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How to Make a $19 Police Scanner
- makomk 13y agoPlus $25 for the software to actually use it.
- voltagex_ 13y agoI remember running into this as well - there doesn't seem to be any better software on Windows to route audio like this (AFAICR the DSD decoder software expects a "sound card" input).
- pantalaimon 13y agoor you might just use Linux
- blhack 13y agoThis is free: http://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqrx-sdr-software/ http://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqr...
- nsmalch 13y agoNow to commit the whole NATO Phonetic Alphabet to memory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet
- mikeash 13y agoYou really only need to memorize it if you're going to speak it. If you're only listening, then you merely have to know that each word represents the first letter used to spell that word.
- kd0amg 13y agoIt depends on what you're listening to. If there's enough noise, it is helpful to know that "ahkschah" was probably transmitted as "foxtrot."
- ipodize 13y agoWhy bother? It's intuitive enough: "Alpha" => 'A', "Bravo" => 'B', and so on... English > NATO may not be easy without memorization, but there's no need to memorize anything if you want NATO > English.
- rhizome 13y ago"M as in marshmallow"
- mehmehshoe 13y agoI thought it was m as in mancy =)
- lifeformed 13y agoP as in Pterodactyl
- jevinskie 13y agoNifty! I just got two tuners so I can listen to local analog trunk systems. Any tips or recommendations for doing this on Linux?
- pantalaimon 13y agohttp://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr http://sdr.osmocom.org/trac/wiki/rtl-sdr has probably everything you are looking for, and more.
- ajays 13y agoThat page you linked to is a barebones guide to RTL-SDR. Any specific tips on finding and listening to interesting frequencies (or using it as a police scanner)?
- pantalaimon 13y agoHm, I missed the fact that UniTrunker is required for frequency hopping, there is OpenTrunker, but it doen't seem very active. However, there have been reports [1] of UniTrunker running with wine. Apart from that, you should be able to follow the directions in the OP. You can use SDR# or more straight-forward, rtl_fm, (forget about the later, it doesn't allow to switch frequencies without restarting, but this should be possible with rtl_tcp) now with PulseAudio it should be possible to redirect the audio from those applications to dsd, but that seems to expect something like /dev/audio - I don't know how to provide that with PA. [1] http://forums.radioreference.com/trunking-control-channel-decoding/180858-unitrunker-ubuntu-10-4-wine.html http://forums.radioreference.com/trunking-control-channel-de... Ok, turns out there really is some additional research/instructions required to get this running on Linux…
- coin 13y agoHow fast can the tuner change frequencies? This will impact its ability to scan. Can the same USB receiver function simultaneously as the signal and control receiver? If not then the HW cost is $19*2.
- FiloSottile 13y agoYeah, it is said at the end of the article that the system is suboptimal because the receiver will have to switch back and forth between signal and control.
- coin 13y agoWonder if it's possible to use two receivers, given that are so inexpensive ($19).
- Maxious 13y agoIt does function simultaneously by switching away from the control channel. More advanced software like SDR-Studio or GNU Radio can extract multiple channels/signals.
- superkuh 13y agoAccording to my tests (with many dongles of E4K and R820T tuners) it takes about ~50 milliseconds for everything to happen. Use keenerd's experimental branch for fast tuning with R820T tuners. I'm not sure the main branch has fixed the driver yet. My best guess is that something in libusb is slowing down the process which in theory should only take ~8 milliseconds.
- jaredstenquist 13y agoIs there a Mac alternative? Otherwise i'll have to stick with my Bearcat.
- ketralnis 13y agoI use rtl-sdr successfully on a mac, almost everything I needed was in macports including a nice GUI
- blhack 13y agohttp://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqrx-sdr-software/ http://eliasoenal.com/2012/09/30/osx-port-of-the-awesome-gqr...
- dzhiurgis 13y agoI've used a XP virtual machine, as that alternative seemed way too difficult to setup.
- matthewmcg 13y agoGQRX works great, though you do have to dial the sample rate back a bit on older macs (e.g. a 2007 plastic macbook)
- matthewmcg 13y agoI haven't found a native solution for trunking though.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- blhack 13y agoThese are really fun. I have one sitting in my Jeep with me right now. Obviously you can do a lot more with it than just listen to cops, and even this tutorial makes it look a LOT more complicated than it is. Plug the device in, and select a frequency. It's pretty much that easy. I use it for listening to everything from ham radio operators to airplanes. Seriously have had every penny worth of fun playing with this. Here is everything you need, available on amazon prime: http://www.amazon.com/Receiver-RTL2832U-Compatible-Packages-Guaranteed/dp/B009U7WZCA/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2RRCDXZXQJUJ7&coliid=IPEYNTUEQHOT8 http://www.amazon.com/Receiver-RTL2832U-Compatible-Packages-... (Although I recommend a better antenna. Dig one out of your garage, that is what I did.)
- kken 13y agoMake that a <$10 SDR: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_sop=15&_nkw=rtl2832u&LH_PrefLoc=2&LH_BIN=1 http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_from=R40&_sop=15&_n...
- granfular 13y agoSure, a $19 police scanner. As long as you have a $25 software package. That runs on your $100+ Windows installation. On your multi-hundred-dollar laptop. Asshole.
- aspensmonster 13y agoAnd don't forget the electricity! And the rent! Clearly this headline is misleading.
- aestra 13y agoAnd internet access to read this page!!
- dzhiurgis 13y agoYes. I am reading this on a free newspaper in a tube. I expect the rest to be free.
- Fundlab 13y ago.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]