Can a scanner alert to a police radio?

[krypton2]

If you simply want to listen to the local police/fire/ems then get a simple scanner that meets your needs...you don't need one with 1000 channels, trunking, and all kinds of other stuff unless you actually will use it. I agree that when you get into the more complex stuff, it becomes a time-requiring hobby, not just something to do when you're bored.

The problem is most PD's and EMS services are on trunked systems now, unless you live out in the middle of nowhere. Even so a lot of trucked systems from larger cities farm out frequencies to the surrounding smaller towns. And if the trunked systems one wants to listen to are digital, well, the price of the scanner just doubled. You have to ask yourself if you're going to seriously use a scanner that costs 400-500 bucks, if it's just an interest that comes and goes it's probably not worth the expense. If you're using it just for the occaisional road trip - then just buy a good CB instead - it will divulge a lot more information about speed traps anyway.

Yeah, I suppose Pennsylvania is behind the times, I apologize While we have trunked systems around here out of our ten largest cities, only one uses a trunked system...all 9 others are still on analog VHF or UHF. Between all of my scanners I monitor well over 500 frequencies and all are analog VHF or UHF, only one trunked system.

[Sui]

If you simply want to listen to the local police/fire/ems then get a simple scanner that meets your needs...you don't need one with 1000 channels, trunking, and all kinds of other stuff unless you actually will use it. I agree that when you get into the more complex stuff, it becomes a time-requiring hobby, not just something to do when you're bored.

The problem is most PD's and EMS services are on trunked systems now, unless you live out in the middle of nowhere. Even so a lot of trucked systems from larger cities farm out frequencies to the surrounding smaller towns. And if the trunked systems one wants to listen to are digital, well, the price of the scanner just doubled. You have to ask yourself if you're going to seriously use a scanner that costs 400-500 bucks, if it's just an interest that comes and goes it's probably not worth the expense. If you're using it just for the occaisional road trip - then just buy a good CB instead - it will divulge a lot more information about speed traps anyway.

Yeah, I suppose Pennsylvania is behind the times, I apologize While we have trunked systems around here out of our ten largest cities, only one uses a trunked system...all 9 others are still on analog VHF or UHF. Between all of my scanners I monitor well over 500 frequencies and all are analog VHF or UHF, only one trunked system.

Must be nice.

The one trunked system I would listen to is likely going to go digital also - which sucks. I know someone that works for EMS within that system and they tipped me off to that, and I'm not gonna pay hundreds just to listen to one digital system. That's just insane.

[2Bolt]

I have a BCT-8 (haven't used it for at least a few years or so), and it had some Bear-Tracker warning feature that alerts highway patrol link frequencies if they were within about a 3 mile range - something like that.

[Sui]

I have a BCT-8 (haven't used it for at least a few years or so), and it had some Bear-Tracker warning feature that alerts highway patrol link frequencies if they were within about a 3 mile range - something like that.

Most scanners will have a tough time picking up the input on a mobile unit with just the stock antenna.

[ersin]

The Bearcat BCT-15 has "BearTracker" which listens for the mobile repeater frequencies and alerts on them. The mobile repeater frequency is the one that the car-to-walkie-talkie uses. Since the handheld can't have too much power (~5 watts typical) it is not easy to get out. But since cops generally don't stray too far from their car, the handheld talks to the car on the mobile repeater frequency, then the car will transmit-recieve to the big PD radio tower on a different frequency (the main freq.) at higher power, typically around 50 watts.

This would seem to work only when the cop is out of the car but sometimes they just leave it on all the time. Not as much as they used to though. When this frequency is detected you're fairly close since it is low power -- that is where the 3 miles or less comes in. But this is good since you only really care about the LEO who is close to you.

The Bearcat BCT-7 and BCT-8 had the same technology. They're not made anymore (superseded by the BCT-15). I have a BCT-7, and even in this age of digital comms, the BearTracker feature still worked. I would say that at least half the time that it alerted I would come upon an LEO in a mile or so. I assume the rest of the time they were nearby but on a different road. Sadly, since I got the new car I don't use the BCT-7 anymore. If I could find a good way to mount it without looking like an eyesore inside the car, and without hacking too much on the interior trim, then I'd probably install it.

[Swamp]

I've been listening to local LEO's on scanners a lot over the last year. I bought them mostly for entertainment, but also hoping they might be useful as a counter-measure, but they really aren't.
LEO's do not drive around announcing their location every few minutes; the only time they mention their location is when dispatch is checking to see who is closest and can respond the quickest to a call.
I have never heard on say "I'm running a speed trap at such and such a location". When they stop a violator, they do announce their location, but as Stealth said, he's busy so he's not a threat any more.
I had ONE time, last summer, when I was heading out on a short drive, on my favorite local highway, and I just happened to hear a sheriff call in a motorist assist (car on the side of the road) and it just happened to be the way I was going. When I got to the location, he was gone, so I surmised he was ahead of me. 5 miles later he had turned around after reaching the county line, and I met him going the opposite direction--running C/O K-band.

PS, If you drive like a total maniac so people call 911 and report your license plate number, a scanner would be very useful to know when the cops are looking for you, so you can go home and park in the garage where they can't find you. ;p

I find that listening to the scanner while driving is not a good idea--I have to concentrate so hard to follow everything that is said, that it reduces my concentration visually scanning for threats, thus defeating the entire purpose of a scanner!

[speeddemon]

I've been listening to local LEO's on scanners a lot over the last year. I bought them mostly for entertainment, but also hoping they might be useful as a counter-measure, but they really aren't.
LEO's do not drive around announcing their location every few minutes; the only time they mention their location is when dispatch is checking to see who is closest and can respond the quickest to a call.
I have never heard on say "I'm running a speed trap at such and such a location". When they stop a violator, they do announce their location, but as Stealth said, he's busy so he's not a threat any more.
I had ONE time, last summer, when I was heading out on a short drive, on my favorite local highway, and I just happened to hear a sheriff call in a motorist assist (car on the side of the road) and it just happened to be the way I was going. When I got to the location, he was gone, so I surmised he was ahead of me. 5 miles later he had turned around after reaching the county line, and I met him going the opposite direction--running C/O K-band.

PS, If you drive like a total maniac so people call 911 and report your license plate number, a scanner would be very useful to know when the cops are looking for you, so you can go home and park in the garage where they can't find you. ;p

I find that listening to the scanner while driving is not a good idea--I have to concentrate so hard to follow everything that is said, that it reduces my concentration visually scanning for threats, thus defeating the entire purpose of a scanner!

But if they got your LP don't they know where you live?

[Sui]

When they stop a violator, they do announce their location, but as Stealth said, he's busy so he's not a threat any more.

That's a false sense of security. If you go flying by at ludicrous speed, they either abandon the stop they're on and pursue you, or more commonly, will radio to one of their buddies and/or dispatch to look for you. Don't think an LEO isn't still watching the road when he's on a stop - he is.

[Akosikojak]

I've been listening to local LEO's on scanners a lot over the last year. I bought them mostly for entertainment, but also hoping they might be useful as a counter-measure, but they really aren't.
LEO's do not drive around announcing their location every few minutes; the only time they mention their location is when dispatch is checking to see who is closest and can respond the quickest to a call.
I have never heard on say "I'm running a speed trap at such and such a location". When they stop a violator, they do announce their location, but as Stealth said, he's busy so he's not a threat any more.
I had ONE time, last summer, when I was heading out on a short drive, on my favorite local highway, and I just happened to hear a sheriff call in a motorist assist (car on the side of the road) and it just happened to be the way I was going. When I got to the location, he was gone, so I surmised he was ahead of me. 5 miles later he had turned around after reaching the county line, and I met him going the opposite direction--running C/O K-band.

PS, If you drive like a total maniac so people call 911 and report your license plate number, a scanner would be very useful to know when the cops are looking for you, so you can go home and park in the garage where they can't find you. ;p

I find that listening to the scanner while driving is not a good idea--I have to concentrate so hard to follow everything that is said, that it reduces my concentration visually scanning for threats, thus defeating the entire purpose of a scanner!

But if they got your LP don't they know where you live?

Ug, LOL

[unmamfqlm]

PS, If you drive like a total maniac so people call 911 and report your license plate number, a scanner would be very useful to know when the cops are looking for you, so you can go home and park in the garage where they can't find you. ;p

This is off topic, but that reminds me of a bs situation that happened to me 4 or 5 years back. A friend and me were riding four wheelers down the road, and someone called the cops on us. There was snow on the ground, so our tracks were obviously easy to find. Well, I wasn't home at the time, but the leo seen the tracks, walked in my garage without any permission whatsoever, then wrote down the vin number off of my four wheeler. That really pissed me off.