Anyone use police scanners

[allentrace]

if you want to work on your vouyer habit, I'd just hang out at the local Jewel-Osco about 6:30 in the evening and overhear married couples bitch about how much Red Dog and Bud Light to buy for the weekend.

Out here in KY we just hang around Waffle House aroung 3:00am.

[erehwon]

Out here in KY we just hang around Waffle House aroung 3:00am.

MMMMM, Waffle House!

Its just not a trip to "The South" (on either business or pleasure) without a 3:00am trip to the Waffle House.

But yes, Waffle House at 3:00am would work too.

[Dark Tangent]

Scanners and such

I'd say there are several scanner technologies to pay attention to if you want to listen in on the action.

Analog scanners "Pre-Ban" that tune the AMPS/NAMPS old analog cell phone frequencies, or a modded one that tunes these. Not much Analog use left, so you won't hear a whole lot.

Trunk Tracking scanners that are good for following public safety systems in medium / high density environments. No cell calls here, just Government / Federal / Local / really big businesses talking about fixing the toilet or responding to a fire. Good to listen to when getting an idea of what goes on in your area. There are several system types EDACS, etc. but the good ones know all the popular protocols.

Digital scanners know how to decode different digital protocols and play them for you. For example there is a digital option for some trunk trackers. This is mainly because the Federal government is on a time table to move all their radio communications over to digital. Not for security, but for band plan management and better use of spectrum. To follow them into this realm you would need a capable scanner.

To specifically listen to GSM calls you would need a digital scanner that speaks the required GSM protocol. There are kits like this available, that can also decode the A4 / A5 encryption but this kit is for L.E. only and costs bucks. No doubt someone will write a mod for GNU Radio one day.

For modern cordless phones, most are in the 2.4 or 5.x Gig range, and require better scanners. I haven't seen a 5+ Gig scanner yet, so I don't know if that is even an option in the consumer range of gear. For privacy I would try to use the highest frequency cordless phones possible.

Oh! I know! You can scan for baby monitors. Yeah. The older ones were in the 50+ Meg range if I remember correctly. If you drive real slow through a dense neighborhood you might find one after a week of looking. You might also make friends with the nice officer who is wondering what the hell you are up to. Looking in apartments works well, but still is kinda ghetto in my book.

On a final note there is more action in software programmable radios now than ever before. I mentioned GNU Radio, but there are others. This area is growing, and I know a few hackers whoa re using their GNU radios to decode and transmit Bluetooth traffic. Hey, doesn't have to be all voice!

[skroo]

Oh! I know! You can scan for baby monitors. Yeah. The older ones were in the 50+ Meg range if I remember correctly. If you drive real slow through a dense neighborhood you might find one after a week of looking. You might also make friends with the nice officer who is wondering what the hell you are up to. Looking in apartments works well, but still is kinda ghetto in my book.

Close... They're (still) usually in the 46 & 49MHz range on frequencies shared with the pre-900MHz cordless phones. A lot of them are up in the 900s now, though.

On a semi-related rant, I bought a Sony 900MHz cordless phone in 1998 that did FHSS between the base and handset. Not the most secure thing in the world, but enough to keep someone with a Yaesu out of my business. So why is it that nearly eight years later you can't get a 900MHz phone that does spread spectrum? 2.4 and 5.8GHz phones play hell with 802.11, so staying in the 900MHz range makes a lot of sense if you're running a wireless network.

Oh well. As long as there are battery packs out there I can keep modifying to work with it, at least I'm not totally sunk.

[alklloyd]

Ya'll made me open the tomb of the BC200XLT, damn you. It's questionable if either of my batteries will hold a charge. I'll have the joy of unlocking 200 channels!
At any rate, nostalgia (although seeing Social D friday didn't hurt).

Al

[skroo]

Ya'll made me open the tomb of the BC200XLT, damn you.

I hear you... There's a BC210 (Date of manufacture: June 24, 1977) sitting on one of the side tables just *itching* to be used.

At any rate, nostalgia (although seeing Social D friday didn't hurt).

Dammit. Missed the last few of their shows. Rub it in, rub it in :D

[astcell]

I got me a box of electrnics, cameras and scanners at the Sherfiff Auction a few years ago. Evidence, unclaimed property, etc. Well I plugged in the scanner and the first thing it picked up was a guy calling Wells Fargo to request a cashier's check for $90,000 be mailed to him. He gave all his personal info, names, numbers, dates, etc. All over an unsecure analog wireless line. This was in 1999.

Illegal to listen to? Yes. So I stopped, I swear. Sorta funny to have received this from a Sheriff auction. I think these are still available on an auction site for under a hundred bucks.

[skroo]

I think these are still available on an auction site for under a hundred bucks.

I got my BC210 in a used electronics store for $10 in 1999. I figure this is about what these things are really worth: it's not like we haven't improved the technology in nearly 30 years to the point where it makes more sense to spend ten times that on a more modern used unit and have better functionality.