PLA010 Scanner Frequencies

Scanner Frequencies (Listening To What You Shouldn't)

Written by RedBoxChiliPepper on January 2, 1992

If you own a scanner, please don't let it just sit there and do nothing. Put it to good use and eavesdrop with it. Listed below are all of the frequencies that I know of and scan whenever I'm bored, which is quite often. A lot of these frequencies were reprinted from the SportCat Frequency Guide. For a more recent PLA scanner page, click here.Oh, and Happy New Years!

12 Band Coverage:

First of all, here's the range of freqencies that most scanners carry. Although it's extremely illegal, I reccommend listening in on the 806-9xx range. This is where you pick up cellular phone conversations.

                 29.0 - 29.7 MHz 10 Meter Ham
                 29.7 - 50.0 MHz Low Band
                 50.0 - 54.0 MHz 6 Meter Ham
                  108 - 137 MHz Aircraft
                  137 - 144 MHz Military
                  144 - 148 MHz 2 Meter Ham
                  148 - 174 MHz High Band
                  406 - 420 MHz Federal Government
                  420 - 450 MHz 70 cm Ham
                  450 - 470 MHz UHF Band
                  470 - 512 MHz "T" Band
                  806 - 956 MHz "800" Band (Cellular)

I've heard that it's supposed to be illegal to sell or make scanners anymore that let you listen in on the "800" band, although I still see those kind in stores and I've bought one. Scanners that won't pick up cellular can usually be easily modified to do so. If not, you've always got the cordless phone channels to play with.

Cordless Phones:

If you live in a suburban area you'll be able to tune into just about any of the following frequencies. Evening listening is usually the best time. You should be able to hear both sides of the conversation on either the base OR the handset.

          Base Unit       Channel         Handset
           46.61           CH 1            49.67
           46.63           CH 2            49.845
           46.67           CH 3            49.86
           46.71           CH 4            49.77
           46.73           CH 5            49.875
           46.77           CH 6            49.83
           46.83           CH 7            49.89
           46.87           CH 8            49.99
           46.93           CH 9            49.99
           46.97           CH 10           49.97

If you pick up at the beginning of the conversation or they click over to use the 'ol three-way calling, you can hear them use the touch tones. If you record these tones you can either run them through a DTMF decoder or figure them out through process of elimination and have every number they dial. You'll be amazed at the things that are said on people's phones. If you're lucky, they'll enter their calling card number at some point.

Cordless fone eavesdropping is just about the funnest thing you can possibly do with your scanner. When people call up businesses and make arrangements of any kind you can immediately call the business back and cancel or change the arrangements. Like when a kid ordered 2 large pizzas and after he hung up I called back the pizza place and changed that to 15 large pizzas.

While listening to a 14 year old girl in Texas, we kept calling her and the friends she called on three-way and repeating parts of the conversation. We had her convinced that we were in the bushes outside of her house and had beige boxed into her line. It never occured to her that cordless phones put out radio waves and that people can listen to them! Sheesh. (Check out PLA014.TXT for a detailed text on cordless fone harrassment.)

Wireless Microphones & Fast Food Drive-Thrus:

The following frequencies are used by people delivering speeches, entertainers, professional singers, football referees and other people who have a need for a wireless microphone. So if you're not cool enough to get into a convention and they're using a wireless microphone, you can listen in anyways. Frequencies which have a star next to it are also used at drive-through restaurants for transmitting customer orders to cashiers and customers. (Sometimes accomplished on seperate channels so you might only hear one side.)

 30.84         33.12       33.14*        33.40*         35.02*         36.70
 37.10         40.22       40.68         42.98          44.87          47.27
 49.83-49.99  150.775     150.790       151.625        151.715*       151.775*
154.570*      154.600*    165.9125      167.3375       167.4875       167.875
169.200       169.425     169.445*      169.505        170.225        170.245*
170.305*      171.045*    171.105*      171.125        171.450        171.825
171.845       171.905*    172.000       172.200        457.525*       457.550*
457.5625*     457.5875*   457.575*      457.600*       460.8875*      461.1125
465.8875*     466.200     467.750       467.775*       467.7875*      467.800
467.8125*     467.825     467.850       467.875        467.900        467.925

I've never had any reason yet to listen in on wireless mics. After all, if they're broadcasting from one of those, chances are I'm going to hear them without the scanner. Let me tell ya, though, listening to the drive-thrus can sometimes be pretty entertaining. In most fast food places they use the radios to communicate with each other and talk bad about customers.

I wonder, if a singer was performing in the park next to McDonald's would the drive-thru orders drown him out sometimes?

Grateful Dead Tour:

462.4875 Operations 469.375 Security 469.775 Crew

Greenpeace:

151.625, 462.575, 462.600, 462.625, 464.500, 464.550

Additional Frequency Information:

The Frequency Fan Club puts out a monthly newsletter called Race Scanning Monthly. If you'd like information or to subscribe, call or write them.

                            Frequency Fan Club
                            P.O.Box 1987
                            Richmond Hill, GA 31324
                            1-800-RACE-FAN (phone)
                            1-800-SCAN-FAX (phax)

Another place you gotta go to if you have a scanner is Radio Shack. They'll have a book that covers your state and a few surrounding states that costs under $10. The book includes police, fire and medical frequencies for every single town in the entire state. It also includes school buses, local businesses, colleges, sometimes taxis. Definately worth the money if you're not planning on shoplifting it.