I will get some argument here, but I have noticed a severe proclivity for usage of police scanners among Southern men. I’m sure that’s just because I have seen a lot of police scanners in my travels through the South. The little receivers are like a Wii or an Xbox for certain people. A six pack + a Lazy-Boy + a police scanner means hours of endless entertainment for many Southerners. I have seen a man flip ESPN to an SEC game, turn down the sound, crack a can of PBR, and turn up his scanner for an evening of perfection. If barbecue can work its way into the lineup, a man could pass out from brain-squeezing joy.
Just the smell of a Uniden Bearcat Trunk Tracker with 25,000 dynamically allocated channels, P25 digital decoding, Close Call RF Capture technology, location based scanning, 500 talkgroups per system, fire tone-out, multi-colored display, GPS control, and alpha tagging will melt some Southern guys’ hearts into a little puddle of police envy.
“If you find a Southern woman who can field dress a deer, loves college football and enjoys a good evening of police scanning, you have landed a keeper.” said a friend of mine. He was wearing a camouflaged jumpsuit at the time as his scanner crackled, “We got a male Caucasian over here behind a fence and he ain’t got no shirt on. Possible weapon. Drunk. Fled a domestic disturbance. We’re letting the dog loose.” Damn right that beats The View or Paula Deen.
From Alinco and Yaesu to Yupiteru, WiNRADIO, GRE, Uniden, Icom, AOR, SDR or Radio Shack You have quite a few options when it comes to listening to the human stain played out minute by gruesome minute.
At one time, about 45 companies made police scanners. Now, from the best I can tell, Uniden and Radio Shack have the market cornered because of their advanced digital technology. And who doesn’t want to hear every detail of a chase, arrest or a beating with digital clarity?
I don’t have a police scanner, but I can see the lure – humans behaving badly while the law describes every detail, uncensored. It’s pathetically addictive, but not exactly cheap if you get the $485 Uniden described above. It is, however, cheaper than golf or taking the family to a pro sporting event and it is the gift that keeps on giving, 24-hours a day.
Just something to keep in mind when you visit Santa’s Wonderland at the Bass Pro Shop this holiday season.
