Mobile Scanner Legality Question

[Dann]

I had a Chat with a Kentucky State Trooper and he said even with a Ham Ticket you CAN NOT have a scanner in a Vehicle,What a Joke.

 

[w4wxp]

What?

I had a Chat with a Kentucky State Trooper and he said even with a Ham Ticket you CAN NOT have a scanner in a Vehicle,What a Joke.

Then he needs to go back and review his KRS.

My dad is a retired LPD (Louisville) Cop, and he knows that Amateur Radio Operators are precluded from that law, since Radio Equipment is under Federal Jurisdiction as opposed to state or local.

It's just like PRB-1 by the FCC....State/Local Zoning Laws can not preclude a ham operator from having an antenna at a reasonable height. The feds outsay the local laws on all matters related to usage of RF.

 

[DARRELL34]

I have my ham ticket it still didnt do me any good by the way me you talked about this. these state trooper just dont get it even after showing him the krs then showed my ham lic . he still told me to take thoses frequncy out of my ham radio .man i really need some help onm this thanks

 

[MississippiPI]

I will be traveling to Kentucky this month; a couple of things. I am a freelance photographer with media credentials, I am also a volunteer firefighter and I have a high band radio as well as as scanner, they are both mounted in my car. I also have red grill lites that are clear until you cut em on and rear red lites as well---what are your feelings on that? I don't want any problems.. Thanks..Jimmy

Be Safe

 

[ofd8001]

My guess is that if you have your media credentials, you should be ok on the radio as that is permitted in Kentucky. As far as the redlights go, if you are legal in your home state you should be legal in Kentucky, as volunteer firefighters here having written authority from their fire chiefs can have lights on their vehicles.

I'd probably have copies of both your home state's laws concerning the radio and redlights with you to show any police officer having an issue.

 

[benjaminfs733]

Here is a link to the law...

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/krs/432-00/570.pdf

 

[Armyconrad]

The law is old and antiquated. It hasn't kept up with modern technology (a firefighter with a radio in a public safety trunked system is in violation of the law because the frequency used for fire one minute, could be used by the police, the next.) It's illogical in places and downright dumb in others.

But it's the law and if we don't obey it, we face consequences.

A few years back wearing my fire chief's hat, I worked to get the law changed so that a firefighter can have a radio in his personal car, as long as it only had fire frequencies and the fire chief's permission, would not be in violation. It was a pretty daunting task to get that changed. The law enforcement community was pretty resistant to any changes, and the yielded a little by agreeing to allowing scanning of police frequencies with the approval of the "listened" police chief.

The General Assembly is getting ready to begin, for those of you who may wish to pursue changing the law. Best of luck to those who try.

I know the thread is old, but I have a few questions to make sure I understand the law. So if I have a Motorola XtS3000 set up ton receive only, but receives fire and police channels, in addition to me having a ham license (which I am working on), I can't have it in my car? I would have to remove the police channels to be able to use it in my car? I am a Louisville resident, and seeing your comment and Location, im wondering what is allowed and what is not allowed in Louisville.

 

[ofd8001]

I'm hanging my hat on the "person holding a valid license issued by the Federal Communications Commission in the amateur radio service;" section for the scanner in my vehicle. If my reading is correct, that would allow me to monitor all channels including police and fire. I keep a copy of this statute close to my Ham license.



I wouldn't think it matters whether this is a scanner or receive only portable.


Also, making an assumption from your avatar that you are a firefighter, there is another provision that may apply:


"(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a paid or volunteer member of a fire department or a paid or volunteer member of a public ambulance service licensed in Kentucky who has been given permission in writing by the chief of the fire department and the chief of each law enforcement agency whose frequency is to be monitored, or the director of the ambulance service and the chief of each law enforcement agency whose frequency is to be monitored, to possess a radio capable of receiving on a frequency allocated to a police department or law enforcement agency, whether the radio is in a vehicle or not."


So if you can get Sean or Jeff to write a letter giving you permission to have a radio to monitor fire channels, then you are okay there. (I wrote a few myself "back in the day".) If you want to monitor police channels, you'll need the police chief's written permission (I wouldn't hold my breath there though).

 

[Armyconrad]

I'm hanging my hat on the "person holding a valid license issued by the Federal Communications Commission in the amateur radio service;" section for the scanner in my vehicle. If my reading is correct, that would allow me to monitor all channels including police and fire. I keep a copy of this statute close to my Ham license.



I wouldn't think it matters whether this is a scanner or receive only portable.


Also, making an assumption from your avatar that you are a firefighter, there is another provision that may apply:


"(5) The provisions of this section shall not apply to a paid or volunteer member of a fire department or a paid or volunteer member of a public ambulance service licensed in Kentucky who has been given permission in writing by the chief of the fire department and the chief of each law enforcement agency whose frequency is to be monitored, or the director of the ambulance service and the chief of each law enforcement agency whose frequency is to be monitored, to possess a radio capable of receiving on a frequency allocated to a police department or law enforcement agency, whether the radio is in a vehicle or not."


So if you can get Sean or Jeff to write a letter giving you permission to have a radio to monitor fire channels, then you are okay there. (I wrote a few myself "back in the day".) If you want to monitor police channels, you'll need the police chief's written permission (I wouldn't hold my breath there though).

I'm not a firefighter yet. It's an old outdated profile pic though. Just submitted a JRFF application to OFD not that long ago, waiting on hearing back on whether or not the trustees approved my application. But I am going to make a presumption being a JRFF doesn't count as being a paid or volunteer member of a fire department. Of course it never hurts to ask. Thanks for the reply! but good idea keeping a copy of the statute and HAM license close together. I will probably do that myself, once I get my ham license and take a scanner with me out in public.