UPDATE June 2004 - Live streaming audio has returned!. As before, this is primarily an experiment and this feed may disappear from here anytime without warning.
Have you ever watched a live breaking news story on TV and wondered, "hey, what's really going on there?" Or if you are a news media agency ever wondered why your correspondents are not on the scene before the rival news teams? That's where a radio scanner comes in, it enables you to tune into many interesting frequencies in your local area, including police, fire, 911 dispatch centers, and air traffic control towers. Hear the breaking stories live as they occur in real-time right from your desktop or laptop computer.
This is a FREE service! It only requires an internet connection and a computer with speakers to listen.
AUDIO TIP: To improve the quality of the audio, double-click on the volume control in the task bar, click on "advance" and set both BASS and TREBLE to their minimum (lowest) setting. This will accentuate the mid-range, which is where all scanner audio takes place. Making this small adjustment has an enormous affect on the audio you hear.
Live Scanner Audio:
This is an AUDIO ONLY stream at 5kb/sec using the ACELP (Algebraic-Code-Excited Linear Prediction) codec. Windows Media Player is required to receive the feed. It's likely you already have this software on your computer. However, if you don't, it is available for free on this page.
You are currently listening to the LIVE! Saint Louis, Missouri Scanner Audio Feed
IMPORTANT NOTE: The scanner may have periods of quiet between communications - this is normal. If you don't hear any audio from radio transmissions, just wait a few minutes.
What Do You Think?
If you have any questions, comments or problems accessing this scanner feed, or if you have any suggestions for improving it, I'd like to hear those as well!
You can send me email by clicking on the address listed below:
Please note that I cannot provide software support. If you are experiencing problems accessing this feed it is often related to firewalls. However, you will need to do the necessary research to discover and eliminate any problem on your end.
The St. Louis Area Scanner Enthusiasts (StLASE) group is an association of likeminded individuals whose primary focus is monitoring public safety communications in and around the greater St. Louis area, though all other types of radio monitoring are supported and discussed.
Be sure to check it out for the latest happenings in the St. Louis Area!
What You're Listening To:
This scanner is located in South-West St. Louis County and the Live Scanner Feed in its "normal" state will provide monitoring of the Metro-St. Louis Area. See here for more information on what you're hearing.
From time to time during "special events" other agencies and users will be monitored. For example: If the County or a surrounding Municipality or the Metro-East area has a serious incident taking place, the appropriate scanner will be switched for that event. Also, during Air Shows, Parades, The County Fair, etc. the scanner will most likely be set to follow those events.
There is a slight delay (dependant upon the size of the buffer you set in Media Player - average is about 15-30 seconds) from the time my radio receives the audio until the time you hear it. There is also some delay introduced by the encoder processing and transfer of the signal - this is to be expected.
Remember, you are listening to a "live" scanner that scans many frequencies and talkgroups. Unfortunately there is no way of stopping it for the "hot" calls... unless I happen to be listening and in the radio room to do so.
See these links for a complete list of radio frequencies and trunked radio systems used in the St. Louis area:
Computer is being used for another unrelated task.
Antenna/scanner equipment is being used for other monitoring purposes.
Should you get knocked off-line while listening, it's quite possible it was because of a computer crash/reboot, just wait about 3-minutes (the time it takes to boot and the encoder to start) and try reconnecting.
Listening Responsibly
Please use common sense when you hear an emergency call; NEVER go to the scene of an active incident you hear dispatched over a scanner! These situations are often volatile and could be very dangerous. Your mere presence could also hamper the work of the emergency professionals and endanger the lives of others. Remember, the proper authorities can handle the situation, you alone cannot. Plus, experienced scanner listeners know that you can learn a lot more by listening rather then being there.
What You're Likely To Hear:
On a scanning radio you can hear any agency that uses radios for communications, such as:
Public Safety Agencies: Police Departments:Car Chases, Drug Busts, Shootings, Arrests, Foot Pursuits, Robberies Fire Department Dispatches:Structure Fires, Water Rescues, Major Motor Vehicle Accidents Federal and Government Agencies:FBI (Stings, Pursuits, Surveillance), NTSB (Crash Investigators), BATF (Special Operations)
Area Businesses: Retail Shops & Stores:The local hardware store, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target and all the area shopping malls use radios to coordinate security personnel and operations. Fast Food Joints:Drive-Thru order windows and intercoms.
This website and internet broadcast are in no way associated with any of the agencies being broadcasted. The purpose of this service is to keep you informed and to enhance your awareness of local events. Radio communications monitoring is a great source of information during fires, floods, tornados, earthquakes and many other types of disasters. And can also provide a certain level of security if something is happening close by that could escalate and become threatening to you and your family.
Perhaps this service will motivate you to also enter the monitoring hobby. In the event of a real disaster, unless you have emergency power, the computer (and internet access) isn't going to work to monitor this live feed. You may want to consider buying a scanner of your own.
This feed is being brought to you via the following equipment:
Listen live as your local police and fire services do their jobs.
I maintain a listing of on-line scanners from many cities across the county and around the world! You can visit that page by clicking the following link...
