scanner - police / fire etc etc

sven '2' · Post by **sven '2'** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:55 pm

Know nothing about these...but the thought of listening in on Adelaide's seedy underworld at night (police / fire / ambos + airline traffic) when I cannot sleep is somewhat intriguing.

Anyone into this? Any suggestions for a good basic scanner to start with?

thanks in advance

Sleepless in Adelaide (aka Sven)

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 8:57 pm

I have a Uniden UBCT8

works well. I mostly use it at rallies to pick up the frequencies used by event management.

it picks up some of the coppers here, but brisbane police are all digital so you cant get any of that.

AlpineRaven · Post by **AlpineRaven** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 9:43 pm

Yeah my father used to use it all the time, normally scans on police & fire broadcast sometimes SES as well... whenever goes on and he'll listen to it, sometimes something has happened and we'll go and be sneaky beak... BUt that was like 4-5 yrs ago now.. I dunno if he still does that - i doubt it.
Cheers
AP

Subafury · Post by **Subafury** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:41 pm

id assume most of the signals have gone digital by now and so ya cant listen to them on a scanner like that

SuBaRiNo · Post by **SuBaRiNo** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:44 pm

The Police are going digital soon i belive... when they do all the scanners wont pick them up anymore. Be a bit of a waste buying one now.

If your dead keen though... you can get CB radios which have extra channel functions which allows you to program in police/emergancy channels. You can download the list of frequancies in your area and add them into the CB and save them.

I also find that the old police aint as active on the radio as i first thought... hell of a lot of silence going over the radio waves.

Dave

D3V1L · Post by **D3V1L** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:46 pm

i found it very intruiging sitting in my work ute in kalgoorlie, listening to all the police conversations at night..... heard some prettty nifty things that go on in the criminal underworld...and by all means i stayed at home a bit scared some of the times:P

dave

Cam · Post by **Cam** » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:04 pm

I was told they were already digital (in wa) by the copper @ a crash a few weeks ago yet the tow truck still managed to be second on scene so not too sure about that...

I think i've listened into the fire signal once on a normal cb, not too sure if the scanner was anything special tho.

vincentvega · Post by **vincentvega** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:10 am

only the coppers are digital. everyone else can still be received.

i get SES / fire / ambulance / taxis (hilarious) / trains / buses / airport etc on my UBCT8. i even get the local cops as its only brisbane city that has gone digital.

as mentioned you can get radio sets that have some extra RX ability.. I have an icom IC400PRO in my car. absolutely brilliant UHF CB + i receive on ambulance, SES, airport, wreckers hotline etc

subybrumby · Post by **subybrumby** » Tue Sep 16, 2008 7:24 pm

Think you will find that they use their mobile phones if there is anything sensitive to talk about (Police that is). With scanners, Hold them up to the speaker at the red Rooster drive through after you have found their frequency. The feedback will blow their ears off.

fredsub · Post by **fredsub** » Sun Sep 28, 2008 10:06 am

If is was just that the coppers went digital , wouldn't be so bad, as you can buy receivers for that, but they have it encrypted as well.

Have a scanner and used to listen also, its quite informative of the pulse of whats happening in the suburbs, where the most "problem" areas are, and you get to hear how tough a job the cops have sometimes. For sensitive operations they used mobile phones anyway. So what was so wrong about being able to listen to that.....the police work for the community don't they??

But now,Arr its the secret police......
Heil Fuhrer!!

Thalass · Post by **Thalass** » Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:52 am

Dunno about the other stuff, but air traffic is still analogue (AM 118-136MHz, iirc). It's not illegal to listen in, but it is highly illegal to transmit without a legit purpose and license and all that.

Endangering lives and all that junk.

mattl200 · Post by **mattl200** » Sun Oct 19, 2008 12:30 am

tasmania police can still be herd in anologe and the local power company on the 860mhz trunk network

bass_ke · Post by **bass_ke** » Fri Jan 30, 2009 12:18 am

In Redcliffe and the Sunshine Coast you are still able to listen to Police Comms as they've not moved to digital yet

Try 468.300 around Redcliffe, good on Fri and Sat nights

indy · Post by **indy** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 3:37 pm

oooohh anybody know if central coast (1 hour from sydney) would still be analgoue, and does anyone reccomend a model that has all the functions and can program in all the stations thats not a bad price? cheers.

tex · Post by **tex** » Sun Feb 15, 2009 5:07 pm

As far as i'm aware almost all the NSW police are analogue. And my UHF has a built in scanner that has the police freqs already locked in, but that wont tell you where they are.

RX Coupe · Post by **RX Coupe** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:44 pm

SA cops went to digital encrypted communicatios a few years back. You cannot buy a scanner to listen in on them.

Cheers,

spike · Post by **spike** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:39 pm

RX Coupe wrote:SA cops went to digital encrypted communicatios a few years back. You cannot buy a scanner to listen in on them.

Cheers,

im not toosure about that
the system uses an in built ummm thing
that switches the recieve and send signals

thus you can hear one of the singles but not the other

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:56 pm

Fedaral Poolice use encrypted digital and do not use mobile phones.
I'm not sure any of the police force uses mobile phones as they are not secure, nor are they recorded through their central control room, which is where all communications go so that they can be tracked.

I guess all Police forces will go encrypted digital if they haven't already.

niterida · Post by **niterida** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 8:59 pm

spike wrote:im not toosure about that
the system uses an in built ummm thing
that switches the recieve and send signals

thus you can hear one of the singles but not the other

If it is encrypted digital you won't be able to pick up anything without having a receiver that has the encryption code. Which you won't have, nor can you get one. Even if you acquired a genuine police radio they are able to remotely deactivate them individually.

spike · Post by **spike** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:41 pm

sorry should have made myseelf clearer
from what ive heard
its not encrypted, its 2 radios in one. reciveng channel to speaker, mic to sending channel