Broadcastify is the largest collection of scanner feeds around. There are thousands of feeds available all over the world so one can listen to feeds from your home area or from thousands of miles away. These are used for routine monitoring or during major events. Feeds are set up by scanner owners or sometimes the agency themselves to allow anyone with a computer, smartphone or other device to listen in. While just like a scanner itself they can be used for nefarious purposes the overwhelming majority of listeners are just in it for the enjoyment of listening or to keep tabs on their home area.
Have you considered setting up a feed to allow monitoring of your local area on Broadcastify? It doesn’t take much. First off of course you need a scanner capable of hearing your target. Second you need a computer with a soundcard and Internet connection.
The process for setting up a feed on Broadcastify is fairly simple. You can download the free software required to run the feed from there. You need to file an online application describing the intended targets of the feed. Once filed the Broadcastify staff will review the application and presumably approve it. They will look at other area feeds to avoid duplication. They will also make sure you don’t intend on putting un-allowed communications on the feed. Things like broadcast, NOAA weather, sensitive tactical communications and certain others are not allowed.
What are the best radios for a feed? Probably the easiest radios to set up are Uniden scanners like the BCT15/15X (for analog communications) or BCD996 series (for digital). There are two main reasons these are ideal. First off is that they have a separate record jack that allows for a constant line level to be sent to the computer regardless of the volume setting on the radio. This allows you to use the radio for local listening as well as the feed.
The second reason these Uniden scanners are ideal for feeds is that they can also provide the channel tag to the feed software thru the radio’s serial port. This will help the listener see what channel is talking as if he were looking at the scanner itself.
While almost any radio can be used to provide the audio for the feed you should either have a constant level source (like a record jack) or be prepared to leave the radio’s volume setting fixed to provide a proper volume for the feed. If you don’t have a record or other constant-level source you could wire one, a Google search should help you find instructions.
For more information go to www.broadcastify.com
