306 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
306 lines
16 KiB
Plaintext
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ VISITING THE U.K. AND INTENDING TO BRING A SCANNER ALONG FOR THE RIDE?³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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By Nigel Ballard
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28 Maxwell Road
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Winton, Bournemouth
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Dorset, BH9 1DL
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England.
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WRITTEN: SEPTEMBER 1990
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As a British citizen, I think I should aquaint you all with the legal
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position before I go on to give you a few hints as to where you should
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look.
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THE LAW (or dealing with the WOODENTOPS)
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There exists in English law, a really out of date act of Parliament
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called The Wireless Telegraphy Act, Just the name should tell you how
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out of date it is. Basically, this law says in very vague and general
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terms, that apart from the Citizens band (27MHz and 934MHz) Radio
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Amateur (144/5 and 430/440MHz) and FM broadcast band (88/108MHz), if you
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listen to anything outside of these areas then you are breaking the law
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and liable to get nicked. It matters not whether you are listening for
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pleasure or criminal gain. The law is quite clear that if the
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transmission in question is not transmitted with YOUR specific reception
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in mind, then you are not entitled to receive it.
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Strange that any and all scanners can easily be purchased all over the
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UK, and there are no bands inhibited such as in W.Germany, where the Icom
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R-7000 covers less spectrum than a 1970's Tandy scanner!
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WHY IS SCANNING ALL THE INTERESTING STUFF ILLEGAL?
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Well unlike America, there is very little speech privacy added to official
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radio's, i.e. speech inversion, dvp etc. This is for two reasons,
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(1) Outright ignorance on the part of the people that make the comms
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purchases for official bodies. Excluding Armed Forces comms.
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(2) Lack of money. I think the latter point which is the official line,
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is totally unfounded. If we have terrorists actually living and planning
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their next reign of terror on our own doorstep, therefore I think money
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should be the last consideration. Like the USA, we have drug dealers and
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bank robbers who, after a quick trip down to the local Radio Shack, can
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listen to the undercover cops trailing them!
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THE LAW IS AN ASS
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Some bright spark thought, that by passing this law, it would be cheaper
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than encrypting certain sensitive radio nets. Well, If you are planning
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to rob a mail train, then a stupid law about eavesdropping will make
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no difference. What we really need, is someone in charge who has a grasp
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of the real world, and understands that very few people take heed of this
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stupid law. GET REAL GUY'S!
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DISCRETION
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Basically, Scanning has only really taken off in the last two to three
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years, the Police have only just come to realise the great eavesdropping
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potential these little boxes have. When we go out scanning, we do it
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discretely. Nobody in their right mind would walk around the town with
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the local police channel blaring out, because you could almost guarantee
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that your collar will get felt.
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SCANNING CLUBS
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There exists a few covert scanning clubs, they operate from post office
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boxes and use false names. Frequency listings get passed around, and
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everybody thrives on the intrigue. It is a bit like the old illegal C.B.
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days, everybody wanted what the government told them they could not
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have. Major stores like Tandy (Radio Shack) sell all the USA models
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here, and if you ask nicely I know of a few managers who will slip you a
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photocopied frequency listing under the table.
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MAGAZINES
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Basically we only have one called Shortwave Mag, if you read every issue
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from cover to cover you would be hard pressed to find anything you could
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not obtain from a library. As the editors of SWM have no desire to get
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locked up, therefore they steer clear of sensitive subjects. And very
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few frequencies ever get published. Certainly none that are of any
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interest.
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AIRCRAFT AND H.F.
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Two area's that nobody seems to care about, is H.F. and the civil and
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military aircraft bands. A point to note when scanning near a military
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base will be covered later.
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CUSTOMS
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British customs are very keen on checking out anything electrical, there
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are several reasons for this:
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(1) Are you bringing something into the country, and trying to evade
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import duty. I recommend you bring your sales receipt, as this may save
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you some hassle on the way back home as well.
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(2) Do not have any frequencies entered in, as if the scanner is
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checked, they WILL turn it on.
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(3) Terrorism, most customs officers would not know a scanner from a
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portable radio. And portable radio's have been well known to have been
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used to transport a bomb of some sort. Customs will turn it on and see
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that it works and not just a dummy box. They also are very keen on opening
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the battery compartment to see if there's anything amiss.
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HAND LUGGAGE, OR IN THE HOLD
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It's up to you, but things of value have been known to walk. And random
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terrorism checks are made on baggage. I think I would rather be present
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when an inquisitive customs man is disassembling my pride and joy.
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DON'T TURN IT ON WHILST ON BOARD
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Remember not to turn on your scanner in the aircraft, as the radio will
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not be FAA or CAA approved, and in theory could affect NAV/COMMS
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equipment on the aircraft. Also the sight of you fiddling about with a
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little box of tricks in your hand luggage could give the old lady in the
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next seat a heart attack!
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WHERE NOT TO BE SEEN MONITORING
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Because of the very real terrorist threat on the mainland, ALL military
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installations including airbases are not the places to be found parked up
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near the perimeter, scanner and notebook in hand. Tourist or not, the
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MOD police will want a GOOD explanation. A strange exception is AIR
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SHOWS, last month I visited three, and you could not move for all manner
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of scanning hardware, nobody bats an eyelid, except for the MOD police
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who look on in disgust. One final type of event you should NOT be seen
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twiddling with a scanner under your jacket, is a royal or diplomatic/vip
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event. As in the USA you cannot swing a cat without bumping into the
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FUNNY squad, ours are a bit harder to spot as they don't wear Ray-Ban
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Aviators as in the Presidents men. Anyway they do not like people with
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little boxes of electronic hardware near one of these kind of events.
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Remember bombs are often detonated by radio remote control. Just because
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you know that what you are twiddling with is just a scanner, the over
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anxious undercover SAS man may not!
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POINTERS TO KEEP YOU OUT OF HOT WATER
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(1) DO NOT WALK ABOUT IN PUBLIC PLACES WAVING A SCANNER ABOUT.
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(2) KEEP IT COVERED AND USE WALKMAN TYPE HEADPHONES.
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(3) DON'T WALK UP TO OFFICIALS AND ASK THEM WHAT FREQUENCY THEY ARE ON.
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(4) REPEAT TO NO ONE WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE PICKED UP WITH YOUR SCANNER.
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(5) DO NOT AMBULANCE CHASE, THEY DON'T LIKE IT ONE LITTLE BIT.
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(6) KEEP A MATCH HEAD HANDY TO RESET THE MEMORIES IF REQUIRED.
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(7) UPON YOUR RETURN TO THE USA WRITE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU HEARD!
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NOW THE NASTY BITS ARE OUT OF THE WAY, ON NOW WITH THE NICE STUFF
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WHAT SCANNER TO BRING
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Well of course a handheld would be more convenient. If your scanner runs
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on anything other than drycell batteries, then you should remember that
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UK mains voltage is 240 VOLT 50Hz. And if you intend to bring a scanner
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run on ni-cads, also remember that you will need to buy a voltage
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adaptor to charge the thing.
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DRY CELLS
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What ever type you use in the States, we have them here. Trouble is our
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battery prices are very high. DURACELL/MALLORY type long life cells cost
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an arm and a leg, so I suggest you bring a stack over with you.
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FREQUENCY STEP
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I know that many US market scanners will not scan or search using the
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correct UK channel spacings. Basically we have two: 12.5KHz used for
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all police cars, fire service, ambulance service and all business
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radio's. and 25KHz used by the national police handheld scheme, and a
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few older business radio's awaiting the move to 12.5KHz bands.
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So remember your 10 or 20KHz step scanner will be no use here, unless
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you want to listen to our rubbish CB bands, and unlike yours, ours is
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on 27MHz and in NFM only.
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COVERAGE
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If you have a scanner that will only scan over certain fixed band
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limits, and only in NFM except for the VHF airband, then expect to miss
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some of the traffic. If your stay will only be in London for example,
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then the situation is not too bad as ALL of London police are on NFM.
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Below I will show some area's of general interest.
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SOME FREQUENCY BANDS OF INTEREST
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YOU SHOULD NOTE THAT MANY USERS OF THE RADIO SPECTRUM IN THE UK, HAVE
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BANDS THAT ARE RESERVED FOR THEIR EXCLUSIVE USE. THEREFORE IF I TELL
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YOU THAT THE DOG CATCHERS BASE TRANSMITS ARE 164.2 TO 164.4 MHz NFM,
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THEN YOU CAN EXPECT TO FIND THEM ANYWHERE WITHIN THAT BAND. JUST GET
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YOUR SEARCH BAND ENTERED INTO YOUR SCANNER USING THE RIGHT MODE AND
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FREQUENCY STEP.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³NATIONAL POLICE HANDHELDS BASE TRANSMIT 451.025 TO 452.975 MHz NFM³
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³ MOBILES TRANSMIT 464.925 TO 466.875 MHz NFM³
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³ (CONSTANT NATIONAL SPLIT OF +13.9 MHz) ³
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³ (25Khz channel spacings) ³
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³NATIONAL POLICE PATROL CAR BASE TRANSMIT 152.000 TO 153.000 MHz AM ³
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³NATIONAL POLICE PATROL CAR BASE TRANSMIT 154.000 TO 155.975 MHz AM ³
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³NATIONAL POLICE MOBILES TRANSMIT 143.000 TO 143.975 MHz AM ³
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³NATIONAL POLICE MOBILES TRANSMIT 146.050 TO 147.850 MHz AM ³
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³ (12.5KHz channel spacings) ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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(splits vary from channel to channel)
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(it should be noted that about four counties use nfm, all others am)
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The London area, known as the MET or Metropolitan Police sector uses
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a radio scheme totally different from the rest of the mainland.
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Firstly, they talk in NFM, whereas most of the car mounted radio's
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in other UK areas are AM.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ MET POLICE ONLY ³
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³ MET POLICE HANDHELDS BASE TRANSMIT 147.200 TO 147.550 MHz NFM³
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³ MOBILES TRANSMIT 155.300 TO 155.650 MHz NFM³
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³ (all 12.5KHz channel spacings) ³
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³ MET POLICE PATROL CAR BASE TRANSMIT 152.025 TO 152.550 MHz NFM³
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³ MET POLICE MOBILES TRANSMIT 143.0125 TO 143.4625MHz NFM³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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EXCLUDING THE VHF AND UHF AIRBAND AND CELLULAR, ALL OTHER AREA'S SHOWN
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BELOW ARE IN 12.5KHz CHANNEL SPACINGS.
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AMBULANCE
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The national ambulance service is run by the government, who ensure
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the staff are overworked, under paid, but at least they all share a
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common radio scheme in NFM. So tracking down your local control is
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an easy task.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ NATIONAL AMBULANCE SCHEME BASE TRANSMIT 166.100 TO 166.6125 MHz NFM³
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³ MOBILES TRANSMIT 170.900 TO 171.4125 MHz NFM³
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³ (not all channels between these two limits are ambulance only use) ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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FIRE BRIGADE
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Much the same as the ambulance service, government run, but mostly AM.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ NATIONAL FIRE SERVICE BASE TRANSMIT 70.5125 TO 71.500 MHz AM ³
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³ MOBILES TRANSMIT 80.000 TO 81.500 MHz AM ³
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³ (apart from occasional use by the ROC, Royal Observer Corps who stand³
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³ on our shores with binoculars and look out for incoming NUKES! this ³
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³ band is exclusively for the fire service) ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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THE DREADED M25 MOTORWAY (special police channels, note they are AM)
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ M25 SOUTHBOUND 154.0125 MHz AM³
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³ M25 NORTHBOUND 154.0875 MHz AM³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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SOME SIMPLEX CHANNELS THAT MAY HAVE ACTIVITY ON THEM
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 147.8750 POLICE CH21 NATIONAL CAR TO CAR AM/NFM ³
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³ 147.9125 POLICE CH22 NATIONAL CAR TO CAR AM/NFM ³
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³ 451.3000 POLICE CH06 H/HELD TO H/HELD NFM ³
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³ 451.3250 POLICE CH07 H/HELD TO H/HELD NFM ³
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³ 80.01250 FIRE SERVICE CH21 TENDER TO TENDER AM/NFM ³
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³ 80.07500 FIRE SERVICE CH22 TENDER TO TENDER AM/NFM ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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THE UK NATIONAL CELLULAR CARPHONE BAND
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We have two national operators who run systems along side one another.
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They are VODAPHONE and CELLNET. Currently a VODAPHONE cannot inter-roam
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on CELLNET channels, but this will change in 1991.
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ UK CELLULAR BAND 934.0125 TO 959.0125 MHz NFM ³
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³ (mobile inputs are 45MHz lower) ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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MILITARY AIRBAND (just a few to get you started)
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 259.400 MHz AM MILDENHALL METRO ³
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³ 281.500 MHz AM EASTERN ENGLAND RADAR DISCRETE (HEAVY TR1-A USE)³
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³ 285.050 MHz AM DRAGON OPS (EXCLUSIVE TR1-A ALCONBURY OPS) ³
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³ 300.750 MHz WFM 10th ACCS SILK PURSE DOWNLINK ³
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³ 304.000 MHz WFM 10th ACCS SILK PURSE DOWNLINK ³
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³ 307.800 MHz AM MILDENHALL BANNER OPERATIONS ³
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³ 315.000 MHz AM NATO AWACS SURVEILLANCE PRIMARY ³
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³ 389.500 MHz WFM 10th ACCS SILK PURSE DOWNLINK ³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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A FEW OTHERS THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO THE TRAVELLING TOURIST
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ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
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³ 165.1375 MHz NFM ROYAL PARKS POLICE LONDON ³
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³ 87.3125 MHz NFM WINDSOR ROYAL PARKS POLICE ³
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³ 456.450 MHz NFM IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM DUXFORD (SECURITY) ³
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³ 456.625 MHz NFM IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM DUXFORD (FIRE) ³
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³ 456.925 MHz NFM IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM DUXFORD (GROUND) ³
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³ 456.675 MHz NFM WOBURN ABBEY WILDLIFE PARK (PARK) ³
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³ 456.825 MHz NFM WOBURN ABBEY WILDLIFE PARK (ABBEY/SECURITY) ³
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³ 442.175 MHz NFM LONDON WHEEL CLAMPING (hear them clamp your rental!)³
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ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ
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Well there is a few to be getting on with. I was careful not to get too
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specific, as over here that is considered as incitement to encourage you
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to break the law by monitoring said frequencies.
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Unlike the USA, you cannot walk into a Radio Shack or any other store for
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that matter and buy a frequency guide. Strange as that may seem to you,
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it is a fact. As monitoring these things is illegal, therefore a book
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telling people where to look is also considered as technically illegal.
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In the USA, you really have it on a plate, it's mostly legal, and you
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need zero grey matter because someone somewhere is publishing just about
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every frequency of interest. Over here though, you need to keep your
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ears to the scanner, and hunt the buggers down. For me anyway, that's
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most of the fun. The thought of being able to buy a book with most
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everything in it, is so boring. I might as well let the books author go
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ahead and monitor the traffic for me.
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If you do visit our windy shores, remember to firstly download another
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of my articles ONLY found on the A.E.T. BBs called VISITORS.ZIP. And
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please take note ALL the points I have raised in this article. Have a
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good holiday, and remember to bring some warm jumpers and an umbrella.
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P.S. And YES, you CAN drink the water, and YES the natives are MOSTLY
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friendly!
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Cheers Nigel Ballard
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