How do I get my police scanner to work?

Why do police scanners go offline?

When a scanner is offline it means that Broadcastify.com (where the app gets most of its audio from) isn’t currently receiving audio from the person that volunteered to provide it for the scanner feed you’re looking at (a volunteer uses their real scanner and a computer to send their scanner’s audio to Broadcastify. …

Are old police scanners obsolete?

These scanners are obsolete primarily due to the fact that over the past few years, more and more public safety agencies have been transitioning towards operating on trunked and digital radio systems making some of these older analog scanners obsolete.

How do I turn my scanner online?

Switching the Scanner Online (Network Scan)
  1. Press (Main Menu).
  2. Use [ ] , [ ] or (Scroll Wheel) to select <Scan to Store>, then press [OK].
  3. Use [ ] , [ ] or (Scroll Wheel) to select <Remote Scan>, then press [OK].
  4. Use [ ] , [ ] or (Scroll Wheel) to select <Online>, then press [OK].

How do I put my scanner online?

Go to the “Control Panel” and to “Network and Sharing Center.” Click “View network computers and devices.” Right-click the scanner and choose “Install.” After this process is complete, the scanner should be available to other computers on the network.

How do you make a homemade police scanner antenna?

How do I test my scanner antenna?

First do a visual inspection of the connectors on the radio and coax and look for obvious problems. If you see nothing wrong then check the other and (at the antenna). If possible use an ohmmeter and check for continuity between the two ends of the coax and that the coax is not shorted.

Can you use a TV antenna for police scanner?

Yes as long as the cable is 75 ohm it will work fine. You will need to inspect the antenna and connections for damage or bad wiring. If it has 300 ohm line then you will need a 300 to 75 ohm transformer. Just buy a pl-259 to solder to the 75 OHM line and connect that to the scanner.

What kind of antenna do I need for a police scanner?

Police scanners always come with a stock “rubber duck” antenna that receives about 30 miles of range (which can vary greatly depending on your local topography). So, as much as we want to sell you an antenna, most users do not need one.

What is a Discone antenna used for?

The discone antenna or discone aerial is often used where an omnidirectional wide band or bandwidth RF antenna design is needed. The discone antenna is used for many radio communication applications from radio scanning and monitoring for the commercial or military services to the home scanner enthusiasts.

How can I make a scanner at home?

Does a scanner antenna need a ground plane?

Re: Grounding a scanner antenna? Normaly the Maxrad 5/8 wave needs a 1/4 wave ground plane(18 inches in diameter or more) to function properly. Just mount it in the center of a metal plate or run four or more wire radials or foil ribons from the mount in an evenly spaced fashion.

What is the range of a handheld police scanner?

In general expect to receive 10 to 20 miles but note that there might be a few agencies which could be closer than 10 miles that operate at low power that you will have trouble hearing and that there could be state police agencies operating with mountain top transmitters that you’ll hear 50+ miles away.

How does a Slim Jim antenna work?

The Slim Jim is a vertically polarized omnidirectional end-fed antenna having considerable “gain” and this is concentrated almost parallel to ground toward the horizon rather than skyward making it more efficient than a ground plane type antenna by about 50 percent better. It can be built for almost any frequency!

How do I make my radio antenna stronger?

Use a signal amplifier: You can place a signal amplifier (aka signal booster) between the antenna and your receiver or radio to boost the signal. Just connect the cable coming from the antenna to the input of the amplifier. and then connect the output to your radio or receivers’ antenna input.

What does trunking mean on a scanner?

Since a trunking system might send its call and response on different frequencies, a “Trunking” or “Trunk-tracking” scanner is needed. These scanners will let you monitor the control channel frequency as part of the TalkGroup so you can hear both calls and responses and more easily follow conversations.

What can scanners pick up?

What can I hear on my scanner? Originally called police scanners, today’s scanner radios receive much more than just police and emergency calls. You can listen to taxicab companies, utility companies, aircraft, military, amateur radio, Family Radio Service, and sometimes even the space shuttle.

Can you hear cell phone calls on a scanner?

Member. The simple answer is no. That was when the FCC stepped in and required all cell phone frequencies be blocked in scanners. Local police do not have the ability to listen to cell phone traffic the would be the 3 letter Government agencies.

What is a talkgroup on a scanner?

Talkgroups. A ‘talkgroup’ is an assigned logical group of users on a trunked radio system. Unlike a conventional radio which assigns users a certain frequency, a trunk system uses a number of frequencies allocated to the entire system.

What is Dtrs radio?

2.2 Digital Trunked Radio Systems (DTRS) are two-way mobile radio systems that consist of multiple-channel repeater stations and their control stations, serving a number of base and mobile terminals.

What is Unitrunker?

Unitrunker is software that allows you to follow trunked voice conversations, and SDR-Console V2 is a general purpose receiver, similar to other software such as SDR#.