Siren scanner...

[NeoThunderBolt85]

I found a page that shows FM radio frequencies for Michigan. Apparently, I can listen to them to see when the sirens can go off for Macomb County. What kind of FM radio or scanner device would I need in my car to monitor that? Kind of a strange question, but I don't have much knowledge of radios.

[Justin]

UHF scanner would do the trick.

It was kind of stupid to post those frequencies. All someone needs to get now is the tones.

[NeoThunderBolt85]

They have those UHF scanners for car use? I thought only for home... Yes, I agree that it was dumb to post them. But, I thought it would be cool to listen to the tones before the siren goes off, rather than being scared through my car's roof because I pulled my ear plugs out too soon. Does anyone know of a good model to install in my car that doesn't cost a crap load of dough?

[Jim_Ferer]

It didn't matter, finding them out isn't difficult. Most scanners will scan between any two endpoints and you'll end up with all the frequencies in use locked into it. If someone wants to hack siren controls and therefore has a transmitter and the necessary encoder, then finding out the frequency isn't a big obstacle to him.

If you specifically were looking to hear the siren activation, some scanners have a "priority" channel that the scanner switches to no matter what's going on, and some even have duel listening, where you always listen to a certain channel while the scanner scans the others.

A handheld scanner can be had for under $100.

[AllSafe]

Look at Radio Shack for a scanner. Their scanners are manufactured by Uniden and they are used quite often in law enforcement settings.

[NeoThunderBolt85]

That's it? A measily hundo?? Wow. I thought they were way more expensive. So, I could keep the handheld in my car and still hear the activation as long as it has the features mentioned. See, I was thinking of a DIN sized UHF CB. Those are like 3-400 bucks. A lot for me. But the handheld sounds good, especially if I have to park away from the siren when I want to be right up next to it. Here's another question....I saw a nice desktop scanner on a website. The siren close to me is within a mile, though I haven't found it quite yet. Would I be able to hear it's activation tones from my computer desk?

[500AT]

Macomb County, recently spent over $30 million to erect a fully digital 800 MHz radio system. Currently, all of the County agencies, including the Sheriff's Dept. have switched over to the new system. Likewise, by this spring most of the communities in the southern half of the county will be on the new radio system. However, you will need a digital capable scanner to follow all of the action.

The Uniden 396T, is a very nice handheld unit, which can also monitor the VHF frequencies that are used for siren activation. Moreover, it has a built-in tone decoder that can be used to alert your scanner of an activation on your favorite frequencies. This is a very nice feature to have, especially if you only want to be alerted when the sirens are set off. However, the really cool part about the 396T and it's tabletop sister, the Uniden 996T, is that they will not become obsolete with the new 700 MHz band that is currently being implemented across Canada and the U.S.

Currently, Macomb County uses 154.355 MHz for two-tone sequential paging, which activates most sirens across the county. I am not sure about what frequencies Fraser uses, but I would have to believe that they use VHF-High band like everyone else in the area. That being said, Sterling Heights uses 154.100 MHz for their Whelen system that sends a fast DTMF string, which is very common for all Whelen installations.

[500AT]

Look at Radio Shack for a scanner. Their scanners are manufactured by Uniden and they are used quite often in law enforcement settings.

Most of their scanners are now made by GRE, which is based out of Tokyo, Japan. GRE is Uniden's biggest competitor, and offers a lot of really cool products and technological features. However, GRE has no immediate plans to release a new scanner that covers the 700 MHz band; whereas, Uniden already has two models on the market that do cover the new frequency band.

[NeoThunderBolt85]

Fraser, City of

Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
46.54000 WPHR993 BM DPW FM
46.58000 KLU322 BM DPW FM
154.07000 KQG867 M 123.0 PL Fire - Fireground 2 FM
154.13000 KQG867 BM 123.0 PL Fire - Countywide Dispatch FM
154.29500 KQG867 M 123.0 PL Fire - DNR Fireground FM
154.35500 KQG867 BM 123.0 PL Fire - Main Dispatch FM
460.37500 465.37500 KDQ290 RM 123.0 PL Police - Dispatch FM

This is what the table says for Fraser...nothing is mentioned about the tornado siren activation. Can I assume that would fall under the frequency you mentioned before, 500AT??

[500AT]

Fraser, City of

Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
46.54000 WPHR993 BM DPW FM
46.58000 KLU322 BM DPW FM
154.07000 KQG867 M 123.0 PL Fire - Fireground 2 FM
154.13000 KQG867 BM 123.0 PL Fire - Countywide Dispatch FM
154.29500 KQG867 M 123.0 PL Fire - DNR Fireground FM
154.35500 KQG867 BM 123.0 PL Fire - Main Dispatch FM
460.37500 465.37500 KDQ290 RM 123.0 PL Police - Dispatch FM

This is what the table says for Fraser...nothing is mentioned about the tornado siren activation. Can I assume that would fall under the frequency you mentioned before, 500AT??

Yes, it would. Fraser used to do all of their dispatching on 154.130 MHz, but due to overcrowding locally, and from interference in Jackson County. They decided to move over to 154.355 MHz a few years ago. This is the same frequency that Macomb County uses to trigger their the sirens they are responsible for. Likewise, Fraser may activate their own sirens on this frequency.

The best time to listen to 154.355 MHz, would be on the day and time the sirens are tested, and of course when a Tornado Warning is issued for the area. I have heard them set off several tones and make voice announcements over 154.355 MHz. This leads me to believe that Macomb County, has some sort alerting radios in all of the public buildings, including, factories, hospitals, and schools. Possibly Federal Signal's Informer receivers, or older Plectron units. These special alerting radios are an ideal supplement to NOAA All-Hazards Radio Network.