"Russ" wrote in message
...
First of all, there are only three kinds of people to a cop. Cops,
cop's families and suspects. Second, never ask a cop about the law.
They don't know dick about it. If they did, they'd be lawyers.

True. Which is why even a ham should print out and carry a copy of their
states' statutes regarding scanners if they live in a state like Minnesota;
i.e. where only hams can have scanners in their cars (or if you've gotten a
"special permit" from the state to have one in your car). Even though I
don't have a scanner in my car, many mobile amateur radios have extended
coverage that can pick up the police bands in the 150 MHz range, which makes
them "scanners". I printed out a copy of the Minnesota state statute and a
copy of my amateur radio license and I keep them in my glove compartment,
just in case I ever get pulled over and a cop notices my 2 meter radio. The
statute's very clear as to who can and cannot have a "scanner" in their car
in Minnesota.

Jackie

KB1GEJ wrote in message ...
Hams are allowed to have a mobile radio that can receive police
communications IF that function is secondary to the amateur communication
function. At least that's how I interpret the law. Many dual and
tri-band
fm transceivers have wideband receive as a bonus. A *scanner* might still
get you in trouble.

Hams better make sure there is a copy of their amateur radio license in the
car with them, no matter what kind of radio/scanner they have in their cars.
I don't think a cop can or will care much about the difference between a
mobile amateur 2 meter rig and a scanner.

Jackie

On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 23:38:34 GMT, "Buzzygirl"
wrote:


"Russ" wrote in message
.. .
First of all, there are only three kinds of people to a cop. Cops,
cop's families and suspects. Second, never ask a cop about the law.
They don't know dick about it. If they did, they'd be lawyers.

True. Which is why even a ham should print out and carry a copy of their
states' statutes regarding scanners if they live in a state like Minnesota;
i.e. where only hams can have scanners in their cars (or if you've gotten a
"special permit" from the state to have one in your car). Even though I
don't have a scanner in my car, many mobile amateur radios have extended
coverage that can pick up the police bands in the 150 MHz range, which makes
them "scanners".

Is this a legal definition? I would expect that a scanner
would have to have the capability of automatically "scanning" a number
of frequencies.

Not that this would dissuade the kind of cop who takes your
carrying such documentation as a personal challenge to his authority.

I printed out a copy of the Minnesota state statute and a
copy of my amateur radio license and I keep them in my glove compartment,
just in case I ever get pulled over and a cop notices my 2 meter radio. The
statute's very clear as to who can and cannot have a "scanner" in their car
in Minnesota.

Jackie

wrote in message
...
On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 23:38:34 GMT, "Buzzygirl"

Is this a legal definition? I would expect that a scanner
would have to have the capability of automatically "scanning" a number
of frequencies.

Here is the text of the Minnesota statute... you will see it says nothing
about "scanning" frequencies. A "scanner" here is defined as a device which
can receive police frequencies:

"299C.37 Police communication equipment; use, sale. Subdivision 1. Use
regulated. (a) No person other
than peace officers within the state, the members of the State Patrol, and
persons who hold an amateur radio license issued by the Federal
Communications Commission, shall equip any motor vehicle with any radio
equipment or combination of equipment, capable of receiving any radio
signal, message, or information from any police emergency frequency, or
install, use, or possess the equipment in a motor vehicle without permission
from the superintendent of the bureau upon a form prescribed by the
superintendent."

Not that this would dissuade the kind of cop who takes your
carrying such documentation as a personal challenge to his authority.

I would bring it up to a judge in traffic court and lodge a formal complaint
with the PD, if it had to go that far.

Jackie

"Buzzygirl" wrote:

Not that this would dissuade the kind of cop who takes your
carrying such documentation as a personal challenge to his authority.

I would bring it up to a judge in traffic court and lodge a formal complaint
with the PD, if it had to go that far.

Hah. You don't remember the case of the kid who was an ARES worker a
few years ago... had an RS HTX-202, which had no out-of-band
capabilities at all, cop stopped him, kerchunked his radio and --
surprise! -- it desensed his police radio. Confiscation and charges
ensued.

It took a lot of work and time (years) to get it untangled, and it was
a headline issue with ARRL for quite a while.

The only good news to come out of it was that particular police
department got publicised as the ****heads they were. I wonder if
there's an active ARES chapter left there...

....search engines are wonderful. Here's a more accurate summary of
the endgame:
Charges dismissed in Godsey case: It took more than two years, but
all charges against a Kentucky ham for impersonating a public servant
and disorderly conduct finally were dropped in December. Greg Godsey,
KF4BDY, of Hopkinsville, was just shy of his seventeenth birthday when
he was arrested by police in his hometown. At the time, Godsey was
active in ARES as Christian County EC. He claims the impersonation
charge stemmed from his ARES association. Police also had charged
Godsey with carrying a scanner capable of receiving police frequencies
and confiscated his Radio Shack HTX-202. The scanner charge reportedly
was dismissed in court the following month, and his H-T was returned
to him. The other charges had remained on the court docket, however.
Godsey, now 19, said the charges were dropped in December after he
agreed to not sue anybody over the matter. Godsey says he and his
family spent more than $3000 fighting the charges against him.

Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/1999/02/23/3/

I would have ****in' sued to bankrupt the city. Not that I'm bitter
about power-mad authority types, oh, no.

(Local situation is much better and I am an ARES member. Cops here
actually treat us with respect, and get the same in return.)



--
Eric F. Richards,
"Making me root for a sanctimonious statist blowhard like Kerry isn't
the worst thing Bush has done to the country. But it's the offense
that I take most personally."
-- http://www.reason.com/links/links071304.shtml

"Eric F. Richards" wrote in message
...
"Buzzygirl" wrote:

Hah. You don't remember the case of the kid who was an ARES worker a
few years ago... had an RS HTX-202, which had no out-of-band
capabilities at all, cop stopped him, kerchunked his radio and --
surprise! -- it desensed his police radio. Confiscation and charges
ensued.

No, I didn't hear about that. Our tax dollars at work.

(Local situation is much better and I am an ARES member. Cops here
actually treat us with respect, and get the same in return.)

Fortunately, I believe it's the same way here, at least with several PDs
I've worked with. They have actually requested the assistance of a couple of
local clubs I've belonged to when there've been local fairs and large
events. I also belong to a club that works directly with county public
emergency personnel. Perhaps this is the exception rather than the rule.

Jackie

"Buzzygirl" wrote:


"Eric F. Richards" wrote in message
...
"Buzzygirl" wrote:

Hah. You don't remember the case of the kid who was an ARES worker a
few years ago... had an RS HTX-202, which had no out-of-band
capabilities at all, cop stopped him, kerchunked his radio and --
surprise! -- it desensed his police radio. Confiscation and charges
ensued.

No, I didn't hear about that. Our tax dollars at work.

(Local situation is much better and I am an ARES member. Cops here
actually treat us with respect, and get the same in return.)

Fortunately, I believe it's the same way here, at least with several PDs
I've worked with. They have actually requested the assistance of a couple of
local clubs I've belonged to when there've been local fairs and large
events. I also belong to a club that works directly with county public
emergency personnel. Perhaps this is the exception rather than the rule.


But there are a lot of exceptions. Michigan and Pennsylvania are
notorious. I'd work with the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, any
humanitarian organization you could think of in those two states, but
I would never, ever work with any of their police departments.

Jackie


--
Eric F. Richards,
"Making me root for a sanctimonious statist blowhard like Kerry isn't
the worst thing Bush has done to the country. But it's the offense
that I take most personally."
-- http://www.reason.com/links/links071304.shtml

I would have pushed to have the cop charged with impersonating an
amateur radio operator and for transmitting on the ham bands without a
license

Eric F. Richards wrote:


Hah. You don't remember the case of the kid who was an ARES worker a
few years ago... had an RS HTX-202, which had no out-of-band
capabilities at all, cop stopped him, kerchunked his radio and --
surprise! -- it desensed his police radio. Confiscation and charges
ensued.

It took a lot of work and time (years) to get it untangled, and it was
a headline issue with ARRL for quite a while.

The only good news to come out of it was that particular police
department got publicised as the ****heads they were. I wonder if
there's an active ARES chapter left there...

...search engines are wonderful. Here's a more accurate summary of
the endgame:

Charges dismissed in Godsey case: It took more than two years, but
all charges against a Kentucky ham for impersonating a public servant
and disorderly conduct finally were dropped in December. Greg Godsey,
KF4BDY, of Hopkinsville, was just shy of his seventeenth birthday when
he was arrested by police in his hometown. At the time, Godsey was
active in ARES as Christian County EC. He claims the impersonation
charge stemmed from his ARES association. Police also had charged
Godsey with carrying a scanner capable of receiving police frequencies
and confiscated his Radio Shack HTX-202. The scanner charge reportedly
was dismissed in court the following month, and his H-T was returned
to him. The other charges had remained on the court docket, however.
Godsey, now 19, said the charges were dropped in December after he
agreed to not sue anybody over the matter. Godsey says he and his
family spent more than $3000 fighting the charges against him.


Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/1999/02/23/3/

I would have ****in' sued to bankrupt the city. Not that I'm bitter
about power-mad authority types, oh, no.

On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 09:11:13 -0600, Eric F. Richards
wrote:

"Buzzygirl" wrote:

Not that this would dissuade the kind of cop who takes your
carrying such documentation as a personal challenge to his authority.

I would bring it up to a judge in traffic court and lodge a formal complaint
with the PD, if it had to go that far.

Hah. You don't remember the case of the kid who was an ARES worker a
few years ago... had an RS HTX-202, which had no out-of-band
capabilities at all, cop stopped him, kerchunked his radio and --
surprise! -- it desensed his police radio. Confiscation and charges
ensued.

It took a lot of work and time (years) to get it untangled, and it was
a headline issue with ARRL for quite a while.

The only good news to come out of it was that particular police
department got publicised as the ****heads they were. I wonder if
there's an active ARES chapter left there...

...search engines are wonderful. Here's a more accurate summary of
the endgame:
Charges dismissed in Godsey case: It took more than two years, but
all charges against a Kentucky ham for impersonating a public servant
and disorderly conduct finally were dropped in December. Greg Godsey,
KF4BDY, of Hopkinsville, was just shy of his seventeenth birthday when
he was arrested by police in his hometown. At the time, Godsey was
active in ARES as Christian County EC. He claims the impersonation
charge stemmed from his ARES association. Police also had charged
Godsey with carrying a scanner capable of receiving police frequencies
and confiscated his Radio Shack HTX-202. The scanner charge reportedly
was dismissed in court the following month, and his H-T was returned
to him. The other charges had remained on the court docket, however.
Godsey, now 19, said the charges were dropped in December after he
agreed to not sue anybody over the matter.

Nice bit of cop thuggery there -- we'll sustain charges
against you, probably ruining your chances of getting a job to support
yourself with, unless you, in effect hold us harmless from any suit
based on our thuggery

Wouldn't the correct description be "extortion under color of
authority"?

"Challenge my authority and enter a living hell for as long as
I choose to make it so, especially if you're in the right."


Godsey says he and his
family spent more than $3000 fighting the charges against him.

Source: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/1999/02/23/3/

I would have ****in' sued to bankrupt the city. Not that I'm bitter
about power-mad authority types, oh, no.

(Local situation is much better and I am an ARES member. Cops here
actually treat us with respect, and get the same in return.)

It is not unlawful to listen to law enforcement transmissions
in the US. What is unlawful is to tell another person what
you heard.
wrote in message
caldomain...
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Unfortunately few of the police officers would really know what they are
talkinga bout when it comes to enforcement about laws on scanners and
would
probably give you the wrong answer out of ignorance or misguided
intentions.
Thankfully in Australia, the power to regulate scanning and other
communications issues rests with our commonwealth government (i.e.
federal
government) so the state government (and police forces) have no powers
to
deal with the issues relating to communications. Have seen a couple of
state coppers very ****ed off when it was pointed out to them they they
had
no legal right to confiscate scanners etc (unless used in the commission
of
a crime) - still, it makes sense not to be too open when using your
scanners.

In theory only the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has
jurisdiction over radio matters. No US state has made OWNING a scanner a
crime. I doubt they could. They're FCC type accepted and the FCC has
said they're legal in this country. However states and municipalities
have passed varying degrees of restrictions on where you can use a
scanner. Some get downright ridiculous. Alachua County, Florida passed
(or tried to pass) an ordinance banning the monitoring of their digital
TRS and possessing information about it (frequencies, talkgroups, etc.).
I don't know where that one went.

I just say use common sense and discretion and you'll have almost nothing
to worry about.

- --
John Mayson
Austin, Texas, USA

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