Scanners (not the flying type)

[Slim]

In my state, Michigan, it is only illegal to have a scanner in your vehicle unless you are a ham radio operator, or have a permit from the state police. I happen to have both. The permit is fairly easy to get as long as you have a reason. CAP was good enough of a reason for mine.

I've never heard of a scanner being illegal except for in a vehicle, or receiving cordless/cellular phone signals. Which states do that?

Actually, that changed two years ago.  According to Michigan law, it's not illegal to have a scanner in your vehicle unless you are committing a crime.

Having said that, the change in the law hasn't trickled down to the streets yet.  I had a rather unpleasant discussion with an officer about it recently.  He didn't care a whit that the law changed, he just wanted to see my permit.  If someone in Michigan has a scanner but no permit, I'd suggest printing a copy of the law and keeping it in your vehicle.

UK, what exactly are you looking for in a scanner?  If you got the bucks (and the patience to figure them out), go whole hog and get one of the APCO P-25 capable scanners.  If P-25 isn't big in your area yet, just give it time and it will be. 

Best site for anything to do with scanners is Radio Reference. 

[JoeTomasone]

Having said that, the change in the law hasn't trickled down to the streets yet.  I had a rather unpleasant discussion with an officer about it recently.  He didn't care a whit that the law changed, he just wanted to see my permit.  If someone in Michigan has a scanner but no permit, I'd suggest printing a copy of the law and keeping it in your vehicle.

Quite frankly, many police officers aren't aware of the exceptions to the law either.  I can understand this as they likely do not find themselves in a position to be intimately familiar with them during the normal course of a law enforcement career.   In fact, a family friend once called me from a traffic stop to ask what the law was.   So if you DO run into a situation where you legally have a scanner/ham radio/etc in your car and a police officer is unaware that you are permitted DO NOT GET NASTY OR DEFENSIVE.   Politely point out that there is an exception to that law that your circumstance falls under and offer to show documentation (if applicable).   If that doesn't work, then comply with the officer even if that means confiscation of your equipment or your arrest.   You will have an opportunity to plead your case in court.    However, if you are polite, respectful, and carry yourself well (and as a CAP member, that is of course what you'll do!), then it should never get that far.    However, there have been numerous cases where ham radio operators got uppity about their "rights" and started yelling, etc and it has all gone downhill from there - and who wants to pay lawyers fees?

[Stonewall]

UK, what exactly are you looking for in a scanner?  If you got the bucks (and the patience to figure them out), go whole hog and get one of the APCO P-25 capable scanners.  If P-25 isn't big in your area yet, just give it time and it will be. 

I have no idea.  I really want two.  One for my Exploder Explorer and a handheld that I can carry around (into my office, house, or wherever).

I figure the most I'll need is about 20 to 30 channels so I can't imagine I need something too terribly complex.  Ebay was looking good though.  I just have a hard time trusting people there.

[Slim]

I wasn't the one getting unpleasant, I know the law and knew that I was covered either way.  It was the cop who just couldn't understand why a firefighter/EMT would want to have a scanner in his truck, and that it was in fact legal for me to do so.  In fact, he was more concerned with the darn scanner than he was with the fact that I had a weapon (also legally, and informed him right away, per the law).  The prosecutor set him straight when I went in to plead the speeding ticket down to impeding traffic (about both the law and writing tickets to teammates).

I have no idea.  I really want two.  One for my Exploder Explorer and a handheld that I can carry around (into my office, house, or wherever).

I figure the most I'll need is about 20 to 30 channels so I can't imagine I need something too terribly complex.  Ebay was looking good though.  I just have a hard time trusting people there.

Ok, just did a quick check of the JAX area on RadioReference.  The city has an 800 MHz trunking system, and everything else is VHF/UHF.  As long as nobody is planning a migration to APCO P-25/digital, you're in luck.

Radio Shack has the PRO-163 mobile/base and PRO-162 handheld on sale right now ($149.95 and $99.95 respectively), until Christmas day.  But they put these on sale often, so check the website in a month or so and they'll be on sale again.  Both of these will cover everything in your area, and will track the 800 MHz trunked system.  I'd stay away from ebay when it comes to scanners.  Better to go new and have the warranty, instructions, etc.  If you don't need/want the 800MHz stuff, you can get something cheaper than that.

[Trung Si Ma]

I've got one in my T-Hangar on the local ground and tower freqs so I can listen to the new AF pilots having fun(?) on the ILS as well as maintaining SA.  I switch it manually over to the ATIS before opening the doors to go fly.

[jimmydeanno]

...and writing tickets to teammates).

All the more reason to get a ticket...

[Slim]

...and writing tickets to teammates).

All the more reason to get a ticket...

Hey, I didn't ask the prosecutor to do it.  He did that all on his own.

[JoeTomasone]

I wasn't the one getting unpleasant, I know the law and knew that I was covered either way.

Didn't mean to imply that you had...   I was speaking generally, apparently not well enough. 

[Stonewall]

Ok, just did a quick check of the JAX area on RadioReference.  The city has an 800 MHz trunking system, and everything else is VHF/UHF.  As long as nobody is planning a migration to APCO P-25/digital, you're in luck.

Radio Shack has the PRO-163 mobile/base and PRO-162 handheld on sale right now ($149.95 and $99.95 respectively), until Christmas day.  But they put these on sale often, so check the website in a month or so and they'll be on sale again.  Both of these will cover everything in your area, and will track the 800 MHz trunked system.  I'd stay away from ebay when it comes to scanners.  Better to go new and have the warranty, instructions, etc.  If you don't need/want the 800MHz stuff, you can get something cheaper than that.

You da man, Slim!  See, this is what I need.  I want someone I trust to tell me what to get and I'll get it.  May be spending $250 on my way home from work.

[EMT-83]

Scannerworld.com always has something on sale, and their customer service is pretty good. I've ordered a few things over the years and never had a problem with them.

[Stonewall]

Picked up a Pro-164 for $99, reglarly $219 according to the website.  They didn't have any base/mobile units in stock.  Which is probably good because it'll take a week or more to learn this one.



Stay on top of stuff in your area.
The PRO-164 stores up to 1,000 frequencies. Covers police frequencies in most metropolitian areas. Hear storm reports before they are broadcast on TV or radio. These reports are provided by trained in-the-field storm spotters in your area. Signal Stalker II will jump to the nearest transmitting frequency in your area.

• Store up to 1,000 frequencies
• Covers police frequencies in most metropolitian areas
• Hear storm reports before they are broadcast on TV or radio, delivered by local spotters
• Searches for nearby frequency transmissions within approximately 1,000 feet of the radio
• Program a name to correspond with the service so you can see at a glance who you're listening to

[Stonewall]

So yeah, the kids are asleep, the wife is watching TV and I pull out my new toy.  No, I couldn't wait until Christmas!

I put the batteries in and turn it on and then hitting "Scan".  I guess it's scanning all channels because I haven't done a thing to it.  I hear a local county's sheriff's office, then I hear a fire dept.  Then, it goes straight to 121.5 and won't continue scanning.  I put the squelch all the way up and it stays on 121.5.  I wonder if there's a carrier signal close by.  I'm smack dab in the middle of a Navy base where 80% of our ELTs are found and the airport where we meet.  Only about 4 miles in each direction.

Interesting...  Probably nothing.

[JoeTomasone]

MAYBE nothing.   You should be able to figure out if it's a carrier-only signal by moving the antenna up, down, left, and right to see if you hear any change/hash/etc.    Take it outside and see what happens.   You could have:

1.  A carrier only ELT

2.  Something in your house generating a signal on 121.5 (I've had printers generate carrier-only signals in the 2m ham band before -- right on a repeater output, too!)

3.  Stuck on a birdie - which if it can't be unstuck (usually by hitting the scan key again), you might need to take it back - but take it for a walk/drive first and see if it clears up.


I would give 90% odds that it's #2, personally.

[Major Lord]

My only real gripe about scanners ( except for the blocked 800 MHZ bands, which gets my goat) is that they tend to be kind of deaf. I prefer a good wide band receiver, like my trusty Icom 706 MKIIG ( which besides working on every CAP VHF and HF frequency will also transmit AM on aircraft at about 2 Watts ouput in a crunch) Too bad its not CAP-Kosher as a transmitter. Great receiver though. I am planning on buying the AOR scanning receiver with the spectral display next year. AOR wil sell you an unlocked version if you can show them a Govt ID.

[Eclipse]

One thing that has puzzled me from day one is why CAP buys radios that can't receive 121.5.

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Slim]

Picked up a Pro-164 for $99, reglarly $219 according to the website.  They didn't have any base/mobile units in stock.  Which is probably good because it'll take a week or more to learn this one.

If you go back in there and tell them you want the programming cable and software for it, they should have both in stock.  Surprised they didn't offer them up to you.  With those, you can program everything on your PC, then just plug in the scanner and dump everything in that way.  That should help lower the learning curve for you.

The APCO 25 scanners are even more maddening.  You almost have to have an engineering degree to figure out how to program them without the software.

[SarDragon]

One thing that has puzzled me from day one is why CAP buys radios that can't receive 121.5.

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Air band is AM. Most other comm radios are FM. Listing to AM on an FM radio, or vice versa, doesn't usually work all that well, and receiver sensitivity is way down.

[Eclipse]

One thing that has puzzled me from day one is why CAP buys radios that can't receive 121.5.

Seems like a no-brainer to me.

Air band is AM. Most other comm radios are FM. Listing to AM on an FM radio, or vice versa, doesn't usually work all that well, and receiver sensitivity is way down.

Standard ELT's are VHF just like CAP frequencies, and they aren't even separated by much (how much is FOUO, of course).

My 20-year old RS Pro-35 handheld scanner can listen to both ELT's and CAP frequencies, my $1800 - 2500+ EFJ's can't, yet I see HAMs all the time in CAP with handhelds that can receive both as well.

[SarDragon]

Yes, both VHF - that's the frequency band. The modulation methods - AM and FM are different. Just because it's a VHF radio doesn't make it work for both air band and CAP freqs.

There's also the distinction between the FCC rules and the NTIA rules associated with the two groups of freqs and the radios on them.

A scanner is much easier to build to work on all those frequencies because it's just a receiver. Building a transceiver to do the same is very expensive.

[Stonewall]

About my Pro-164.  The list price online was $219 and I got it for $99 ($107 after tax).  That is a pretty darn good deal.

What I like is that it came with 154 pre-programmed channels, to include 121.5, CAP Ch.1, and ALL of the common Fire/EMS/Police freqs.  All the freqs but a few CAP and my freqs at work are already in the thing.

Talk about bada$$.