Radio Stations

[Ganuke]

I am wondering if it is possible to input radio station frequencies into a scanner and get reception. In particular, I have a Radio Shack Pro 95 .... so would be mostly interested in being able to do such a thing with that scanner.

The radio stations would be, for instance in FM band 94.3 and 98.1 for 2 examples. In the am radio station band area I am looking to receive stations that range from 1020 to 1490. I ask this because I had put a few of these radio station frequencies into my scanner, but have not heard any reception on them. I know about 2-3 of the stations I put in are within decently close range to where I live so distance with them shouldn't be a problem I wouldn't think. So I am guessing that inputting such radio stations into the scanner will not bring about any reception of them. ( Unless I am doing something wrong which is why I wanted to ask and make sure. )

Ganuke

 

[Voyager]

I am wondering if it is possible to input radio station frequencies into a scanner and get reception. In particular, I have a Radio Shack Pro 95 .... so would be mostly interested in being able to do such a thing with that scanner.

The radio stations would be, for instance in FM band 94.3 and 98.1 for 2 examples. In the am radio station band area I am looking to receive stations that range from 1020 to 1490. I ask this because I had put a few of these radio station frequencies into my scanner, but have not heard any reception on them. I know about 2-3 of the stations I put in are within decently close range to where I live so distance with them shouldn't be a problem I wouldn't think. So I am guessing that inputting such radio stations into the scanner will not bring about any reception of them. ( Unless I am doing something wrong which is why I wanted to ask and make sure. )

Ganuke

There are a few scanners that cover WFM (Wide FM), but not many. None of the GREs will AFAIK. I think the Uniden BC296D will. I know most of the AOR units will, as should any communications receiver. But it is a rare feature in scanners.

AM is even more rare. I know of no scanner that will cover the AM Broadcast band. Again, most Communications Receivers such as the AOR units will do that, but no scanners.

Many GRE scanners will open up to allow entry of FM BC frequencies, but they do not support the correct mode. You may hear a distorted signal if you open up the squelch, but it won't be at all clear.

Joe M.

 

[radioscan]

The AOR AR-8000 and AR-8200 will receive the AM broadcast band.
The AR8000 I use to have was fairly decent at receiving stations in that
band.


Mark

 

[Volfirefighter]

The BC250D will do broadcast FM.

 

[mciupa]

I am wondering if it is possible to input radio station frequencies into a scanner and get reception. In particular, I have a Radio Shack Pro 95 .... so would be mostly interested in being able to do such a thing with that scanner.
Ganuke

Yes, it may be possible monitoring via a studio-link freq.

These are found in the 950 to 960 mHz. range. What you have on the
950's freq. is the radio station studio broadcasting to it's transmission tower .

Search between 950 and 960 and see what you hear. :idea:

 

[Voyager]

I am wondering if it is possible to input radio station frequencies into a scanner and get reception. In particular, I have a Radio Shack Pro 95 .... so would be mostly interested in being able to do such a thing with that scanner.
Ganuke

Yes, it may be possible monitoring via a studio-link freq.

These are found in the 950 to 960 mHz. range. What you have on the
950's freq. is the radio station studio broadcasting to it's transmission tower .

Search between 950 and 960 and see what you hear. :idea:

Don't forget that monitoring STLs is ILLEGAL in the USA.

Joe M.

 

[N_Jay]

Don't forget that monitoring STLs is ILLEGAL in the USA.

Joe M.

Realy?

When and by what law? :?:

Not arguing, just curious!! :?: :roll: :?:

 

[Spleen]

Here in Baltimore, you can listen to the IFBs, News Desk, and Engineering transmissions in the 450-451 MHz range, and traffic services in 455-456...

 

[Voyager]

Don't forget that monitoring STLs is ILLEGAL in the USA.

Joe M.

Realy?

When and by what law? :?:

Not arguing, just curious!! :?: :roll: :?:

ECPA.

http://nsi.org/Library/Comm/ecpa.txt

Specifically,

(E)transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D,E, or F of part 74, or part 94 of the Rules of the Federal Communications Commission,
<snip>

Within Part 74: (I added the bold)
Subpart D—Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations
Subpart E—Aural Broadcast Auxiliary Stations
Subpart F—Television Broadcast Auxiliary Stations

§ 74.501 Classes of aural broadcast auxiliary stations.
(a) Aural broadcast STL station.
A fixed station for the transmission of aural program material between the
studio and the transmitter of a broad-casting station other than an inter-national broadcasting station.

Joe M.

 

[Voyager]

Here in Baltimore, you can listen to the IFBs, News Desk, and Engineering transmissions in the 450-451 MHz range, and traffic services in 455-456...

That would be Subpart D—Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations - also prohibited under the ECPA.

Joe M.

 

[Spleen]

...and boring, unless you like to hear the director(s) yelling at the reporters, etc., though occasionally the local Fox station here leaves their IFB hot long after their broadcasts, and you can hear them telling filthy jokes and such, but I can't imagine sitting next to a scanner waiting for that sort of thing...

 

[N_Jay]

Here in Baltimore, you can listen to the IFBs, News Desk, and Engineering transmissions in the 450-451 MHz range, and traffic services in 455-456...

That would be Subpart D—Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations - also prohibited under the ECPA.

Joe M.

What sleazy Broadcast Industry Lawer/Lobbyist got that put in there? :evil:

 

[Videokid]

Here in Baltimore, you can listen to the IFBs, News Desk, and Engineering transmissions in the 450-451 MHz range, and traffic services in 455-456...

That would be Subpart D—Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations - also prohibited under the ECPA.

Joe M.

Excerpts from the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986
(ECPA)
Section 2510. Definitions

(4) "intercept" means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical or other device;

(8) "contents", when used with respect to any wire, electronic or oral communication, includes any information concerning the substance, purport or meaning of the communication;

(12) "electronic communication" means any transfer of ... intelligence of any transmitted in whole or in part by a ... radio ... system that affects interstate or foreign commerce, but does not include -
any wire or oral communication; any communication made through a tone-only paging device; or any communication from a tracking device...;

(16) "readily accessible to the general public" means, with respect to a radio communication, that such communication is not -

scrambled or encrypted;

transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential parameters have been withheld from the public with the intention of preserving the privacy of such communication;

carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission;

transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D, E, or F of part 74, or part 94 of the Rules of the [FCC], unless, in the case of a communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74 that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services,
the communication is a two-way voice communication by radio;


Section 2511. Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibited

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter any person who -
intentionally intercepts ... any wire oral or electronic communication;
intentionally uses ... any electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept any oral communication when

(ii) such device transmits communications by radio, or interferes with the transmission of such communication;

intentionally discloses ... the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication ...; or
intentially uses ... the contents of any wire, oral or electronic communication ...;
shall be punished as provided in subsection (4) or shall be subject to suit as provided in subsection (5).

(g) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter or chapter 121 of this title for any person -
(i) to intercept or access any electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public;

(ii) to intercept any radio communication that is transmitted -

by any station for the use of the general public, or that relates to ships, aircraft, vehicles, or persons in distress;
by any governmental, law enforcement, civil defense, private land mobile, or public safety communications system, including police and fire, readily accessible to the general public;
by any station operating on an authorized frequency within the bands allocated to the amateur, citizens band, or general mobile radio services; or
by any marine or aeronautical communications system;
(iv) to intercept any wire or electronic communication the transmission of which is causing harmful interference to any lawfully operating station or consumer electronic equipment, to the extent necessary to identify the source of such interference; or

(v) for other users of the same frequency to intercept any radio communication made through a system that utilizes frequencies monitored by individuals engaged in the provision or the use of such system, if such communication is not scrambled or encrypted.

(Paragraph (4)(b)(ii) is where ECPA specifically mentions cellular and cordless telephones, public land mobile radio system and paging services as being prohibited from monitoring, subject to a $500 fine.)

Source: http://www.nf2g.com/scannist/ecpa.html


After reading this document my understanding is that it's not unlawful. In other words, it's legal to listen to STL's.

 

[Voyager]

Here in Baltimore, you can listen to the IFBs, News Desk, and Engineering transmissions in the 450-451 MHz range, and traffic services in 455-456...

That would be Subpart D—Remote Pickup Broadcast Stations - also prohibited under the ECPA.

Joe M.

What sleazy Broadcast Industry Lawer/Lobbyist got that put in there? :evil:

Broadcasters have a LOT of money. Money buys laws.

How long until NexTel gets their new spectrum (862-869 MHz and 817-824 MHz) ADDED to the 'Cellular' banned spectrum? It will be literally RIGHT NEXT DOOR! Sure, it doesn't matter because you can't decode IDEN, but they may just do it as an 'assurance' to their customers.

Joe M.

 

[Voyager]

Deleted by accident. (attempted reconstruction performed)

My point was that there is a definition:
(16) "readily accessible to the general public" means, with respect to a radio communication, that such communication is not -
&lt;snip>
transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D, E, or F of part 74, or part 94 of the Rules of the [FCC], unless, in the case of a communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74 that is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services,
the communication is a two-way voice communication by radio;

Therefore, STLs and RPUs are not "readily accessible to the general public".

and further:

(g) It shall not be unlawful under this chapter or chapter 121 of this title for any person -
(i) to intercept or access any electronic communication made through an electronic communication system that is configured so that such electronic communication is readily accessible to the general public;

That phrase implies that anything that IS NOT 'readily accessible to the general public' is not legal to monitor.

Here is the last part of what I said (direct quote)...

I know that provision doesn't say that directly, but I don't think you will find any other exemption that makes STLs and RPUs legal. TWO-WAY communications may very well be legal per the exception in (16) at the end, but that does not cover one-way transmissions such as traffic reports or STLs.

 

[Videokid]

I know that provision doesn't say that directly, but I don't think you will find any other exemption that makes STLs and RPUs legal.
Joe M.

Ok.

Anyway, the link you first provided as support for your statement is for the Act passed in 1986. It was ammended in 1994, not that it changes anything regarding the law’s interpretation, specifically section 2510 and 2511.

The law doesn't specifically prohibit it. Unless you can show me where the Federal government has deemed auxiliary broadcast station transmissions to be private property not to be intercepted or recorded by the public I don't see how monitoring said communication is illegal.

 

[Voyager]

I know that provision doesn't say that directly, but I don't think you will find any other exemption that makes STLs and RPUs legal.
Joe M.

Ok.

Now, the link you first provided as support for your statement is for the Act passed in 1986. It was ammended in 1994, not that it changes anything regarding the law’s interpretation, specifically section 2510 and 2511.

The law doesn't specifically prohibit it. Unless you can show me where the Federal government has deemed auxiliary broadcast station transmissions to be private property not to be intercepted or recorded by the public I don't see how monitoring said communication is illegal.

The same can be said for Cellular or ANY radio transmission. Nevertheless, the law does exist.

As I said above, STLs and RPUs are classified 'not readily accessible to the public' under the ECPA, and as such, reception is prohibited under the ECPA. Same with the other categories you posted:

scrambled or encrypted;

transmitted using modulation techniques whose essential parameters have been withheld from the public with the intention of preserving the privacy of such communication;

carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission;

The 1994 version also added the provision that scanners be not readily modifiable to receive Cellular, as well as making it illegal to import, manufacture, or modify a scanner that is (or to be) Cell capible. They removed no part of the 1986 version.

I'm not going to get into a debate on how stupid or unnecessary some laws are, or why some exist or the issues related to enforecement.

Nobody can limit your ability to adhere to the speed limit, either.

Joe M.

 

[DSYCUTTER]

The BC250D will do broadcast FM.

yeah what he said.... it's kind of a novelty tho.... cause if i really want to listen to the radio im not going to tie up my scanner

 

[Voyager]

DARN IT! I hit EDIT rather than QUOTE to make my correction. I'll see if there is any way to restore my above comment. Here is the correction:

I know that provision doesn't say that directly, but I don't think you will find any other exemption that makes STLs and RPUs legal. TWO-WAY communications may very well be legal per the exception in (16) at the end, but that does not cover one-way transmissions such as traffic reports or STLs.

I'll correct myself. In the case of RPUs, there IS an exemption that may apply:

is not an offense under this subsection unless the conduct is for the purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private financial gain.

(5)(a)(i) If the communication is--

(B) a radio communication that is transmitted on frequencies allocated under subpart D of part 74 of the rules of the Federal Communications Commission that is not scrambled or encrypted and the conduct in violation of this chapter is not for a tortious or illegal purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain,

Note that this only applies to RPUs, and STLs (Subpart E) DO NOT enjoy such an exemption. After all, that was the original point above in this thread - that you can listen to BC via STLs. You can, but it is not legal.

The fact that this RPU exemption exists at all confirms indirectly that STLs are not legal to monitor. Otherwise, that exemption would not be necessary

Joe M.

 

[Ganuke]

Thanks for the replies..... and wow.... alot of information provided here. So it seems, what I had really thought the answer was going to be, is the case; that I cannot receive radio stations on the FM or AM band using my Pro 95.

I had also seen a response commenting why anyone would want to listen to a ardio station using a scanner and some other posts of it being, I guess, illegal. Well, there is actually a reason I wanted to attempt to do this which I will try to explain. First off..... it was not my intent to try to do anything illegal. The Major League Baseball season is soon going to start. I live in PA and my favorite team is the Pirates. There are an ok number of their games shown on a television station I get, but there are also a good portion of their games which are not shown on TV...... I'd say most of their games are not shown on tv where I live. So, that leaves radio stations which broadcast the games and, in the area of PA where I live, the only radio stations which broadcast the Pirate games are on the AM band..... so that really would be my main interest of being able to get reception from with this scanner.

I know, of course, a radio can be and, really, should be used for the purpose of receiving and listening to radio station. However, the radios I have throughout the rooms in my house ....... on each one of them it seems the AM stations that broadcast the Pirate games come in rather poorly if at all; especially in the evening and night. I had recently gotten a new antenna for my scanner. ( Some may remember seeing and reading a post of my asking about the best antenna to get. I had decided to go with the Diamond RH77CA by the way. Sorry to those who had posted in that thread as I never got back to post again of my decided antenna purchase. )

Anyway, the Diamond antenna I got, in the short time I have used it so far, has proven to provide much, much better reception across the full frequenciy range, and from that, I get very good reception now of aeronautical frequencies..... which I know/believe are all on the AM band. Ok.... so given I got this new antenna which now gives me very good reception over the stock Pro 95 antenna, the airband AM frequncies come in very good for me, the Pirate games are broadcasted on AM radio stations where I live, I almost always have my scanner with me whether it be in rooms in my house or out and about, and the lack of my radios to pick up the radio stations that broadcast the Pirate games........ I was going to try and put in those AM radio stations that braodcast the Pirate gmes so I could be able to, possible, pick them up using my scanner wheveer I am.

Of course I do and still would use my scanner for its intended purpose which is, obviously not to listen to radio stations, ........ but still wanted to give this a try and had hoped it would work using Win95 to input those AM radio stations. But I guess that will not be the case. But at least I did have a reason :lol: ..... how ever dumb it may be. Thanks again for the responses.

Ganuke