Anything to listen to in Guernsey (Channel Islands)?

[newgen2005]

Been away from the scene for a while, I know that all emergency services are Tetra.

Other than planes there doesn't appear to be any activity, even around 165000. Use to get taxis but now nothing.

Has everything gone digital or something?

[thelad]

Taxis in most areas have ditched radios for mobiles and Apps, in my area i still have 1 taxi company using VHF and the usage is very low.

You should still pick up Digital Noise on a scanner.

[m0lsx]

In all honesty the very best way to find out what you can hear at your location, using the equipment you have is by doing some band scans.
Edited to add. A band scan is where you put in an upper & a lower frequency & scan between them. Keep your scans to small chunks or 3 to 4 MHz as radio overs can be very quick & like that you hear more of what is about.

I would imagine marine band is very good where you are.

VHF is now far more heavily used & if you want to listen to digital without the expense of a digital scanner then try an SDR dongle on your PC together with some freeware to make your PC/laptop/tablet act as a radio & some freeware to decode any digital signals you find. An SDR can be found for well under £20, but there are some very reasonable SDR's such as NooElec for around £20 & some very decent SDR receivers like the SDRplay for around £100.


Have you found..

Flightradar24. It is free to use & a great way of seeing what is happening just above you.

https://www.flightradar24.com/

Marinetraffic.com a good way of watching marine traffic & again free.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:14.2/centery:52.1/zoom:6

[newgen2005]

In all honesty the very best way to find out what you can hear at your location, using the equipment you have is by doing some band scans.
Edited to add. A band scan is where you put in an upper & a lower frequency & scan between them. Keep your scans to small chunks or 3 to 4 MHz as radio overs can be very quick & like that you hear more of what is about.

I would imagine marine band is very good where you are.

VHF is now far more heavily used & if you want to listen to digital without the expense of a digital scanner then try an SDR dongle on your PC together with some freeware to make your PC/laptop/tablet act as a radio & some freeware to decode any digital signals you find. An SDR can be found for well under £20, but there are some very reasonable SDR's such as NooElec for around £20 & some very decent SDR receivers like the SDRplay for around £100.


Have you found..

Flightradar24. It is free to use & a great way of seeing what is happening just above you.

https://www.flightradar24.com/

Marinetraffic.com a good way of watching marine traffic & again free.

https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/centerx:14.2/centery:52.1/zoom:6

Thank you

Do you know of any beginners guides for using the NooElec dongle? like what what software to use etc.

Looking at this, any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nooelec-NESDR- ... NrPXRydWU=

[m0lsx]

Thank you

Do you know of any beginners guides for using the NooElec dongle? like what what software to use etc.

Looking at this, any good?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nooelec-NESDR- ... NrPXRydWU=

Personally I have not used a NooElec. But I do know people who have & who like them.
As for a guide, I would guess there would be plenty of those on Youtube.

[newgen2005]

Got myself SDR dongle, just using the telescopic antenna that came with my Yupiteru scanner. I am guessing that this antenna isn't really any good for this as I am not picking up anything...or maybe there just isn't anything locally to listen to?

[m0lsx]

Got myself SDR dongle, just using the telescopic antenna that came with my Yupiteru scanner. I am guessing that this antenna isn't really any good for this as I am not picking up anything...or maybe there just isn't anything locally to listen to?

With a small telescopic you are limiting yourself a little. But height is what matters the most. Something like a Nomad antenna from Spectrum will give you a significant advantage over a small telescopic whip & you can suspend that higher too.

http://www.spectrumcomms.co.uk/Aerials.htm



Avoid the one with the pre amp, as preamps will not help you & may induce issues that limit you, rather than help.

[Alfie]

There are quite a few frequencies in The uk scanning directory for Guernsey
https://ukscanningdirectory.co.uk/