Police scanners

[bandit957]

Anyone else ever listen to a police scanner?

When I was growing up, in the late 1970s or so, my grandfather had one. Each channel had a red light and a push button. When it stopped on a channel, the red light would come on. I don't remember how the push button was used.

When I was about 9, around 1982, my brother got a scanner. It had a green LED display like a Speak & Spell. One of my first memories of it was hearing mobile phone conversations where some guy kept cussing up a storm. There was one other time when a bunch of cops got in a big argument. I also remember the time there was a call about kids going through garbage cans and "throwing trash in the roadway" on a nearby street.

Later, around 1996, I buyed a scanner. One of the first calls I ever heard on it was about a man going into McDonald's who claimed he was Jimi Hendrix and peed all over the floor. I still have this scanny, but now it's useless, because all our local police departments either encrypt their signals now, or they don't use frequencies a scanner can pick up.

It was cool to listen to the ol' scanny!

[Max Rockatansky]

Not explicitly, but the scanners my Dad and I got from a NASCAR race team would pick up police signals.

[jeffandnicole]

Anyone else ever listen to a police scanner?

When I was growing up, in the late 1970s or so, my grandfather had one. Each channel had a red light and a push button. When it stopped on a channel, the red light would come on. I don't remember how the push button was used.

My grandparents had this type of scanner. As a kid, it was entertaining to listen to it.

[tchafe1978]

My in-laws had a scanner and listened to it all the time so they could be nosey with what was going on the in county. My wife and I had one for a while but quit using it when the police calls went encrpyted. It went in the trash a couple years ago. Now instead of listening to the scanner, we have a local Facebook page that posts the scanner calls. I think the begger entertainment now is all the inane comments on each post where everyone has to speculate on their idea of what happened regarding the call or make lame jokes.

There are now apps that you can listen to scanner calls on, but I'm not that nosey to waste my time.

[MikeTheActuary]

or they don't use frequencies a scanner can pick up.

Generally that's just a matter of getting a scanner capable of receiving the frequencies/modes being used (although that still won't help with encryption).  In the US, there are scanners on the market that will receive any frequency used aside from the old analog cellular frequencies (because the law prohibits tuning into those).

(I generally have a scanner on as background noise while in my office at home.)

[mgk920]

Still useful for railroad and NASCAR fans.

Mike

[gonealookin]

There are now apps that you can listen to scanner calls on, but I'm not that nosey to waste my time.

https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/

Ad-supported, so after you select your feed you have to listen to 30 seconds or so of that, but then you're good to go.

I only listen when there's something major happening in the county, particularly fires.  The feed is Douglas County (NV) Sheriff and Fire.

[freebrickproductions]

Still useful for railroad and NASCAR fans.

Mike

I have a scanner for railfanning as well, in fact. Recorded plenty of defect detectors on it over the years, among other things.

I know some siren enthusiasts also use scanners to listen to the activation tones for sirens, especially ones controlled via radio.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Some people have developed cult followings tweeting out scanner audio for largely political purposes.

[Molandfreak]

When I worked at a state park, the radios we used to communicate with other park staff would scan the frequencies of each North Shore park, the Two Harbors DNR office, and the police/fire/EMS frequencies in Lake County. There was never enough activity on these frequencies to make it unbearably noisy, but I would imagine parks elsewhere in the state don't have quite an extensive list.

The emergency frequencies were helpful for us to know when an emergency had been reported to 911 operators but not directly to park staff, while the other DNR folks supplied vacancy information in the various first-come, first-serve state forest campgrounds they managed.

[TheCatalyst31]

I'll sometimes look up police scanner streams after major sporting events to see what shenanigans drunk fans are getting up to. The Philadelphia scanner after the last Super Bowl was entertaining.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

For the short time my dad was deputy sheriff near Cleveland (45 years ago), my mom had a police scanner.
My grandparents had a Bearcat tabletop police scanner as well.

[Scott5114]

I'll sometimes look up police scanner streams after major sporting events to see what shenanigans drunk fans are getting up to. The Philadelphia scanner after the last Super Bowl was entertaining.

I imagine the Las Vegas Metro one was pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, after the 10/1 shooting they encrypted it.

[bugo]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

[kphoger]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

Unless they physically threatened the caller with weapons when they chased him off, what would have been illegal about that anyway?

[bugo]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

Unless they physically threatened the caller with weapons when they chased him off, what would have been illegal about that anyway?

It's Polk County, where it's illegal to not be a Fundamentalist Christian.

[Roadgeekteen]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

Unless they physically threatened the caller with weapons when they chased him off, what would have been illegal about that anyway?

It's Polk County, where it's illegal to not be a Fundamentalist Christian.

https://stagneschurchmena.org/

[LilianaUwU]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

Unless they physically threatened the caller with weapons when they chased him off, what would have been illegal about that anyway?

It's Polk County, where it's illegal to not be a Fundamentalist Christian.

Source?

You don't need a source to state the sky is blue.

[Roadgeekteen]

When I was a kid, I was listening to the scanner, and somebody called in saying there was a black mass going on on Rich Mountain and they were wearing robes and what not and chased the caller off. I assume it was a prank. Rumors of "Satanists" on Rich Mountain have been around for at least 50 years.

Unless they physically threatened the caller with weapons when they chased him off, what would have been illegal about that anyway?

It's Polk County, where it's illegal to not be a Fundamentalist Christian.

Source?

You don't need a source to state the sky is blue.

I just posted a link of a non fundamentalist church in Mena Arkansas and so far it has not been shut down by the Arkansas state police yet

[kphoger]

I just posted a link of a non fundamentalist church in Mena Arkansas and so far it has not been shut down by the Arkansas state police yet

Is it National Take Everything Literally Day already?

[Roadgeekteen]

I just posted a link of a non fundamentalist church in Mena Arkansas and so far it has not been shut down by the Arkansas state police yet

Is it National Take Everything Literally Day already?

I am well aware what Bugo means by this. I just think it's such wild hyperbole that it's not even close to reality. Most Christians aren't even fundamentalist.

[ZLoth]

There is a Police Scanner App available for mobile devices.

[kphoger]

Most Christians aren't even fundamentalist.

I take it you're not from around there, then...

[Roadgeekteen]

Most Christians aren't even fundamentalist.

I take it you're not from around there, then...

Certainly, most are conservative Christians, but is YEC (Young Earth Creationism) the majority opinion there? Somehow I doubt it but maybe I'm wrong.

[CoreySamson]

As a Christian guy studying theology (finishing my BA this spring and probably going on to an MA), I've noticed Christians tend to fall into three camps about how they read and interpret the Bible.

At one extreme, you have the fundamentalist Christians, who read the Bible exactly like how Muslims read the Quran. Every word of the Bible is taken literally, seen non-negotiably, and used out of context. They view that the writers of the Bible were basically possessed by God when they wrote the Scriptures. They unequivocally advocate for young-earth creationism and deny that "science" and Christianity can coexist. I've noticed that a lot of Baptist churches seem to fall into this camp.

At the other end of the spectrum you have the more liberal Christians, who read the Bible as if it was a flawed guide book from God. The words are not to be taken literally, seen mostly as metaphorical and mythical. They focus on the general themes and ideas, not specific doctrine. They view that the writers wrote the Bible as a normal author wrote a book. They almost unequivocally advocate for old-earth evolutionism, and view that science has superseded the Bible in many ways. Many "high church" Protestants fall into this view.

But I think that both of these sides err in how they interpret Scripture. Fundamentalists treat the Bible too literally, while liberals treat the Bible too metaphorically. They both do not understand the nuances of the Bible, and sadly both sides mislead and alienate people from what Christianity is actually supposed to be.

The third camp for interpreting the Bible is a more eclectic, balanced approach, which is backed up by scholarship. This view understands the Bible as completely authoritative, but that it also has a historical context that incorporates metaphorical language. For example, I believe like the fundamentalists that the Bible is infallible, but like the liberals, I believe that it is also contextual. There are certain stories and poetry in the Bible that I would say are metaphorical, but there is also a lot of stuff that I would say is literal and historical. I don't think that God possessed the writers of the Bible and nor do I think the writers just came up with it on their own; God instead inspired the writers and let them use their writing styles to communicate his truth. This eclectic approach lets the Bible speak for itself without having some agenda placed onto it (and it is indeed how many orthodox [notice not capitalized] Christians have interpreted the Bible throughout the years).

Most Christians aren't even fundamentalist.

I take it you're not from around there, then...

Certainly, most are conservative Christians, but is YEC (Young Earth Creationism) the majority opinion there? Somehow I doubt it but maybe I'm wrong.

I think it is still the majority opinion, but I don't think it's as big of a majority as you might think.

So where do I stand on young-earth creationism vs old-earth creationism vs theistic evolution? Honestly, I'm still trying to figure that out.