Wireless mics on PD units. ? Mythbuster ?

[Buckskinner33]

I seen this on Stupid scanner tricks.com and was wondering if this was true.

The story goes like this....
Most police officers have a camera and a mic to record car stops for court reasons and future references. You seen them on shows like COPS and any other AMAZING Video show that are currentley out.

My question is this. Are they tied into the trunkated system ( if there on a trunked sys ) or are they the statndared conventional wireless mic?

Question No.2
Who makes such a product? and what are the Freqs.

JD

 

[mikey60]

I seen this on Stupid scanner tricks.com and was wondering if this was true.

The story goes like this....
Most police officers have a camera and a mic to record car stops for court reasons and future references. You seen them on shows like COPS and any other AMAZING Video show that are currentley out.

My question is this. Are they tied into the trunkated system ( if there on a trunked sys ) or are they the statndared conventional wireless mic?

Question No.2
Who makes such a product? and what are the Freqs.

JD

1) Conventional microphones, not in any way connected to the radio system. They are typically recorded in the car only (Although there have been some reports of systems being tested that transmit the video and audio to another location).

2) I imagine there are multiple manufacturers of these recorders.

Mike

 

[Buckskinner33]

ok , Thanks for the reply,
Then what the range of a standard wireless mic?
Also what the standard wireless mics power output?
.5 W, 1.0 W, 5.0 W?
Watt, What? :lol:

 

[OpSec]

10's of mW's to low 100's of mW's....very low power, range is measured in feet...usuallly 50-250 feet from recieving antenna in car.

 

[radioscan]

Some Ohio State Highway Patrol cars' video mics have been monitored in 169 - 172 MHz range.

 

[KAA951]

Wireless transmitters

The Kustom Signal (one of the largest manufacturers of in-car camera systems)used in my area use transmitters with 2 freqs (switch allows the officer to toggle between channels to avoid interference to allow multiple transmitters at scenes).

F1- 169.445
F2- 170.245

The are powered by 9 volt batteries and won't reach more than 1/4 mile or so but are interesting to listen to!

 

[FPO703]

Re: Wireless transmitters

They are powered by 9 volt batteries and won't reach more than 1/4 mile or so but are interesting to listen to!

In other words, if you hear traffic on either of these frequencies, you know smokey is 'right there'

 

[Voyager]

In many states, they have to ask your permission to record the audio - especially if they have the mic on their person. The video is OK everywhere, I think.

Joe M.

 

[LarrySC]

My route to work and back each day passes the Co courthouse. On many trips I hear these freqs during court. The officers forget to turn them off. Better than a baby monitor.

 

[SAR923]

In many states, they have to ask your permission to record the audio - especially if they have the mic on their person. The video is OK everywhere, I think.

Joe M.

Not in California. As long as I'm in uniform, you have no expectation of privacy whether I write down what you say or record it. We don't have to inform anyone they are being recorded or videotaped. We use the Kustom Signal equipment with the two frequencies mentioned in the previous post. The mic range is about 200 feet, maybe a little more depending on how the officer has the antenna positioned.

 

[edweirdFL]

Question No.2
Who makes such a product? and what are the Freqs.

JD

I've seen a couple of these systems that were removed from cars after retirement, that used Azden wireless mics, up on eBay. The ones I saw were VHF models, but wireless mics can also be on UHF TV freqs and in the 900 MHz band as well.

Azden has docs on their site in the support section that cover the settings on the systems that are multichannel.

Ed

 

[Buckskinner33]

Wow .... Hot topic

This is better then catching private calls....

OK...

edweirdFL wrote:

The ones I saw were VHF models, but wireless mics can also be on UHF TV freqs and in the 900 MHz band as well.

Ya know I was kinda wondering about that. Thats why I was asking about different companies who made them. At least I could get an Idea as to what company works on what freqs

Voyager Wrote:

In many states, they have to ask your permission to record the audio - especially if they have the mic on their person. The video is OK everywhere, I think.

Yeah I'm sure each state has a different laws. But in Kansas its a sure bet your on camera w/audio!
But I dont think all cars are equiped with it. Somthing i need to look into.

 

[nd5y]

There are two big churches within a block of my house.
They both have 169-170 MHz wireless mics on their PA sytems.
It might get interesting in there if a cop happened to stop some dirtbag with an
attitide in front of the church and was close enough to override their mic.

Tom

 

[rcvmo]

from someone who repairs all the major brand video capture units, most wireless mic's are in the 169.0-173.5 Mhz. range. I've had good luck with mine. The older style kustom eyewitness receivers ( teledyne Model) inside the metal cases have been replaced with a uniden BC 560, when available from close outs. I have a particular K9 unit that can go farther than the camera can see. Now get this, The priority is on the selected mic channel associated with that car, the other three channels are programmed to exactly what freq's,. this dept,. uses plus some neighboring channels like state wide, MEPS, etc. Now the video recorder is actually catching not only the officer and his K9 audio, but the rest of the radio communications as well.
A local magistrate loves this idea. I have some of the older wide band receiver units and some of the professional mic's from the very old CRIM-TEC unis. Hey some of you may remember those............the wireless mic's had good range if monitored on a reciever other than that supplied by Crimtech, but the actual OEM rx was for..........well you get the drift. No range, good for infront of the car, that's it.
Jimmy

 

[Buckskinner33]

Jimmy wrote:

The priority is on the selected mic channel associated with that car, the other three channels are programmed to exactly what freq's,. this dept,. uses plus some neighboring channels like state wide, MEPS, etc. Now the video recorder is actually catching not only the officer and his K9 audio, but the rest of the radio communications as well.

Now thats some interesting info there!!! 8)

Would the congragation follow me in prayer?
Our father, who are in heaven....(static) GET OUT OF THE CAR!!!
:lol:

 

[KAA951]

Yeah I'm sure each state has a different laws. But in Kansas its a sure bet your on camera w/audio!
But I dont think all cars are equiped with it. Somthing i need to look into.

Buckskinner- All Kansas Highway Patrol cars have the same Kustom Signal VHS cameras in them- the whole fleet. This is the result of a federal grant a few years back that went out to many state police agencies that was a kneejerk reaction to the "racial profiling" media hype.

FYI- the KHP cars use the left and right audio tracks (like stereo). One track is the officers wireless mic, the other records from a mic inside the patrol car. You would be amazed to hear what suspects sitting in patrol cars will say when the trooper leaves them alone!

I suspect that KHP will start experimenting with the new DVD recorder based systems. The neatest part of these is that they buffer the 30 seconds to a minute BEFORE the camera turns on (usually when the red lights come on)- catching the violation on DVD!

 

[RolnCode3]

Just an aside on the track recording the interior of the patrol car. If the suspect is back there, and the officer says something before he walks away, he has to be careful about actually creating an "expectation of privacy". If he says something like "Well, I'll just leave you two alone", or "why don't you spend some time by yourself", etc... and the bad dudes actually say something, that could be challenged in court. The officer could unwittingly create an "expectation of privacy" for the suspect, and lose/make inadmissable anything bad guys say. Just something I remember from criminal law classes.

 

[Dubbin]

You would be amazed to hear what suspects sitting in patrol cars will say when the trooper leaves them alone!

LOL I remember one episode of cops where there was a guy left alone in the car and all you heard was GOD BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP SON OF BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP MOTHER BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP I DONT BEEPING BELIEVE THIS BEEPING BEEP.

 

[AZScanner]

If he says something like "Well, I'll just leave you two alone", or "why don't you spend some time by yourself", etc... and the bad dudes actually say something, that could be challenged in court. The officer could unwittingly create an "expectation of privacy" for the suspect, and lose/make inadmissable anything bad guys say.

That sucks. What happened to "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law"? Seems that would supercede any expectation of privacy, perceived or otherwise. Unless you're on the phone with your attorney, whatever comes out of your mouth is fair game - even if you are talking to other inmates in jail months or even years after the fact.

Gotta love the legal system. Oh well, the bright side is that cops will never be out of a job.

-AZ

 

[Buckskinner33]

That sucks. What happened to "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law"? Seems that would supercede any expectation of privacy, perceived or otherwise. Unless you're on the phone with your attorney, whatever comes out of your mouth is fair game - even if you are talking to other inmates in jail months or even years after the fact.

Remember AZ. We live in a country where criminals have more rights then the rest of us.

Dubbin Worte:

LOL I remember one episode of cops where there was a guy left alone in the car and all you heard was GOD BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP SON OF BEEP

LOL ... I remember that.... What made that even funnier was when the cop came back and asked him if he was all right and the guy said "Yeah... I'm just freaking out. Thats all"

TTFD238 wrote:

All Kansas Highway Patrol cars have the same Kustom Signal VHS cameras in them- the whole fleet.

Well I'm sure they do, but I was wondering about the locals hear in Wichita.