Check out what some Cobb residents are doing to keep everyone informed about what’s going on in our area. Thanks to the MDJ for contributing content of the following article.

COBB COUNTY - Site administrator Gordon Edwards started www.scancobb.com in December 2004. It lets visitors listen to scanners that report radio transmissions of Cobb County police and fire departments. Edwards also runs www.scancherokee.com and www.scanpaulding.com. The Cobb page is a sister site to several others of its kind in metro-Atlanta.

The site does not require visitors to register to listen to scanners or read discussion forums, but those who want to participate in the forums must register. There also is no fee associated with using the site.

Another ScanCobb administrator, Andrew Cohen, lives in Kennesaw, but works in Alpharetta. He got involved with the site so he could check Cobb police and fire radios while at work.

A main computer and two scanners set up at Cohen’s Kennesaw home, as well as a third scanner another ScanCobb registered user owns, are broadcast on the site. The site has approximately 15,000 subscribers from across Cobb and Georgia.

Visitors also can sign up for a free e-mail service that notifies them when someone living in their zip code is added to the state’s sex offender registry. The notifications, Edwards said, contain the name, address, photo of the sex offender and a Web link to a sex offender site where people can see the location of the offender on a map.

Although users are not required to pay to use ScanCobb, many have given generously. Cohen said in the past year, users have donated more than $1,000 to buytwo new digital scanners to keep up with Cobb’s move to digital radios for public safety personnel.

“I’d say the greatest benefit is that you can instantly find out, any time day or night, what’s happening around you from a law enforcement and emergency services perspective,” Cohen said. “You don’t have to ask neighbors and get it secondhand or wait for the six o’clock news or tomorrow’s paper. There’s nothing like knowing what’s happening while it’s happening, even if it may be developing and all the facts aren’t clear.”

With all the jargon and numerical codes police officers and firefighters use when reporting over radio, one might think it’s hard to understand what’s going on. ScanCobb has that covered, too. The site lists all the number codes used to describe a situation. For example, 30 indicates a report of a drunken driver; code seven is a request for backup; and 10-4, means OK, or affirmative.

Cohen said he believes most users visit the site to monitor activity that might not be high profile enough to make the news, but nonetheless concerns the safety of their neighborhoods. Edwards said the site is soliciting donations to buy an additional digital scanner. Visitors can donate online at www.ScanCobb.com.