channels only, or do you also want to be able to listen to railroad, NASCAR racing, and other public broadcast channels?
  2. What signal formats do you need to listen to your favorite scanner frequencies? You need to find out whether local police, fire, EMTs, and other channels you want to listen to use analog, analog trunking, or digital scanner frequencies, or some combination thereof.
  3. How do you intend to use the scanner? If you only intend to listen to transmissions from your home office, a desktop radio scanner could be sufficient. However, if you want to be able to listen to scanner radios while on the go, you need to determine if a handheld or mobile police scanner meets your needs.
  4. How many channels and how much memory does the scanner have? If you intend to save multiple favorites in the scanner, you should look at models with more memory. The number of channels is really not important. What truly is important is the type of radio systems used in your local area. You could have a high end scanner with all the bells and whistles, but may not need it.
  5. How much does the scanner cost? Some people get hung up on cost and think the higher the price, the better the scanner. This is not always the case, and you need to be careful the price does not distract you too much. Remember, you are looking for a scanner with the features and options to satisfy your listening requirements.
  6. How difficult is it to program the scanner? If you are tech savvy, then this probably is not an issue. For other scanner users, there are one-touch programmable scanners where you simply enter in the zip code, and the scanner downloads all available scanner channels. Another option for more complex scanners is to have the scanner preprogrammed before it is shipped to your home or office.
  7. Is the scanner computer friendly? Many modern scanners can be connected to desktop and laptop computers to make downloading radio frequencies and installing firmware updates simple and easy. You are able to obtain remote support for most programming and scanner update issues with computer-friendly models.
  8. What is included with the scanner? Some models include everything you need to get started, while others could require purchasing additional accessories, like an external antenna to pick up more frequencies.

For further assistance in selecting the best police scanner, contact us today at 1-800-SCANNER (1-800-722-6637).

Journalists Monitor Police Scanner Frequencies for News Stories

Police ScannerDid you ever wonder how journalists and news agencies learn about breaking stories as they occur? Many newsworthy stories are obtained by journalists monitoring police scanner frequencies using scanner radios. They might learn about a fire at a local apartment complex, a break-in at a local business, or some other type of emergency. Police, fire, public works, and other government services use radio frequencies as a means of communications. These radio frequencies are normally not blocked, so anyone with a radio scanner can access the communications between dispatchers and the responding agencies.

Journalists listening to police scanner frequencies do need to confirm their stories for accuracy before releasing the information to the general public. Not all information is openly shared between dispatchers, police, fire, and other responders over police scanners. More sensitive details about the situation are typically communicated over other secure devices, such as inboard computers and cell phones.

For example, a journalist hears fire and ambulance services were dispatched to the home of the mayor. Unless other details are shared over the scanner radio, they have no other information to report until they can follow up on the story. The only information they could share on the evening news or in the local paper is that emergency responders were dispatched to the mayor’s home. Journalists need to be careful to avoid elaborating further on the story until they have obtained all of the facts.

Is It Beneficial for Journalists to Share Information from Police Scanner Frequencies?

There is some debate as to whether the information obtained from police scanner frequencies should be shared with the general public by journalists. Most local government agencies do not mind if communications are shared with the general public, as long as they are reported correctly without any conjecture. What they expect from journalists, as well as from others using police scanners in their homes, is to be responsible with the information obtained from scanner frequencies. Thanks to modern technologies and the Internet, information is shared at a faster speed today than it was in the past. Journalists and others can post status updates on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media sites, as well as news web pages. Since information is easier to share, accurate reporting is essential in order to avoid creating wide-spread panic in local communities.

In addition to reporting on news pieces, journalists can use scanner radios to report details about weather emergencies, such as major snow storms, tropical storms, severe thunderstorms, and hurricanes. Sharing details about weather emergencies is beneficial for local government agencies. Journalists are able to assist police, fire, and other emergency responders in getting people off of streets, informing them to stay at home or go to their local shelters, as well as to share updates about the weather emergency.

If you are a journalist or want to monitor police frequencies at home, contact us to order your scanner or scanner package today, by calling 1-800-SCANNER (1-800-722-6637).

What Law Enforcement Thinks about People Using Scanner Radios

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Most police scanners are not illegal to use in a fixed location – say, your home or office — or in vehicles, in certain states. The primary thing to remember, when monitoring chatter on scanner radios, is this information is being communicated between the dispatch center and the agency dispatched to investigate the call. Police agencies do not think these types of communications require blocking to prevent the general public from hearing the communications over a police radio scanner.

Law enforcement wants people to be aware of and understand that the information communicated over police scanners should not be taken as fact. For example, someone reports a suspicious person lurking behind the bushes outside of their neighbor’s home. Until the police investigate the call, it does not necessary mean there really is a person. Once the police arrive on the scene, the suspicious person could turn out to be a chair with a tarp draped over it, and a rake leaned against the chair in such a manner to make it appear like it is a person.

Further, police do not always report over scanner radios the outcome after investigating calls. In cases where there is an event in progress, police have other means for communicating with dispatchers and other key agencies, like their in-vehicle secure computers and cell phones. Whenever information is vital to a case or sensitive in nature, it is normally not openly shared over police scanners.

Now that you understand this essential bit of information about police scanners, using these devices is an ideal method for learning what is going on in your community. Not everything communicated over scanners is published in your local paper or broadcast on the evening news. In addition, a radio scanner is used by some people as a method of being alerted about a weather emergency, civil emergency, or other critical event occurring in your community, as it is occurring. For instance, several scanner radio models operate off of batteries. If you lost power due to a severe thunderstorm, your scanner would be an effective way to be kept updated about the status of the storm.

However, whenever communications are not blocked, people are still able to find out basic information about events in their local community. Just remember this is preliminary information about the event, and there could easily be more details not being openly communicated.

To learn more about police scanner radios, or for assistance in selecting a model, contact us at 1-800-SCANNER (1-800-722-6637) today.