{"id":35398,"date":"2019-01-01T09:28:58","date_gmt":"2019-01-01T13:28:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=35398"},"modified":"2019-01-01T09:34:06","modified_gmt":"2019-01-01T13:34:06","slug":"washington-post-looks-at-the-last-of-the-scanners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/01\/washington-post-looks-at-the-last-of-the-scanners\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post looks at the “Last of the scanners”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Source: Washington Post<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\n

Last of the scanners: Are police security measures and new technologies killing an American obsession?<\/h2>\n

In a white house on a quiet, leafy street in Takoma Park, Md., lives a man who listens to nothing but mayhem. He is remarkable not because of his appearance \u2014 tall, thin, black hair \u2014 but for what he has around him at all times: scanners.<\/p>\n

On this day, the scanners of Alan Henney \u2014 whose tweets of bedlam are followed by dozens of Washington journalists \u2014 were going full blast. Eleven cluttered his coffee table and living room, all tuned to different radio frequencies from across the region. There was the chirp of D.C. Fire and EMS responders. The prattle of dispatch in Prince George\u2019s County. And the broadcast of Montgomery County officials telling of a traffic accident, which, Henney concluded solemnly, \u201cdoesn\u2019t sound very good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Something else that didn\u2019t sound very good: the garbled noise coming from one scanner, obscuring D.C. police chatter. To Henney it sounded like death \u2014 not the death caused by crime or traffic accidents, but the demise of a passion.<\/p>\n

Across the United States, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of people like Henney who listen to official communications on radio signals, sifting through a morass of chatter for interesting news. Some pester crime reporters with tips. Others, such as Henney, showcase the hard-won news items \u2014 like gem hunters would a stone \u2014 on their social media feeds. But soon, Henney fears, all of that may end. And what will become of the scanner enthusiasts when there\u2019s nothing left to scan?<\/p>\n

Over the past few years, an increasing number of municipalities and police departments, including the District\u2019s, have begun encrypting their radioed communications, a trend driven in part by fear that bad guys and terrorists need to do little more nowadays than download a police-scanning app to get all the intelligence they need on what police are doing and where. Just this year, police in Las Vegas, Richmond and Knoxville, Tenn., have encrypted their radio communication.<\/p>\n

But what police are calling a public safety measure, scanner hobbyists are describing as a blow to transparency. Now they\u2019re asking plaintive questions about whether it portends the end of a pastime once incubated in science clubs and Scout groups.[…]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Click here to read the full article at the Washington Post.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Source: Washington Post) Last of the scanners: Are police security measures and new technologies killing an American obsession? In a white house on a quiet, leafy street in Takoma Park, Md., lives a man who listens to nothing but mayhem. He is remarkable not because of his appearance \u2014 tall, thin, black hair \u2014 but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,5803],"tags":[4316,4378],"class_list":["post-35398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-scanners","tag-scanners","tag-washington-post"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-9cW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32770,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/06\/radio-deal-refurbished-whistler-scanners-on-sale\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":0},"title":"Radio deal: Refurbished Whistler scanners on sale","author":"Thomas","date":"June 12, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Srebnick (K2DLS), who notes that Whistler currently has a selection of refurbished scanners on sale with a manufacturer's warranty including the new TRX-1 handheld: Click here to view the sale at Whistler. These are great prices! Thank for the tip, Dan!","rel":"","context":"In "Deals"","block_context":{"text":"Deals","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/deals\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Whistler-Scanners.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Whistler-Scanners.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Whistler-Scanners.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Whistler-Scanners.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14973,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/universal-radio-new-whistler-scanners-and-a-qrp-corner-page\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":1},"title":"Universal Radio: new Whistler scanners and a “QRP corner” page","author":"Thomas","date":"October 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently had a conversation with my good friend Fred Osterman, president of Universal Radio. Fred told me about a couple of items on their website I thought might interest Post readers: A QRP Corner page with quick links to products and categories that are relevant to QRPers, portable operators\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Whistler WS1098 Scanner","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/WhistlerScanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/WhistlerScanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/WhistlerScanner.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23270,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/talking-scanners\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":2},"title":"Talking scanners…","author":"Thomas","date":"January 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Since I was a kid, I've always enjoyed listening to police, fire, public services\/utilities, and aviation communications on scanners. Growing up, my father had a Regency Executive scanner in our living room, and he used it to listen to all of the local action before it was published in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Home-Patrol-Scanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Home-Patrol-Scanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Home-Patrol-Scanner.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50539,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/mark-spots-a-scanner-in-chicago-fire-tv-series\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":3},"title":"Mark spots a scanner in Chicago Fire TV series","author":"Thomas","date":"October 13, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Thomas, I'm currently enjoying 'Chicago Fire' on Netflix and spotted this scanner at the fire station. Taking a wild guess, I typed 'realistic scanner' into image search and eventually found one that looked similar, the Realistic Pro-57. Perhaps scanner enthusiasts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chicago-fire-scanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chicago-fire-scanner.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chicago-fire-scanner.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/chicago-fire-scanner.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":54951,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2022\/12\/why-scan\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":4},"title":"Why scan?","author":"Jock Elliott","date":"December 11, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A while back, Thomas, SWLing\u2019s Maximum Leader, told me the scope of the SWLing Post is \u201cshortwave listening first, then all things radio.\u201d As a fan of \u201call things radio,\u201d when conditions on the shortwave and HF ham bands are awful, frequently I will turn on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-true-IQ-and-trade-trunktracker-x-base-mobile-scanner-SDS200-scanners-uniden_697x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-true-IQ-and-trade-trunktracker-x-base-mobile-scanner-SDS200-scanners-uniden_697x320.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/2-true-IQ-and-trade-trunktracker-x-base-mobile-scanner-SDS200-scanners-uniden_697x320.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30931,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/external-ferrite-antenna-by-playloudfm\/","url_meta":{"origin":35398,"position":5},"title":"External Ferrite Antenna by playloudfm","author":"Troy Riedel","date":"February 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Posted by SWLing Post contributor Troy Riedel: I just noticed something on eBay.\u00a0 Seller \"playloudfm\" based in Greece (100% feedback rating), the first to offer the high gain external ferrite antenna for the Tecsun PL-360\/PL-365\/County Comm GP5, has a new offering: From the seller's listing: - Frequency: 530Khz - 1710Khz\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Playloudfm3-1024x451.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Playloudfm3-1024x451.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Playloudfm3-1024x451.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}