Ben's Bits

Many towns, counties and states still using analog based radio communications systems for public safety use Motorola MDC systems which emit a short "chirp" at the beginning or end of a radio transmission. If this is the case in your area you might be interested in the open source WinMDCD software. This software allows you to decode that chirp with a Windows based PC and see data such as date, time, unit ID or whatever else they're transmitting. Note that if you're interested in Motorola radio technology a great resource is BatLabs, in particular the BatBoard which has a great number of people who are extremely knowledgeable about Motorola radios.