parnass@ihuxf.UUCP (07/08/83)
SCAN Magazine is published bi-monthly by the Scanner Association of North America (SCAN). Mr. Charlie Hil- debrandt, of BTL - Holmdel, was kind enough to send me some back issues of this publication. SCAN Magazine is a glossy, color publication of approx- imately 30 pages. Aside from feature articles on such topics as Digital Voice Protection, railroad scanning, fire radio terminology, and some technical articles on an elementary level, there are regular columns: o+ Frequency Exchange - an ongoing listing of fre- quency information, sorted by frequency. o+ Area Profile - concentrates on one particular geo- graphic area, and contains a rough map and fre- quency assignments (Buffalo area police frequen- cies, Chicago area airport frequencies, Pittsburgh fire and EMT frequencies, etc.) o+ The World Below 30 mHz - devoted to short wave listening o+ Beginner's Advisor - scanning tips for the newco- mer o+ Profile - spotlights particular Community Watch, law enforcement, and ESDA organizations. o+ Scanning Today - current news briefs of interest to scanner enthusiasts o+ Photo Contest - photographs of members' "radio shacks" o+ Member's Ad Service - free classified advertising for members. There's about a page and a half of individual ads for used scanners, crystals, fre- quency information and other items. Members place ads for such things as "Frequencies and Ten-Codes needed for Champaign County and the Illinois State Police", "Atlanta VHF/UHF aircraft listeners wanted", "Codes and information about Illinois Secretary of State U-car police...", etc. I thought this section was particularly interesting. The issues I read also featured true stories in which people helped out in crisis situations after overhear- ing things on their scanners: o+ Scanner Listener Helps Police Nab Bank Robbers o+ TV Cameraman "Slaps the Cuffs" on Chattanooga Shooting Suspect o+ Illinois Firefighter's Scanner Monitoring Helps Halt Tylenol Cyanide Deaths o+ etc. This publication contains commercial advertising. There are ads for antennas and other scanning acces- sories. There is a definite bias towards Bearcat pro- ducts. It's funny that the only scanners advertised are Bearcat scanners! The captions under pictures of "radio shacks" containing scanners of many brands only point out the Bearcat scanners. Apparently, this organization is owned/sponsored by Electra Company, the makers of Bearcat (TM) scanners. The earlier issues of "Scanning Today" (a forerunner of SCAN) carried the message "Entire contents copyright 19XX by Electra Company...." The later issues are "copyright Scanner Association of North America". From the information printed in the March/April 1983 issue, a one year membership in this organization costs $10, which includes: o+ a subscription to SCAN Magazine o+ an FCC quick reference frequency allocation chart o+ ID card o+ membership certificate o+ vehicle decal o+ bumper sticker proclaiming "Scanners Hear It First" The address of this organization is: SCAN Suite 1212 111 E. Wacker Drive Chicago, IL 60601 I'm debating whether to join this organization. I could do without the bumper sticker, decals, etc. Are there any other SCAN members out there? While Radio Amateurs may pick and choose from several large magazines (QST, 73, Ham Radio, CQ), scanner enthusiasts and short wave listeners must be content with a meager selection of lower quality publications. I've just sent a check for $16.50 to the Radio Communi- cations Monitoring Association (RCMA) in Anaheim CA for a one year membership. This club has no commercial affiliation and is run by volunteers. I will post my comments on the RCMA newsletter when my first issue arrives. Robert S. Parnass, AJ9S (ARRL Technical Advisor) Bell Laboratories Naperville, Illinois 60566 ihnp4!ihuxf!parnass