[Mudslide]

Hello.  I'm interested in buying a decent scanner, either desk top or hand held, that will be idiot (me) proof and simple to use.  I also hope that it doesn't cost in the neighborhood  of a new car.

Any help or suggestions are truly appreciated.

Mud

[Letitroll98]

That sounds like fun, but in my little town it would be the most boring channel on the air waves.  "Elmer's pigs got loose again and their all in the Guffteson's corn".

[Escott1377]

If you are looking for a scanner for entertainment purposes, these is an app on my IPad called 5-0 radio pro.  It gives you lots of nationwide banter. 

[Mudslide]

That sounds like fun, but in my little town it would be the most boring channel on the air waves.  "Elmer's pigs got loose again and their all in the Guffteson's corn".

Hahaa...yeah, I grok that.  We live in a 7,000 person town where the pickup trucks outnumber the people.

Still, it would be fun to listen to aviation, fire reports, etc.  (We were evacuated from a large and serious fire two years ago, and we weren't prepared quite enough.)  We actually have an ancient 10 band scanner that's pretty clunky and doesn't do trunking or some of the fun, new stuff.  So I'm basically living in the scanner stone age with my knowledge base.

[WGH]

Back around 1976 we were building homes in Eastern Colorado by the Nebraska border and my buddy Jack would sit for hours in his parked car listening to the truckers talk on CB radio as they drove by on the interstate.

[mresseguie]

Mudslide,

I drove past your neighborhood two days ago on our way to the Lincoln City Outlets. My wife and I could sit in your front yard and jabber in our 90% Mandarin/10% English conversation for your entertainment. Heck. We could pitch a tent and camp there, too.

 

[aldcoll]

Here is the NASA Fire Map link.  You can track and fire in the world and set up updates to any location (Geo Fence) you care to set up.  I believe it updates alerts every hour until the event is over.  I got 6 alerts for a barn fire a few miles away. 

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/

Also if a smart phone is used Oregon and you county and most Emergency agency's have Text message / reverse phone or text program.

Just seems like you should run down to radio shack and check out the table top or portable models

Alan

[FullRangeMan]

Still, it would be fun to listen to aviation, fire reports, etc.

Dont pay for it, there is various sites to listen airport control tower.
Try this for satelittes:
https://amsat-dl.org/p4-a-nb-transponder-bandplan-und-betriebsrichtlinien/

https://eshail.batc.org.uk/point/

https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

http://websdr.org/

http://sdr.r9a.ru/
If you want something interesting at a cost try passive radar available at Amazon.

[Mudslide]

Mudslide,

I drove past your neighborhood two days ago on our way to the Lincoln City Outlets. My wife and I could sit in your front yard and jabber in our 90% Mandarin/10% English conversation for your entertainment. Heck. We could pitch a tent and camp there, too.

 

Man, I wish we could have gotten together, my friend.  My wife is pretty hard of hearing, so we could sign (language) back atcha. 

But to camp out, you would have had to battle with the "pet" deer that wander over when the neighbors stop feeding them.   

[Mudslide]

Here is the NASA Fire Map link.  You can track and fire in the world and set up updates to any location (Geo Fence) you care to set up.  I believe it updates alerts every hour until the event is over.  I got 6 alerts for a barn fire a few miles away. 

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/

Also if a smart phone is used Oregon and you county and most Emergency agency's have Text message / reverse phone or text program.

Just seems like you should run down to radio shack and check out the table top or portable models

Alan

Alan, are you in Oregon?

Thanks for the NASA link.  I'll check it out.

We do have the apps for Fire and Emergency Mgmt. links.  They were quite useless in the fire of two years ago.  We got a Level 3 warning to evacuate immediately with NO advance notice.  A cop just drove by the neighborhood yelling "get out" as he passed.  The County and City emergency system completely broke down during that fire.  It was quite fortunate that hundreds of people and their homes did not perish that first day.  There was gridlock all through town.  It took most of us 2-3 hours to get out of the danger zone.  The fire (which was out of control) had been approaching for a couple of days.  But they dropped the ball when it came time to provide evac warnings.  They tried...but it was an abject failure for our part of town.  Folks were calling for administrative heads to roll.

[Mudslide]

Dont pay for it, there is various sites to listen airport control tower.
Try this for satelittes:
https://amsat-dl.org/p4-a-nb-transponder-bandplan-und-betriebsrichtlinien/

https://eshail.batc.org.uk/point/

https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

http://websdr.org/

http://sdr.r9a.ru/
If you want something interesting at a cost try passive radar available at Amazon.

Cool!  Many thanks, man.

[Letitroll98]

Here is the NASA Fire Map link.  You can track and fire in the world and set up updates to any location (Geo Fence) you care to set up.  I believe it updates alerts every hour until the event is over.  I got 6 alerts for a barn fire a few miles away. 

https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/

Interesting that this site is also used by activists and others to track artillery and rocket attacks in Ukraine.  Works remarkably well for that, you have to track it over time to make sense of it, it has a six hour refresh, but very interesting.

[aldcoll]

Yep I am in-between  Corvallis and Eugene.  Just a few miles from the world record grass pollen reading.
I don't worry about fires here in the valley floor.

Loosing a bridge on the river even for a wreck could change a trip for milk by hours.
Alan