Police Shortwave Radio - Groundbreaking Radio To Clean Up Chicago

► Buy me a coffee: www.paypal.me/...
► Email: [e-mail]
► Instagram: / m3hhyofficial
► Facebook: / m3hhy
► Twitter: / officialm3hhy

[@kreuner11]

In Polish, the name for a police car is "Radiowóz" which litteraly means "radio vehicle"

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

This is excellent Lewis. You should look online at (USA) Cleveland Police Museum Radio Comms History. They got one-way radios the same time as Chicago. It's believed that Cleveland was the first to go Two Way police radio. Eliot Ness ( the Untouchables) was Director of Public Safety for Cleveland after Prohibition and was instrumental in this endeavor. Lots of good B&W pics if you want to do a part 2 to this...

[@normanhill535]

The original police radio bands were one way, on 1600-1800 and 2300-2500 khz. Those bands would become maritime in the 1950s and broadcasting today. The police moved to VHF 26-54 mhz and later to 138-174. By the mid 1960s many police and fire departments had migrated to UHF (390-470 mhz).

[@lelonfurr1200]

they also shared the 6m band with taxis and interfered with tv ch 1 so tv eliminated ch1 from receivers

[@rogerlafrance6355]

These first SW stations were one way only on 1600-1800 KHz using an always on transmitter thus not needing a squelch. At first, if a car needed to call in they would stop at a police call box that along with fire alarm boxes were located every block or so. Next, VHF 30-50 MHz transmitters were installed in the cars to talk back to area receivers with telephone lines back to the station. When FM came along, most switched to 2way VHF systems. However many kept their HF transmitters into the early 70s for state wide communications and alerting often talking crosschannel station to station.

[@FrancisLitanofficialJAPINOY]

1600 - 1710 kHz are also AM expanded band for the Philippines, Australia, North America and for Japan’s Traffic Highway Advisory on AM broadcasts on 1620 or 1629 kHz. Some car radios in Latin or South America, only tuned up to 1620 kHz.

[@ericmuehlstein2238]

Cheers from KC9MHE in Chicago! You can still listen to the police today on 460MHz NFM.

[@GeradMunsch]

KD9QZO out here in Hainesville, IL -- the police out here largely use P25 phase 2 on ~850 MHz, and nearly all of it is encrypted. Grayslake Fire and EMS is on 154.400 NFM, and I think Round Lake PD uses ~450 MHz UHF NFM still. But so much of the interesting comms have been moved to STARCOM21 P25 trunked radios and hid behind encryption :(

[@Aengus42]

Earliest police radio monitoring i can remember was listening back in the early seventies atop the broadcast band i think at a shooting in Torquay casino. I was only a kid but it's stuck in mind ever since. Once i grew up & got my Yupiteru mvt7100 after a couple of years they went and brought in Airwave, the buggers!

[@Jae_972]

my home town is forked river. i know exactly where that receiving station was. the circle is still there where the building was and the concrete base with a metal pole going down the center of it. years after ATT bought that property. i can still see remnants of the activity there with the base of some wooden post still sticking out of the marsh.

[@RingwayManchester]

Wow cheers Jeff!

[@matth7272]

I enjoy these videos on radio history you make, keep it up.

[@EarlHiggins]

You talked about Chicago extensively but the pictures show the call sign "WRBH" which is actually in Cleveland. Also, although the newspaper clips frequently referred to "short wave", the frequencies were typically 1600-1800 kilohertz which would be medium wave. The aforementioned WRBH, for example, was 1712 kilohertz. That might seem like a trivial technicality, but it's actually quite important because shortwave is used more for long-distance/transoceanic communication, not typically short range communication which police radio would require.

[@RingwayManchester]

Yes you’re right but you try finding 10 minutes of visual material on Chicago’s sw police system. It doesn’t exist. There’s pictures from many other forces in the video.

[@EarlHiggins]

@@RingwayManchester Oh, I'm not complaining mate. You did a great job! I learned a lot. Thank you!

[@kingduckford]

160 meters is medium wave, yet you will hear hams call it HF or short wave out of laziness. They are, for some reason, careful to call 6 meters VHF in an all HF rig, but not 160 MF, for some odd reason. I suppose it is pain enough when companies call their all HF rigs "HF + 6m" and don't want to call it "HF + 6m +160m" or "HF + some VHF and some MF". Technically, it has some real value for a simple simplex service, especially the one way. NVIS or any other "cloud burner" setup can easily transmit well over a wide local area and avoid terrain and obstacles. Interesting stuff.

[@curtchase3730]

Monitoring police activity as a hobby started pretty much the same time police started using one-way radios! Many home radio consoles of the era had an extended AM band that said "POLICE". AM broadcast ends around 1610Khz or so. Twist the dial a bit higher and you hit the police band! I had one of those antique radios years ago, but of course, the band was dead.

[@normanhill535]

Highest AM frequency is 1710 khz, Huntington County NJ. The MW or AM band on new radios is 522 or 531 khz to 1710 khz (1611 khz in Europe).

[@curtchase3730]

@@normanhill535 Thank You, I stand corrected.

[@normanhill535]

Actually, AM in Europe, Asia and Africa is 531-1611, using a 9 khz spacing. Australis is 531-1701 khz with 9 khz spacing. North and South America is 530-1710 khz. Interesting that the New Jersey station on 1710 can be heard here in Washington, DC. Most traveler information stations are less than 50 watts. I like AM DXing. Be safe and healthy. And good listening.

[@pc4ad]

Thanks for sharing this Lewis, very well put together!

[@boilerroombob]

Well done Lewis amazing video as always

[@Phil-M0KPH]

Another great video looking at the history and developments in the use of radio.

[@Mike-H_UK]

Lewis, this is another fantastic video. You really do great research. Cheers!

[@richardmillican7733]

The system evolved here in Britain, to the emergency "CHANNEL ZERO" a duplex system at 160.600 negative offset of 4.600 (156.000) Used by all emergency services for maritime distress "shouts".... probably the last remaining truly emergency analogue radio comms system still active in the UK.

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

I served 7 years as a Port Security/Marine Safety Petty Officer in the U.S. Coast Guard and I never heard of "Channel Zero". I'm going to have to check that out. Canada has a duplex and simplex VHF Marine comms system. In the U.S. with the exception of Ship to Shore telephone, everything is simplex. By international treaty, SOLAS, IMO, ILO... the primary VHF Marine band will remain analog & simplex. At the very least the internationally known distress frequencies, VHF 16, 156.8000mhz, the HF 2182hz, and the inland nav channel 13.

[@BalticLab]

@@baronedipiemonte3990 Of course you haven't heard of it. You might notice a mismatch between him saying "Britain [...] UK" while you run down your 'experience' in the U.S. You might notice a geographical mismatch. That 'channel zero' is also used here in Germany. Though it should be noted that regular vessels can not select that channel on their radios. That channel is an inter-agency channel used by search and rescue agencies. Communications with the distressed vehicle will still be on Channel 16.

[@Coalrollinfurry]

An important part of history to me has been previous allocations. Licenses. Band plans for metro areas, band plans for wide areas, interagency communication. Its quite difficult to find. It usually starts at vhf and ends in uhf. Not really enough to hold the interest of most.

[@alancordwell9759]

Fascinating as usual Lewis, well done.

[@giorgosmizithras5184]

Amazing work keep it up! Your videos are inspiring.

[@robertmayer7678]

If you can find radios manufactured during the 30s or 40s, the manufactures would print where the different stations could be found in the dial. This included "Police Calls" in that 1600-1800 KHz range.

[@EportChris]

Love this mate. Thank you 👌🏻

[@carlashby6174]

Enjoyed that video Lewis thank you.

[@bulldogbrower6732]

It was always my understanding that the first police radio was a 1 way system. The dispatch would broadcast criminal incidents to the patrol cars. These mobile units were equipped with a receiver but could not transmit. Does this information jive with your information ? Thank you for your excellent research.

[@joewoodchuck3824]

I remember a TV show episode where Elliot Ness had heard about the coming of two way radios for cars, and that he wanted to be the first to have one. Presumably he had just lost a suspect due to lack of comms. I don't recall the name of the show.

[@stevencoleman7477]

I love the content you put out Lewis I Liked the photo of the guy stood in front of 10kw water cooled transmitter Do you think I could an NOV for one of those in my shack 😁 Keep up the good work mate

[@Wickedacorn]

Good stuff, enjoyed that.

[@picklechimp]

Another banger 💪

[@dannyrolfe8953]

Love this 👍 always interesting and great presentation

[@joeblow8593]

Fascinating stuff, cheers from the U.S.

[@MatthewSomethingOrOther]

Top quality, very interesting.

[@samwilliams1142]

Before 1600 to 1800 was police usage 1200 to 1600 was police usage. My Dad had a two tube regenerative receiver in capable of tuning the upper part of the 540 to 1600 band.

[@GateKommand]

Another good one, thanks mate.

[@edhollingsworth2335]

A few months Go I wss listening to the Chicago police via an app on my cell phone. All I heard was---"Shots fired!" I heard the actual shots.

[@testaccount4191]

sounds about right for chicargo

[@baronedipiemonte3990]

There's a few "videos" - audible recording is more accurate - here on KZbin that you can listen to New Years eve/Fourth of July gunfire in Shy... sounds exactly like Ukraine does now !

[@mrbyamile6973]

Of course you can hear the shots.... when you're the one pulling the trigger ;)

[@alainbroekema5000]

Interesting story, thanks Lewis !

[@dubliner1100]

Brilliant video thank you

[@nickattain]

Excellent videos they must take a lot of research.

[@claudio6493]

Great video, thanks

[@alastairbarkley6572]

The US was an early adopter of mobile TWO WAY radio comms pre-war - and was the first nation to begin experimenting with civilian mobile radio comms using FM. AFAIK, Britain didn't implement two-way police radio until 1940 (in the NW of England). I'm interested in WW2 radio technology; whilst the UK was definitely ahead of the US in a) hi-definition TV, b) the use of GHz+ microwave links between remote areas of the UK and c) in aviation radar systems pre-war, the US was definitely ahead on mobile radio.

[@alastairbarkley6572]

BTW, Lewis: the story of FM is a really fascinating one. From the early 1920 Bell Labs theoretical research 'proving' that FM was essentially an useless dead-end, through Edwin Armstrong's remarkable, gobsmacking demo of FM VHF hi-fi radio to an audience of sceptics in 1935, to the ludicrous claims for the superiority of FM tactical radio by a nervous US Army Signals Corps that in WW2 uncertainly bet the farm on itas the future, there is an incredible amount of skullduggery, government corruption, conspiracy and general nastiness involved in the journey that brought us modern FM. Radio pioneer Armstrong (and he really was) had a feud with RCA's David Sarnoff that turned so toxic that, in January 1954, Armstrong dressed himself neatly and stepped out of a 9th floor window of a New York hotel. RCA paid an undisclosed compensation to Armstrong's widow. Had you thought about doing anything about the history of FM? There's a lot of interesting material.

[@normanhill535]

My submission was for US police and fire radios.

[@freesaxon6835]

Interesting video 👍🏻

[@rohnkd4hct260]

Many Police Departments used "one way" radios around the same time.

[@rosevillerod]

Old time saying: “You might outrun my Chevrolet, but you won’t outrun my two way.”

[@RingwayManchester]

I love that!

[@uhfstation3530]

And today Chicago still hasn't been cleaned up and they are still using a dinosaur radio system.

[@stevefrost3509]

What do I need to get started in ham radio I am from uk

[@KN4YEM]

Foundation license.. You can buy a book on ebay. I'm in U.S so I don't know much about it U.k

[@ronb6182]

Im sure there are videos on how to get a license in most free countries. In the USA we have practice test and that's how I studied for my technician license. I want to study for my general class and I might try for the extra to see how well I do. 73

[@stevefrost3509]

@@ronb6182 thanks for your comment about getting into radio I will take a look 👍🇬🇧

[@mrbyamile6973]

@@stevefrost3509 I'm from the US but I'm assuming over there you probably have Ham groups in your community. Contacting local groups is a good way to find out where testing places are, also a good way to find a Elmer who would probably love to show someone who's intrested the ropes.

[@stevefrost3509]

@@mrbyamile6973 thank you for your comment I am now looking at clubs local to me I am a bit surprised that the only people to give me advice is from overseas thank you once again 👍🇬🇧

[@presw2pw123]

Did you say "well known for it's telecommunications and SATELLITE activity"?

[@RingwayManchester]

Yes. The bell system arm of western electric built satellites

[@presw2pw123]

@@RingwayManchester in the 1920s? :)

[@echo-hotel]

@@presw2pw123 yes Preston your use of quotes is nearly perfect. Though he did say “activities” The now defunct company and many many subsidiaries were once well known for something. Few children these days understand that phones, computers and satellites have a very fine lineage. Which is very relevant to this channel. I’m sure you’d be happy if he had added a bit more to his script, but it is what it is.

[@michaelrichardson1898]

Chicago was on vhf until the 70s

[@HaskellMoore]

Well done, and very interesting (as always). Have a coffee on me (sent via PayPal)!

[@RingwayManchester]

You’re too kind thanks so much! Best 73

[@billyy123]

Gangsters with badges

[@fenf777]

Then Motorola came with the solutions

[@M6JKW]

👍

[@wam2610]

👍