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*****************************THE BLOCKBUSTER EPIC**************************
*****************************TIPS FROM THE TOWER***************************
BROUGHT TO YOU BY:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Intercept Inc.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
6014 Oak Hill Drive>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Flowery Branch, GA 30542>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(404) 967-9757>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Presenting:>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>"THE INDESPENSABLE GUIDE TO SCANNING"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>By: R.P. Meggs, Pres. Intecept Inc.
___________________________________________________________________________
Okay this is the issue you've got to have. Whether you're a seasoned vet of
scanning and monitoring, or just a novice, there should be something of in-
terest to everyone in here, as I will recklessly cover a vast plethora of
hints and kinks for adding that extra measure of versatility to your moni-
toring efforts.
For years, I have heard from lots of folks with some very interesting ques-
tions and comments on scanning, and as the same questions keep popping up,
(as well as new ones) I will attempt to cover a lot of these, so pay atten-
tion, cause here we go...........
WHAT IS THE BEST SCANNER I CAN BUY ?
That's a lot like asking what is the best car you might purchase. Buying a
scanner is a lot like buying a car. Start with a low base price, add your
options and watch the price climb! An exceptional dealer will take the time
to find out what type of monitoring you are interested in, and help you from
there. Unfortunately, that is usually not the case, as anyone who has ventured
into a Radio Shack in search of their first scanner can attest to. I have read
other opinions that you shouldn't spend over a hundred and fifty dollars on
your first scanner, but I don't necessarily agree....You are better off just
paying what your budget will allow, whether it is more or less... It is much
more important to choose the RIGHT RADIO ACCORDING TO YOUR USE AND NEEDS...
IF YOU DO NOT ALREADY HAVE A SCANNER, START WITH A HANDHELD !
And why do we say that? There are several reasons, first, the handhelds will
do just about everything the base scanners will, and in some instances offer
MORE performance features than their mobile or base counterparts. If you are
making your first scanner purchase, a handheld has several advantages:
1. FLEXIBILITY: The handheld can be used in any one of three configurations:
mobile, base or remote operation. Also, since they are battery powered,
with the capability to run on AC or DC, during power outages, it can be
very useful. Hook up to a good outside antenna, plug in your AC adaptor,
you've got a base. Want to go mobile? Plug up your DC charge cord, stick
on a good magnetic mobile antenna and scan! Note that it's never a good
idea to use a rubber duck antenna inside your vehicle, the car body will
reflect signals away, causing poor reception. And if you are close to the
action, it will be hard to carry a base scanner with you..cord's too short!
2. PERFORMANCE: The handheld scanner can, in general terms equal or exceed
the performance of it's mobile or base counterpart, case in point being
the BC760XLT (a mobile 800 scanner) vs. the BC200XLT (a handheld scanner).
Though the 760 has service search (it will automatically locate fire, air
and police frequencies in use), and a very nice, partially lighted keypad,
that is about where the advantages end. The 200XLT (the handheld) has TWICE
as many programmable channels (200), and will outperform the 760 in almost
every performance catagory: sensitivity, selectivity and image rejection.
3. MODIFICATION: The handheld 200XLT in our example here, is rather easily
modified to receive the full 800 MHz cellular frequencies, through a couple
of different methods, basically bypassing a leadless resistor on the main
circuit board. The 760XLT (the mobile scanner) also known as a 950XLT (a
private labeled version of the exact same radio), is MUCH MORE DIFFICULT
to modify or restore full 800 MHz capability. This modification SHOULD NOT
be attempted by anyone unfamiliar with these radios, it is easy to DAMAGE
DELICATE CIRCUITS. The information published in the popular "Scanner Mod-
ificatin Handbook", by Bill Cheek, (great book!) is not correct regarding
procedure for restoring cellular in a 760 or 950XLT. There are several
traces that must be cut, solder bridges and parts...and on and on. In short
you should get someone who knows what they are doing to assume the risk
of modifying your new radio......it does void the warranty by the way.
YOUR FIRST RADIO should also be easy to program.....the radios from Uniden
are easy to program and use. AOR makes some fine scanning radios, but they
are not as "user friendly", and require more effort to utilize their function.
RADIO SHACK scanners are fairly easy to operate as well, (made by GRE AMERICA
or UNIDEN, depending on model) and offer good choices for the beginning scan-
ner enthusiast. In short, there is no point in paying for features you can't
or won't use.......
BASE SCANNERS do have some advantages over handhelds, which may also be con-
sidered when purchasing your first rig. They usually have superior audio, or
the capability to drive a larger speaker than a handheld, and some models will
have more features, or options which are not free. Most base type scanners
have the capability to run on 12 Volt DC, which means you could possibly mount
one in your car, (as I have seen a lot or PRO2006's installed this way) this
may not be easy to do, as the base units are generally not easily installed
without some "inventive engineering".
MOBILE SCANNERS......Depends on what you're looking for. If you just want to
be able to pick up conventional VHF and UHF communications, great! You can
get into a basic sixteen channel mobile scanner for around a hundred bucks
or so, an antenna to match for 20-50 dollars, and you are ready to go!
These "low-cost" rigs will pick up nearly everything the full featured rigs
will, and represent one of the BEST VALUES as far as getting the MOST Bang
for your BUCK. Mobiles are generally a good second or third radio to have,
and we DO NOT recommend paying the extra money for an 800 Mhz unit unless the
police or public service units in your are are using these frequencies.
If you are a cellular listening fan, doing it mobile is just not advised, as
they are moving, you are moving, signals being handed off, changing frequency,
and making for poor listening fare.
The best mobile scanner we have tested to date is the UNIDEN MR8100, a police
and public safety scanner, not really intended for public distribution, but
for commercial public safety applications. This RUGGED radio is definitely
a cut above most of the current offerings. It is not a tiny thing though, and
in some vehicles would require a bit of imagination to mount. It's advantages
include superior audio (with separate speaker), incredible scan speed (100
channels per second!) a BRILLIANT backlit display and keyboard with dimmer
and contrast controls, and the ability to program from a PC or the keyboard.
It does have a couple of disadvantages as well. There is no search function,
(the radio cannot find new frequencies automatically) and there are no con-
trols for delay or mode. Also, though the unit is 800 Mhz capable, full capa-
bility (meaning cellular phone freq's) is restorable through the use of soft-
ware requiring a password. Dealers are required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement to not release the password to the public. Law enforcement agencies,
as we understand, are excepted.
FEATURES and OPTIONS.........MOST IMPORTANT!
When considering your first radio, you WANT the RIGHT FEATURES for YOU!
So in order of importance, we offer the things you might (or might not)
require in your first, or subsequent scanner purchases.....
*ANTENNA...Our MOST important option. You can run circles around an expensive
radio and a cheap antenna with a cheap radio and a good antenna. period. The
antenna is the absolute other half of your radio system. If you want to get
by on just the rubber duck that came with your handheld, or the whip that
came with your base scanner, you will generally suffer the consequences of
poor signal reception in terms of distance and signal readability. Here again
this depends on your intended listening application. If you're in the heart
of the city, there WILL BE a TON of signals pouring into your rig, and you
MIGHT be happy with the antenna that came with your set, but for MAXIMUM USE,
USE MAXIMUM ANTENNA. There are a number of good optional antennas on the mar-
ket, CHANNEL MASTER, GROVE, ANTENNA SPECIALISTS, MAX-RAD, CELLULAR SECURITY
GROUP, CREATE and INTERCEPT INC. offer some fine alternatives for making your
radio hear everything it should. I get letters from people who have had the
same poor antenna setup in use for years, and when they are lucky enough
to finally come upon an antenna that performs, and they can't believe it!
You can ALWAYS IMPROVE your reception with the PROPER ANTENNA.
*PROGRAMMABILITY....Forget those old crystal-type scanners, though they are
wonderfully nostaligic, they are not capable of changing frequencies that
may be received without changing crystals......and at about five bucks a crys-
tal, that gets expensive......But WAIT, if there is only one or two freq's
you are interested in hearing, and NEVER want to explore something else, or
can find a crystal unit extra cheap.....say ten bucks, including crystals,
a crystal scanner might be okay. I wouldn't ever consider buying a new crystal
scanner, they just aren't cost-worthy investments.
*FREQUENCY DISPLAY....It can be difficult, especially for a novice to identify
a station without a readout of the frequency in use....Though preprogrammed
scanners (those with police, fire, etc. already loaded in memory) offer some
interesting possibilities, they generally do not offer this feature, only
an indication of the type of service or state being scanned (shown in a two-
letter LCD or LED display) though they are very INEXPENSIVE......
*SEARCH .....The search feature is almost like having another radio...it
is new territory just waiting to be explored. The ability to find new fre-
quencies by entering a in a couple of numbers is wonderful....you can find
new, unpublished, or "secret frequencies" utilizing the search feature.
Unfortunately, many scanning enthusiasts rarely use the feature...they're
just not motivated to listen to new things.
Also, it is worth noting that if you are considering adding one of the fre-
quency converters to your scanner to monitor cellular phones (illegal), a
search function is essential as the hundreds of possible frequencies used
by cellular would prove cumbersome and difficult to program in individually.
*COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT, 118-336, AM MODE.....This coverage of course will add
a bit to the price of any scanner you're considering purchasing. If you do
not wish to be limited in what can be heard, aircraft is nice.....It is al-
so worthy to note that there is more there to listen to than just traffic
control. We've seen a lot of folks buy scanners and never utilize the air-
craft coverage simply because they didn't know it was there, or didn't care
for after trying it. If you don't want it, don't pay for it!
*800 MHz.....Is usually the first big jump in price in our option list, and
represents the hottest new frontier for inquisitive minds.....cellular phone
monitoring has become quite the pastime for all ages, though not at all re-
commended for children, the conversations can be personal and x-rated, so
if you want to listen to all the folks riding around talking on the car
phone, this is definitely the desired option. It is illegal to monitor these
freq's (ECPA of 1986) but it hasn't kept anyone from listening, and to date,
no one has been prosecuted under the law's provisions. Make up your own mind.
NEW PUBLIC SAFETY OPERATIONS are also utilizing the 800 range, and this makes
the option that much more desirable, as more services will come to utilize
the higher frequencies in the future, without a doubt. There are other ser-
vices utilizing the 800 range as well, check our frequency allocation table
for details......
*NUMBER OF PROGRAMMABLE CHANNELS....is an important consideration, but bear
in mind that it is difficult, even for a pro, to monitor hundreds of chan-
nels of action with any degree of an idea of who they're listening to..
In general terms, ten channels may not be enough, four hundred, or even a
thousand may be way too many.....twenty to forty is fine, a hundred is great,
you get the idea.
*EASE OF OPERATION....If you can't work it, it won't do any good! Get a radio
that can be controlled, hopefully without the assistance of a team of tech-
nicians. A good idea is to check out a radio before you buy, make sure the
salesperson or dealer can help you if you hit a snag, and take the time to
READ THE MANUALS! It is surprising the number of people that had no idea
their radio would do THIS or THAT because they never cracked the cover on
the owner's manual. Even those seasoned scanning pros should once in a while
go over their user's manuals. You never know what new things you may discover
your radio might be capable of unless this material is reviewed. READ IT MORE
THAN ONCE!
*POWER.......If you can't power it up, it won't work! The best bet is to get
a scanner that offers AC/DC and or BATTERY operation. That way, when the ice
storm (sand storm) whatever, hits, you'll still be able to get the action.
In severe weather situations, this is most important. Also, if you plan on
going anywhere (traveling), there may not be electrical outlets available....
IF GOING OVERSEAS, remember it won't be good old American 120 Volts, so get
a voltage adaptor to make the conversion.
*MILITARY AIR COVERAGE.......Seems to be one of the hottest options to become
available recently. This 225-400 range features military aircraft performing
refueling ops, tactical ops, satellites and other transmissions in the AM
mode (usually) though narrow and wideband FM, as well as sideband and some
other more exotic modes. But if you're not into military aircraft and such,
this would not be something you'd want to pay for. Also, please note that
we have had a lot of letters from people that didn't hear much in these bands,
and though there WILL be traffic at SOME TIME almost ANYHWHERE, it is not
like the constant chatter on police or what have you frequencies. Patience
is required, along with good frequency information to program in for a
starting point. If you live close to a military installation, the 225-400
coverage would be considered a must for the scanner buff. Otherwise, think
about this option. It isn't cheap and there ARE VAST EXPANSES of other mil
freq's available on even the most INEXPENSIVE scanners in OTHER RANGES.
*SCAN SPEED and DELAY....The speed at which a receiver can move through pro-
grammed frequencies (channels) or search through frequencies can mean the
difference between hearing a transmission and not. If only a few frequencies
are being monitored this is not a consideration, but as the number of chan-
nels being monitored increases, so does the proportionate importance of speed.
Some of the newer Turbo Scan models can hit a hundred or more channels a sec-
ond, meaning non-stop traffic. That is probably the nicest feature of the
pre-programmed units, along with the fact that they will generally have fre-
quencies programmed in that you wouldn't think to put in. DELAY is not near-
ly so important in our option list, and is only mentioned in that it should
be used SPARINGLY, as this SLOWS DOWN THE RECEIVER. It does little good to
buy a hot scanner and put delay on every channel (though it is done).......
*SIGNAL (S)-METER......A nice touch, desired by all hard-core scanner enthu-
siasts, available in aftermarket (kit) form, or installed (not all models)
the S-Meter gives a good RELATIVE indication of signal strength. If you're
thinking about adding an S-Meter to your rig we STRONGLY RECOMMEND getting
someone to DO IT FOR YOU! First-time installation attempts with these kits
causes PROBLEMS FOR THOSE NOT COMPLETELY FAMILIAR WITH THE ELECTRONICS. It
is worth the money to pay for installation. Nice, but not essential. You can
expect to pay around a hundred dollars, for a professional S-Meter job, in-
cluding postage.
*RS232 (COMPUTER CONTROL).....Not really a scanner option, but one mostly for
communications receivers, Icom, Kenwood, Yaseu.....the big 3. Computer con-
trol offers some exciting possibilities, but the jury is still out on this
one, as there is a price to be paid. Computers generate a lot of interference,
and even with the most stringent protection from said problem, (RF chokes,
shielding, location of receiver, etc.) there is sure to be some band of fre-
quencies that will be a problem to monitor, especially if you're working with
weak signals. This option will only be available in base units for the time
being and is not available on handhelds. If you're making your first radio
purchase, computer control shouldn't really be a consideration. Software is
what really makes these things go, and it gets better all the time.
SPECIFICATIONS AND THE FIRST-TIME BUYER.....Specifications shouldn't be too
much of a cause for concern for the first time buyer, most of today's scan-
ners and receivers have excellent sensitivity (ability to receive weak sig-
nals) of around .5mv or so...this is fine. Sensitivity will vary according
to frequency range, the AM aircraft band sensitivity is usually the least
impressive for these radios. If aircraft monitoring is why you intend to buy,
check the sensitivity specs for this band. Dynamic range (the ability to copy
extremely strong signals, as well as weak ones) is pretty much crap on all
of the popular scanners today. They suffer from strong signal overload at
the drop of a hat, but this should really only be a concern if you're in the
heart of the city, where kilowatt signals abound. For communications recei-
vers, good dynamic range would be around 100db or so, but for scanners, for-
get it, you won't see this spec. listed. Selectivity (the ability to copy
frequencies closely spaced together) is pretty good on most scanners, though
all will suffer from internally generated signals (birdies) at some frequen-
cies. This can be a problem! We've heard from a lot of buyers who wrote say-
ing "I really like this new scanner, but I am returning it because I can't
pick up my favorite so and so frequency." Birdies are unavoidable and can
be dealt with, but that is for another time. They are easily identified from
external interference by simply removing the antenna..if the signal persists,
you've run up on a birdie, but don't worry, there is miles of radio spectrum
to listen to!
WHAT CAN I HEAR, AND WHERE IS IT ?
Truly the million dollar question, because the reason ANYONE wants to buy
a scanner or receiver is to HEAR SOMETHING. Public safety (police, fire, res-
cue) monitoring makes up the majority of first-time listening activity and
for some, that's where it remains. THERE IS SO MUCH MORE! Even with the most
basic (cheapest) scanner, you'll have access to thousands of interesting
monitoring possibilities. Let's take a look at the average conventional scan-
ner coverage and a few of the things waiting to be heard:
29-54 Mhz .....10M Ham, Forestry, Federal Gov't, State P.D.,Cordless Phones,
Mobile Telephones, Military Ops, Business, Industry, Power,
Red Cross, Baby Room Monitors, Wireless Mikes, Fire, Police,
State Highway......
136-174........2M Ham, Civil Air Patrol, Navy, Business, Mobile Telephones,
Business, Taxis, Marine, Trucks, Railroads, Police, Fire,
National Parks, Weather, Satellite Up/Downlinks, Space
Shuttle (retransmitted by 2M Hams, listen!), Pagers, Press
Coast Guard, Press Relays, Trucks, Federal Government.....
406-512........Federal Government, Amateur 70cm, Motor Carriers, Medical,
Industry, Motor Carriers, Trucks, Police, Land Mobile, Power,
Auto Clubs, Newspapers, Business, Mobile Telephones, Fire,
Alarm and Security Co.'s, Paging, Airline Ops, Military....
THIS IS A GENERAL QUICK LOOK AT WHAT'S OUT THERE, FOR MORE DETAILS, SEE YOUR
FREQUENCY ALLOCATION CHART! If you don't have a chart, just call us or write
and we'll see that you get a free copy. EVERYBODY MUST HAVE A GUIDE!
REMEMBER: SCANNER+ANTENNA+SEARCH+FEATURES+FREQ.GUIDE=HAPPINESS!
____________________________________________________________________________
CONNECTIONS AND CONNECTORS
There are dozens of connectors, adaptors and various thingamajigs to enable
hookup of almost any antenna to any radio. It can get confusing....BNC, TNC
MOTOROLA, PL-259, N, RCA, MINI, SUBMINI, it goes on and on.
MOST SCANNERS will come equipped with one of two connector schemes, BNC (a
very high quality connector) or MOTOROLA (the kind your car radio antenna
uses). Either will work satisfactorily for most applications, but the BNC
is clearly superior in terms of signal transfer.
TIP: Make sure your connections are clean, if you haven't cleaned them in
a year or so, do it. Fine steel wool will work fine, just use anything
that won't damage the metal. Metal oxidizes over time, reducing the
overall performance of your system. If your radio uses a MOTOROLA type
connector, make sure that the tabs on the connector engage the hole on
the back of the scanner securely. They can easily be bent out just a
bit with a knife blade or what have you, then re-inserted into the
radio. YOU'D BE SURPRISED HOW MANY PEOPLE SUFFER FROM POOR CONNECTIONS!
With PL-259 connectors (found on CB's and shortwave rigs, and some scan-
ners), make sure they're screwed down all the way! Just because you put
it on once doesn't mean it stays that way forever, I have had outdoor
cables with PL-259's come completely unscrewed due to twisting in the
wind (I have several in the trees) and wondered why reception wasn't
so hot! THERE WASN'T ANY.
TIP: If you're installing an outdoor antenna, PROTECT YOUR CONNECTIONS!
Many installations call for multiple cables, or adaptors and all must
make the connection to the antenna, WHICH MUST BE KEPT DRY! Water will
ruin everything eventually, so keep it out of your connections with some
coax seal. It's a black tar gooey looking substance that will stick to
just about anything (including dirt and your clothes, so be careful!)
sealing out the elements from your precious connection points. Just make
sure your connections are TIGHT (a little pair of pliers helps), peel
off a strip of the coax seal and mash it all over the connection to
seal it completely. Do this right the FIRST TIME and BE HAPPY!
NO DOUBT, you will at some point in time have an antenna connector that does
not match the radio connector, or vice-versa. This is when do one of three
things:
1. Get another antenna.....ha!
2. Install another connector.....get someone who knows what they are
doing to go this route..and don't use one of those cheap, no sold-
ering required jobs, they are not worth the problems they cause.
OR
3. Use an adaptor! And there are all kinds, BNC to PL-259, TNC to
BNC, RCA to whatever.....you get the picture. Your local Radio
Shack has gobs of them on the racks, get plenty, you never know
what you'll be wanting to adapt to next! Using adaptors allows
so much flexibility in what radios can be hooked up to different
antennas, and in just a jiffy you can switch from a discone to
a beam, no problem at all. If you don't know what adaptor(s) you
need, ask your dealer or maybe the guy at the radio shack....
A GOOD RULE OF THUMB IS TO NEVER USE MORE THAN TWO ADAPTORS PER END, ON ANY
CONNECTION BETWEEN RADIOS AND AMPS, ANTENNAS, ETC. There will be some signal
loss EVERY TIME you put on an adaptor, this is not too critical at lower fre-
quencies, but the higher you go the more important signal loss becomes. Also
adaptors will add to the cost of your installation, from one to five or more
dollars a pop, worth considering if the budget is tight.
____________________________________________________________________________
CABLES AND MORE CABLES
The listening post here at Intercept Inc. is strewn with cables of all sizes
and types, and as many antennas are to be tested and used, so are the cables
that bring the signal in. Six from the satellite dish, one from the discone,
one from the Channel Master, two from shortwave installations, one from an
active antenna (yes, mounted outside) and assorted others that aren't in use
or have been disconnected due to lack of performance.
Nomenclature used to describe cables is confusing! Impedance, velocity factor,
type number, percent shielding, core, etc....
UNDER FIFTY FEET, there are really no problems, you can get away with using
almost any cheap cable. RG59/U will do in runs of less than fifty feet
and is easy to work with and connect to. It also comes with F-type connec-
tors, which are popular with some antenna manufacturers.
OVER FIFTY FEET, is where it starts to get hairy. Particularly at UHF fre-
quencies and above, loss factor begins to get critical. In this situation,
don't worry about the type TOO MUCH, but be sure to try to get a larger and
better cable than the RG 59/U, if you can, say RG/6U with 100 PERCENT SHIELD-
ING, or RG8/U (still very affordable, though very THICK). Percentage of shield
is probably the most important consideration in regards to cable selection.
DON'T USE TW0 50FT. CABLES TO MAKE A HUNDRED! Anytime you splice two cables
together, and especially if there are considerable runs involved, better to
get a single cable the proper length to avoid the connectors, adaptors and
associated signal losses right smack in the middle of your run....
Now the purists and pros will insist on expensive hardline or other exotic
cables to bring the treasure signals down from the antenna, but for 95% of
us, this is not really a consideration. If you do have a little extra to
spend on cable, ask for a good, 100% shielded Belden cable, you'll be the
peak performer on the block.....
REMEMBER, NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.....ESPECIALLY CABLES!
No matter how good the cable, how much you spent on it or how well you con-
nected it, time will claim it's dues. Poor (or NO) reception, interference
where there once was a good signal two years ago....might be a tipoff to
inspect cable and connections. Water does penetrate the cables and connec-
tions a bit after time. Cables will degrade, so every couple of years or
so, it might be a good idea to replace that cable OUTSIDE.
INSIDE CABLES deserve a good measure of attention as well. This may seem a
bit elementary, but loose or shorted cables between preamps and receivers
or what have you, can ruin the whole show and quickly. Always keep an extra
cable or two for preamps, filter setups, recording cable, etc. to restore
proper performance. THESE FAIL A LOT! Remember this.
GROUNDING CABLES are a necessity if you truly love your outdoor antenna and
new scanner combination. NOTHING WILL PROTECT FROM A DIRECT LIGHTNING STRIKE
ON YOUR ANTENNA, but A STRIKE MILES AWAY HAS ENOUGH DISCHARGE TO TRASH YOUR
NEW "TOY". DISCONNECT ALL ANTENNAS DURING THREAT OF LIGHTNING. PUT THE CABLE
ENDS IN A COFFEE CUP AWAY FROM THE RECEIVERS OR ANYTHING YOU CARE ABOUT.
Grounding receivers can reduce interference sometimes, and is always a good
idea. Just hook up a hunk of wire from the a metal outside part (chassis screw
or something like that) to a water pipe (not a gas pipe, please) or other
convenient ground. You can also get an easy grounding setup of a copper rod
and some aluminum wire from a local dealer if you want to do a little better
job. Many setups get by with no ground whatsoever and are still working, so
if ya' feel lucky.......and if you're not using an outside antenna, you don't
have to be concerned about any of this grounding business. The majority of
people with scanners probably never think about it.
_____________________________________________________________________________
AMPLIFIERS AND ANTENNAS.......THE WHOLE TRUTH
An unbelievably mixed bag. Many people have wasted money trying to amplify
a signal that couldn't reach the antenna in the first place. Remember that
YOU CAN'T AMPLIFY ANYTHING THAT DOESN'T GET TO THE ANTENNA.
Properly used, and in certain situations signal preamplifiers can be a real
blessing. NOT ALWAYS. If you are in a city area inundated with RF, forget
the amplifier route for general use. All broadbanded amps open up your rig
to all kinds of strange happenings....signals that appear where they should
not, or losing a signal completely. The realistic best you can hope for using
a signal preamp for your scanner is to "clean up", or improve a weak signal
already being received.
We've tested preamps from Grove, GRE and others, as well as a couple of EL
CHEAPO tv amps, with some interesting results. Some antennas, like the Chan-
nel Master 5094A, showed very little usable gain over most frequency ranges.
Also, if the gain was turned up more than just a little, any strong VHF fre-
quency was wiped out, meaning the amp/antenna combination was OVERDRIVING
the scanners we tested. 800 reception was improved a bit, but unless it was
somehow critical to pull out a very weak specific signal, trying to "amp"
a Channel Master is not recommended. Trying to punch too much signal into
an already sensitive receiver will actually reduce or desensitize the re-
ceiver, so WATCH THAT GAIN CONTROL! Different frequency bands will require
different gain settings according to many variables, antenna and receiver
type, cable, location of amp, connnectors, location, conditions, etc. There
is NO WAY you can get optimum performance on all bands running full gain on
an amp, though there are exceptions.....
When we hooked the same amps up to an inexpensive Grove Omni dipole antenna,
the results were quite different. There was much more aparrent control over
degree of amplification, without a sharp cutoff between no signal and too
much signal. Still particularly on the VHF frequencies where the highest gain
occurs, all amps tested were capable of overdriving the scanner at full gain.
A GENERAL OBSERVATION: THE LOWER THE GAIN FACTOR OF AN ANTENNA, THE MORE
SIGNALS MAY BE AMPLIFIED.
This leaves us with a couple of interesting thoughts:
1. The BEST way to go is to use a GAIN antenna WITHOUT an amplifier, for
the MAJORITY of OUTDOOR INSTALLATIONS.
2. AMPLIFIERS ARE GREAT FOR RUBBER DUCKS AND INDOOR ANTENNA SYSTEMS.
3. DON'T be AFRAID to BACK OFF on the GAIN control.
4. The GREATER the gain of an antenna, the LESS an amp will help.
TIP: Always check the USABLE FREQUENCY RANGE on the amplifier you intend to
buy. Case in point: The GRE Super Amplifiers gain starts at 50 Mhz, so
if you were planning on buying one to improve your cordless phone list-
ening, forget it, they are 4 Megs too low to get any help. The Grove
PRE4 amplifier will boost the cordless range, but is not portable like
the GRE model. You get something, you give something....
If you're using a long cable run, think considerably about using a preamp
to overcome cable losses. The best way to do this is to use an amp that will
mount at the ANTENNA to boost the signals BEFORE they are lost at the other
end of your feedline. The Grove model, as well as one or two from Radio Shack
offer this feature.
FOR HANDHELDS, the GRE is probably the best way to go. It installs quickly,
is completely portable (9V battery or Adaptor), has adjustable 20db gain,
and is not going to break your budget, should you choose to experiment with
one. They have also just introduced a model for base scanners, which will
compete with other current offerings. Just about all of them will work well
IF USED WITH CONSIDERATION OF ALL FACTORS.
There is hardly NO WAY to predict how any specific amp and antenna combina-
tion will work in any given situation, a bit of experimentation is called
for here, but that's the fun of it! If you do choose to purchase a pre-
amp for your scanner, try it with different antennas, at different fre-
quencies and gain settings and see what works best for you. Usually if there
are one or two specific ranges of interest to you, and you can pick them up,
but just not quite good enough, a preamp may be worthy of consideration.
____________________________________________________________________________
BETTER LISTENING THROUGH PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE.........
You can't get it all at once, that's one of the things that makes the moni-
toring hobby so enjoyable! It doesn't matter how long you've been doing it,
there is ALWAYS something else to hear, something to learn, places to ex-
plore. If you get bored with police, switch to marine, tired of that ?
Change to an undercover operation on an unlisted frequency. You get the idea.
If you get bored with your scanning efforts, you're not doing any looking.
It takes time for the rare catches....that high speed chase or triple XXX
cordless phone conversation from around the corner (not so rare), or you
might even come across a "BUG" in your office or home, there's no telling
what awaits he (or she) who exercises a little adventurous listening..
Remember though, that some transmissions, as with those undercover operations
we talked about, may not be of the type you're accustomed to. There may not
be any traffic for minutes, hours or days, and then boom! Action all over
the place! Military monitoring is like this, there is no way to predict when
certain frequencies will be active, or exactly how long. It's always a good
idea to stick a couple of unusual freq.'s in along with the regular listen-
ing fare, that way you'll be ready when it happens.....and it will!
WHEN TO LISTEN is critical to the consumate scanner buff. For instance with
cordless phones, in the mornings (8-10 A.M), afternoon (12-1 P.M.) and in
the evenings (4-11 P.M) could be considered "Prime Time".
FOR CELLULAR BUFFS the best times would probably be after 7 or 8 P.M. on week
nights running till about midnight. An interesting sidenote is that just about
anything you'll hear AFTER MIDNIGHT is liable to be strange, interesting or
unexpected. Weekends are pretty much the same, except more early morning an-
tics...During weekdays, it's business for the most part, but for those with
unsavory intentions on gathering insider info via listening, 9-5 would be
"Prime Time".
THE FULL MOON SYNDROME......You've possibly heard about how the moon is sup-
posed to affect human behavior, most scanner monitors, police and nurses can
attest to this....You'll hear the strangest things, and more of them during
a full moon phase. Try it, make up your own mind.
HOLIDAYS are also a great time for scanner listening, there is more happening,
people are going through the joy of the holiday season...some people. Others
get into unbelievable shenannigans and some just can't take it and waste them
selves. Scanning can be a somber dose of reality.
GOING FOR THE LOOOONG HAUL....or DXing, is a rather fascinating aspect of
the monitoring hobby and when to listen. When conditions are right it is pos-
sible to monitor signals from hundreds or even thousands of miles away. Early
morning and evenings will usually favor this type of activity, as well as
certain times of the year, solar conditions, weather.....it's a game of chance
and patience. The reward is something you've never heard before or wouldn't
have heard at all IF YOU HADN'T BEEN LISTENING AT THAT PARTICULAR TIME!
______________________________________________________________________________
INDOOR ANTENNAS AND THE ACT OF COMPROMISE..............
There are those who will undoubtedly encounter a situation where installing
an outside antenna is simply not possible. In simple terms, this means that
signals will be lost. How much is determined by your choice in an indoor an-
tenna system.
Maybe you can't install an outdoor antenna outdoors, but how about indoors?
If one of manageable size could be placed in a location out of the way, pre-
ferrably close to windows or a wall, and away from electrical lines, this
might work well, all depending on location.
Depending on frequency of interest, there are several possibilities. Some
of the better active antenna systems (Dressler) offer excellent performance,
but frequency coverage may not be what you would like. The Dressler ARA1500
coverage picks up at 50Mhz and below that, forget it. No low band reception.
If you use one, you'll be hacking off about 25 Mhz worth of coverage on your
new scanner.
The HIGHER the frequency the LESS a problem an indoor antenna will be. At
UHF and in particular 800Mhz, the radio waves have no problem coming in and
can be received with a very small, unobtrusive antenna. A high-gain duck,
like the Interceptor 800, or a ground plane like the MAX-800 will work well
in this application.
The LOWER you go, the more problematic reception becomes, as the longer wave-
lengths require a longer antenna for optimum reception. A good (long as
possible) steel whip is good to have on hand, as it can be peaked for the
different bands of interest (collapsed for high band, fully extended for low)
If you're STUCK with the antenna that came with the set, or if funds or opp-
ortunity does not allow an additional antenna, try locating the set in dif-
ferent areas to find the one best for reception. Close to a window is always
a good bet. And don't forget to check for interference from flourescent lights
and dimmers, etc. These can degrade reception through the introduction of
unwanted noise. And don't forget the computer, they can cause problems as
well. We hope that no one has to only use the antenna with the set, it is
a shame what would be missed, and at such a low cost.
THE BEST BET would be to try to use a small antenna with an amplifier, if
needed, located in a good (test it) spot for optimum reception. The Dress-
ler we discussed earlier is about $200, you might not want to spend that
much on an indoor system, so you might want the low-cost flexibility of a
separate antenna and amp system, just about anything will work better than
what comes in the box.
We've tested the Grove indoor "hidden antenna" system with the Grove ampli-
fier and had mixed results. Results were better than the stock antenna but
were not as impressive when we hooked the amp up to some other models. The
antenna is a cleverly fashioned hunk of coax, minus some insulation and
with a connector. Yes, you could build your own.
THE MOBILE OPTION.....We've done some weird things with mobile antennas, and
these shouldn't be overlooked when considering a restricted indoor install-
ation. All you need is a ground plane (hunk of metal, thin or thick) to make
it work. Stick your mobile antenna on a kerosene can, file cabinet, metal
sill, whatever you can find or use.....or make your own. A 2 x 2 piece of
tinmetal will work ok, a little larger wouldn't hurt. You could even couple
this to an amp......We did, it worked great!
AND ON THE SUBJECT OF MOBILE ANTENNAS.......If you don't require 800 Mhz
coverage, just about anything will do. If you're just interested in 800
and nothing else, try a cellular phone antenna with a TNC to whatever you
need adaptor, and you're in business! The best all-band antenna for mobile
use we've tested to date is the ALLGON 2054 series. The thing looks like a
CB antenna, and is very rugged, performance is top-drawer stuff. We found
that if the upper element was peaked for 46Mhz as per instructions inclu-
ded with the antenna, performance (on all bands) was vastly improved.
THE BEST PLACE to mount your mobile antenna is in the middle of the roof
of the car. In that fashion, omnidirectional reception is assured as well
as can be, as the reception pattern of any mobile antenna will favor the
direction of the greatest mass of metal presented to it. That is, if you
mount the antenna all the way in the back, signals will be favored toward
the front of the vehicle. If mounted on the left rear corner, reception will
be favored toward the right front. If you absolutely do not want the antenna
sticking up from the middle of the roof, try possibly on the back deck in
the middle of and as close to the rear glass as you can get. Otherwise, put
it anywhere you like, it's your antenna, radio and car!
MAG-MOUNT, TRUNK LIP OR PERMANENT?......The choice is yours, but you may not
wish to cut a hole in the roof of your new 'vette, and a trunk lip will not
be the best location for optimum reception, you may want to consider the mag
mount. You can transport from car to car, use as a backup indoor or outdoor
antenna (with a ground plane), and remove it as to not alert theives who
might enjoy your equipment as much as you do. We tested a rather unusual
mount, a suction cup type that goes inside the glass. It looked great and
was easy to install, but performed poorly. Inside is NOT the way to go in
a mobile installation.
AN INTERESTING WAY TO GO is with one of the mobile adaptors for a rubber duck
antenna. It consists of a mag-mount base with BNC connector and cable for
duck. Amateur Electronic Supply is one source for these, they are made by
RF Products Co., among others. About $20
ALL BAND MOBILE PERFORMANCE in one antenna is of course, the goal of the
mobile monitor, we've looked at a few, here is how they fared:
The GROVE mobile antenna, a black fiberglass helix, was compared with some
other popular antennas, the ALLGON and one from ANTENNA SPECIALISTS, their
MON-52 25-1000 MHz mobile antenna. The Grove unit performed well, was capable
of picking up 800 MHz, strong on VHF (as most are) and rated good on other
bands. The only complaint on the Grove unit comes in the fit and finish de-
partment, the magnetic base was machined to less than smooth standards, and
we did encounter some finish scratching. The ALLGON unit rated good on all
bands, but good to excellent after being tuned somewhat. The Antenna Spe-
cialists unit rated excellent on low band, good on VHF, fair on UHF and poor
on 800 Mhz reception. The model we tested came with an 800 Mhz "Micro-Choke"
which upon examination was a hollow tube with an allen screw to secure it
in place upon the whip. Interesting. A couple of antennas we HAVE NOT tested
are the ones from MAX-RAD and the DIAMOND active mobile antenna. We will be
looking at these in the future and let you know the results.
ALL BAND BASE PERFORMANCE in one antenna is never REALLY possible, you just
try to pick one with the coverage suited to your needs, and take a chance
on what will work. The DISCONE antennas have been highly overrated, they are
expensive and are unity (means 0) gain. The discone is a good candidate for
amplification, and all of the ones we've looked at were weak particularly
in the UHF bands, so an amp would certainly help. If you're thinking about
a beam antenna, be sure and figure in the cost of a rotator (about $50) to
the cost of your system, plus that extra pole to mount on (about $5). Using
a beam without a system to turn the thing means you'll hear very few signals
that are not in the favored direction. Just a few degrees makes all the dif-
ference in the world with a beam, especially doing weak signal work. Remember
the higher the gain, the more directional your antenna will be, so you MUST
be ON TARGET when using a beam antenna. The problem we encounter here is that
if you don't know where the signal is coming from, you may miss it unless
you happen to be pointing directly at the target. You can expect to pay about
$115-$250 for a beam setup, $100 for a discone, not including cable. I hate
to keep talking about the Channel Master, but at about $50, including 100%
shielded (50ft.) RG6 cable, it becomes the most obvious choice for a moni-
toring setup. Last Note: Be cautious of antennas that claim to have cover-
age from shortwave through UHF freq's, it is physically not possible to get
good reception through such a wide range of frequencies, you would be many
times better off to go with separate antennas for shortwave and scanner list-
ening. We are anxious to begin testing Diamond's new active base antenna,
which claims 150Khz through 1000Mhz coverage on a single antenna! Sounds too
good to be true, and probably is, because the hybrid premplifier incorporated
into the design is sure to be subject to the woes inherent in amplifier and
antenna combinations. ANY ANTENNA will pick up SOMETHING at almost ANY FRE-
QUENCY, but HOW WELL IS THE WHOLE THING! In short, if there is a particular
band of interest, get an antenna that will cover that area well, and get
another to cover something else on the other end of the spectrum. You will
end up with a higher performing system that will make you happy!
SPEAKERS AND AUDIO OUTPUT should always be a consideration, but just because
your handheld or base has wimpy audio, fret not, an external speaker may just
be what you've been looking for. After all, what you hear is the final pro-
duct, and if you listen for any length of time on a cheap speaker, it becomes
a chore hearing buZZZ. Radio Shack, as well as other retailers sell speakers
(amplified or not) that may serve you well. Sometimes just an old stereo or
radio speaker you had laying around may do the trick, but don't forget the
connector! A lot of handhelds have sub-mini jacks for audio, many bases have
RCA jacks for audio and a lot of the speakers have something different, so
be sure and get the adaptor(s) to do the job. You will have to experiment
a bit to see what will work best for you, especially if you are using a spea-
ker without some amplification, because if the speaker is inefficient, it
will sound good but be too faint to hear. We tried one of the shoulder spea-
kers from Metro West for the BC200XLT scanner, which is a modified Motorola
SpeakerMic. The 200XLT had BARELY ENOUGH power to drive the speaker satisfac-
torily, and when we hooked it up to an AOR AR900, the 900 just couldn't drive
it! Out of all the radios we've tested the Radio Shack handheld PRO scanners
had the poorest audio. A good external AMPLIFIED speaker should be the first
order of business after installing a good antenna to maximize listening plea-
sure. We don't recommend using any type of a large or inefficient speaker
for external use with ANY handheld, it can seriously tax their audio ampli-
fier sections, possibly causing damage. Going mobile? Radio Shack and other
electronics retailers sell a CD to cassette adaptor to utilize the car's own
audio amplifier and speakers. Easy to install, just shove the cassette thing
into your player (you gotta' have one of those), plug into your scanner and
do a little volume adjusting, you're all set! If your car stereo has a gra-
phic equalizer, so much the better! You can cut out a lot of the highs and
lows you don't need, since we're concerned with voice and not music freq's.
_____________________________________________________________________________
THE DARK SIDE..........SCANNING AND SURVEILLANCE
I was a bit hesitant to put this section in, as not to encourage some of
illegal activity in a very fine hobby, but people have a right to know. I
will not get into a lot of talk on the legality of using scanners for sur-
veillance, that is beyond the scope of this publication. If you have ques-
tions seek the advice of an attorney, and hope he knows what he's talking
about. Electronic surveillance laws aren't exactly the bread and butter of
divorce lawyers, so take any advice with a grain of salt......
EVERY P.I. and ENFORCEMENT OFFICER SHOULD HAVE A SCANNER!...You never know
when the things come in handy. I recall reading just the other day about
a Florida enforcement officer that busted some poor unfortunate who was fool-
ish enough to carry on his activities on a cordless phone. In simple terms,
a scanner can easily make or break a case when nothing else will do the job.
It is a sure bet that if all officer had scanners, the number of drug busts
would increase proportionally, as use of cordless phones by drug dealers is
more the rule than the exception.
FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, let's say you're an officer on duty in a metro or
suburban area. You pick up your scanner and flip it on. Of course you did
remember to put in the 10 cordless base and HANDSET pairs. Hook up to an out-
side antenna and begin to scan. Chances are, if you are close to any type
of mass housing (apts. condos) you will immediately begin hearing cordless
traffic on the base freq's. A drug deal comes on and pow! You are ready for
the action. Pinpointing the subject is the next problem, but one that is
rather easily dealt with. Even in a moving vehicle, it is fairly easy to be-
come adept at determining the area the transmission is coming from as it
will become stronger the closer you get to the source. Now, time to switch
to the rubber duck. It's range will be much less than the mobile antenna,
so when you get a decent signal (walk around a bit to get the best read),
it's a safe bet you're within 500 feet or so of the target, usually much
closer. Now for the trick. Switch manually to the corresponding handset
frequency of the phone you're tracking (the power level is much less) and
go for the clearest signal possible. By this time you should be just about
on top of the signal you're chasing. And remember, since cordless phones are
completely legal to monitor (at this time), any evidence recorded may be
used in court against the suspect.
ANOTHER CORDLESS TRICK for the surveillance minded is the use of a DTMF
(touch tone) decoder. There are several models available, but our favor-
ite is a unit known as the DIGIT-GRABBER from METROTEL. Desinged to be
used in troubleshooting home phone installations, the unit comes equipped
with a standard phone jack for input on the front of the unit. It becomes
a very simple matter to take an old modular plug and cable, strip one of the
ends (the one without the plug) off and connect two of the wires (red and
green) to the audio plug of choice. Plug into your scanner's earphone or
external speaker jack and prepare to decode! Just like magic, as your sub-
ject dials the phone, the numbers appear on the display. And phone numbers
aren't the only thing you can get. Credit card numbers, electronic voice
mail and answering machine access codes, etc. all become available through
this nifty accessory. In our tests, the Metro Tel unit performed flawless-
ly nearly every time, though once in a while, it would produce an extra
digit or two, but that was not a problem. To know the numbers a subject
under surveillance is calling can be more important than the actual con-
tent of the conversation. And though not all cordless phones produce these
tones, the majority do, making use of the decoder a straightforward oper-
ation. And don't forget, these decoders will work equally as well with
recorded tape, so you don't have to have the decoder with you. Just take
along a good cassette recorder to get the evidence and the numbers. DO
NOT attempt to decode tones from a tape recorded at half or non-standard
speed, the tones will not be reproduced accurately, and will produce erro-
neous results. Use full size cassette tape, if at all possible for it's
superior sound reproduction over the microcassette units. If you must use
a micro unit, be sure and use good tape. The only two we have found worthy
for micro use are Sony and Panasonic, that is it. And bear in mind that
these touchtone tones can be copied at a much greater distance than voice
traffic, meaning if you've got marginal voice audio, the tones will usually
carry on through clearly. Decoding will work on cellular phones equally
as well, and certainly offers an abuse factor for those with less than
honorable intentions. Last note: in determining whether you've got the right
person being decoded, after they dial a number, dial it yourself, and if
it's busy, or you hear the call waiting beep, you've made confirmation of
the target. And bugs, yes it will work with bugs......
FOR A P.I. there are other surveillance reasons to make a scanner part of
the basic equipment. I can tell you from experience, if you're working a
surveillance on a tough subject or in a difficult area, chances are some-
one, at some time will call the police to investigate that guy sitting out
front. Uh Oh. The last thing an investigator wants is a police confron-
tation right out in plain view of the surveillance target. Sooo, you have
thought of this, right? You hear the call being dispatched over your SCAN-
NER and have the good sense to move out of the immediate area to avoid your
subject's observations, and explain your business there. One of the finer
points here is that a P.I. may be called to go to many different locations
and may not know what freq.'s the local boys are using. No problem. Check
our allocation chart for the police frequencies and punch them in. The
odds are then with you that you will have their number in there somewhere.
Or you could buy a guide or even search them out, but that can prove to
be an inconvenience rather than an asset. Also, let's say for the sake of
argument, you've been working a surveillance on a really tough nut to crack,
and you haven't been able to find out anything. Well, that subject just
happens to have a cordless phone and BLAMMO! You've got access to infor-
mation effortlessly and could very well get everything you need without
any fear of detection. Most people never think about using cordless and
this leaves an opportunity that shouldn't be passed up.
SURVEILLANCE RECEIVERS can be priced in a range going from unaffordable to
astronomical and beyond. When we talk surveillance receiver here, what we
really mean is BUG receiver. While a scanner will not do the job of a high
end dedicated bug unit, it can offer performance entirely adequate for all
but the most demanding applications. There are exceptions. If you're using
ultra-tech, spread-spectrum, frequency hopping, sideband, or burst trans-
mitters, forget a scanner, that is the game for the BIG BOYS who have all
the money needed for a job without regard to cost, and that is NOT what we
are going to get into here.
Simple and reliable function is the order of the day. With the right combi-
nation of BUG, SCANNER and ANTENNA performance rivaling systems at many times
the cost may be realized.
Consider the factors: First, the transmitting frequencie(s) of the bug(s)
being used. If you're using a low band (30-50 Mhz) transmitter you will
want to use a scanner that has the highest sensitivity in the range you'll
be working. Check the specifications before you buy. Ask for a copy of a
user's manual from the dealer, he'll be happy to help. Sensitivity should
be less than .5mv in the range of choice for max performance. Second the
AUDIO OUTPUT of the scanner is VERY important as many types of transmitters
have inherently low microphone amplification and need all the help they
can get. Third, use the right antenna! (see our antenna tips section). Since
we're working with only a few frequencies, hopefully in the same band, or
one particular frequency, the very best way to go is to use an antenna
TUNED to the BAND you're using. You'll want to use an antenna with the
highest gain at frequency possible, as this extends the range of any trans-
mitter without increasing risk of detection.
Generally speaking, most scanners have the highest gain in the low and high
VHF bands, with the poorest sensitivity in AM and at UHF and above. Narrow
band FM transmitters in one of the aforementioned bands will yield maximum
performance in regards to being matched to the best sensitivity ranges of
a scanner.
A PARKED CAR offers the most possibilities for our scanner surveillance post.
If we choose, a complete remote monitoring setup may be installed in the car,
and left in a location that offers good reception. Start with a scanner, add
a tape recorder (VOX) or recorder and relay, hook into the vehicle's power
supply (if desired). The surveillance vans popularized in "Miami Vice" and
such have alerted many to the plain white van operation.. Our first here would
be a beat up pre-80's Chevy, but whatever the situation calls for, we've
even seen motorcycles setup as surveillance rigs, who'd ever think? Be sure
and see our antenna tips section in regards to antenna placement on a ve-
hicle, this is absolutely critical in surveillance operations when you're
going for maximum distance.
ONE OF THE BEST cost effective transmitter receiver combinations in terms
of bang for the buck I have seen was being used by a Florida enforcement
agency. They used the Radio Shack (49Mhz) cordless mics installed in the
roof liners of vehicles and Bearcat 200XLT's for recievers. At a total cost
of under $350, this was a simple yet elegant solution to the problem of sur-
veillance at an affordable price. Very nice.
RECENTLY, I was given pause to examine an ad for a "complete" surveillance
receiver and recorder system at a price that was embarassing. Upon inspec-
tion it became clear that the "system", packaged very nicely in a briefcase,
consisted of a Regency programmable scanner (MX Series), a Norwood Long Play
Recorder, recorder relay, battery and antenna. For a fraction of the cost,
any department can put together an identical or better system, even in a
briefcase (everybody loves 'em), box or whatever, for about $500 or one-third
or the price of a "ready-made".
REMEMBER, BABY MONITORS ARE WONDERFUL BUGS! Why go through all the trouble
and expense of a bugging operation when there is one already installed!
The baby room monitors in the low band VHF range will send a signal out
for a mile or more.....see our listings for these freq's. And it is legal
to listen, no paperwork required.
OUR BUG OF CHOICE for use in our scanner surveillance setup will be crystal-
controlled, in the VHF range and use the narrow band FM mode. Power will vary
according to requirements, but for our system, a couple of low power (less
than 100mw) transmitters and a high-power unit (200mw) will fill the bill
nicely. Lithium or mercury batteries will be used for max runtime. Voice
activation would be nice as well, but not an absolute requirement.
OUR SCANNER(S) would be one that best suited the task at hand, but for our
hypothetical setup here, we will be using a Realistic PRO2006. With it's
wide frequency coverage, 25-550 and 760-1300 Mhz, we'll be able to use it
with not only the bugs we've chosen, but others in different ranges we
might choose to utilize in the future. It's 12 volt power option will
allow us to use our vehicles power supply for extended operation. It's
tape out jack will allow us to make recordings for evidence, and phone
jack will allow real time monitoring. Rapid scan and search will allow
us to check for baby room monitor and cordless as well as cellular ac-
tivities of our target. Up-conversion will help to eliminate local strong
RF sources from impinging on our delicate target. We might also have a
good preamp on hand, just in case that extra bit of distance is required.
As you can see, readily available equipment can be adapted to most sur-
veillance applications without difficulty. Only a little imagination and
knowledge regarding what you're working with is required. For portable use,
we'd choose either a Bearcat XLT (best audio), or a Radio Shack PRO handheld
as the PROS have an additional bit of coverage most handhelds do not; their
coverage in the band runs from 380-512 Mhz rather than the conventional
406-512 coverage in most handhelds. There are a lot of transmitters parked
in the area just below 400 Mhz, it's such a quiet place to put a bug!
TRACKING SYSTEMS for keeping tabs on a moving (vehicular) subject have been
much the rage in TV and the movies, but the fact is that they are EXTREMELY
unreliable in certain situations and are nearly unaffordable in almost all
situations. A scanner can be most useful in this role if used with the right
tracking transmitter. The most desirable would be a pulsed tone transmitter
of about 100 or more milliwatts. Since we're dealing with a target that we
will (hopefully) track without being seen, we only need to establish the
general area of the target, and use a little surveillance savvy. A signal
or S-Meter can come in very handy here to serve as an additional guide.
With a little practice, a scanner receiver / tracking transmitter combination
can be a very usable surveillance tool. A dry run on a practice vehicle is
most definitely called for here, as to give the operator an idea of just
how close he is when that signal strength clears up....Often it is possible
to lock onto the carrier before you ever hear a tone, and as you get closer
beep....beep.....beep.....gotcha.
____________________________________________________________________________
THIS FILE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
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6014 OAK HILL DRIVE
FLOWERY BRANCH, GA. 30532
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