WELCOME! - New people check in here - Frequently Asked Quesions - Laws, SLERS, FHP...

[thomast77]

Originally Posted by One13Truck

#1: I know the state still has some vollies, how does this affect them with pagers/portables/mobiles? Is it just something the Chief/line officers have to sign off on to OK to use in vehicles or are they OK'd the same way the "designated emergency personnel" are similar to the exceptions in ThomasT's post?

Vollies are exempt from the law there vehicles are designated as Emergency vehicles. Because that is what they use to get to the scene. And in most cases they carry radios that transmit on fire freqs anyways.

Originally Posted by One13Truck

#2: Along that line I'd assume the out of state FD creds & all that would be a no-go as OK there so mine would just be a worthless piece of paper there?

I think that if you show a valid ID from another state you would be ok. It shows you are one of them. You are part of the FF family after all. Just tell them it is permanently installed in your vehicle and you didn't think it would be a problem. Now if you ran across an idiot officer then it could be a different story. But I think you could fight it and win in my opinion. But that is just my opinion.

Originally Posted by One13Truck

#3: Under those same exceptions would that also include CIVILIAN employees of police/fire departments as OK'd to use, such as dispatchers, admin, HR?

I would assume technically no but again they are dispatchers. I don't think anyone is going to give them any trouble with it. Again my opinion.

Originally Posted by One13Truck

#4: And again under that post "crime watch vehicle", would that include anything related to a CERT group a lot of places have or is that also a no-go?

Most Sert members are Amateur Radio Operators. But even if they are not I don't think they should have a problem. They provide for search and rescue operations.

These are mostly my opinion I am not a lawyer. If you want to be on the safe side just get an Amateur Radio license. Its not that hard just pickup a book and study. It is only like 35 questions. Also the common since law only goes so far. What if they pull you over for a burned out tail light or tag light. In many cases they just use that excuse to pull you over and get in your business.

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; BREW 3.1.5; en )/800x480 Samsung SCH-U960)

Thanks guys. I appreciate the replies.

John
KB7MIB/WPXJ598
Peoria, AZ.

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; BREW 3.1.5; en )/800x480 Samsung SCH-U960)

Removed. It was a double post.

[One13Truck]

Thanks for the answers! All was as I figured but never hurts to ask.

[Alex1041]

If you're unable to have the scanner in your car, how are you supposed to transport it?

[spotbeams]

Hi,Great site and glad to be here ..Thanks

[mattp019]

Hello All! Just wanted to thank everyone for the great information made available on this site! My name is Matt, I live in Boca Raton, Palm Beach County. I'm a Maritime Enforcement Specialist with the US Coast Guard, recently released from active duty and now in the USCGR. To date, I am in the interview process with BSO. I look forward to chatting with you all in the future!

[onlyacowboy]

2. How do I scan FHP / SLERS / State Law Enforcement / M/A-COM / etc…?

You can’t - sorrry! There is not, nor will there ever be, a scanner that can. Doing a search for any of the above key words will yield pages of results that would make for a great rainy day read.

ok...??
read this on FQA and i'm puzzled... i got an OLD radio shack trunktracker 800.. well i punched in the FHP frequency's ( 95 code book) for some repeaters and i could hear the car to car talk and some dispatches..i did this back in 96 and it still works (some but not all)... is this legal ??

[bravo14]

I have noticed a talkgroup showed up on the new SLERS Phase I. I am not sure if they are all going to 700 or just 700 & 800. I did a scan search on the psr800 didn't find nothing on the 700 yet. Not sure what License that would be under.

[traffic27fl]

Victor, for some additional discourse on this statute, as amended in 2008, see below:


"A person, firm, or corporation may not install or transport in any motor
vehicle or business establishment, except an emergency vehicle or crime watch
vehicle as herein defined or a place established by municipal, county, state,
or federal authority for governmental purposes, any frequency modulation radio
receiving equipment so adjusted or tuned as to receive messages or signals on
frequencies assigned by the Federal Communications Commission to police or law
enforcement officers or fire rescue personnel of any city or county of the state
or to the state or any of its agencies. Provided, nothing herein shall be
construed to affect any radio station licensed by the Federal Communications
System or to affect any recognized newspaper or news publication engaged in
covering the news on a full-time basis or any alarm system contractor certified
pursuant to part II of chapter 489, operating a central monitoring system."

As the excerpt from Fl Stat 843.16 above states, unless you are covered by the exceptions listed below it is a misdemeanor to possess, never mind listen to, a radio capable of receiving a police or fire frequency in an automobile or, in your case, a place of business. What exemptions there are from this statute are very limited. For example, I sat down with Betty Reed (a state rep in Tampa) a few years ago to try to get public safety personnel exempted since there was no mention in the statute giving public safety personnel a blanket exemption. She said she would see what she could do. What she ultimately did was to get an exemption only for going to or from work. For additional interpretion on this issue see the July 21, 1989 excerpts below from then Florida Attorney General Bob Butterworth to Boca Raton Police Chief Peter Petracco:

"The statute recognizes several exceptions. Emergency vehicles[3] and crime watch vehicles[4] are expressly excluded from the statute.[5] Places established by the state, county, municipal or federal government for governmental purposes are also exempted.[6]



"Section 843.16, F.S., provides that nothing contained therein shall be construed to affect any radio station licensed by the Federal Communications System.[7] This office has stated that this exemption applies to television stations as well as to radio stations.[8] In addition, holders of valid amateur radio operator or station licenses issued by the Federal Communications Commission are expressly exempted from the terms of the statute.[9]

Accordingly, I am of the opinion that if such radio equipment is installed in a nonemergency or noncrime watch motor vehicle or in a business establishment which is not a place established by municipal, county, state or federal authorities for governmental purposes, the installation by a person other than a radio or television station or holder of a valid amateur radio operator or station license issued by the Federal Communications Commission, violates s. 843.16, F.S"

Sincerely,

Robert A. Butterworth
Attorney General

[richwagner20]

as I have heard on my radio shack scanners pro 2053 and pro 95 at home are local fort Walton beach and okal
oosa county florida are fire dept dispatching on vhf freq 154.86.00 and then they go to a tack channel because
I have heard then talking and changeing over to this SLERS and had got all new radios to re program as are loc
al county EMS is all ready on SLERS because I use to heard them dispatching before on uhf and talking to the
hospital er and now I haven't heard are local Okaloosa county fire dispatch as I think they may have went to this
SLERS
Richard wagner
f.w.b.fla
o.c .