Radio scanner Question

[admin]

Does anyone know of a handcrank police scanner? Ive checked all the normal emergency radio companies but i feel a police scanner will provide info much quicker than a weather station but obviously the standard scanners wont work if the power is out.

[admin]

Many scanners just operate on batteries so…..

[admin]

That would be a genius idea! If you read my notes on facebook, I had described what would be the ultimate scanner. I didn’t include handcrank. This is messed up: in the next few years, it will be easier to hear the police than to hear the railroad workers. Don’t get me wrong, I like to listen in on public servants sometimes, but my primary use for a scanner (and the specific use for my edc scanner) is listening to railroad ops. In the next few years they will be upgrading to NEXEDGE, which is automatically ENCRYPTED. Listening to ANY encrypted transmission is a FEDERAL offense! That is so :censored: dirty. This is one way we have to suffer because of those piece of trash terrorists. My Radio Shack Pro 404 will be obsolete in the next few years. With that in mind; I have a Kaito Receiver that picks up the VHF high band (137 MHz to 174 MHz; which is used by various public servants and even railroads) and it has a crank and solar panel. However, the dial tuner is horribly inaccurate and mine just stopped working altogether.

[admin]

Almost any amateur HT will tune those frequencies with digital precision.

I use a Yaesu VX-3 which is easily programmed for RR scanning use.
The VX-3 will slide into a pocket,run on AA batteries and if you are able will also transmit,it is a full HT.

Not sure how a hand crank could improve anything this powerful and portable but…..

[admin]

I used a Yaesu VX-150 (back in 2006) for listening to railroads and other services. Though I didn’t use it too much for railroads back then; it preformed wonderfully on that band..

• This reply was modified 6 months ago by admin.

[admin]

I’d forego the hand-crank idea and invest in some sets of Sanyo Eneloop NiMH batteries and a good charger or two. The Eneloop batteries are so-called “LSD” or “Low Self Discharge”, meaning they will retain a working charge for up to a year (or probably more). With a stockpile of these and a scanner or HT, you should be good to go in any disaster or preparedness situation, although maybe not TEOTWAWKI (in which case you probably wouldn’t have much to listen to, anyways). 🙂 If you really want to go gonzo, you could get a USB charger for the Eneloops and pair it with a solar panel, car charger, BioLite stove, Brunton Hydrogen Reactor, et al. Oh, and some Energizer e2 Lithium’s as a backup.

And a friendly push in the way of look into getting your amateur radio (“ham”) radio license. Check out the ARRL for info on the “Technician” class license. Typically, you find a local class, they walk you through everything, you study, you take a test right there, and bingo… you get a license issued by the FCC and can now access repeaters in your area, while traveling, chat over simplex, join emergency nets, meet other radio-friendly folks, etc.

[Author]

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