Scanner School - Everything you wanted to know about the Scanner Radio Hobby

🧢 Beaker Breaker 1 - 9 You need to make this change in your scanners if you monitor CB, Good Buddy! Here in the US, CB Radio has been primarily been AM or SSB.  But there is a new modulation for CB, and it's FM! FM on CB will have many benefits, such as the ability to use PL or DPL, but will it be adopted here in the US? What does FM CB mean for us, the scanner radio user? What do we need to be r...

Did you know you can listen to the International Space Station or "Brazilian Pirates" from your backyard? With correct software, you can download weather images directly from satellites. Or, you may be able to receive Slow Scan TV images (SSTV) and earn certificates just for participating? 🛰️ Satellite Scanning is fun and exciting.   ==================================== 🔗  Links from this podcast...

Amateur Radio Operators are very resourceful when it comes to surplus equipment. Did you know that there are P25, NXDN, and DMR amateur radio repeaters in most corners of the world?   These repeaters are easily linked, allowing world wide communications during emergencies, events, and day to day activities. There are also HAM specific digital voice networks, like DSTAR, YSF, and M17 that you can e...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast Art has several questions about monitoring lo...

Did you ever get the feeling like you were missing transmissions on your scanner radio? Maybe you hear one half and then the scanner goes back in a scan mode and you never hear the rest of the conversation - leaving you hanging? What happens next? What did you miss? I have some suggestions to help avoid these problems on this week's podcast. ==================================== 🛒  Check out our n...

Did you ever wonder how large, short term, temporary events with many moving parts, details, and staff all communicate? Some examples of these events include the Professional Golf Association Tournaments, Live Broadcasts from the Country Music Awards, large Air Shows, or Public Safety Communications. Here in the US, the FCC can issue an STA, or Special Temporary Authority, granting access to frequ...

From Pre-Planning, Live Weather Events , to Post Disaster Monitoring, this episode is full of hints and tips to scanning severe weather events. We've split this episode into two parts.: The first half covers who you might want to monitor during a weather disaster The second half covers programming your scanner for a disaster.   ==================================== 🛒  Check out our new Merch! ====...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast Chuck would like some info on the SDS100 Ed w...

Freescan is free programming software that supports the Uniden DMA family of scanners. This means  that it will not work on Home Patrol scanners or older Uniden scanners with standard memory programming.  Freescan software is no longer being developed by the original author, but has been added to GitHub and updates have been added to newer forks. Free scan allows you to import from the Radio Refer...

The Yaesu VX-6R is a modern classic Ham Radio. So why should you use this as a scanner radio? It doesn't trunk.  It doesn't do any digital modes.   The alpha tags are limited to just 6 characters, and it's nearly 20 years old. Yep, doesn't seem like this one has many positives when you scratch the surface, but there is more here than meets the eye! The Yaesu VX-6R receives nearly from .5 MHz - 998...

John has been a long time listener of the podcast and wanted to know how things work here behind the scenes. Not only do we talk about how the podcast is put together and what it takes to write and publish, but we also discuss what we both enjoy about the scanner hobby. This was a great conversation and I want to thank John for being a part of the experience. If you'd like to be on the podcast, Jo...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast John has a question about using Sentinel with...

Mike Henson is relatively new to the scanner radio hobby, but has quickly found Military Aviation and Photography to be a very interesting and rewarding hobby. Mike shares his setup, which started out as a single radio, and has now grown into several dedicated scanners and a recording interface to log all the local Military Aviation traffic. What is interesting about Mike's setup, is his keep is s...

Did you know that you can monitor many of the military aviation transmissions and traffic that happens in the skies above us? What if I told you that with the right equipment, you can easily monitor hundreds of miles away? I'll tell you where to find milair frequencies, what scanner and equipment you'll need, what you can expect to hear, and at the end, I'll give you 5 tips so you can feel like yo...

David Vine joins the podcast this week to talk about radio.  I am looking forward to having him back as a regular. David is all about this hobby.  From Scanning, GMRS, and Ham, he has immersed himself with the radio hobby.  So much so that he has involved himself with many local clubs and organizations. His love of the hobby does not end there.   David has created many presentations about the radi...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast Peter would like more info about Fire Tone Ou...

Les Stephenson, from the Toronto area of Canada, has a long, rich history when it comes to the scanning hobby. Les was introduced to scanning as a teen in 1959 and has been hooked ever since.   His near lifelong interest with scanning has seen just about every change in technology.   From tunable dials, crystals, and synthesized tuners, to trunking and digital interfaces. Les is also very opiniona...

I believe we are overdue for a new HomePatrol from Uniden. The HomePatrol was originally released in late 2010. The BCD436HP & BCD536HP was released in January 2014. Later that year, we saw the HomePatrol-2. Since then, we've only seen one more release on the HomePatrol platform, and that was the SDS100 and SDS200 in 2019.  These scanners allowed us to monitor Simulcast P25 systems and I believe t...

Let's debunk 7 Scanner Radio Myths about the scanner radio hobby!   Myth 1: Encryption is killing the hobby Myth 2: There is nothing left to listen to Myth 3: Simulcast is making scanning difficult Myth 4: It is too complicated to get started   Listen to this podcast to hear the remaining myths. We also have a shorter video on our YouTube Channel 🎥   ==================================== 🛒  Check...

If you are looking to get started in the scanner radio hobby, I have 5 tips to help you get started today. I also walk through common mistakes and this podcast will help you avoid making common beginner mistakes. This podcast is also available in a shorter format on our YouTube Channel 🎥 https://youtu.be/l8RHrJ8z1Qg   Step 1 - Make a list of what it is you want to listen to Be as detailed as poss...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast Dylan would like to know if he should buy a B...

Why is one of my favorite nights to listen to the scanner radio New Years Eve? That is because my scanner allows me to get behind the scenes to the biggest New Years Eve party in the United States.  Every year in Times Square, the ball drops at midnight and the entire event is televised on Dick Clark's Rockin' New Years with Ryan Seacrest. Using my scanner, I'm able to hear the link between the di...

I enjoy having conversations with others in the scanner radio hobby, and those of you who listen to the podcast. Many of us have the same backstory on how we found our way into the hobby, and others have their own unique journey. Today, Blake Hagerty is here to share his story and how he found his way into the radio hobby. ==================================== 🛒  Check out our new Merch! =========...

Joey Absi talks about how he built his own scanner radio using a Raspberry Pi and Free Software. Joey's home built scanner went through several revisions before it became what it is today. And while most of what Joey built can be duplicated at home, he did design some of his own circuits to build a better version. All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our websit...

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. If you have a question you would like me to answer, please leave me a voicemail at 516-308-2885 or by visiting www.scannerschool.com/ask Don't forget to join us on YouTube on the first Tuesday of every month for our live Q&A session.   Click here to Subscribe! Questions answered on this week's podcast Drew has a question about receiving CB on his...