Thankfully, Enemy Nations cannot listen to Illegal frequencies. It is a good thing that all radio waves stop at the borders of all countries. If only Radio could travel as far and fast as Bullshit.
I was friends with a young man that was following a stop of a presidential candidate at a local mall and this young man that I knew had a handheld scanner on his waistband and turned up loudly listening to the secret service. They had to tell him to turn his radio off. Common Sense should have told him he shouldn't have had the radio turned up and should have been at least using a earphone. This is one of the reasons that law enforcement agencies around the country are going to encryption so even though we may hear the digital crap on the frequency we can understand it.
I'm in the States too, and in some areas you can get arrested for having a scanner in the car. There's no such thing as a secret frequency in the U.S.... IF you know how to navigate the FCC licensing database. If any radio license is issued to any entity, public or private, the license information, including the frequencies, are right there for all to see. Again presuming it can be found. Some military and federal government agencies are issued licenses, but for reasons of National Security, they are classified as "Top Secret", and not listed with all the rest. However with regards to the government/public safety licenses that are public record, agencies are using modes and encryption that are at the least, EXTREMELY hard to listen to even if you know that the frequencies. Another very interesting video report Lewis !
A scanner is illegal unless you have a ham license which is stupid because you are not privy to the public service frequencies. Another clear as mud regulation.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 Some states prohibit using scanners while driving. Other than that scanners are completely legal in the US. As for other frequencies, I monitor the USAF all the time and the frequencies they use are easy to find on the web or by using a scanner's search function.
@@landonmiller6943 To mount it in a vehicle a license was required at one time. Home use was no requirement. Of course that was many many years ago. To pass on knowledge gained by listening or to avoid prosecution has and still is against the law. You may listen but not discuss. But that law is like spitting on a sidewalk. There’s a law but nobody has ever been charged with a violation.
The Greater Manchester Police do the same. And they're in cahoots with Politicians. I hope Andrew Malkinson gets a lot more than that paltry million quid and the bent cops are arrested
Lewis, back in about 1990 I got stopped on a "routine" stop, I had a wholly legal 27/81 rotel RVC 240, I was detained until an "expert" could confirm my radio was legal!!
I'm so sorry you had to be detained due to such a ridiculous piece of legislation! I feel that the UK always seems to have obscure pieces of legislation that makes particular otherwise harmless activities illegal - unlike our neighboring nations 😂 That or - I am just very heavily biased against current UK politics and where it seems to be dragging us! 😂
You didn't even need a scanner in the 70's and 80's. My father was a retained firefighter in the UK. When he got a shout we would retune a domestic FM radio to the VHF frequency and find out where he was going and when he was likely to get back
My brother had a big white Ford Granada as like the ones in 'The Sweeny,' he tuned the radio to the plod frequency and pulled in to a petrol station, opened the window and suddenly 4 cars, drivers decided that they didn't need fuel and rushed to get back in their souped up heaps.
I absolutely love your channel! Your content is excellent quality and very well written. I’ve enjoyed watching your subscriber base grow as well and hope it continues to grow! Keep doing what you’re doing! Excellent work!
Anyone remember that Germany had a similar law regarding 25 mhz I remember ham or shortwave receivers exported to Germany had those frequencies blocked It was about 40 years ago
I remember hearing a tale whereby the police put out a call saying a large amount of cash in plastic bags had been seen in the woods and was blowing everywhere. Shortly later several cars turned up and the police sprang their trap. They'd made it up about the cash, but they did cop several people in the cars with scanners tunes to police frequencies.
I've heard the "UFO" version, and it was even fictionalised in an episode of the teenage TV soap, "Hollyoaks". But I've never seen any court reports of the supposed "prosecutions". My suspicion is that versions of this "true" story are simply urban myths.
As a rule, since I know that is prohibited by laws and Anatel rules on proceedings for ham's to transmit, I adjusted my radios just on receiving these frequencies and I blocked them to transmit on those frequencies...
When someone says "You can't listen to those frequencies.", they cannot enforce that without a serious violation of your privacy. Here in the USA, the Federal Communications Act of 1934 established that the radio frequency spectrum was a public domain and a citizen has a right to listen to anything they are capable of receiving, though by law, what they hear is considered 'Secret'.
I don't think I slept more than 4 hours a night from 1988 to 1998 as I was glued to a scanner over night....its funny how the authorities behaved we had little wave of warnings here in south east essex uk .....in the late 80s and 90s .......the local police had the evening paper publish an article where they said they can track scanner users down and know when there listening..we rolled up laughing at that one as we chatted on 11m ssb ....then one day soon after my equally addicted scanner friend had the police turn up on his door step asking him to stop listening in every night on his vintage realistic scanner ...he was shocked but ......not for long ...it came out eventually from a sympathetic police officer that a family member he fell out with had dobbed him in..... strange days ....and good times listening to the old bill miss them days ....1 friend got caught on a handheld scanner in the street and the young cop just warned him and took its serial number .....and a policeman once told me though that ..you could listen... but must not divulge to others what you heard.
Actually, it possible to detect radio receivers that are listening and not transmitting. However, if the listener switches between broadcasts quite quickly (as is often the case with scanners) it makes detection much more difficult.
@@Mike-H_UK I know what you mean Mike it can be done like tv detection van technology but you have to be on top of the user to detect if his scanner was on .... "operation rafter" conducted by British intelligence was such an example ...but the police made this seem like it could be done in the control room... like a red light flashing indicating someone is listening in .....i can jist ..imagine sergeant Jones saying nip round to 24 dozy cods crescent mr smith is listening on his realistic 2005 again lol
@@boilerroombob Agreed,. I read 'Spycatcher' many years ago and loved reading about MI5's activities against the eastern-bloc countries. I guess you have read that book too. I don't believe that Rafter ever caught an actual spy, although it got close on at least one occasion. Mind you, it did give MI5 the information that the Soviets knew that they were investigating Lonsdale. (Lionsbeard - Refter monitoring of the RX radios in the Russian enbassy).
@@Mike-H_UK yes spot on Mike some intelligence services veteran technical intercept men were very adept at recognition of types of reciever from the rf images and characteristics they saw and heard on there scopes etc
In the US since they cannot successfully ban radio scanning nationwide the FCC with big name brands rolled out digital formats (NXDN, DMR, P25-1, P25-2, etc.) which modern scanners can sync to and track but where they get you is with the AES and or other forms of encryption which is illegal for you to decrypt. Some cities / towns have laws that make it illegal for you to have a police scanner in your car. The US is full of small towns with archaic laws regarding police scanners either in your vehicle or on your belt. They treat it similar to having a radar detector and such. Some tourist spots prohibit the use of scanners and 2-way radios but most are policies enforced by a private security. Back in the 1990's when I was in high school it was against the school district policy to even have a CB radio in your personal vehicle let alone a mobile cellular phone, pager, police scanner, ham radio, etc. while on school property. It was their "NO electronic communications devices" policy and the school campus security with supervision of the on campus deputy sheriff could have you open your vehicle and confiscate the devices and hold them until the end of the school year. It was a different time where we had to hide our toys in the trunk or leave them at home.
I remember thinking because of the news reports that scanners were banned until I went to a shop that had hundreds on display on Tottenham Court Road in 1991. I asked a friend and was told I can buy them but I couldn't use them legally.
Thanks for the memory trip lol I was scanning in the 90s - those were good old days. Most comms were open and you could hear loads of good stuff. I even had one of the early Scanning Directories. However, I was also employed in a Government Dept at that time. I disagree with the actions of the police (as described here) and I think the Government approach was wrong. Clearly they knew there was a problem with their comms being open. Yet their method of going after the hobby listeners was stupid. If we could hear the comms - so could the bad guys and yes there were bad guys out there. Stopping hobby listeners did nothing to prevent the bad guys. Still - I don't think the Gov put much effort into stopping us really. Some stuff should be secret in my opinion - but it should be secret by design - not by punishing people who are just curious and don't have bad intentions.
Yes, being a longtime scanner user in the US from analog tuners 50 years ago, to crystal controlled receivers, to today's synthesized receivers it is fairly open to scan here. There were Bearcat and Radio Shack frequency guides that were in print for many years, until sources on the internet such as Radio Reference, replaced printed guides. However, back around 1986, in the US the Congress issued the ECPA to prevent scanners from monitoring the then analog cell phone 800 MHz frequencies. The Radio Shack/Tandy Pro-2004, was delayed in their distribution at that time to block cellular reception. However, when I had purchased one after that time in 1987, all one had to do was open the scanner and cut a jumper to restore the 800 Mhz analog cellular band. Actually, at that time into the 1990's when digital cell modes appeared, when one did listen to an analog cell call it would then disappear to another cell frequency, so one would loose the monitored cell call. Today's scanners and most amateur radios that cover the cell frequencies are not able to be modified to restore cellular coverage. Yes, it is true, that unless you have a permit, it is usually illegal to have a scanner in a vehicle. Today, even with having the latest Uniden SDS-100 digital all mode programmable scanner, here in New Hampshire we can not listen to Police in the biggest cities, Nashua and Manchester, because they are encrypted, so whatever mode, such as the APCO P25, cannot be monitored by Civilians. This is also true of many frequencies in the US such as the Federal ones.
@@RicArmstrong Yes, even as a licensed amateur operator, for 60 years, we have to be concerned about operating mobile as the legality of operation varies with the different state laws, and over time some amateurs have had legal problems, because authorities are not aware that our equipment is not used for scanning, but rather our hobby. 73 de W2CH, New Hampshire.
A friend had one of those Scanners that heard the analog cells. Friday after lunch was a scream. Every person that was cheating on their spouse was setting up a quickie. Heck, I recognized several people I knew that was cheating. The good old 80’s!
Cellular hand-off occurs quite rapidly in city areas ...so listening to a long intresting conversation was always a hit as you got learn a lot about people's lives....nothing was more upsetting than a juicy gossip being cut short as the cell user drove out of range and was handed over to another cell site.....drat!
Enforcement of laws that don’t exist and punishing people for laws that haven’t been passed yet. I see things in Britain haven’t changed much since 1776.
The people are n the UK do not understand have many things they have given up in the name of safety. You can’t piss in you own garden without three cameras seeing your Willy.
In Northern Ireland during the Troubles, the power to stop and search a person or vehicle was done so under the Northern Ireland Emergency Powers Act ( NIEPA) ( various dates) with the following statement to the person stopped : “ I am searching you for the possession Transmitters, SCANNERS and Receivers. “ This could be done by any member of the Police or Armed Forces. The normal response was “You are searching me for what? Seriously?” The thing was that my Northern Irish granny had an old fashioned Transistor radio and regularly listed to the Taxis, local Police and Ambulance!!! Her mates couldn’t figure how she had all the gossip!
I don’t understand why they would search for scanners under anti terrorism searches when the RUC etc all had encrypted channels and changed radios everyday along with frequencies in case even a radio was stolen. I miss listening to taxis in Belfast. 16 Green over.
@@northernsegageorge6510 I agrée that the RUC/Army were encrypted by the 1980’s but they weren’t always. I think they used this just as a reason to stop and search.
👍 Nice shot of the Albrecht 6157 AE at 0.55sec, I recently bought a Realistic by RadioShack PRO-2045 scanner (1997) on Ebay and one of them came with it :)
@@charleshunziker7416 The video is 100% bull shit! Scanners have been around for years, the only difference was affordable scanners only surfaced in the early 80's. Before that they cost a fortune and were not controlled by "Chips".
My dad bought me a handheld scanner for my 11th Birthday in 1996 I was listening one night soon after and I picked up a police patrol searching for a knife wielding manic running around my village, scared the crap out of me!
In the USA the Federal Government has their own cellular network. It can be scanned and monitored with the right equipment. I’ve never heard of anyone charged for monitoring it.
A man in Canada was found guilty, fined and jailed for releasing public service P25 encryption keys, and distributing Motorola CPS programming software. He was lashed pretty hard
It was strange, given the UK position on using scanners, that the UK did not demand band limiting that the US authorities enforced on imported scanners. Also worth remembering that there were many countries, including some in Europe, where owning a scanner was itself illegal and turning up at customs with one in your case would get the unit confiscated, a fine, and maybe a few nights in the cells.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 Yes I am aware of that, my point was that the UK did not seek to implement such a ban even though, at the time, it was possible to monitor the AMPS mobile phone system used in the UK. It's also telling that the US puts the privacy of telephone calls above that of it's security services 😂😂
So is scanning ban today in UK or do they allow it now, I was gonna take my ham radio to UK back in 2017 but my Australian license class is not recognised in UK, so the radio stayed home.
I still plan to get a little software defined radio... - again this week, the budget for it went on the electric instead ...they are not much use when the electric goes...
Even "private" voice conversations over the USA's 1st gen cellular services were rather easily scanned, well into the mid 90's ! It wasn't exactly easy to find such hardware but it existed. Often, capable hardware was just intentionally "locked out" but there were some well known mods afoot. & It was even possible to mod virtually any old B&W UHF TV. Anyway, you could "listen in" on whatever was nearby but you couldn't "follow" any particular call. & about 50% of the time you could only hear one-side(tower Vs. phone I think) of the conversation. But then came digital + encryption. Regular landlines with cordless house phones, especially in cities/near apartment complexes & such were even more vulnerable. ALL illegal I'm sure. Yet I bet there wasn't a hobbyist who never did it.
Thanks for some great memories of having a, CB. Then not having! Also, had lessons with a late, Am. Radio Teacher.GW4?HN. Back in.1978. Now most Humans have mobile electronic devices which are truly mindboggling!
In 1976 I was actually arrested in California for having a scanner in my car. The arresting officer that went as far as booking me in and fingerprinting me in the whole nine yards ended up having to eat crow because the municipal code section, which is not really a law but rather a prohibition, was no longer on the books. I agreed to sign a form stating that it was only a detention. If I knew then what I know now I would not have signed it and would have had sued them for false arrest. The way that I was treated and manhandled was completely inappropriate. There was the arresting officer and a 16 or 17 year old police explorer which is a boy scout studying law enforcement and it was he who took me out of the patrol car and slam me down on the trunk of the patrol car. If I knew then what I know now he would have been arrested for battery because he wasn't even a police officer.
from the early to mid eighties a lot of federal agencies in the United States were unequipped it so I was a little listen to FBI DEA postalinspectors Etc
that's crazy.. stupid country.. and the needless destruction of that poor guys company.. very suspicious tactics by the authorities.. i am surprised if that guy can't do them for damages rn
The first encrypted two-way radios that I saw were in the late 80s Motorola was a leader in the 128 bit encryption Now 256 bit encryption is standard in all Motorola public safety Services
Excellent video.. I had a copy of said publication way back in the old CB days. Do you have any videos on the best hand held scanner that also does airbands (civ and mil) ?
Dude, what’s the make and model number on the radios display? I like the top mounted lcd screen and rocker switches at the top edge. Are those Kenwood or Realistic brand?
I had a realistic pro-74 back in the day..while sat in McDonald’s Tankersley car park ( near Sheffield) listening to traffic cops on the M1 the talk through was off so there were just beeps being heard. Just at that moment a man in an old tatty looking Fiesta drove into the car park and parked up . As he walked past my car he stopped for a moment,turned round and tapped on my car window.. flashed his warrant card and asked if was a police officer.. of course I answered no to which he then proceeded to confiscate my scanner and other connected equipment.. after summoning me to Attercliffe police station some days later for a interview I was greeted by a detective inspector in full uniform..anyway I paid the price of listening to frequencies I knew I shouldn’t but I was curious & fascinated by some of the things I heard. I did have the cheek to ask if I would be getting my equipment back, a resounding “not on you nelly mate ”followed. Few weeks later I went out and purchased another .. Home cordless phones before they also went digital was an interesting listen! 😂
CB radios have nothing to do with scanners.. Here in the US, if you want your data private; it is up to you to encrypt it....we can listen to whatever frequency we want; DC to light. In fact, most police frequencies now are encrypted as well as commercial satellite broadcasts, cell phones, and home extension wireless phones.
Wouldn't a scanner search for frequencies and you could store them like now days scanners. Why would you need the guide. Maybe only to know what is on a frequency is that you have found.
You are wrong about not being allowed to listen to signal on any frequency, you were allowed to listen, but it was illegal to pass on or record any traffic to a third party.
That was a popular misconception. Simply listening was an offence, albeit a completely unenforceable one. Passing on the information was a further offence. I think it was the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1948 that applied.
So what was the outcome? Was the seller prosecuted, and for what? I'm somewhat surprised as, having been active in both the Reading amateur radio and CB community at the time, and working at BBC Monitoring, I've never heard a thing about this. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but I'd be surprised that NOTHING filtered back through the grapevine. I'd like to know the source of this.
By Confiscating all his stuff means they took responsibility for fulfilling my order. So, does this mean that one day i Will get my Scanning Guide or not ? Ordering stuff from China takes a while, so i'm used to waiting a bit for the delivery ;)
channl 89 police air to ground 138.105 was good .i was constantly listening to golf 1 and 2 and how corrupt they are.july 2003 it all went digital.sierra charlie was the pnc marker for a scanner user.take care.bring back scanners.
them awful sierra oscars got outted daily.addreses were given out which was music to my ears.i robbed a ton of them.before the internet.then rob them again or have a wee wee in their kettles knowin they need a brew after the shock sets in.
It'd be pretty pathetic if national security relied on simply asking people not to listen to secret messages that were being broadcast in the clear 😂
All nefarious characters were required to pinky swear not to do it.
Thankfully, Enemy Nations cannot listen to Illegal frequencies.
It is a good thing that all radio waves stop at the borders of all countries.
If only Radio could travel as far and fast as Bullshit.
Radio is free just like gravity.
if it actually worked that would put the government at risk of intercepts by bad actors by fostering a false sense of security
I was friends with a young man that was following a stop of a presidential candidate at a local mall and this young man that I knew had a handheld scanner on his waistband and turned up loudly listening to the secret service. They had to tell him to turn his radio off. Common Sense should have told him he shouldn't have had the radio turned up and should have been at least using a earphone. This is one of the reasons that law enforcement agencies around the country are going to encryption so even though we may hear the digital crap on the frequency we can understand it.
As an American, it is hard for me to understand being arrested for using my ears (listening).
I'm in the States too, and in some areas you can get arrested for having a scanner in the car.
There's no such thing as a secret frequency in the U.S.... IF you know how to navigate the FCC licensing database. If any radio license is issued to any entity, public or private, the license information, including the frequencies, are right there for all to see. Again presuming it can be found. Some military and federal government agencies are issued licenses, but for reasons of National Security, they are classified as "Top Secret", and not listed with all the rest. However with regards to the government/public safety licenses that are public record, agencies are using modes and encryption that are at the least, EXTREMELY hard to listen to even if you know that the frequencies. Another very interesting video report Lewis !
A scanner is illegal unless you have a ham license which is stupid because you are not privy to the public service frequencies.
Another clear as mud regulation.
@@dougtaylor7724 You don't need a ham license and scanners are completely legal in the US.
I'm scanning my local public service system as I type this.
@@baronedipiemonte3990 Some states prohibit using scanners while driving.
Other than that scanners are completely legal in the US.
As for other frequencies, I monitor the USAF all the time and the frequencies they use are easy to find on the web or by using a scanner's search function.
@@landonmiller6943 To mount it in a vehicle a license was required at one time. Home use was no requirement. Of course that was many many years ago.
To pass on knowledge gained by listening or to avoid prosecution has and still is against the law.
You may listen but not discuss. But that law is like spitting on a sidewalk. There’s a law but nobody has ever been charged with a violation.
Am I the only one seeing the Met Police openly pervert the course of justice , making a wrongful arrest, defamation of character etc etc???
And shock horror even protect politicians...
Their still at large and more corrupt than ever despite the fake all inclusive feelings brigade.
They were probably not Police Officers.
More than likely MI5...
The Greater Manchester Police do the same. And they're in cahoots with Politicians. I hope Andrew Malkinson gets a lot more than that paltry million quid and the bent cops are arrested
Makes you think government and police have something to hide. Good video!
Lewis, back in about 1990 I got stopped on a "routine" stop, I had a wholly legal 27/81 rotel RVC 240, I was detained until an "expert" could confirm my radio was legal!!
I'm so sorry you had to be detained due to such a ridiculous piece of legislation!
I feel that the UK always seems to have obscure pieces of legislation that makes particular otherwise harmless activities illegal - unlike our neighboring nations 😂
That or - I am just very heavily biased against current UK politics and where it seems to be dragging us! 😂
@@Chris47368 The unfortunate truth is that the good old British Bobby can be over zealous bordering dystopian.
It is the bad leaders elected by democracy!
The government would tax us for the air that we breathe if only they could.Good old UK eh!
You didn't even need a scanner in the 70's and 80's. My father was a retained firefighter in the UK. When he got a shout we would retune a domestic FM radio to the VHF frequency and find out where he was going and when he was likely to get back
My brother had a big white Ford Granada as like the ones in 'The Sweeny,' he tuned the radio to the plod frequency and pulled in to a petrol station, opened the window and suddenly 4 cars, drivers decided that they didn't need fuel and rushed to get back in their souped up heaps.
@@Volcano-Man What's said?
@@zoltarmagic1674 Que?
Tyranny has no bound when it comes to lying, cheating, and torture!
Well done Lewis this is a great story
I absolutely love your channel! Your content is excellent quality and very well written. I’ve enjoyed watching your subscriber base grow as well and hope it continues to grow! Keep doing what you’re doing! Excellent work!
If you don’t encrypt your sensitive communications, then that’s on you 🤷♀️
Anyone remember that Germany had a similar law regarding 25 mhz
I remember ham or shortwave receivers exported to Germany had those frequencies blocked
It was about 40 years ago
I remember hearing a tale whereby the police put out a call saying a large amount of cash in plastic bags had been seen in the woods and was blowing everywhere. Shortly later several cars turned up and the police sprang their trap. They'd made it up about the cash, but they did cop several people in the cars with scanners tunes to police frequencies.
Heard a similar story where they talked about a UFO landing and then pounced on the scannerFiends as they arrived.
That's definitely entrapment
Dirty fuqers 😂😂
@@molegripeu Yes I'd heard that one too
I've heard the "UFO" version, and it was even fictionalised in an episode of the teenage TV soap, "Hollyoaks". But I've never seen any court reports of the supposed "prosecutions". My suspicion is that versions of this "true" story are simply urban myths.
unpopular opinion: sharing frequencies that the public services operate on shouldn't be illegal
To listen to in almost total countries is not illegal but to spread or take advantage on use it may be a crime !
As a rule, since I know that is prohibited by laws and Anatel rules on proceedings for ham's to transmit, I adjusted my radios just on receiving these frequencies and I blocked them to transmit on those frequencies...
A listener don't needs to own any license and is more free to listen to whatever they puts on the air
When someone says "You can't listen to those frequencies.", they cannot enforce that without a serious violation of your privacy. Here in the USA, the Federal Communications Act of 1934 established that the radio frequency spectrum was a public domain and a citizen has a right to listen to anything they are capable of receiving, though by law, what they hear is considered 'Secret'.
What do you expect from a government that once had a window tax on its people.....
More like KGB modus operandi.... Very bad
I don't think I slept more than 4 hours a night from 1988 to 1998 as I was glued to a scanner over night....its funny how the authorities behaved we had little wave of warnings here in south east essex uk .....in the late 80s and 90s
.......the local police had the evening paper publish an article where they said they can track scanner users down and know when there listening..we rolled up laughing at that one as we chatted on 11m ssb ....then one day soon after my equally addicted scanner friend had the police turn up on his door step asking him to stop listening in every night on his vintage realistic scanner ...he was shocked but ......not for long ...it came out eventually from a sympathetic police officer that a family member he fell out with had dobbed him in..... strange days ....and good times listening to the old bill miss them days ....1 friend got caught on a handheld scanner in the street and the young cop just warned him and took its serial number .....and a policeman once told me though that ..you could listen... but must not divulge to others what you heard.
Actually, it possible to detect radio receivers that are listening and not transmitting. However, if the listener switches between broadcasts quite quickly (as is often the case with scanners) it makes detection much more difficult.
@@Mike-H_UK I know what you mean Mike it can be done like tv detection van technology but you have to be on top of the user to detect if his scanner was on .... "operation rafter" conducted by British intelligence was such an example ...but the police made this seem like it could be done in the control room... like a red light flashing indicating someone is listening in .....i can jist ..imagine sergeant Jones saying nip round to 24 dozy cods crescent mr smith is listening on his realistic 2005 again lol
@@boilerroombob Agreed,. I read 'Spycatcher' many years ago and loved reading about MI5's activities against the eastern-bloc countries. I guess you have read that book too. I don't believe that Rafter ever caught an actual spy, although it got close on at least one occasion. Mind you, it did give MI5 the information that the Soviets knew that they were investigating Lonsdale. (Lionsbeard - Refter monitoring of the RX radios in the Russian enbassy).
@@Mike-H_UK yes spot on Mike some intelligence services veteran technical intercept men were very adept at recognition of types of reciever from the rf images and characteristics they saw and heard on there scopes etc
In the US since they cannot successfully ban radio scanning nationwide the FCC with big name brands rolled out digital formats (NXDN, DMR, P25-1, P25-2, etc.) which modern scanners can sync to and track but where they get you is with the AES and or other forms of encryption which is illegal for you to decrypt.
Some cities / towns have laws that make it illegal for you to have a police scanner in your car. The US is full of small towns with archaic laws regarding police scanners either in your vehicle or on your belt. They treat it similar to having a radar detector and such. Some tourist spots prohibit the use of scanners and 2-way radios but most are policies enforced by a private security.
Back in the 1990's when I was in high school it was against the school district policy to even have a CB radio in your personal vehicle let alone a mobile cellular phone, pager, police scanner, ham radio, etc. while on school property. It was their "NO electronic communications devices" policy and the school campus security with supervision of the on campus deputy sheriff could have you open your vehicle and confiscate the devices and hold them until the end of the school year. It was a different time where we had to hide our toys in the trunk or leave them at home.
If governments had their way, looking or breathing in the general direction of the King without permission would be a capital offense.
Defence of the Realm.....
Analog cell phones on around 900Mhz were most fun in the early 90's (allegedly) 😀
@@oscarleijontoft yes to be fair, if the phone was moving (car based) it would change channel, but if static probably not
My county 911 center in the US encourages scanning and even provides a list of frequencies on their web site.
If it's out there on the airwaves, it can be heard, unless suitably encrypted or scrambled, that goes for anywhere in the world.
Nice one Lewis, 😉👍
I remember thinking because of the news reports that scanners were banned until I went to a shop that had hundreds on display on Tottenham Court Road in 1991. I asked a friend and was told I can buy them but I couldn't use them legally.
Thanks for the memory trip lol
I was scanning in the 90s - those were good old days. Most comms were open and you could hear loads of good stuff. I even had one of the early Scanning Directories.
However, I was also employed in a Government Dept at that time.
I disagree with the actions of the police (as described here) and I think the Government approach was wrong. Clearly they knew there was a problem with their comms being open. Yet their method of going after the hobby listeners was stupid. If we could hear the comms - so could the bad guys and yes there were bad guys out there. Stopping hobby listeners did nothing to prevent the bad guys.
Still - I don't think the Gov put much effort into stopping us really.
Some stuff should be secret in my opinion - but it should be secret by design - not by punishing people who are just curious and don't have bad intentions.
Yes, being a longtime scanner user in the
US from analog tuners 50 years ago, to
crystal controlled receivers, to today's
synthesized receivers it is fairly open
to scan here. There were Bearcat and Radio
Shack frequency guides that were in print
for many years, until sources on the internet
such as Radio Reference, replaced printed
guides.
However, back around 1986, in the US the
Congress issued the ECPA to prevent
scanners from monitoring the then analog
cell phone 800 MHz frequencies. The Radio
Shack/Tandy Pro-2004, was delayed in their
distribution at that time to block cellular
reception. However, when I had purchased
one after that time in 1987, all one had to
do was open the scanner and cut a jumper
to restore the 800 Mhz analog cellular band.
Actually, at that time into the 1990's when
digital cell modes appeared, when one did
listen to an analog cell call it would then disappear to another cell frequency, so one
would loose the monitored cell call.
Today's scanners and most amateur radios
that cover the cell frequencies are not able
to be modified to restore cellular coverage.
Yes, it is true, that unless you have a permit,
it is usually illegal to have a scanner in a
vehicle.
Today, even with having the latest Uniden
SDS-100 digital all mode programmable
scanner, here in New Hampshire we can not
listen to Police in the biggest cities, Nashua
and Manchester, because they are encrypted, so whatever mode, such as the APCO P25, cannot be monitored by Civilians.
This is also true of many frequencies in the
US such as the Federal ones.
I've never heard that it was illegal to have a scanner in a car here in the US.
Seems like something that wouldn't be upheld in court.
@@RicArmstrong Yes, even as a licensed amateur operator, for 60 years, we have
to be concerned about operating mobile
as the legality of operation varies with the different state laws, and over time some
amateurs have had legal problems, because
authorities are not aware that our equipment
is not used for scanning, but rather our hobby. 73 de W2CH, New Hampshire.
A friend had one of those Scanners that heard the analog cells. Friday after lunch was a scream. Every person that was cheating on their spouse was setting up a quickie. Heck, I recognized several people I knew that was cheating. The good old 80’s!
@@dougtaylor7724 Signals from analog baby monitors could also be quite interesting, depending on where they were located😁...
Cellular hand-off occurs quite rapidly in city areas ...so listening to a long intresting conversation was always a hit as you got learn a lot about people's lives....nothing was more upsetting than a juicy gossip being cut short as the cell user drove out of range and was handed over to another cell site.....drat!
Enforcement of laws that don’t exist and punishing people for laws that haven’t been passed yet. I see things in Britain haven’t changed much since 1776.
In the begging, God created idiots. That was for practice. Then he created bureaucrats.
The people are n the UK do not understand have many things they have given up in the name of safety.
You can’t piss in you own garden without three cameras seeing your Willy.
Yeah but those are just your neighbours who are fed up of you doing it when coming back from the pub and your wife locking you out again.
In Northern Ireland during the Troubles, the power to stop and search a person or vehicle was done so under the Northern Ireland Emergency Powers Act ( NIEPA) ( various dates) with the following statement to the person stopped : “ I am searching you for the possession Transmitters, SCANNERS and Receivers. “
This could be done by any member of the Police or Armed Forces.
The normal response was “You are searching me for what? Seriously?”
The thing was that my Northern Irish granny had an old fashioned Transistor radio and regularly listed to the Taxis, local Police and Ambulance!!! Her mates couldn’t figure how she had all the gossip!
I don’t understand why they would search for scanners under anti terrorism searches when the RUC etc all had encrypted channels and changed radios everyday along with frequencies in case even a radio was stolen. I miss listening to taxis in Belfast. 16 Green over.
@@northernsegageorge6510 I agrée that the RUC/Army were encrypted by the 1980’s but they weren’t always. I think they used this just as a reason to stop and search.
👍 Nice shot of the Albrecht 6157 AE at 0.55sec, I recently bought a
Realistic by RadioShack PRO-2045 scanner (1997) on Ebay and one of them came with it :)
Amazing! I used VHF/UHF scanners as far back as 1972 along with many other people at Heathrow!
in 1985 I stayed at a hotel at Heathrow and was getting the London Police on my FM radio
@@charleshunziker7416 The video is 100% bull shit! Scanners have been around for years, the only difference was affordable scanners only surfaced in the early 80's. Before that they cost a fortune and were not controlled by "Chips".
Thanks Lewis
Thats Crazy rog!!!
My dad bought me a handheld scanner for my 11th Birthday in 1996 I was listening one night soon after and I picked up a police patrol searching for a knife wielding manic running around my village, scared the crap out of me!
In the USA the Federal Government has their own cellular network. It can be scanned and monitored with the right equipment. I’ve never heard of anyone charged for monitoring it.
Really fantastic post Lewis. Our political master's are truly a dastardly lot!
And today it's still business as usual with them.
Excellent Video, Thank You 👍
A man in Canada was found guilty, fined and jailed for releasing public service P25 encryption keys, and distributing Motorola CPS programming software. He was lashed pretty hard
I love all your stories, always very interesting.👍📻
Absolutely crazy.
Free the information!
It was strange, given the UK position on using scanners, that the UK did not demand band limiting that the US authorities enforced on imported scanners.
Also worth remembering that there were many countries, including some in Europe, where owning a scanner was itself illegal and turning up at customs with one in your case would get the unit confiscated, a fine, and maybe a few nights in the cells.
The band limiting was to prevent people from eavesdropping on cellular telephone calls
@@baronedipiemonte3990 Yes I am aware of that, my point was that the UK did not seek to implement such a ban even though, at the time, it was possible to monitor the AMPS mobile phone system used in the UK.
It's also telling that the US puts the privacy of telephone calls above that of it's security services 😂😂
So is scanning ban today in UK or do they allow it now, I was gonna take my ham radio to UK back in 2017 but my Australian license class is not recognised in UK, so the radio stayed home.
I still plan to get a little software defined radio... - again this week, the budget for it went on the electric instead ...they are not much use when the electric goes...
Airspy and SDR sharp is the way to go 😀
Just make sure your PC has an I5 processor or above
@@peterh9238 below 5mhz channel widh , a 4 year old atom Netbook will work too
Even "private" voice conversations over the USA's 1st gen cellular services were rather easily scanned, well into the mid 90's ! It wasn't exactly easy to find such hardware but it existed. Often, capable hardware was just intentionally "locked out" but there were some well known mods afoot. & It was even possible to mod virtually any old B&W UHF TV. Anyway, you could "listen in" on whatever was nearby but you couldn't "follow" any particular call. & about 50% of the time you could only hear one-side(tower Vs. phone I think) of the conversation. But then came digital + encryption. Regular landlines with cordless house phones, especially in cities/near apartment complexes & such were even more vulnerable. ALL illegal I'm sure. Yet I bet there wasn't a hobbyist who never did it.
Well make it into a movie.
Thanks for some great memories of having a, CB. Then not having!
Also, had lessons with a late, Am. Radio Teacher.GW4?HN. Back in.1978.
Now most Humans have mobile electronic devices which are truly mindboggling!
For the want of a better word, 'Illegitimate children.' for what they were doing tp the man.
here in the states we actually printed and sold commercially whole boocs of frequencies
and programmable scanners and still do!
Loved the early years of UK scanning. Remember fondly SSC List, Un-Seen Airshow, The TAD list etc
In 1976 I was actually arrested in California for having a scanner in my car. The arresting officer that went as far as booking me in and fingerprinting me in the whole nine yards ended up having to eat crow because the municipal code section, which is not really a law but rather a prohibition, was no longer on the books. I agreed to sign a form stating that it was only a detention. If I knew then what I know now I would not have signed it and would have had sued them for false arrest. The way that I was treated and manhandled was completely inappropriate. There was the arresting officer and a 16 or 17 year old police explorer which is a boy scout studying law enforcement and it was he who took me out of the patrol car and slam me down on the trunk of the patrol car. If I knew then what I know now he would have been arrested for battery because he wasn't even a police officer.
We used to listen to the police around 100 mhz on the fm broadcast band when we were kids in the 70s.
we the taxpayers are paying for these frequencies I have every right to listen to them.
It's in the air... Breathe it
I wonder what model radio that is in the thumbnail! I like it!
Wondering the same thing!
from the early to mid eighties a lot of federal agencies in the United States were unequipped it so I was a little listen to FBI DEA postalinspectors Etc
Amazing story. I love your content. Many thanks for your effort.
Oh Well, there is always the next best thing.. Shop Watch.
That would be a big lawsuit today.
Is that one of the reasons why all the government services now use digital two ways Because it’s more secure
Good auld British Justice
that's crazy.. stupid country.. and the needless destruction of that poor guys company.. very suspicious tactics by the authorities.. i am surprised if that guy can't do them for damages rn
So they were "Just Following Orders" when they harassed him? I thought that was not an acceptable excuse?
The first encrypted two-way radios that I saw were in the late 80s
Motorola was a leader in the 128 bit encryption
Now 256 bit encryption is standard in all Motorola public safety Services
Whenever the Govt doesn't want you to enjoy something, it is A Threat to National Security
I am so glad I live in Australia we don’t have these crazy CB rules
Excellent video.. I had a copy of said publication way back in the old CB days.
Do you have any videos on the best hand held scanner that also does airbands (civ and mil) ?
Dude, what’s the make and model number on the radios display? I like the top mounted lcd screen and rocker switches at the top edge. Are those Kenwood or Realistic brand?
I would like to know this as well.
I had a realistic pro-74 back in the day..while sat in McDonald’s Tankersley car park ( near Sheffield) listening to traffic cops on the M1 the talk through was off so there were just beeps being heard. Just at that moment a man in an old tatty looking Fiesta drove into the car park and parked up . As he walked past my car he stopped for a moment,turned round and tapped on my car window.. flashed his warrant card and asked if was a police officer.. of course I answered no to which he then proceeded to confiscate my scanner and other connected equipment.. after summoning me to Attercliffe police station some days later for a interview I was greeted by a detective inspector in full uniform..anyway I paid the price of listening to frequencies I knew I shouldn’t but I was curious & fascinated by some of the things I heard. I did have the cheek to ask if I would be getting my equipment back, a resounding “not on you nelly mate ”followed. Few weeks later I went out and purchased another ..
Home cordless phones before they also went digital was an interesting listen! 😂
Lol I bet they hate sdr. I asked a barrister once and he told ne you can listen provided you dont act on what you hear, this was in the mid 70's
I’m glad I’m not British. It must be a real drag having a ton of stupid rules.
What a primitive stone age law. Unencrypted communications is not a secret at all. Come on!
CB radios have nothing to do with scanners.. Here in the US, if you want your data private; it is up to you to encrypt it....we can listen to whatever frequency we want; DC to light. In fact, most police frequencies now are encrypted as well as commercial satellite broadcasts, cell phones, and home extension wireless phones.
Since we have dmr now and it's easy to encrypt I think this is the reason why they switched here in New York. The waves are empty now
Excellent video.
Lucky he was not murderd.unlike like the case of Hilda murrell special branch and mi5 in on the hit of an old lady with dangerous knowledge
Wouldn't a scanner search for frequencies and you could store them like now days scanners. Why would you need the guide. Maybe only to know what is on a frequency is that you have found.
Synthesised scanners weren’t really around until the very end of the 80’s
@@RingwayManchester so u had to type in frequencies?
@@bestestimesreborn Or buy the crystal for them.
Damn. I thought Britian was a free country. I thought the Nazis lost that war.
What radio is that on the thumbnail...!?
Sell the book online. Get a swiss website that the Brit gov can't touch.
You are wrong about not being allowed to listen to signal on any frequency, you were allowed to listen, but it was illegal to pass on or record any traffic to a third party.
That was a popular misconception. Simply listening was an offence, albeit a completely unenforceable one. Passing on the information was a further offence. I think it was the Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1948 that applied.
What radios are in the thumbnail? They are really cool looking.
Ron Tramel Consumer Satellite Coalition CSC 1987- 1995. FM America. Cable Act 1992. Consumer Lobby.
Wow... 😳
So what was the outcome? Was the seller prosecuted, and for what? I'm somewhat surprised as, having been active in both the Reading amateur radio and CB community at the time, and working at BBC Monitoring, I've never heard a thing about this. That doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but I'd be surprised that NOTHING filtered back through the grapevine. I'd like to know the source of this.
Sorry I’ve told you everything I know
What was the radio in the thumbnail
What about RF harvesting with multiple array systems
where can i get a pair?
which scnaners are those from the thumbnail?
By Confiscating all his stuff means they took responsibility for fulfilling my order.
So, does this mean that one day i Will get my Scanning Guide or not ?
Ordering stuff from China takes a while, so i'm used to waiting a bit for the delivery ;)
channl 89 police air to ground 138.105 was good .i was constantly listening to golf 1 and 2 and how corrupt they are.july 2003 it all went digital.sierra charlie was the pnc marker for a scanner user.take care.bring back scanners.
them awful sierra oscars got outted daily.addreses were given out which was music to my ears.i robbed a ton of them.before the internet.then rob them again or have a wee wee in their kettles knowin they need a brew after the shock sets in.
Does anyone know what is the name od the radio used in the thumbnail?
securocrat overreach on an industrial scale
I’ll have to get in touch with you Lewis I have an interesting story
Drop me an email mate ringwaymanchester@mail.com
It's also ridiculous having to pay to receive broadcast radio
Where is that the case?
Why would anyone want to listen to Radio Pig?