FM scanners. Not much about anymore

Where I live I pick up 3 cab firms that are still using unencrypted frequencies around 150-170mhz - very interesting on Friday-Saturday nights at closing time. 

I also pick up the local Weatherspoons on a PMR channel, my local Petrol station/food stop - also using PMR and PMR DXer's from the Southend Area on Sunday evenings using burners (i shout out but they canna hear me). 

I pick up the maintenance crew at the Haven holiday park in St. Osyth sometimes – also, what is either the local amusement arcades or a hotel ("the coffee machine/one arm bandit is dead again!!").

During the summer I get to hear the Beach Patrol, Life guards and Coast Guards, along with SO many people using PMR radios on the beach, because the cell-phone coverage is so bad.

I think I have also picked up Felixstowe port sometimes - the section that deals with guiding the container ships in and possibly the crane operators swapping dirty jokes.

Some of the local coastal defence maintenance team use PMR or Business radio and council contractors using CB27/81 FM for setting up temporary traffic lights.

Tim

Here in Finland, many shops use PMR, great fun to listen to them, few shops use digital, but my WILSON scanner picks them up ok.,
Fm scanner still worth the money.

There isn't as much as there used to be on analogue FM but there is still interesting stuff around, Military Airband here in North Lincs is good, PMR has plenty of use depending on area, I can hear Goole Docks ( Marine Band ), Scunthorpe United stewards- hilarious !. And if you look at piping the audio into a computer you can decode much of the digital stuff ( not Tetra / Emergency Services ) , adsb / acars , AIS , Pagers etc. Band scanning while mobile can always be fun ( once had a motorcycle trainer telling his learner to be careful of that car in front because it had an aerial on it, it was my car !, he nearly fell off the bike when I answered him  . This is a technological hobby and change is the only constant, you have to change with it or get left behind.

Mark CT4686

Still can get few freqs at these old scanners ... They have FM radio to listen   just kidding
Some times i am getting my ez33xlt at the beach (summer times when have free time) listening to fire aircraf such pezetel & canadair flying very low over local fires at hills etc (mainly they use the local airport approach freqs)
The ones not getting much now days, try to catch the ISS at 437.80 & if you are lucky may hear at 145.80 mhz actually the astronaut ... here is one live tracker (out of many) to know when is passing over UK
https://isstracker.spaceflight.esa.int/
i was lucky to catch the astronaut lady with my ezi33xlt
https://youtu.be/_H8jwFszcBY
Here is the Italian lady
https://youtu.be/VhyLh5sGRRI?t=10699

I am very sad that most of you can no longer here any think on your scanners , But to be honest I am not very surprised because the amount of people that put known frequencies on all the websites for everyone to see , Its a bit of a joke & the people who do this have no one to blame but them self , There are still loads of things to listen to if you know where to look & Have up to date equipment ,  And yes I know most have now gone digital but even some of these have decided to go encrypted because of the same things  happening , But there are still some things around on analogue in some areas for as in the hobby to listen to .

Hi Kevin. I wonder how much impact people publicizing frequencies has actually impacted the amount of people using unencrypted analogue radio comms. I am sure the ease of use of obtaining listening equipment and sharing of juicy frequencies to listen to has played some part in moving to other modes by emergency services, businesses and phones, but I would think for the main part the move to digital by most was to squeeze more radio traffic into the available radio spectrum and encryption now used because some info really does need to be kept private and confidential. If cheap encryption was readily available many years ago I am sure more services would of used it back then.

You're right, there are things to listen to. I am amazed sometimes the things I pick up on just using the uv5r on the PMR channels and some other frequencies (I am sure some people think others cannot hear them with the info they divulge).