Scanning legally – Radio Shack PRO-2040 User Manual
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Locking Out Channels ............................................................................... 29
Changing Scanning and Search Speeds................................................... 29
Detecting Data Signals .............................................................................. 30
A General Guide To Scanning....................................................................... 31
Guide to Frequencies ................................................................................ 31
National Weather Frequencies............................................................ 31
Ham Radio Frequencies ..................................................................... 31
Guide to the Action Bands......................................................................... 31
International Broadcast Bands ............................................................ 31
Typical Band Usage ............................................................................ 32
Primary Usage .................................................................................... 32
Specified Intervals............................................................................... 33
Band Allocation ................................................................................... 33
Frequency Conversion .............................................................................. 38
Troubleshooting ............................................................................................. 39
Care and Maintenance ................................................................................... 40
Specifications................................................................................................. 41
Scanning Legally
Scanning is a fun and interesting hobby. You can hear police and fire depart-
ments, ambulance services, government agencies, private companies, amateur
radio services, aircraft, and military operations. It is legal to listen to almost every
transmission your scanner can receive. However, there are some electronic and
wire communications that are illegal to intentionally intercept. These include:
•
Telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other private means of tele-
phone signal transmission)
•
Pager transmissions
•
Scrambled or encrypted transmissions
According to the Federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), as
amended, you could be fined and possibly imprisoned for intentionally listening
to, using, or disclosing the contents of such a transmission unless you have the
consent of a party to the communication (unless such activity is otherwise ille-
gal). These laws change from time to time and there might be state or local laws
that also affect legal scanner usage.
20-414.fm Page 6 Wednesday, August 4, 1999 11:12 AM