How to Program a Radio Scanner With a Computer

Radio Scanners have a wide variety of uses. Fire fighters, law enforcement officers and even hobbyists use scanners to get detailed information about dangerous events. The combination of radio scanner technology with the Internet broadens the use of the scanner exponentially. Radio scanner users may program scanners via a computer to listen to frequencies on the opposite end of the United States.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Equip the computer with a sound system. This will include at least one speaker, so that the sound coming through the scanner may be monitored via the computer. A sound system may be as simple or elaborate as desired as long as it gets the job done.

2. Find radio scanner software. There is quite a bit of software out there for this type of use. Try scannermaster.com or strongsignals.net. Research the software that best fits the needs of the particular situation and purchase it.

3. Load scanner software and connect the radio scanner to the serial port on the computer. Use a USB cord that is specially equipped to use with scanners. This will also be available when the software package and/or scanner is purchased. Make sure the scanner set up includes a radio receiver and frequency changer with a frequency range of at least 25 MHz to 1300 MHz.

4. Make sure your Internet connection is up and running. Once the scanner is connected correctly with the computer, it will need to connect to other antenna frequencies via the computer. A high-speed Internet connection is preferred.