Scanner!

[joesph]

There used to be a popular page on this site that would allow you listen to radio traffic from all over the world.

I am actually working to get it going again. I received a lot of emails asking where it went.

www.radioreference.com

[Richard B the EMT]

The federal law on radio receivers, dating back to the 1930s stated to the effect that, as long as whatever you heard on the air (outside of AM/FM/Midwave Radio signals, which are usually "commercial radio") wasn't directly quoted, or used for your monitary gain. I could say, "I heard Charlie on a call yesterday", but not say ..."at 4:35, for the cardiac arrest at Mrs. Dillers house at fifth and main."

Then, there is the "Electronics Privacy Act of 1985". This was, and is, a bogus act on the part of the Cell Phone Industry, to "insure privacy" for their clients. While originally formulated as laws against computer hackers, which I can agree with, the CellPhone Industry decided to go another step.

Someone mentioned the "scannists" crying when some services went to the 800 MHz frequencies, and/or "Trunked" services? Cell Phones operate within these same bands. You can't listen, even where legal to do so, to FD or PD signals on the 800 to 900 MHz bands, because you might pick up my nephew Daniel telling his grandma "Momma B" that he'll be at the house in a half hour to take her to see a movie.

Scanners then were made to prevent the cell phone specific frequencies from being intercepted by me and the other Scannists, but they had a wire inside, that if cut, would allow the radio to pick up the "forbidden" signals, just at the possible voiding of any service repair warranties on the radios for a "non authorized personnel" "tampering" with the radio.

Nowadays, the designs won't allow that to happen, but as I happen to have equipment that was Grandfathered in, prior to the laws being enacted, I can listen if I choose to.

2 things I have to mention.

First, Scannists and other radio enthusiasts were already listening in to the affected frequencies before, with the stroke of a legislative pen, we were ordered not to.

The second is, why didn't the cell phone industry offer voice and data "scrambler/unscrambler" devices to their customers, and get paid for the devices, or the rental of them? They had been in existance for years before the advent of the Cell Phones, indeed, if you wanted to have a "private" conversation, they were available for hardwired land line systems.

All it took was a bit of techno-talk to bedazzle and confuse the Congessmen and Senators, because (hopefully) they are better lawmakers and politicians than than they are electronic engineers.

The late Arizona Senator, and presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater, a licenced HAM radio operator, much as I didn't like him politically, would never had let the laws be passed, due to his understanding of communications radios.

(I previously mentioned me being published in "Popular Communications"? Most of what I had was ranting on the Communications Act of 1985, and in greater detail than I took here.)