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

Latest Episodes:

185 - Ask Scanner School v34 Jul 06, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

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Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. You may submit questions at www.scannerschool.com/ask

Questions asked this month:

Besides watching online websites, can we spot skip or ducting on our own? What do we look for?
How do you keep your home patrol style favorites lists updated when you update the master database?
What are the filters on the SDS100/200 for and how do they work?
How do you change the Unit ID's (UIDs) on the Home Patrol style scanner?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session185

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Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit https://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at https://www.scannerschool.com/support

184 - Budget Friendly P25 Scanners Jun 29, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

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In today's episode, I will talk about budget-friendly P25 scanners.

We will also cover some limitations when trying to stick within our make believe budget.

What You Need To Know

When it comes to buying scanners, everybody has different budgets
For this exercise, I've set a budget of $300
At this price point, we will only be able to afford a Phase 1 Scanner
There are some scanners in our make believe budget that are current and can be bought new today
We will be reviewing Radio Shack, GRE, Whistler, and Uniden Scanners
Simulcast and updated features will not be supported in this budget
Even with these limitations, we will have a nice list of great scanners that we can afford

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session184

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Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit http://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at http://www.scannerschool.com/support

183 - Scanner Laws and Restrictions to Know Before Traveling and Vacationing Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

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Traveling with your scanner may have consequences.

It is important that you understand the laws where you are traveling and even the rules where you are staying.

What You Need To Know

Different forms of travel have different rules when carrying a scanner
Check your airlines for any prohibited carry on items
If cruising, be sure your scanner is allowed on board
Scanners may or may not be allowed in sporting venues. Be prepared to be stopped by security if attempting to bring a radio into an event.
For Sporting events such as NASCAR, you can bring your scanner to the event.
Scanner radios in countries you are visiting can be shockingly strict, or very relaxed.
If you are traveling across the United States, be aware that each State, County, or City could have their own scanner radio laws

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session183

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit http://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at http://www.scannerschool.com/support

182 - Skip, Ducting, and Propagation Jun 15, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

In today's episode I am going to talk about Skip, Ducting and Propagation

How does this happen, why does this happens, and when you can expect it happen?

Find out why you want to keep you ears open for this phenomenon on today's podcast.

What You Need To Know

Most VHF and UHF reception is done via line of sight.
Another form of radio propagation is ground wave, which follows the earth's contours.
Radio waves that use the earth's ionosphere to further propagate are cause for excitement in the VHF and UHF Spectrum.
The ionosphere is made up of several distinct layers.
E-skip or Sporadic E happens when the radio waves are reflected back to earth by the unusually ionized the atmospheric gases in lower E levels.
Weather can also affect propagation and this is called tropospheric ducting

Find out more about Skip, Ducting, and Propagation on today's podcast.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session182

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Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit http://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at http://www.scannerschool.com/support

181 - 10 Ways to Repurpose Your Analog Scanner Jun 08, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

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Let's talk about 10 ways that you can use your old analog radio in today's digital scanning environment

What You Need To Know

Marine monitoring is a built in search range on many analog scanners
Aircraft monitoring can be done worldwide
Railroad is moving to NXDN here in the US, but most of RR is still analog only.
Weather Alert Standby is a feature in many newer analog scanners
SKYWARN traffic is typically on amateur radio analog repeaters.
Fire Tone Out is another feature found in many analog scanners.
News and media frequencies are very busy and you can hear interesting transmission on those frequency ranges.
Shopping malls and departmental store use FRS radios that are analog.
Put your old analog scanner in search mode, put it into close call mode, and see what is close to you or what is around you.
You can tap into discriminated baseband audio or raw audio or unprocessed or unfiltered audio of the board of your scanner.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session181

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit http://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at http://www.scannerschool.com/support

180 - Ask Scanner School v33 Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

In today's episode we are answering your submitted questions!

What You Need To Know

We revisit Chris' question from last month regarding Close Call and AM reception for Aviation.
Jeff asks a question about using his software defined radio and frequency assignments
Jack inquiries about Bill Cheek and if his material is still available online
Ray asks while going through the courses is there any special consideration on location we should use while backing up our folders.
Jim asks a question about antennas, resonate frequencies, and how to figure out what antenna length is needed to receive a specific frequency

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session180

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit https://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at https://www.scannerschool.com/support

179 - The Uniden BR330T May 25, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The Uniden BR330T is one of those scanners that has a special place in my collection. For many years it was my "go to" scanner.

What You Need To Know

I purchased my BR330T back in 2007, right when they were discontinued.
At that time, they were $250USD for this radio making it about $322 radio in 2021 dollars.
This radio was ahead of it's time and a unicorn in the scanner radio hobby
I have not seen another scanner since that can do what the BR330T was capable of achieving
The BR330T handheld scanner operates on 3 AA batteries or a 6v aux. power.
This radio has a built in battery charger
Besides Analog Conventional, the scanner also supported Motorola, EDACS, and LTR Trunking

The memory system uses an early version of Uniden's Dynamic Memory Allocation
It supports basic features such as PL / DPL Decoding, Fire Tone out, and Priority Scaning
What makes this scanner so unique is it's ability to pickup AM Broadcast, FM Broadcast, and even Analog TV
This scanner included an internal BAR antenna for AM Broadcast reception

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session179

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit http://www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at http://www.scannerschool.com/support

178 - Scan All The Bands with Larry Van Horn May 18, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Larry Van Horn is one of the legends in the Scanner Radio Hobby. We are fortunate enough to have him on this week's podcast!

What You Need To Know

Larry has published multiple columns and guides over the years.
Today, Larry shares the key to success when it comes to Scanner Radio Hobby.
During this conversation, Larry and Phil cover topics ranging from short-waves to gigahertz.
Larry's digital publications are available on Amazon
Phil reiterates how the guides written by Larry have helped him.
Larry spent 15 years documenting activity in the military radio spectrum in his monthly Milcom columns.
The MT Milcom columns documented the U.S. military conversion to narrowband LMR systems, the move from conventional to trunk radio systems, the 225-400 MHz band plan shift, including the new 380-400 MHz sub-band, and HF military frequencies, both foreign and US.
Larry has spent the last 65 years enjoying the radio hobby

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session178

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

177 - AM/FM DXing with Loyd Van Horn May 11, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

In today's podcast, we welcome Loyd Van Horn. He is the founder of dxcentralonline.com, and a former radio guy. He was a columnist with Monitoring Times magazine, writing the weekly GlobalNet column, which dealt with online streaming of radio/TV.

What You Need To Know

DX is the short form for distance
The goal is to hear as many stations as you can.
For Loyd AM/FM DXing is all about finding those stations which one has never heard before.
What is the grey line and how does that help you?
During sunset and sunrise, one gets weird propagation of radio frequencies. One might get a little bit of the ground wave as well as a little bit of the skywave.
Loyd talks about how he searches for different frequencies from the Atlantic, Europe, Africa, England etc.
Loyd keeps a logbook that really helps him keep a track on the frequencies he had already tuned into.
Find out what equipment Loyd Recommends to get started
How is Loyd using Software Defined Radios to help him catch DX stations?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session177

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

176 - Ask Scanner School v32 May 04, 2021

Show notes

Free SDR Course!

Our new free course will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radio: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon" is now open for enrollment.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Every month I answer your questions on the podcast. You may submit questions at www.scannerschool.com/ask

This month I answer:

Can you use priority with your trunk radio scanning?
What is up in the 1700Mhz - 6000Mhz Range?
Do I need more than 1 SDR Dongle to receive?
What can I do to improve my scanner radio enjoyment while flying?
Can you setup Close Call on a BCD436HP to use AM?
What are the filter settings in the SDS100 and SDS200?
What type of antenna would I recommend for VHF, UHF, and 800?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session176

---------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like 1 on 1 help?

If you need help with your scanner and are looking for some one on one tutoring, I'd love to help you out. Visit www.scannerschool.com/consulting to book your one hour appointment today!

Help support Scanner School

You can help support Scanner School by visiting our support page at www.scannerschool.com/support

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