[Scan-DC] SIGNAL 99 TUNES IN TO EMERGENCIES

[Alan Henney]

The Post Standard (Syracuse, NY)

May 23, 2010 Sunday 
FINAL EDITION

SIGNAL 99 TUNES IN TO EMERGENCIES 

BYLINE: Lee Badman Contributing writer

SECTION: STARS; AMATEUR RADIO; Pg. 20

LENGTH: 273 words

Scanner listening is often its own hobby, but there is tremendous overlap between amateur radio and listening to emergency communications with a scanner. 

Many hams participate in public service and civil defense, are volunteer firefighters or simply like shifting gears by going into listen-only mode on occasion.

Whether scanner listening is your primary activity or simply another part of your radio activities, you need to know Signal 99.

Dedicated to Onondaga County's firefighting community, Signal 99 is a professional-quality website full of information on what's happening with the area's emergency responders.

Located at www.signal99.com, Signal 99 provides a detailed listing of local fire, ambulance and law enforcement frequencies. Details are provided for each town and village fire department -- how many departments, whether they are paid or volunteer, EMS capabilities and more.

On Signal 99 forums, site members discuss a range of topics and share information on everything and anything related to emergency and fire response. There are plenty of discussions concerning communications frequencies and related issues and changes. .

Perhaps most interesting is the detailed information about specific fire departments and the number and type of incidents to which they respond. It provides a better understanding of how busy the organizations are.

Signal 99 provides background and depth on many of the incidents heard over the scanner, often from the perspective of those responding to each incident.

Send news or questions about amateur radio to Lee Badman, KI2K, at features at syracuse.com or Stars, P.O. Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221.