Golden Age Of Wireless
Aye, it were grand, those days of analogue two-way radio, if you were a speccy geek with one of 'em scanner doohickies.

In the very early days before cellular phones, there was System 3, which had about six channels and one base station per city, and only very rich people had them in their Jags, and presumably didn't realise that the things were as powerful as GLR. Very rich people can be very naughty. "Working late in the office, dearest", click, "With you in five minutes, you minx".

But the best was the rozzers. They did those great running commentaries during car chases, and a really good one had MP (the central radio co-ordinator) linking different bits of London together on a shared frequency as the get-away vehicle roared from Kensington to Manor Park.

Not that I listened, it being very naughty even for a poor person, but a friend did.

They tell me: there was a top chase that went from Ealing and headed east. The bad guy was giving it loads, and as different jam sandwiches took up the chase and dropped back, the commentary was getting v. heated.

"Doing fifty up Oxford Street! LEFT LEFT LEFT through... oh, not going in there." "Got him! Seventy! Holborn. Through reds..." and so on.

And then "Wrong side of road! THROUGH THE JUNCTION! SIXTY! And RIGHT RIGHT RIGHT into... into... HE'S GONE INTO EAST HAM NICK! HE'S PARKED IN THE FUCKING CAR PARK!"

Even MP, usually the sternest of critics of non-standard RT, was silent.

A pause, as coppers across the capital listened agog to static.

An unidentified voice: "He must have been late for the lodge meeting"

At which point, MP came on and was very very VERY upset.

All gone these days, all digital and encrypted and that.

(Almost)
(NoPotPourri putting the poo into pooters since, Wed 31 Aug 2011, 22:11, 4 replies)

I got a scanner recently
All I hear are truck driver's CB radios and aircraft transmissions.
( Major Turd for tonight only, Thu 1 Sep 2011, 3:54, closed)

Oh and cab drivers
and mosques
( Major Turd for tonight only, Thu 1 Sep 2011, 3:55, closed)

I'm not actually sure I understood that.

( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Thu 1 Sep 2011, 9:24, closed)

the car was a police car?
was that it? can't see why this would be a bad thing unless it was a cop car in the first place.
( RocketSurgeon is pretending he's still young, Thu 1 Sep 2011, 12:49, closed)