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The license is only needed if you want to transmit. If you are not interested in talking to random people, there is a lot of fun to be had from just picking up

The license is only needed if you want to transmit. If you are not interested in talking to random people, there is a lot of fun to be had from just picking up signals and listening. There are hobbyists who enjoy picking up distant AM radio stations, listening to all kinds of voice or machine traffic on shortwave, tracking aircraft by their beacon signals, or just listening to local police on scanners. As a listener myself ("SWLer") my next project is to make a radio to pick up telemetry from small cubesats.

macintux 8y ago
One caveat: at least in some locales, a license is required to own (or perhaps carry) a police scanner.
- geggam 8y ago
  Scanners are legal in all 50 states. In some states its illegal to use a scanner while breaking the law ( this I find funny for some reason ) https://www.zipscanners.com/resources/are-police-scanners-legal/ https://www.zipscanners.com/resources/are-police-scanners-le...
  - macintux 8y ago
    In Indiana it’s illegal to possess one while committing a crime, so even speeding with one installed, whether you’re using it or not, invites more legal difficulty.
  - sathackr 8y ago
    Recursive law-breaking. Using the scanner while breaking the law is breaking the law, so by breaking the law while using the scanner, you're also breaking the law...while using the scanner. Kinda like using a gun in the commission of a felony...is a felony. Or being arrested and the only charge is resisting arrest.
    - tomjakubowski 8y ago
      I think of it more as computing something in "two passes". First, decide if the person committed a crime not in that "tack-on" category. Then, evaluate which "tack-ons" are applicable and possibly make those charges.
      - geggam 8y ago
        Profit motive in the legal system is blatant isnt it ?
- masukomi 8y ago
  pretty sure public service bands don't overlap with ham bands so a ham license wouldn't help even _if_ a license was required for this
  - macintux 8y ago
    It’s a state code question not a technical one. See Indiana’s law: https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-35-criminal-law-and-procedure/in-code-sect-35-44-1-2-7.html https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-35-criminal-law-and-proce...
- imroot 8y ago
  Kentucky is one of those states -- if it's in your vehicle -- but, it's a "Secondary offense," and I've been told that they haven't cited anyone for that for 10+ years.

macintux 8y ago

One caveat: at least in some locales, a license is required to own (or perhaps carry) a police scanner.

geggam 8y ago
Scanners are legal in all 50 states. In some states its illegal to use a scanner while breaking the law ( this I find funny for some reason ) https://www.zipscanners.com/resources/are-police-scanners-legal/ https://www.zipscanners.com/resources/are-police-scanners-le...
- macintux 8y ago
  In Indiana it’s illegal to possess one while committing a crime, so even speeding with one installed, whether you’re using it or not, invites more legal difficulty.
- sathackr 8y ago
  Recursive law-breaking. Using the scanner while breaking the law is breaking the law, so by breaking the law while using the scanner, you're also breaking the law...while using the scanner. Kinda like using a gun in the commission of a felony...is a felony. Or being arrested and the only charge is resisting arrest.
  - tomjakubowski 8y ago
    I think of it more as computing something in "two passes". First, decide if the person committed a crime not in that "tack-on" category. Then, evaluate which "tack-ons" are applicable and possibly make those charges.
    - geggam 8y ago
      Profit motive in the legal system is blatant isnt it ?
masukomi 8y ago
pretty sure public service bands don't overlap with ham bands so a ham license wouldn't help even _if_ a license was required for this
- macintux 8y ago
  It’s a state code question not a technical one. See Indiana’s law: https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-35-criminal-law-and-procedure/in-code-sect-35-44-1-2-7.html https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-35-criminal-law-and-proce...
imroot 8y ago
Kentucky is one of those states -- if it's in your vehicle -- but, it's a "Secondary offense," and I've been told that they haven't cited anyone for that for 10+ years.