Interesting night on police scanner
Posted by DickH on 06 Feb 2010 at 11:45 pm | Tagged as: Greater Lowell, Lowell 2010
Because my house is on the flight path of Medflight helicopters coming into and out of Lowell, whenever I hear the whop-whop-whop of rotors passing overhead, I know something bad has happened. To learn more about these various incidents, I purchased an inexpensive police scanner last fall. Now, I sometimes listen to it at night while I’m on the computer, whether or not any aircraft are aloft.
Some interesting stuff flashed over the airwaves tonight. Here’s a sampling:
- Someone “blew up” a mailbox in Tewksbury. The State Police Bomb Squad is en route to conduct a follow-up investigation.
- A group of kids in a Black Camry stole the street sign for Starr Ave in Belvidere
- Event security at Winterfest called for the detail officers to take away “two females who were urinating inside the tent.”
- An employee at the Burger King in Chelmsford called saying there were 50 people in the parking lot waiting to beat him up when he got off work.
- A Lowell cruiser dispatched to the Tsongas Center at Umass Lowell (formerly known as the Tsongas Arena) to investigate an “intoxicated individual on the front stairs” found no one, but asked the UML police be summoned “so they can check on their property.”
Just another weekend night in Greater Lowell
Having a scanner is a Lowell thing. I love mine. I remember 40 years ago, on hot nights, my mother would run the extension cord outside and listen.
I miss my scanner. It is broken and I haven’t replaced it yet. Chelmsford has just gone on line at a crime report site. It’s not as much immediate fun as the scanner.
CrimeReports.com
We have had a scanner for years and I have come to the conclusion that our officers don’t get paid enough for some of the crap they have to put up with.
I have been listening to police calls since BEFORE the days of scanners when you you had to tune a “dial” radio *very* closely in order to find a specific channel. And btw Dick… there’s *always* “something interesting” when you are listening to Lowell Police (or Fire)!
I just figured out what I want for my birthday.
Careful guys……while it is legal to own and listen to a scanner both at hnome and in your car in Massachusetts - “It is illegal to disclose information you hear to other persons.”
Go to this link for more info and for the link to the ECPA (Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986).
http://www.police-scanner.info/scanning/police-scanner-laws.htm
By the way, ownership of a scanner in New York state is illegal without either a permit or an FCC Amateur Radio License.
Gary Francis,
W1GFF Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator (Ham Radio)
By the way…..the Lowell Sun is streaming police broadcasts online through their website……
And the best site is: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/audio/
Click on the state you want to listen tp - then pick the county - then from the right hand box pick the scanner you want to monitor. I was listening to Middletown, CT today right after the power plant explosion.
there certainly is a lot to like about LOWELL!!