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

Every Scanner needs it's own power brick plugged into your wall. Every other 12 volt device requires it's own wall wart.

The worst part about these adapters is the amount of space they take up. Sometimes they are large enough to cover 2 spaces on your power strip.

How do we clean up this mess?

Power supplies are the perfect way to deliver power to all of those 12volt devices at your scanner radio station. Using a single 12v source for your scanner and 12v accessories, this is a great way to bring some order to the electrical wiring mess in your shack!

In this session, we discuss:

• Voltage
• Amperage
• Current
• What to look for when buying a power supply
• Constant Voltage
• Peak Voltage
• Regulated and Unregulated Power Supplies

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session37

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

There are many different types of RF connectors on the market. F, BNC, PL-259, N, DIN, SMA, MCX, etc ;)

Do you know why there are so many connectors on the market and what makes each one different?

In this session, we discuss:

• Common connectors for small diameter coax cables
• Common connectors for medium diameter coax cables
• Why we have so many connectors on the market
• What makes each type of connector so different

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session36

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

It is possible to combine antennas to improve your scanner's reception. The tricky part is doing it correctly

In this session, we discuss:

• Diplexers
• Duplexers
• Triplexers
• Quadplexers
• The difference between the above and a combiner or splitter
• How you can share your coax between antennas and save money

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session35

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

As the name implies, a filter will either allow or reject frequencies from passing through and onto your radio

In this session, we discuss:

• High Pass & Low Pass Filters
• Band Pass & Band Reject Filters
• Common filter terms
• Why we use filters
• Where to install a filter
• What to look for when buying a filter

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session34

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

There are many different way to share a single antenna with multiple radios. Many will get the job done, but we today we talk about the best way and the preferred way to share one antenna with multiple scanners

In this session, we discuss:

• What makes a multicoupler different than splitters
• The benefits of using multicouplers
• Why cable TV splitters are a bad idea
• Why we don't use "T" connectors
• The difference between active and passive multicouplers
• Where to install a multicoupler
• What to look for when buying a multicoupler

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session33

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

Lightning can destroy your scanner radio setup in a second.

Adding proper grounding and installing lightning arrestors only takes a few minutes and can potentially save your setup.

In this session, you will learn how lightning arrestors work, what they do, the different types of lightning arrestors, and some that I recommend.

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session32

** CONTEST ALERT -- LAST CHANCE **

Win a $100 Scanner Master Gift Card.

Check out www.scannerschool.com/contest for details!

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

Jonathan Higgins is the Digital Media Communications Manager for Scanner Master. He and I speak about his background in scanning, share some great stories, and talk about his "RailFan" experiences.

Jonathan and I also talk about the history of Scanner Master, which started 40 years ago. We talk about their current product lines and services, such as scanner radio programming, scanner sales, and radio packages.

As an affiliate for Scanner Master, I am happy to have Jonathan on the podcast so he can explain what makes Scanner Master a great company to buy from, why I've been a customer for the last 20 something years, and what I recommend their business.

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session31

** CONTEST ALERT **

Win a $100 Scanner Master Gift Card.

Check out www.scannerschool.com/contest for details!

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

What are you using for coax cable?

Not all coax cable is created equal and in today's podcast we will run through some numbers to show you why the bargain stuff is so inexpensive compared to quality coax.

We have a great chart to help you see all the numbers in this week's session notes.

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session30

** CONTEST ALERT **

Win a $100 Scanner Master Gift Card.

Check out www.scannerschool.com/contest for details!

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

Preamplifiers could help you or hurt you depending on several factors.

I have used preamps in the past and have seen mixed results. There are certain situations where a preamp could be extremely helpful.

I have ways you might be able to improve your station instead of investing in a preamp.

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session29

** CONTEST ALERT **

Win a $100 Scanner Master Gift Card.

Check out www.scannerschool.com/contest for details!

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!

There are many things to consider when purchasing your next (or first) scanner radio antenna.

Do you need an antenna that...

• Covers many frequencies
• Covers a particular frequency
• Is directional
• Is NOT directional
• Will fit in an attic
• Is affordable
• Will be used for a portable radio

These are some of the items we talk about today and tell you what the next antenna that I will be installing on my house this summer and why.

All session notes can be found on our website at www.scannerschool.com/session28

** CONTEST ALERT **

Win a $100 Scanner Master Gift Card.

Check out www.scannerschool.com/contest for details!

Please support the Scanner School podcast. Visit 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!