Public safety is a 24-hour job, and for fans of police scanners, eavesdropping on emergency calls is an around-the-clock passion.
Self-described scanner junkies Dick and Carol Southern, of Tuolumne, are tuned in 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
John Laveroni stays tuned in even when packaging a roast in the meat department at Treat's Market in San Andreas.
It's hard to determine how widespread a hobby scanner use has become, but it's a deep-seated avocation for many, who use the special scanning radios to listen in on coded fire and police communication.
"I started as a 9-year-old fooling around with my father's Zenith console radio, mistuning it to receive police calls," said Phil Fish, of Twain Harte. "My father would come home, and I could hear him halfway down the block yelling at me to come home and fix the radio."
Since then, he has added amateur radio to his repertoire. He's now active in the Tuolumne County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which helps officials with emergency communications for such things as fires, missing hikers and airplane or automobile crashes.
In addition to helping others, he likes to know for his own protection where a fire is or, if he is on the road, an area he needs to avoid because of an accident.
Ken Sanders, of Arnold, said he considers himself more of an information junkie than a scanner junkie.
He is president of the Calaveras Amateur Radio Society and a member of TCARES.
"I got started in the early ‘90s when I was maintenance manager of a school district in Redwood City," he said. "We were encouraged to set up a ham radio station for emergency services."
Dick Southern said his main reason for listening to the scanner is curiosity.
"I'll admit it's just plain entertaining sometimes," he said, "especially in a small town where you know everybody."
His wife has a different motive. She is a volunteer member of the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Community Service Unit and considers listening to the scanner her civic duty.
"If I hear something and can help, I do," she said. "The CSU is the eyes and ears of the Sheriff's Office."
Laveroni has similar motives. He's a volunteer firefighter and listens to the scanner in case he needs to head out for a fire. His customers are accustomed to hearing the scanner.
"It's surprising how many calls I get from people wanting to know where smoke is coming from or where a fire is, especially during the summertime," he said.
Being a scanner aficionado is legal unless the information is used for an illegal purpose.
"People who use scanners are, for the most part, into amateur radio or just like listening to the scanner," Tuolumne County Sheriff's spokesman Paul Tualla said. "Then there are those who use it to prevent themselves from getting caught committing a crime. That's against the law, and when they are arrested, a misdemeanor charge of intercepting a scanner to avoid arrest is added their other charges."
For some people, having a scanner puts them at ease, said Del Chase, communications coordinator for Tuolumne County.
"I have a scanner at home, and people in my neighborhood call me when they see or hear something alarming," he said.
Dave Osborn, manager of Radio Shack in Angels Camp, said fire season and Christmas are the two busiest seasons for scanner sales.
"They aren't the most popular item at Christmas, but we sell quite a few then," he said. "The biggest time is during fire season. We literally run out of them then."
First-time users are shown how to program their scanners and given a list of the most common local frequencies, he said. Other frequencies can easily be found on the Internet.
"The only real question they need to come to grips with is if they want a stationary scanner or one they can walk around with," he said. "Portable models are the most popular."
Self-described scanner junkies Dick and Carol Southern, of Tuolumne, are tuned in 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
John Laveroni stays tuned in even when packaging a roast in the meat department at Treat's Market in San Andreas.
It's hard to determine how widespread a hobby scanner use has become, but it's a deep-seated avocation for many, who use the special scanning radios to listen in on coded fire and police communication.
"I started as a 9-year-old fooling around with my father's Zenith console radio, mistuning it to receive police calls," said Phil Fish, of Twain Harte. "My father would come home, and I could hear him halfway down the block yelling at me to come home and fix the radio."
Since then, he has added amateur radio to his repertoire. He's now active in the Tuolumne County Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which helps officials with emergency communications for such things as fires, missing hikers and airplane or automobile crashes.
In addition to helping others, he likes to know for his own protection where a fire is or, if he is on the road, an area he needs to avoid because of an accident.
Ken Sanders, of Arnold, said he considers himself more of an information junkie than a scanner junkie.
He is president of the Calaveras Amateur Radio Society and a member of TCARES.
"I got started in the early ‘90s when I was maintenance manager of a school district in Redwood City," he said. "We were encouraged to set up a ham radio station for emergency services."
Dick Southern said his main reason for listening to the scanner is curiosity.
"I'll admit it's just plain entertaining sometimes," he said, "especially in a small town where you know everybody."
His wife has a different motive. She is a volunteer member of the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Community Service Unit and considers listening to the scanner her civic duty.
"If I hear something and can help, I do," she said. "The CSU is the eyes and ears of the Sheriff's Office."
Laveroni has similar motives. He's a volunteer firefighter and listens to the scanner in case he needs to head out for a fire. His customers are accustomed to hearing the scanner.
"It's surprising how many calls I get from people wanting to know where smoke is coming from or where a fire is, especially during the summertime," he said.
Being a scanner aficionado is legal unless the information is used for an illegal purpose.
"People who use scanners are, for the most part, into amateur radio or just like listening to the scanner," Tuolumne County Sheriff's spokesman Paul Tualla said. "Then there are those who use it to prevent themselves from getting caught committing a crime. That's against the law, and when they are arrested, a misdemeanor charge of intercepting a scanner to avoid arrest is added their other charges."
For some people, having a scanner puts them at ease, said Del Chase, communications coordinator for Tuolumne County.
"I have a scanner at home, and people in my neighborhood call me when they see or hear something alarming," he said.
Dave Osborn, manager of Radio Shack in Angels Camp, said fire season and Christmas are the two busiest seasons for scanner sales.
"They aren't the most popular item at Christmas, but we sell quite a few then," he said. "The biggest time is during fire season. We literally run out of them then."
First-time users are shown how to program their scanners and given a list of the most common local frequencies, he said. Other frequencies can easily be found on the Internet.
"The only real question they need to come to grips with is if they want a stationary scanner or one they can walk around with," he said. "Portable models are the most popular."
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