I'll try my hand at some of this .. but in my neck of the woods they are
still using non-trunked analog for things I'm interested in so this may not
be 100% and I'll watch the thread to get the rest of the story.

1) Listening to digital transmissions from just about any source is not
within the capabilities of scanners available to the public for any
reasonable amount of money. The transmitter and receiver link up/ synch up
and share protocols which are not easily matched by universal scanning
devices that you might get from RS etc.

2) Voice inversion is a (now) primitive form of encryption used for analog
transmissions which can be easily un-done ... probably not many users of
this technique anymore.

3) Most municipalities are headed toward trunking systems of some sort if
they aren't already there .. but as in #1 above, if they have gone digital
and trunked that can be tough to monitor. I wouldn't bother with a
non-trunkable scanner any more.

With the increasing use of digital by cops/fire etc. it is getting tougher
to monitor government stuff .. but most of the cops around here use their
cell phones so much that most of the traffic is on that system.


"X" wrote in message
m...
Hi there. Sorry that my initial post was in error. My test-post worked
but not the actual one that I intended.

I use to enjoy listening to scanners as a hobby. I own several
eqarly-to-mid 90's scanners including an AOR 8000. Due to various life
circumstances (marriage/divorce, work, family illness, etc.), I have
not really had the time to do so for the last eight or nine years. As
such, I am in a sense, an Oldie Newbie.

A lot has apparently changed in the hobby since the mid-90's. I am
hoping that someone can clarify some of the recent developments. I
know that much of this has likely been discussed already but a Google
search did not yeield the results that I was after. So please bare
with me.

1. It appears that almost all 800 MHz broadcasts, particulalry you
know what, are now digital. Theoretically (I know about "the Law"),
are there any radios or devices that can decode the cellular band?
Would the latest European versions of scanners work in that sense?

2. What exactly does a voice "inverter" do?

3. I was recently scanning the NYPD and they have not appeared to
heave converted to digital. How essential is having trunking and
digital capability in a scanner?

I thank you all for your assistance and guidance. Happy Holidays to
all.