A comment by friend of the blog Jake over at Curses, Foiled Again led me to check out the Broadcastify web site. I think this had been bubbling somewhere below the surface of my conscious mind anyway, but Jake provided the kick I needed.
Broadcastify basically collects radio feeds from scanners and organizes them by location. So you can browse the site, find your local area, and (assuming Broadcastify has a feed) click the bunny to listen to your local police or fire department traffic. There are several player options, including web-based players as well as iTunes, Real Audio, Windows Media, and Winamp.
Not every locality is there; there are some large gaps in coverage for Texas, to take one example. There are feeds for Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop counties; however, there’s no feed for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department or Round Rock PD. On the other hand, this is free, and you get what you pay for.
For reference purposes, here’s the Travis County feeds page, which includes Austin/Travis County Fire and EMS and Austin Police and Travis County Public Safety.
Back a long time ago, I was an avid shortwave and scanner listener; I still have the equipment, but my scanner isn’t capable of following the newer trunked radio systems. I’ve flirted from time to time with the idea of purchasing a newer scanner, but now I don’t have to.
Thanks, Jake!