by raimundo » Thu May 17, 2012 10:21 pm
Working as a taxi driver several decades ago, scanners were helpful in listening to the several approach control channels at the airport, so as to know when planes are coming in and avoid a long wait for nothing.
the company dispached on two channel when it was busy, and one channel when it wasn't, At one time while deadheading to the airport alongside another taxi who was a friend with a scanner, it wasn't busy but the North channel was unused so we could talk to each other tranmitting on the unused channel and listening on the scanner to recieve. the taxi company never broadcast the time or location or discription of any cab robber, since it was against the rulz They thought the drivers would instantly start avoiding certain areas or people dressed like the robber. I suppose not picking up a robber after a cab robbery would be discriminatory.
we used 16 crystal radios in the 70s and digital 200 channel ones in the 80s
I also monitored some crack dealers cordless phone and could hear him from the time he started work around five in afternoon til around eight in the morning, his voice got harsher and more raspy throughout the night, he had three runners with beapers, eventually he was out of product and put a marker in his second floor window to signal to the customers that dealt directly with him that he was out of product so I was able to locate his exact apartment after hearing this. the fifth precinct was only a block away with a tall radio mast, but they never seemed to know about him. I listened to him for three months when I wanted to or was up late and bored.
Other anecdotes from those days I heard a guy talking to his girlfriend on a cellphone while driveing home at five oclock, I heard him telling her about his wife and saying " I have to go now Im pulling into the driveway. He came on regularily at the same time every day and the situation with his wife was deteriorating,
there are no doubt lots of stories like these among scanner people. I also heard low powered body mics from some police prostitute working undercover nearby.
Wake up and smell the Kafka!!!
