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Author Topic: Cop Cars with many MANY antennas on the roof. Why? Frank Angel Film God Posts: 5305 From: Brooklyn NY USA Registered: Dec 1999 posted 05-12-2014 10:10 AM                        Just a curiosity -- Occasionally I see cop cars, usually unmarked, that had literally half a dozen small antennas over the roof and sometimes on the trunk. What are they for and why so many? Couldn't a single antenna serve however many receivers might be in the car?  |  IP: Logged Jim Cassedy Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1661 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Dec 2006 posted 05-12-2014 10:33 AM                     I've been told that here in San Francisco the cars with the multiple antennas are used to track the small transmitters that bank tellers & some some busineses hide inside of the money-bags during a robbery. If you look inside such a car you'll see they are equipped have a lot of "extra" radiocrap in there. I've also heard they can be used to track some types of stolen vehicles. So, basically the cars with extra antennas are "tracking vehicles", if the anecodotal info I have is correct.  |  IP: Logged Jarod Reddig Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 513 From: Hays, Ks Registered: Jun 2011 posted 05-12-2014 02:16 PM                     Interesting. Ive seen the same cop cars with the extra antennas as well and have always wondered.  |  IP: Logged John Eickhof Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 588 From: Wendell, ID USA Registered: Jan 2000 posted 05-13-2014 11:32 PM                        yes some of that s true, also some have multiple radios sets for allied agency frequencies as well as transponders for the on board computer and direct connects with dmv computers and probation depts,etc., and once in a while, an authentic old radio scanner! Real radio is not dead yet  |  IP: Logged Marcel Birgelen Film God Posts: 3357 From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands Registered: Feb 2012 posted 05-14-2014 03:08 AM                     - New, but yet not fully operational digital system #1 - Digital system that never was #2 - Legacy analog system #1 - Legacy analog system #2 ... - GPS antenna - Cell phone antenna #1 - Cell phone antenna #2 Might explain why the roof of a fully featured cop car looks like a miniature version of the roof a Manhattan highrise.  |  IP: Logged

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