Radio Wave Scanning Without a Scanner?

Like most things these days, advancements in technology are happening so fast that it’s hard to keep up with them all. Do we keep up with them all? The truth is, there are so many things hidden from the main stream public masses, and we are much more advanced and capable than most people know or realise. Anyway that’s another topic.

How can you not love them..Picture credit: Wiki Commons

One thing we are aware of is the advancements in radio scanner technology. These days the only thing analogue Radio Scanners are good for is for its unfortunate guardian being the proud owner of a retro piece of electronics, or it can always be used as a door stop. I suppose turning the scanner on now and then to look at the lights has some appeal. Actually, I love the look of the old scanners.


Enough babble. How do you get the scanner picking up frequencies again?. Quick answer: You don’t, bye. Just kidding. An actual analogue radio scanner is still useless, sorry. However, with advancements in technology and know-how, the scanning world has now gone online! Not literally. With the addition of a cheap USB dongle (available to buy from from Amazon UK and eBay), and the correct software program (Free to download online) (also see below) you can now scan the airwaves with your desktop computer or laptop. SDR (Software Defined Radio) is now the new “Scanner” of today!

Basically, when a DVB-T/DAB/FM dongle (Pictured to the right), which are meant to be used for TV and radio, if used with the correct software, it basically becomes a wide range radio scanner. You can pick up all kinds of interesting frequencies and transmissions. Lots of fun! Just like a radio scanner used to be. For anyone that was into analogue scanners, the world of SDR radio is the place to be. The options truly are limitless. With the right cables and software you can even use SDR dongles with your Smart Phone and Android devices.

If you are new to SDR radio and are wondering what the best cheap starter dongle is to buy, your best bet is to go with an adaptor that has both the RTL2832 and R820T microchips on the circuit board in order to get the best bang for your buck. If your using the SDR dongle on your desktop computer or laptop the best free software download to start with has to be SDRSharp. I’m sure you’ll have a lot of fun!