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.

Register now at https://courses.scannerschool.com

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

This month I answer:

• What do you feel are the minimum hardware requirements for an SDR to work properly?
• Do you deal with setting up OP25 on a computer and SDR?
• I'm in St. John's County, Florida. My current scanner is a BC125AT and will not receive fire or police. What kind of scanner do I need? Do you have any suggestions for one that isn't too expensive?
• I have an SDS200 with screen flicker, and the unit's only two months old. Is this something I need to live with, or will this get worse over time?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session172

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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 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

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.

Register now at https://courses.scannerschool.com

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Today, we introduce our two new SDR courses.

This past week, we released a free intro course, and a paid advanced course.

These courses will teach you how to set up your computer's operating system to work with SDR equipment, the best software for your needs, and more.

What You Need To Know

• Phil decided to launch on the Teachable platform rather than Youtube.
• It is easier to follow a course on Teachable because it keeps track of where you left off.
• Unlike YouTube, Teachable isn't trying to bump you to the next unrelated video.
• The free course is broken down into seven modules with steps inside them to help you complete each module.
• The first step in every module is an intro video that explains what the module is going to be about.
• The Free course will have you running a SDR, tuning in local frequencies and building a DMR Trunk Radio.
• The Advanced Course picks up where the Free Course end.
• In the Advanced course, you will learn:
  • How to install DSD Plus Fast Lane
  • How to use UniTrunker 1x and 2x
  • How to bridge software into DSDPlus
  • What high end options are available, such as Airspy, HackRF, and SDRplay devices
  • Software such as HDSDR, SDR Console, and SDRUno
  • Building ADS-B/UAT Receivers on a Raspberry Pi
  • Setup OP25 on a Raspberry Pi and Linux
  • How to build a server to send talk groups to Broadcastify
  • How to download weather maps from GOES and METEOR Satellites
  • and more
• When you pay for the advanced course, the free course is also bundled with it.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session171

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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 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

On today's episode, host Phil Lichtenberger interviews Jon Hudson, the co-creator of the SDRplay devices. They talk about the evolution of radio scanning software, the advantages of SDRplay and SDRuno, where they think the scanner hobby is headed, and more.

What You Need To Know

• Jon Hudson is a co-creator of the SDRplay device.
• SDRplay manufactures both hardware and software.
• Before about 20 years ago, processing the radio chain was done exclusively on the hardware. Now computers are powerful enough to support doing most of this work with software.
• SDRplay was founded in 2014.
• The RSPDX has multiple antennae, which allows users to switch from one antenna to another quickly and easily.
• Because SDRplay makes their own software for Windows, they take a lot of time to make sure it works seamlessly out of the box.
• SDRplay acquired a company called Studio One that manufactured software about five years ago.
• SDRplay is releasing a scheduler, which will function as an audio recorder for a specific channel at a specific time.
• An advantage of the scheduler is that it allows users to tune in to certain frequencies at a specified time and then turn it off or move on to something else.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session170

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

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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be March 23, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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A cross platform, open source, free SDR software!

In this episode, Phil talks to Alex Rouma, author and creator of SDR++. They discuss how Alex got into SDRs, where SDR++ is now and where he hopes it can go, and how you can contribute to this open source software's development, whether you're a programmer or not.

What You Need To Know

• SDR++ is free, open-source, cross-platform software for your SDR.
• Alex got into SDRs after watching a video of someone receiving weather satellites, piquing his interest in radio in general.
• Alex is currently building SDR++ as general purpose SDR receiver software with more modern functionality like multi-VFO and multi-platform support.
• SDR++ supports anything Alex has or that companies have sent him, including SDR Play, HackRF, RTLTCP, and more.
• Alex considers the software still in beta, but thinks he'll have stable code with the features he wants within 3-4 months.
• He wants to add audio filtering features and more options for the file source.
• SDR++ is fully modular so you can add plugins as you need them.
• Alex aims to make the software as automatic as possible.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session169

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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 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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be March 23, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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Do you want to dive deep on Software Defined Radios?

In this episode, Phil talks to listener Greg Weamer about his SDR setup. They get into the history of SDR development, what you can do with an SDR that you can't do with a hardware-based scanner, and where they think the future of SDRs is heading.

What You Need To Know

• Today, Greg does not have a hardware scanner at all, but only a SDR.
• His area has simulcast problems that the SDR solves.
• Greg currently uses about 8 RTL-SDR dongles, including 3 on a Raspberry Pi, some on another Raspberry Pi, an old laptop, and more.
• Greg also uses Trunk Recorder, which is one of the most difficult things he's ever configured, but he loves that it monitors every voice channel at the same time.
• RDIO Scanner is a web interface that takes the feeds from the virtual recorders Greg has going and cues up calls on every voice channel so you don't miss anything.
• Because it's a web interface, he can bring it up on his phone or tablet from anywhere.
• Greg thinks the next major SDR development will eliminate the need for any fully hardware based radios entirely.
• An SDR can do things that not a single hardware-based scanner out there is capable of.
• Greg has used his SDR to tune into his utilities smart meters for his water and gas to track his usage.
• One of Greg's favorite things about SDR is that you can see the signals and whether they're strong or not, whether they're digital or analog, etc.
• The ability to visualize the signal lets you find a lot more new stuff to listen to.
• The flexibility of an SDR and ability to do so many things at once with it means you get the equivalent of several premium subscriptions to other services.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session168

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

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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be March 23, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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

This month I answer:

• If police and fire stations move to TDMA, does that mean they're likely to become encrypted soon?
• Are there any best practices for scanning a partially encrypted digital system? Why would a department or system choose partial encryption?
• An SDS100 scanner is missing the first seconds of some transmissions. Is there a setting he should check or is this a decoding speed issue?
• How should you set up a scanner to broadcast the audio over the internet without using the Proscan software?
• Is it possible to sub a BCD536HP from Sentinel software?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session167

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

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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be March 23, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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In this episode, we learn about Joe Bearcat, the new Product Service Representative at Uniden America.

What you will take away from this week's podcast:

• Uniden has a new public-facing representative, Joe Bearcat.
• Joe announced his new position as the official Uniden representative and Uniden scanner Product Manager.
• This fills in the gap left by Paul "Upman" Opitz' sudden passing in 2019
• The announcement relieved a lot of people who worried about Uniden remaining a strong player in the hobby with Paul's passing.
• Joe's background is in scanning and he's had a career in two-way radio and in the RF field.
• To learn more about "Upman", his legacy, and passing, please listen to Session 106
• Joe will be fulfilling some of Paul's forum duties on Radio Reference.
• In an interesting turn, Joe posted on Radio Reference asking for input on a potential future product.
• What other surprises will Joe Bearcat have for us?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session166

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

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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be February 23, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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In this episode, Phil walks through the basics of what an SDR is, its history, and how you can get set up with one. The perfect introduction to his upcoming SDR webinar and course.

What you will take away from this week's podcast:

• An SDR means that anything normally handled by the hardware of the radio is now handled by the computer, and the physical hardware serves as an interface.
• The only limitation on the SDR hardware you buy is the frequency range and the amount of RF it can digest.
• SDR receivers have come a long way since they were first hacked into existence.
• SDRs used to be difficult to set up, but that's no longer true.
• You don't need advanced computer skills to run SDR software.
• SDR software can run on PC, Linux, Mac, Raspberry PI, and even Android.
• An SDR is more flexible and less expensive than a traditional radio.
• You can turn a $30 USB stick into something as powerful as an SDS200 in an afternoon.
• All you need to get started is an SDR USB stick, a computer, and the free starter software SDR Sharp.
• Once you get set up with FM broadcast stations, aviation, and other analog systems, Phil's SDR course will go into how to set up digital reception.
• If you download DSD+ Fast Lane or Unitrunker you can monitor trunking systems.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session165

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

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

Free SDR webinar!

Our new webinar will introduce you to Software Defined Radios.

"Why Every Scanner User Needs an SDR: The #1 Underrated Tool that should be in your setup" will be January 26, 2021.

Register now at www.scannerschool.com/webinar

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In this episode, Phil talks to "Fuzz the Pi Guy".

Fuzz has a large YouTube channel and has a ton of SDR and Raspberry Pi Videos.

Fuzz and I discuss how he uses his Software Defined Radios and how he keeps costs down by using a Raspberry Pi as as his computer for many of these projects.

What you will take away from this week's podcast:

• SDR stands for Software Defined Radio, where you plug your hardware into power on one end and your computer on the other end so the computer software can interpret the signal.
• The Raspberry Pi is essentially a low-cost computer to help teach computer science in schools, and is now used for things like hosting Minecraft servers, learning Linux, and running SDR programs.
• Fuzz has a YouTube channel where he primarily demonstrates Raspberry Pi projects and tips, as well as a wide variety of small electronics content.
• He's using a new setup that involves a Raspberry Pi 3 with an RTL-SDR dongle, connected to a 2m 70cm homemade antenna to receive his local Phase 2 frequencies, uploaded to Broadcastify using the new free software OP25.
• Using this setup, Fuzz essentially created a Phase 2 scanner for under $100.
• The FlightAware website gives a good introduction to using the Raspberry Pi with an SDR that can get you set up in under 15 minutes.
• The Raspberry Pi has the best support system out there for any Pi hardware, but Fuzz has been working with the Atomic Pi lately.
• This setup provides an inexpensive alternative to buying a pricey scanner if you don't mind troubleshooting and problem solving to get going.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session164

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

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

Free SDR Training!

Check out our new course, "The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Software Defined Radios: Everything you need to know to get started with SDR in an afternoon."

You can enroll for free at https://courses.scannerschool.com

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Many of you have have been submitting their questions and today I am answering some of them.

This month I answer:

• What makes the SDS200 so much heavier than the SDS100, and what more are you getting for the weight?
• What equipment is compatible with a BCD3600XLT with NXDN for location-based scanning via GPS?
• Bergen County PD is now operating on a new system. What is the best scanner to use to pick up and listen to their new system?
• How can I update the firmware on a Uniden trunk tracker for BCD996T?

All session notes with links to the items we talked about an be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session163

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

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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Get started with Scanning in 2021

Our "2021 Scanner Radio Crash Course" Webinar rebroadcast is now online. www.scannerschool.com/crashcourse

This webinar will get you started or up to speed on Scanning for 2021.