Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Scanner Listing

Thank you to everyone who have followed the listing over 14 years of production. The change in the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area over the last several years to a trunked P25 system have made most of the listing obsolete. To monitor public service today you need one of the digital scanner I have shown below. There are very few analog public service frequencies left. There are plenty other analog activity to monitor. The listing will still be available online for anyone who would like it.

Spokane / Coeur d'Alene Scanner Frequencies sorted by Agency

Introduction to Scanning

Buying a Used Scanner?

Zip Scanners

Scanner Freqs and Codes - Lots of info

Uniden Communication

Radio Shack

Radioreference.com Scanner Links

Railroad Scanner

LiveATC.net

Monitoring Equipment
Uniden Bearcat BCD436HP On of the new Uniden scanners that is an actual handheld and programs the same way as the Home Patrol-1 off of the Radio Reference website. Decodes all of the digital P25 channels and loads the frequency list based on the zip code entered. I miss the touch screen like the Home Patrol had but it is a great scanner. I travel frequency for travel this scanner is great travelers. Enter in the local zip code and your are scanning the local public service/railroads and aircraft. Updated via the Sentinel software from Radio Reference.com Diamond RH77CA antenna
Uniden Bearcat BCD536HP Twin to the BCD436HP but in a mobile/base configuration. Have this mounted in my radio console.
Uniden HomePatrol-1 I have this setup in my truck as a mobile scanner.
Icom R20 Communication Receiver Great handheld for analog listening. Diamond RH77CA antenna

Replacement for the handheld scanner stock antenna

The antenna that comes with handheld scanners work but there is room for improvement. Uniden's handheld antenna for the BCD436HP is just a SMA version of what has been on their scanners for years. I also have the BNC version I have been using with my Icom R20. I have used extened rubber duck antennas intended for amateur radio dualband handhelds. It is a great improvement but with the larger cities public service going to P25 800 mhz trunked systems the VHF/UHF dualband antennas are not tuned for that band. Ran along the Diamond RH77CA (BNC) and Diamond SRH77CA (SMA). These are readily available from most all amateur radio retailers, Amazon and eBay. I purchased two with BNC since I use the BNC/SMA adapter that came with the Uniden and the Icomn R20 has a BNC connector.

This antenna covers as stated on the packaging.

"2m/70cm for Receiving and Transmitting & 120/150/300/450/800/900Mhz Bands' Receiving antenna for Handheld Transceivers"

I saw one amateur radio retailer indicate they sell these more for scanner use than they do for amateur radio use. Of course they will work great for both.

Ham Radio Outlet - BNC SMA

Shortwave Listening

NASWA SWL Guide - Excellent guide by time

Transoceanic Aircraft Monitoring

This is a nice change from the usual AM broadcast monitoring usually associated with shortwave listening. There are multiple frequencies that are used for the aircraft that fly from the continental US across the Pacific. I concentrate on the Pacific since I live in the Northwest. Broadcasts use USB. The key is finding an active frequency. These aircraft are talking with San Francisco most of the time and give carrier and number, position location, altitude and temperature. These can be tracked using the FlightAware website. The Transocianic map below shows all active frequencies.

Transocianic Map FlightAware

Ham Universe Aircraft Monitoring

ADS-B Transmission Reception

Automatic dependent surveillance – broadcast. These are signals broadcast by most aircraft that transmits their position on 1090 mhz. You can build yourself a receiving station with a Raspberry Pi computer, PiAware software from Flightaware, a RTS-SDR dongle or a low cost dongle sold by Flightaware and a commercial build antenna or home built.

My ADS-B Feed on Flightaware Build your own station

Home build ADS-B antenna Another antenna link

Railroad Monitoring

Monitoring railroad traffic is another interesting branch of the scanning hobby. If you live near a metropolitan area with a switch yard there is always traffic on the railroad band. Spokane is no exception. The line that runs from Sandpoint, Idaho to Spokane is known as The Funnel. As outlined by a excellent railfan's website linked below. This site has excellent mile post information and important locations along the route. Most through traffic is on 161.250. This is the frequency that the trains use to talk with dispatch. Also the hot box detectors transmit on this frequency through out The Funnel. There are five that I have heard from Spokane to Sandpoint. These monitor the train for problems as they move past the detector. Some report how many axles and temperature as well. I can hear two from my home location. One in downtown Spokane near the Amtrak station (MP 70.49) and another by Industrial Park in the Spokane Valley (MP 60.1). Another busy frequency is 160.455. This is the main yard frequency. Conductors in the yard move trains via the Remote Controlled Locomotive System or RCLS. Computerized voice warnings can be heard occasionally. Linked below is a job aide from the Canadian Pacific Railway for RCLS. See my scanner listing for all of the railroad frequecies in the Spokane area.

RCLS Info Golden Spike Tower Golden Spike Yard Live Cam

Railroad Live Cam Links Virtual Railfan ($) Virtual Railfan You Tube

Satellite Monitoring

Satellite tracking is needed for amateur radio applications and NOAA satellite decoding as noted on other pages on my site. It can also be fun to track satellites for monitoring purposes. Many satellites transmit signals in the range of our scanners. Listed below are some of the signals that can be heard from space and other sites to research for more information. Also see links on my Satellite page for other satellite frequencies especially the many satellites launched in November of 2013 and for satellite tracking software.
NOAA Weather Satellites	NOAA 15 - 137.620 NOAA 18 - 137.9125 NOAA 19 - 137.100
Cosmos Russion NavSats These satellites are in the musson.txt satellite list.	149.910, 149.940, 149.970, 150.000, 150.030
International Space Station	145.825 packet data
Uosat-11 (UO-11)	145.825 ASCII data
Satellite Frequencies Signals from Space Hobby Space