Posted on 10/27/2020 4:59:19 AM PDT by IamConservative
Have been considering getting a radio scanner so I can hear local police and first responder traffic.
Curious if this traffic has been encrypted or is transmitted over cellular networks?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
I’m pretty sure it depends on your local jurisdiction.
There are many police scanner free apps you can download on your phone.
Radio Shack is long gone..
They went encrypted in my area two years ago. I can listen to the State Police, but not the locals. Too many gangs were listening in.
In those jurisdictions that have moved to the 700_band frequencies, I would say the traffic is probably encrypted.
Most cities use digital radio with all that entails. You can still pick up some traffic.
Many use trunking systems now. So you would have to get a scanner that handles that. But it depends on what your locals use. Google your local area and police frequencies.
In addition to the broadcastify links you can get a Baofeng which cover most unencrypted police and fire channels.
Check out the departments you want to listen to online to see if they encrypt. Lots of local police do, fire departments less so. Don’t bother with the premium for now.
https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/
Most departments have moved to digital trunking systems, often with encryption.
Thank you all much for the input!
Listening to local LEO on broadcastify now.
I can get some local Fire, EMS and PD scans on the FREE TuneIn radio app.
Check out https://www.radioreference.com
I’ve been using it for 15 years now. Everything you could need to know.
I think the Patriot Act and associated federal programs pushed/funded the move to digitally encrypted “public service” radios. Of course the radio corporations got rich selling high priced new radios. And the public’s ability to listen in is curtailed.
The U.S. was unusual, if not unique, in allowing anyone to listen to everything.Even many “free” nations have long forbidden ordinary citizens possession of radios capable of receiving police communications. Often punished by radio confiscation and large fines.The states of Kentucky,Virginia, and New Jersey arent scanner friendly.
Anyway you need a digital scanner AND certain code sequences to hear the unencrypted digital channels plus you even listening to the encrypted channels is considered a crime under the revised communication act.
A lot has changed with radio beginning with the digital and copyright restrictions pushed by Disney and others way back in the 1980s.
All depends. We have a main broadcast channel that’s picked up by most scanners, but for any critical incident we switch to a tactical channel that’s scrambled.
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