Police Scanners and CBs

So if you have a CB Radio, do you necessarily need a police scanner to listen to the cops?

 

yep

 

So you cant listen to cops with CBs anymore. ive heard so many different things from so many different people

 

you wont hear the police on CB's but they will hear you. so be careful what you say on them. I was pulled over one day by an officer who was originally going after a big truck on the westbound side of the road, because as he put it "I was gettin in his ***t":doah: ( Its not good to be in view of the lawman)

 

You need a police scanner to hear what the police are saying or planning, a CB to dodge them when traveling but they do carry CB's or some do just to listen to what the truckers or whom ever is on are saying. We have alot of spanish spoken on the upper channels around here at nights so I am wanting to lean spanish, for work related reasons, but it would be nice to know what is being said.

 

Ya, we have the spanish thing too, me and my friend hooked up the CB in his tahoe and all we heard was spanish...........to be honest, i kinda think that is sad ..... you know, hearing spanish and this is AMERICA!!!!

 

Yes it kinda makes me sad but this is one of the freedoms of our country and its rights given to us by our constitution, and that it turn makes me very happy.

 

well i know im already buying a CB for offroading and a few other things , and i thought i was gonna also get to listen to cops but i guess i have to drop another $200 on a police scanner

 

If it was me and I didnt need the po po scanner I would conceal it in my ride.waytogo

 

I think im gonna buy one of those hand held ones so i can take it out of my car to if i need too

 

If you had a ham radio license , your mobile radio would more than likely have general coverage receive . It would let you listen to most Police frequencies ........ well at least the poorer Police stations who haven't upgraded their equipment yet to a more secure system .

 

i heard you dont HAVE to get a ham radio license, its just ilegal to listen without one.....right?

 

Not to listen you shouldnt.

 

for ham radio you only need a license to transmit, you can listen all day for free. the license is much easier to get now that you dont need the code test to get one.

 

scanner

Most states have laws against having a police scanner in a motor veh. Getting caught with one can be a megapain the wallet!!

 

In most of the states where have a scanner is illegal there are exceptions for those that have committed themselves to helping EMS in times of need. Volunteer fire/search and rescue as well as licensed Hams because. Hams because they can help with communication when the commercial services are down. The radio I have in my truck gets most local services. But, bigger cities are upgrading making it more difficult to monitor. Also I can't get CHP because they are on an oddball band that would have required another radio for me.

off the top of my head(typically +- 10% )
CB ~27MHZ
CHP ~49MHZ (although their handhelds are ~150MHZ)
most PD/FD are now VHF (150MHZ) or UHF (470MHZ) but some are 800MHZ

 

Most departments are now using trunked systems, or frequency hopping. Many are going to encrypted systems. you may be able to get the proper freq, but you wont hear anything but gibberish. I have a trunking system scanner, from my time as a volunteer firefighter, but in Wyoming, all law enforcement is on encrypted channels. In many areas where they use trunking, they use so many trunks, that you wont be able to follow any transmissions with success.
Darin

 

I know of folks whom are talking about scanning over the internet from what I can tell everything you need is free as long as you can get the right frequency.

 

That still doesn't help if they are trunked, or encrypted

 

Our Police radios are all encrypted digitally. Scanner or no scanner, you can't listen anymore where I work.

We sold the media outlets each one radio that is programmed only to be able to listen to the main dispatch channel only, and cannot transmit. We have and use 10-12 other channels, so, if we don't want the media listening, we switch over.