Once again Scanner Master will be at the Dayton Hamvention! This is the largest hamfest of the year and we will be in our regular booth, # 3303 in Building 3. Be sure to stop by and see Rich Barnett, Rich Carlson and Gommert Byson of Butel in the booth! Hamvention is open to the public on 9A-5P Friday, May 17 and Saturday May 18, and 9A-1P on Sunday, May 19 2019 at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia Ohio. On Sunday only the admission is free this year! Please stop by our booth if you attend this year, we will have scanners and accessories for sale and will be happy to say hi ..read more

One of the questions we often get here at Scanner Master is how I can listen to whatever is around me. While the ZIP Code scanners are the way to go for this some people think that by using the Close Call feature one can listen to all the activity in the area.  While this would be a great idea it really doesn’t work that way. Close Call and ZIP Code scanning have some similarities but are really two different animals. Close Call (and the similar Whistler/GRE/RS feature called Spectrum Sweeper or Signal Search) is a near-field receiving option that scours the bands for strong signals and l ..read more

One of the questions we get here at Scanner Master is how often one should update the programming on their scanner. The answer to that depends on a few things, including what kind of scanner you have, the resources available to you (computer, software etc.) and what is happening in your area. The type of scanner you have is the first question we always ask. ZIP Code type scanners, such as the HomePatrol, x36/SDS type or the Whistler TRX and WS types are pretty easy to update with the free Sentinel or EZ-Scan software. With a Windows computer these can be updated as often as you like at no char ..read more

Were You a fan of the TV show “EMERGENCY”? We are! Scanner Master would like to say “Thanks” to the show for inspiring all the Firefighters, Policemen, EMT’s and Scanner Enthusiasts in all of us. Saturday, August 13 th , 2022, COZI TV will be celebrating 50 years with a Marathon leading up to an hour long documentary special. For more information check out these links for more information: Emergency! – COZI TV and LA County Fire Museum ..read more

The BC-SGPS kit includes several parts: GPS Receiver                           (small box) Adapter Box                            (larger box) SDS200 cable                         (Phone wire) USB-Mini Cable    ..read more

For years the rumor mills have been rampant with reports that the railroads are going to be going to NXDN at any time and our older analog scanners will no longer be useful form listening to rail traffic. Then all of a sudden the big focus was on PTC (Positive Train Control) and NXDN activity slowed considerably. So now what is the story on NXDN and can we still hear railroads when and if they switch? First the background: Railroads have used good old plain analog FM for decades and have been a staple of scanner listeners from the start. With almost 100 VHF channels between 160.215 and 161.610 ..read more

When you buy a scanner, especially if you have us do your programming, you may hear many different types of police agencies. There are the commonly known departments like city police departments and County sheriff’s offices as well as Highway Patrols. There are also many other federal, state, county and local police agencies. Police agencies’ jurisdictions vary, based on the type of agency, the location they are in and the type of situation. Usually a state agency has jurisdiction anywhere in the state but usually does not enforce local ordinances inside of cities. A County officer similarly h ..read more

We all love scanners, you would not be reading this if you didn’t. There are certain scanners that, much more than others, are so remarkable that they change the market or make a lasting impression on the hobby. Scanners that introduced new features, made other features popular or just were so darn good that they are beloved by the community will be discussed here. If you have a favorite scanner that you think should be listed please let us know! The ones I discuss are scanners that I think helped define the market at the time and are real game changers. While some are obviously dated and obso ..read more

Listening to aircraft and airports with a scanner can be fascinating for both the aviation enthusiast and casual listener. For plane spotters scanners are an invaluable tool to determine what aircraft will be where. There are several types of monitoring and these can be broken down into several basic types: Airport traffic and ground control En route traffic control Air to Air Ground operations These same 4 categories are used in both civilian and military aviation; they just use different frequencies.  Military tends to be a lot heavier on the Air-to-Air traffic than civilian aviation ..read more

One of the hottest shows on television is on A&E “Live PD” airing on Friday and Saturday nights from 9PM to midnight (Eastern time). This reality-documentary show takes the viewer on a ride-along with officers from 8 law enforcement departments across the country. Viewers will see live events throughout the night with a only slight broadcast delay. If you live near one of these areas you can hear the events unfold on live on a scanner. Below is a list of the current departments on Live PD and the type of radio system they are using, along with our scanner recommendations: El Paso, TX Digit ..read more