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department. While this can
be harmless, some take this
too far and install lights
and other accessories on
their personal vehicles that
might give some people the wrong
impression. And some even step
over the line and try to play cop
or firefighter and eventually end
up in trouble. But, I don’t want to
lump all radio enthusiasts in one pile,
that’s for sure.
On the other side, there are some
shortcomings to using a pro radio as
a scanner. First, in most cases you
are limited to one band of frequencies. Current
scanners are designed to cover as many different
frequency bands as they can. VHF-low band,
aircraft, VHF high band, UHF, military air, 700,
800, and 900 MHz are all pretty standard for
today’s scanners.
Two-way radio transceivers are designed
to operate on a specific frequency band. An
800 MHz trunking radio can only do 800 MHz
frequencies and a VHF radio can’t do UHF frequencies.
Only recently have some multi-band
or wide band transceivers come onto the market
(not including amateur transceivers that often
include dual band capabilities).
Secondly, you can’t easily change frequencies
or do programming in the field. Adding or
changing a frequency or trunking talk group
requires a computer with software and programming
cables to accomplish. Some newer model
radios do sometimes offer an option of FPP or
Front-Panel-Programming. This option does allow
for the user to add or modify frequencies in
the radio without using a computer. But again,
this feature comes at a price.
Another problem is the limited number of
channels you can effectively scan. While scanner
radios can offer hundreds of channels that can all
be scanned in sequence, most commercial radios
may only offer 10, 12 or 16 channels that can be
scanned, and often at a slower speed than you
may be used to. Again, newer, more expensive
radios do offer larger “scan lists.”
Tangle of Money and Legal
Issues
Keep in mind that it can be an expensive
hobby, for sure. You must start by buying the
radio itself. And, since new professional radio
equipment can go for thousands of dollars, even
used radios will still often out-price brand new
scanner radios. Bargains can be found on some
online auction sites, but buyers beware! Many
times radios may be sold with any number of
defects or jacked up firmware that may make
getting it programmed for your use difficult. Be
very careful and get as much information about
the radio and its capabilities as well as the seller
before investing your money.
And once you get a radio, you will probably
want a new battery, charger and any accessories
that were not included with your purchase. You
will also need to get the radio programmed to
receive the desired frequencies. In some cases,
local radio sales and service shops will program
a radio for a fee, but some will not unless you
GRE PSR-600 ($350) and Uniden HomePatrol® ($490) scanners have a lot of advantages over a professionalgrade
radio: They’re frequency agile, cover all the bands you want to hear, and they are easy to program.
(Courtesy: Grove Enterprises)
are the licensed user of the frequencies.
Some hobbyists will want to invest in programming
cables and software to program the
radio on their own. Most radio programming
cables are plentiful on the Internet, but accessing
radio-programming software for private,
legal use can be difficult, if not impossible for
older model radios. And most of the time, each
radio model requires very specific versions of
programming software. This can add up to lots
of money.
Of course, the Internet has all sorts of dark
places where bootleg software can be found, but
one runs the risk of downloading a virus-infected
bundle of worthless code as well. Motorola has a
history of being very protective of its programming
software and takes Intellectual Property
Rights very seriously. Admittedly, the chances of
being caught are slim, but there have been cases
of prosecutions involving Motorola software
being improperly acquired by private parties.
And, this is where more of the controversy
comes in. Trunked radio systems operate a lot
like closed computer networks. The radios using
the system must be known and registered with
the system in order to work with the trunked
system. Even though the radio hacker might wish
to only receive traffic on a trunked system, there
is a danger of the radio transmitting accidentally
or without the user’s knowledge.
Some newer digital trunked radio systems
actually require a radio to transmit, or affiliate
with the trunked site before the radio will ever receive
anything. Those in the radio hacking community
say they have figured out some possible
ways around this, but under many state laws,
programming an unauthorized radio to operate
on a private trunked radio system is illegal. These
laws consider radio systems akin to computer
networks and, technically, programming a radio
to work with the system could be a violation of
state law, whether the radio transmits or not.
In order to program trunking radios, one
must have what is called a “system key” to access
the trunked programming area of the software.
This is an attempt to keep unauthorized users
from doing just what radio hackers have been
doing for years, programming radios to access
the trunked systems.
This key (not a brass key, but an encrypted
string of computer code) is supposed to be kept
by the system administrator and not allowed out
for anyone to have, but there have been some efforts
on the part of the radio hacking community
to work around this as well. There are programs
out there that will actually generate the required
system key to unlock the programming software
and allow trunked radio programming.
Trying to understand programming a trunking
system into a commercial trunked radio will
positively make your head explode. There are so
many variables and system settings that things
can get easily fouled up if one doesn’t fully understand
what they are doing. And, if the person
programming the radio doesn’t really know what
they are doing, they can, in theory, cause all manner
of difficulties with the legitimate users on a
trunked radio system.
If the radio is programmed with the same
radio ID number as a legitimate user, having two
radios active on the system at the same time can
cause neither to work. And in some cases, hackers
have programmed a radio with the same ID as
a dispatch console, causing all sorts of headaches
for the system operators.
If a trunked system administrator discovers
a bootleg radio trying to access their trunking
system, they can take steps to stop it. They can
remove that radio ID from the allowed radios or
they can disable or “stun” the radio, so it simply
stops working. I have seen more than a few
inquiries from people who have stunned radios
and want to know how they can get them working
again, so I know that it happens.
Even if you do everything right and get
everything programmed to receive only, getting
stopped or caught with the same radio as your
local police department in your possession can
get you in some hot water. In spite of the fact that
it may be perfectly legal, the police will want to
know why you have such a radio and what you
are up to. With all the paranoia these days about
on-line Internet feeds of police communications,
catching someone with what they might believe
to be one of their very own radios may cause
some monumental hassles. Don’t say I didn’t
warn you.
Bottom line: Please, if you decide to take the
plunge and try getting a real radio programmed
to work as a scanner, be careful. Take the time to
read, study and learn as much as you can about
what you are trying to do. Read up on what it
takes to actually program the radio and ask questions
of those with experience in the matter.
Check out web sites that deal with this subject,
such as “Batlabs” http://www.batlabs.com;
Repeater Builder http://www.repeater-builder.
com/rbtip/; or the commercial radio sections
of the Radio Reference forums http://forums.
radioreference.com/.
Chris Parris writes MT’s Fed Files column
and may be contacted at chrisparris@
monitoringtimes.com
August 2012 MONITORING TIMES 15