🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <972@itivax.iti.org> ajb@itivax.UUCP (Al Boehnlein) writes:
>
>1.  Are there any scanner boards that can plug into a pc that
>could be programmed by the pc?  Could these be used to track
>signals from police departments than change frequency?
>
     I don't know of any scanners that plug directly into the
PC (nor would I want any to be able to do that... think of all
the noise and interference generated by the computer!)
     Anyway, there are radios (scanners and shortwave radio
receivers) available that are able to connect to any RS-232/
serial port.  I believe Icom and/or Yaesu makes them...
You'll have to check around in some magazines for that 
(try Popular Communications or any amateur radio magazine.)

>2.  If one were to listen to the 950 to 1000 MHz, what type of
>equipment would they use, and what is the price/performance
>tradeoffs.  I have heard that one could use anything from a TV
>to scanners, but don't know what the price/performance is of
>these devices.
     It depends on how seriously you take this monitoring (and of
course, how much money you wish to depart... :-) )  On the low
end, you can use a Radio Shack scanner (model #??  Costs about
$420.) It can scan between 30mhz - 1.3 ghz w/few breaks in between.  
This is a very good unit, it got excellent reviews from
many magazines plus there are many modifications available to 
make this unit do incredible things.  Unfortunately there isn't
a way to hook it up to a computer.
     I believe there's one made by Arc communications... costs
??? It's a very small unit and able to connect to any RS232 port.
I haven't read any reviews on that unit.
     There are a  few units made by Uniden and Regency that
are able to scan above 800mhz (even some handheld units!) I don't
know of any model that is computer controllable from them...
I have a Uniden XLT800, its pretty good but not great.  I forgot
what the spec were but I wish it had better selectivity especially
if you're using it in big city.
     Then, there are the high end models from Icom, Yaesu, and
NRD + one or two other companies.  Basically these will be the
best that you can buy.  Generally they're >$1000 :-( .
     Of course for any scanner radio, an outdoor antenna would be
preferable.
     As for using a TV, give it a try with any TV set (tune to any
channel above 68.)  This probably work best w/non electronic/digital
tuners because there'll be some sort manual fine tune control.  
You'll probably be disappointed, most will probably drift and the 
selectivity and sensitivity will be horrible.

-Doug  (on a friend's account...)
 
cindi@bucsb.bu.edu