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

How can you join the Scanner School community in a live Zello chat?

In this episode, Phil walks you through how to create your Zello account and join the Scanner School group, and explains the purpose of the weekly Zello net chat and what sets it apart!

For info, visit https://www.scannerschool.com/zello

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session116

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

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

This month I answer:

• Difficultly with monitoring in Sacramento California
• How do I program or add talk groups or frequencies to the GRE-PSR800 handheld scanner?
• What is the best scanner available? Who is the best source to purchase from?
• I have an SDS100. Can you tell me the flight watch move for the statewide system in Indiana?

If you have a question about scanning, please visit www.scannerschool.com/ask and leave us a message via SpeakPipe or the local number on our website. We'll play your message on next month's #AskScannerSchool

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session1115

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

Did you know you can use a free app to set up a live scanner feed?

How can you get started?

In this episode, I will walk you through how to set up a live feed of your scanner radio using the free app Zello, including equipment you'll need and how it compares to setting up a broadcast hosted on your own computer.

PS - Join our NEW Zello channel!

For info, visit https://zello.scannerschool.com

What You Need To Know

• Zello is a free app for your smartphone or other smart device that wasn't originally built for the scanner radio hobby.
• Zello is a push-to-talk application that allows you to mimic the function of a two-way radio.
• It can be set up with "private rooms" where only one user can talk, or a few trusted users can talk, which makes it perfect for scanner radio broadcasts.
• There is almost no delay in the broadcast like there is with other online broadcasts.
• You can keep multiple rooms open at once.
• To broadcast your scanner, you need a Windows computer that's always on, a wired Internet connection, a radio scanner with output through a patch cable, potentially an additional sound card depending on your setup, and a separate Zello account just for the live stream.
• Know what your audio input is.
• Turn on Vox and set the activation threshold and deactivation threshold.
• To listen to your channel, open the app on your phone and search for the group you've created.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session114

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

Do you want to set up your own scanner live feed?

How can you get started?

In this episode, I'll walk you through how to set up a live feed of your scanner radio to be hosted on your home computer, from what hardware you need to specific software settings that need to be changed.

All of this in less time than it takes to get a pizza delivered

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session113

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

Does your area have a lot of rail traffic that you want to scan?

How can you get started?

In this episode, we have guest Joe Curtis. He shares about his background, his setup, how he monitors train location while trackside, and more.

What You Need To Know

• Guest Joe Curtis shares his background and how he got into scanning rail networks.
• The equipment Joe uses and what's actually necessary to listen to rail traffic.
• What can you hear on a rail scanner?
• The first steps you should take if you want to listen to the rails.
• What does Joe hear most often when listening to the rails?
• You only need the basics to listen to the railroads because they haven't switched to digital yet.
• Listening to the railroad is a good alternative as police departments increasingly encrypt their radios.
• How Joe uses his iPhone to monitor train location with PC-based software.
• Joe and Phil discuss the benefits and limitations of different rail scanning setups.
• Joe shares advice for those interested in monitoring the railroads.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session112

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

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

This month I answer:

• What is the best broadband bay station antenna on the market, and the top-performing mobile scanner?
• What SDR dongle do I use?
• How to find out if the radio in your area is encrypted.
• Is it possible to get around control channel delays?
• How can you fix it if you are getting no signal from something you know is an active channel?
• Is it possible to set up your own private scanner broadcast to listen to on your own home system or on your cell phone?

If you have a question about scanning, please visit www.scannerschool.com/ask and leave us a message via SpeakPipe or the local number on our website. We'll play your message on next month's #AskScannerSchool

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session111

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

The Uniden SR30C is the newest release by Uniden.

Hitting the market in late 2019, this scanner replaces the BC75XLT as a their entry level scanner.

With 500 memory channels, 10 banks, and limited features, is this a good scanner for the money?

How does it compare to the BC75XLT, BC125AT, or UBC126AT?

We break it all down in this week's podcast

Have you ever wondered how to record your scanner audio?

What software tools and equipment would you need?

In this podcast, we have guest Garrett Farwell. He shares about his background, his setup, how he records his scanner audio to PC, and why.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session109

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

Today we remember Rodney Paul "Upman" Opitz.

Paul was the Director of Marketing and Product Development for Uniden.

It is his work that gave us scanners such as the HomePatrol 1 & 2, The BCD436HP and BCD536HP, and the SDS100 and SDS200.

Paul passed away at the age of 59 after losing his battle with cancer on Dec 28, 2019.

All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session108

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

This month I answer:

• What GPS should be used on the SDS100 & SDS200
• Why is my USB hub transmitting?
• Why can't I unlock banks on my PRO-2055?
• Should I trade in my BCD436HP for an SDS100?
• Does it look like a SDS100 or SDS200 will be required to monitor the Alameda County Trunk System in California?

If you have a question about scanning, please visit www.scannerschool.com/ask and leave us a message via SpeakPipe or the local number on our website. We'll play your message on next month's #AskScannerSchool

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session107

A big THANK YOU to our continued Patreon Supporters. www.scannerschool.com/support to see how you can help us. Some of the ways you can support us won't cost you any additional money!