Police scanners: useful?

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Obigatory Porsche content, I will use the scanner in my '83 SC if it's indeed useful.

For 25 years now I've relied on radar detectors, ever since the original Fuzzbuster that I had in a '71 Saab 99. I now have two Valentines and an "old" Passport.

At the end of January, Aston Martin is shipping the LA Auto Show Vantage S to Texas for me to use for a week to do a magazine article. I'm going to be running off-Interstate, for probably about 1,000 miles in the El Paso-to-Brownsville Rio Grande area, and I hope to do some high three-digit running (obviously no traffic, when it's safe, etc...please no advice about how I should keep it under 70, this is what I do for a living...)

Question: Are radio scanners useful in such a situation, and if so, how? Never used one, other than the one that's on 24 hours a day in our volunteer ambulance squad bays and tells me about every house fire, fender-bender and little old lady who sat on her Medic Alert button within 20 miles of us but hasn't done a thing to educate me about speed-trap sensing.

Anybody out there use one of these things?

Stephan

Stephan

[masraum]

We have a few people here that use scanners. Some of the Valentine 1 threads have gone into scanner stuff quite extensively.

I think djmcmath is one of the big scanner guys around here, but I could be wrong.

Check this thread for good info on various electronic countermeasures.
Electronic Counter Measures (long)

This is another good one.
Why I love my Valentine ...."1" that is.....

Those and a few others came from here. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/search.php?action=showresults&searchid=1003034&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

[Crachian]

I doubt it will help you much out there unless you're familiar with the roads because off the interstate DPS troopers (Dept. Public Safety) will not be referencing mile markers and your attention will be on the road, not on a map.

Can you get a co-pilot, binoculars, map, and radar detector?

[DavidI]

Stephan, as a cop I do not think they would be helpful to you. Seldom do police traffic cars use the radio advising other cops that they are pulling someone over for a traffic violation. If they do, it is after the fact to advise whether backup is needed. I don't think you would be forewarned, especially because they are one way (listen only) devices.

David

[cstreit]

I use the BearTracker by Uniden. You program in the state and it scans all the local trooper codes and alerts you like a radar detector if it picks up an active one within a few miles. It's part of the whole package that includes the Valentine 1 (heart of the system), Active laser jammer (Blinder M10 dual system) and the BearTracker...

Passive jammers are useless FWIW...

All must be used in combination with smart, safe, and ALERT driving...

The scanner is not really useful ON IT'S OWN, but can tell you when you need to increase your visual scanning and alert level. It can also be used to scan the CB bands to listen to the truckers... (talking about troopers ahead)

[john walker's workshop]

trouble is, they use a trunk system in many areas, so not only do you program the frequencies, you have to program the call numbers into the scanner to hear anything worthwhile. i have the bearcat trunk tracker, and it's a pain. cops use cell phones for anything interesting, so it's pretty boring.

[jthwan22]

I used BearTracker couple of year ago. It beep and flashs all the time when police are suppose to be near. I found it too distracting and stopped using it.

[LakeCleElum]

Would be a total waste of time and money. Where ur gonna be traveling, the Police will run silent and run deep. When you do hear radio transmissions, very few will give their location. Use a V-1, common sense, and you observation skills! Good luck, I have your book on order!

[Frostie]

I was over at a friends house the other day and left to make a 100 mile run north before I left my friend hopped in his Transport truck picked up the radio and asked if there was any trucks on that route and what the status was for radar, with in seconds we got feed back from other transport trucks that were currently on that road that the coast was clear.

I haven’t looked but if there was a small powerful radio to communicate with the truckers this might be the way to go as they are more then willing to help you out. Hopefully technology has improved and you no longer need to run those huge antennas.

Just an idea

[raceman]

put the hammer down Daddy-O. l live in the southwest and do plenty of roadtrips between Santa Fe,Mexico,Texas and California and triple digit speeds are the norm for a lot of us out here. Dissenters? Porsche`s are race cars for the street,remember? The VH-1,a CB radio and scanner are great but good old common sense and intuition are equally valuable.There`s a web site about speed traps also if you``re really concerned.Some states(like Texas) don`t record out of state infractions on your licence so speeding tickets while traveling can`t effect your insurance.You`re a professional right? You know what to do,just be sure to post the results..

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

Thanks, all...excellent advice. It's sort of what I figured--that the police don't do a whole lot of broadcasting. And unfortunately, I won't be able to rely on truckers because I'll be almost entirely off Interstates.

Stephan

[cstreit]

Originally posted by john walker's workshop
trouble is, they use a trunk system in many areas, so not only do you program the frequencies, you have to program the call numbers into the scanner to hear anything worthwhile. i have the bearcat trunk tracker, and it's a pain. cops use cell phones for anything interesting, so it's pretty boring.

John,

THis is true if you are trying to listen to their conversation, however I use the device only to warn me that cops are near.

Since radar detectors are close to (but not always entirely) line of sight devices, the Beartracker can at least warn you that you need to pay more attention.

Steve W, they aren't as useful on local routes as they are highways, just too much interference.

[RoninLB]

Originally posted by cstreit

Since radar detectors are close to (but not always entirely) line of sight devices, the Beartracker can at least warn you that you need to pay more attention.

so does the trunk scanner have a close transmission alarm?
does it have a programed state freq?
I was going to get the BCT-8?
I also had trouble with a cheap Radio Shack CB not being as active with the truckers as in the past?

[cstreit]

Ron,

I don't have a trunk scanner so I can't help you there... But a regular BCT-12 or 8 will still pick up trunk calls... You just don't get the auto-frequency switching when the trunk system changes frequencies auto-magically... (I think I have the 12?)

Anyway.. The real difference is that with a trunk scanner, you can listen to their voice coherently with the others, you simply know they're close.

[rich22]

Be aware that having a police scanner in a car is illegal in some states. Possibly even a misdemeanor, not just a traffic violation.

[RoninLB]

QUOTE]Originally posted by cstreit

... (I think I have the 12?)

Anyway.. The real difference is that with a trunk scanner, you can listen to their voice coherently [/QUOTE]

so you think the 12 is good enough for you? Did you compare it to the BCT-8

I think with trunking one party starts on one freq, then the other party may be replying on another freq?

fwiw,
Uniden Trunk Tracker 11 [or 2], handheld, $315
- analog trunking on any band
- scan conventional and trunked systems at same time. UHF High Band & UHF 800/900 trunked
- use your zip to download all local freq.
- cellular blocked

The Kustom HR-12, K-band, $1,700, defeats radar detectors when in hold mode. WTF, must be POP.

The MPH Z-35, K-band, $ 1,400 target tracking and "fastest vehicle" reading.

[juanbenae]

i've only wish i had one when i was doing something wrong.

[RarlyL8]

"Doing something wrong" is objective. Were we all doing something wrong when the national speed limit was 55? Don't get me started on this Natzi *****.

Sorry Steve but I can't help you. I make it a habbit to ignore all posted limits and drive at a pace that I am comfortable with. I have never owned a radar detector or any other electronic device of that type. I drive a neon red in-your-face 911 and average a ticket a decade.
I'm surprized that you are posting this question. You of all people should be the expert on this subject. Have you read all the "Cannonball" type books? Lots of good info from folks racing 2000+ miles at a time.
I look forward to reading your articles.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

No scanner expert me. I've used radar detectors since the first Fuzzbuster came out but never a scanner. Read the Cannonball books? We invented Cannonball, "we being" Car and Driver, with the connivance and promotional abilities of the Assassin Yates.

And my concern is not just "breaking the speed limit," I'm gonna have an '06 Aston Martin Vantage S (only one in the country), so I'm more worried about doing something that will put me somewhere they have to mail me sunlight, rather than just "getting a ticket"...

Stephan

[cstreit]

Steve

Actually after looking I have the BCT7, not the 12.

I didn't compare it to the 8, it had the features I wanted so I didn't buy anything else. The trunking is nice but not what I wanted it for as listening to the conversations doesn't yield much info anyway... All I wanted was "proximity detection" basically.