Radio Shack PRO-107 iSCAN Radio Scanner

RadioShack has just released its all new PRO-107 iSCAN radio. The PRO-107 iSCAN radio is the first of its type to have the look and feel of an mp3 player or even the Apple iPhone.

 iSCAN combines the simplicity and ease-of-use of a portable media player with the power and sophistication of a state-of-the-art radio scanning receiver.

DISCLAIMER: Now, I have not had the oportunity to try the iSCAN radio as I already have a trunking two trunking scanners for use, but I did read the iSCAN manual (although, I am gonna save up to try it).

No Programming Neccessary!

I can already tell what the best feature the PRO-107 iSCAN radio sports. That would be that all frequencies are already programmed into the iSCAN! The entire USA database from RadioReference is stored in on a standard SD card that is included with iSCAN!

This means no more programming! What could be more easier than that! You simply select from a list your state, county and city and of course you can choose multiple cities/regions to monitor. You can then add your selections to any one of 20 customized playlist.

The iSCAN radio runs on two AA batteries and has a simplified keypad and display with familiar play, pause, and navigation controls, similar to an mp3 player (check out the manual  for a peek).

Bottom line: The iSCAN radio is small enough to fit in a shirt pocket and seems to be an outstanding choice for novices and those who don't wish to "play" with the scanner, but rather just listen.

Check out some of these features:

• Triple Trunking Handheld Scanner
• Motorola Analog, EDACS, LTR Trunking 
• MP3 Player Style Controls
• SAME (FIPS) / Weather alert
• Skywarn
• Spectrum Sweeper
• Backlit Keypad and Display
• PC Interface
• And MUCH MUCH MORE! (Too many to list here! See our trusted partner, Scannermaster, for a complete list of features and reviews!) 

Frequency Coverage:  

• VHF Low: 25.0000 - 54.0000 MHz
• VHF Aircraft: 108.0000 - 136.9916 MHz
• VHF High: 137.0000 - 174.0000 MHz
• VHF High: 216.0025 - 222.2500 MHz
• VHF High: 225.0025 - 405.9550 MHz 
• UHF Low/T: 406.0000 - 512.0000
• UHF High: 806.0000 - 960.0000 MHz (excluding cellular)
• UHF High: 1240.0000 - 1300.000 MHz

Box Includes:

• RS PRO-107 iSCAN Radio Scanner
• Rubber Antenna
• USB Cable
• SD Memory Card
• CD-ROM
• User Manual 

Get it now at our Trusted Partner

Scannermaster for Only $229.95!

If you have a review or comment on the Radio Shack PRO-107 iSCAN, share it with other scannerheads in the comment section!

That's it for now, till next time stay safe and don't forget to subscribe to my blog.

- RF
Your Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info

National Weather Service (NWS) 24-Hour Weather Broadcast

For those of you who do not know about NOAA's 24-hour automated weather broadcasts, I thought I would cover it in this post. 

The National Weather Service (NWS) continually broadcasts updated weather conditions, warnings, advisories, and forecasts 24-hours a day nationwide from the NOAA (National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration) data center.

NOAA WEATHER BROADCAST RADIO IS THE BEST MEANS TO RECEIVE WARNINGS FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. These broadcasts can be received by NOAA Weather Radios sold in many departments stores and by most police radio scanners.

Nationwide NWS Broadcast Station Frequencies

One or more of the following NWS channels can be heard in most areas of the U.S. Most scanners come with these channels pre-programmed and accessed by a one-touch button labeled "WX".

If you have an older model scanner or your scanner does not have a one-touch weather button, simply program these frequencies into your scanner to find the one for your area. Or, if your scanner has a search feature, search between 162.400 and 162.550.

Channel - Frequency

Ch.1 - 162.550
Ch.2 - 162.400
Ch.3 - 162.475
Ch.4 - 162.425
Ch.5 - 162.450
Ch.6 - 162.500
Ch.7 - 162.525

You can also find the location and frequency of your nearest NOAA Weather Radio transmitter by using the index located on the following page:

National Weather Service - Radio Transmitter Stations http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/nwrbro.htm#nwrstations

Scanning Severe Weather Conditions

IF YOU HAVE A SCANNER, MONITOR THE WEATHER FREQUENCIES LISTED ABOVE FOR THE LATEST WEATHER ADVISORIES AND CURRENT CONDITIONS AS WELL AS YOUR LOCAL POLICE & FIRE FREQUENCIES!

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SCANNER, MONITOR YOUR LOCAL TV OR NEWS RADIO FOR THE LATEST NEWS AND/OR ADVISORIES! MAKE SURE you stock extra batteries for your scanner or portable radio.

Weather Links & Resources 

National Weather Service (NWS)
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
http://www.noaa.gov/

NOAA National Hurricane Center
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

National Skywarn - Severe Weather
http://www.skywarn.net/

US Doppler Radar Sites
http://weather.noaa.gov/radar/national.html

Intellicast Weather
http://www.intellicast.com/

The Weather Channel
http://www.weather.com/

AccuWeather.com
http://www.accuweather.com/

NOAA Significant Event Imagery
http://www.osei.noaa.gov/OSEIiod.html

Hurricane Preparedness
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/intro.shtml

That's it for now. Till next time, stay safe! As always, if you have a comment or addition to this post, please feel free to share it with others in the comment section and please subscribe to this blog.

-RF
Your Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info

Economic Downturn Shutting Down Police

Your local police department may be dramatically downsized or going away altogether as entire police forces across the U.S. are being shut down and disbanded because cities do not have the money to pay police officers.

In order to cut city budget costs, cities are turning to already stretched-thin local county sheriff departments to take over law enforcement duties.

These two quotes from one of the article below says it all:

"If you called the Gaston Police Department Wednesday you heard a strange message. "Yeah, this is Chief Crider Gaston Police Department. Do not leave any messages. As of right now council has disbanded the police department. We are laid off until further notice. Do not leave a message. They won't be checked for the next couple of weeks. Thank you, it's been fun working here. Bye."

and...

"Carry a gun. Protect your life," says a former Gaston police officer, who's warning residents they're going to have to fend for themselves.

Kinda scarry huh? Below are just some of the news articles I came across that paint a grim picture of possible things to come:

• Hoschton (GA) Dissolves Police Department

• Cleveland (OH) Police Cuts Sixty-Seven Officers

• Minneapolis (MN) Police Shuts Down Narcotics Unit

• Boston (MA) Police Could Lay Off 200

• Tulsa (OK) Police Officers Laid Off

• Roanoke (IL) Police Department Disbanded

• Waukesha County (WI) Sheriff Takes Over in Pewaukee

• Kilbuck (PA) Police Department Disbanded

• Gaston (SC) Police Department Disbanded

• Mora City (MN) Council Votes to Disband Police Department

• Waukegan (IL) Cuts Include Disbanding Horse Patrol

• Highwood City (IL) Suburb May Shutter Local Police Force

• Lewisville (TX) Police Motorcycle Patrol Dissolved

• Lacey (WA) Police Unit Disbanding Decried

• Mandeville (LA) Takeover of Police Dept. Discussed by Mayor, Sheriff

• Stillwater (NJ) Disbands Police Department

• Paint Borough (PA) Dropping Part-Time Police Department

That's it for now, till next post, stay safe and please subscribe! As always, if you have a comment about this post, share it with others by clicking on the comment link below.

-Ruben Flores
Your Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info
(Email: ruben "at" police-scanner.info)

GRE PSR300 Triple Trunking Handheld Scanner

I just received a second PSR300 trunking scanner to program for another customer and thought I would feature it here as I really like this model. The GRE PSR300 handheld scanner was introduced by GRE late 2007 as an analog trunking counterpart to the digital trunking PSR500 scanner.

The PSR300 is a handheld scanner that directly competes with Uniden’s BC346XT. While the PSR300 is about $70 cheaper than the Uniden ($150 for the GRE vs. $220 for the Uniden) it has fewer advanced features and less memory.

The PSR300 has 1000 channels and 1500 talkgroups, split evenly among the 10 banks.  The GRE’s main difference is that it uses the older fixed banks and channel programming method instead of the newer Dynamic Memory Architecture (DMA) methods used by the Unidens and digital GRE’s. 

Check out some of these features:

• Triple Trunking Handheld Scanner
• Motorola Analog, EDACS, LTR
• 1,000 CH / 1,500 TGID
• CTCSS / DCS
• 20dB attenuator
• SAME (FIPS) / Weather alert
• Skywarn
• Spectrum Sweeper
• 4x16 Alphanumeric Display
• Signal strength meter
• Backlit Keypad and Display
• PC Programmable
• Field Upgradeable Firmware
• And MUCH MUCH MORE! (Too many to list here! See our trusted partner, Scannermaster, for a complete list of features and a 3D view!) 

Frequency Coverage:  

• VHF Low: 25.0000 - 54.0000 MHz
• VHF Aircraft: 108.0000 - 136.9916 MHz
• VHF High: 137.0000 - 174.0000 MHz
• VHF High: 216.0025 - 299.9375 MHz
• UHF Low/T: 300.0000 - 512.0000 MHz
• UHF High: 764.0000 - 960.0000 MHz
• UHF High: 1240.0000 - 1300.000 MHz
• Except cellular band: 824-848.9875 MHz and 869- 893.9875 MHz 
• Step: 3.125, 5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5, 25 kHz

Box Includes:

• PSR-300 Scanner
• AC Adapter
• Rubber Antenna
• Standard Batter Holder
• Rechargeable Battery Holder
• User Manual 

Get it now at our Trusted Partner

Scannermaster for Only $149.95!

If you have a review or comment on the PSR300, share it with other scannerheads in the comment section! Also, if you are interested in having your scanner programmed, send me an email for a quote.

That's it for now, till next time stay safe and don't forget to subscribe to my blog.

- RF
Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info

LA County Fire USAR Team Enroute to Haiti

United States Urban Search and Rescue teams, Virginia Task Force 1 ("VA-TF1") and California Task Force 2 ("CA-TF2"), were activated on Tuesday evening and mobilized on Wednesday to travel to Haiti in the aftermath of a magnitude-7.0 earthquake that devastated the nation's capital. Hundreds of thousands of people are feared trapped or dead following the earthquake Tuesday.

Ready for Disaster!

Both VA-TF1 and CA-TF2 are specially-trained and equipped 72-person Urban Search and Rescue Task Forces consisting of Los Angeles County (CA) and Fairfax County (VA) Fire Department firefighters and paramedics rescue specialists, emergency room physicians, structural engineers, heavy equipment specialists, canine search dogs and handlers, hazardous materials technicians, communications specialists, and logistics specialists.

Each unique technical rescue team responds with 55,000 pounds of prepackaged search and rescue tools and medical equipment to conduct around-the-clock search and rescue operations at domestic and international disasters, both natural and man-made.

A Witness to Deployment

California Task Force 2 (CA-TF2) deployed from March Air Base in Riverside County just before 10:30PM PT last night on their 8-hour flight (See video). March Air Base is 14 miles north of Canyon Lake, CA where I live. I was watching the take-off live on KCAL-9 News and went outside to watch as the massive C-17 flew low right overhead of my home accending on it's journey to devastation.

I have personally seen the LA County Fire USAR team in action after the magnitude-6.7 Northridge earthquake in 1994 (Jan. 17) while I was a photographer for LA County Fire and all I can say is these guys are "fearless badasses", the best of the best heading into the worst of the worst!

As I watched the plane fly overhead, all I could do give a salute and wish them goodluck and godspeed...

* Photos above are provided courtesy of the L.A. County Fire Dept. 

USAID Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance

VA-TF1 & CA-TF2 are partnered in providing the U.S. Agency for International Development’s ("USAID") Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance with humanitarian assistance in the form of collapsed structure search and rescue, in response to natural and man-made disasters, throughout the world.

Both task forces have also deployed nationally to the Oklahoma City Bombing, The Pentagon, Hurricanes Katrina and Isabel as well as international deplyments to the bombing in Kenya, earthquakes in Turkey, Taiwan, and Iran.

Help Needed! How You Can Help

Donations to the American Red Cross for Haiti relief can be made in the following ways:

1. Make an unrestricted donation to the International Response Fund at www.redcross.org by clicking on the Donate Now button.

2. Call in a donation to the Red Cross at 1-800-REDCROSS or for Spanish call 1-800-257-7575.

3. By texting "Haiti" to 90999 to send a $10 donation to the Red Cross, through an effort backed by the U.S. State Department (http://www.state.gov/). Your donation will be automatically billed to your cell phone.

Or, visit the site below to learn more about ongoing disaster relief in Haiti:

+ InterAction - List of Agencies Accepting Donations

And Finally...

Family members trying to locate U.S. citizens living or traveling in Haiti should contact the U.S. Department of State, Office of Overseas Citizens Services, at 1-888-407-4747 or (202) 647-5225.

Related Links of Interest 
 
+ L.A. Rescurers Deploy to Haiti Quake Zone 

+ California Task Force 2 International Urban Search & Rescue
 
+ Virgina Task Force 1 International Urban Search & Rescue

+ L.A. Search-Rescue Team Demonstrates Response

+ CNN News Coverage

+ Preparing for a Major Earthquake or Disaster

+ Police Scanners & Emergency Preparedness

That all for now, let's hope for the best for Haiti's survivors...

-RF
Your Bloghost & Webmaster @ Police-Scanner.info!