Emergency SDR Radio

You don't need an expensive ham radio setup to listen to a broad spectrum of radio signals. At a cost of around $20, some USB TV tuners will let you pick up frequencies ranging from 64 MHz - 1700 MHz. The device must be connected to a computer and have special SDR software in order for it to work as a Software Defined Radio, aka SDR. It is a radio receiver only, so you won’t be able to transmit, but at $20 each, its a very inexpensive way to put away a few redundant radio receivers in case of malfunctions or if you’re concerned about solar flares or EMP attacks. (even if you have a dedicated ham radio setup, you may want to have a few of these around, for times when you just want to listen, and not transmit)

Either of these two below USB dongles can be used as a Software Defined Radio:

Here are some things you can listen to using this USB Dongle:

FM Radio - like the music your car radio would pick up (87.5 MHz - 108 MHz FM)
Aircraft Radio - Civil Aviation Band (108 MHz - 136 MHz FM)
Police / EMS Radio - Depends on your area (150 MHz to 160 MHz, 450 MHz - 460 MHz)
GMRS / FRS Radio - such as 2-way, walkie-talkie style radios (426 - 467 MHz FM)
Transmissions from the International Space Station
Transmissions from between ham radio operators
Morse Code (CW) at any frequency
Data transmissions, such as coordinates, weather information, pictures, video, etc...

You can use this site to look up EMS and other frequencies used in your local area:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/

You can buy an adapter that will let you hook the USB receiver to your TV antenna, or an antenna that you build yourself. Using a different antenna than the little one supplied with the unit will allow you to pick up more signals, and they will also be more clear.

I recommend using the software, SDR#, to use with your radio. Its free, and can be downloaded here: http://sdrsharp.com/