radio scanning (and related stuff)

SolarNexus

I'm setting up this thread for a number of reasons, first and foremost I cannot find any website, forum or even shock-horror a thread regarding radio scanning in Ireland. though the pickings are slim elsewhere also.

What I would like to discuss in this thread is the legality of radio scanning in Ireland, whether we can by law do it. I know radio scanners can be bought but how legal is it to listen into transmissions if your not the intended party? specifically if by listening you are doing nothing more than detecting radio waves, an environmental effect. It is my view that if its open-sourced and not encrypted, its open for listening/viewing as its the creation of radio waves which in effect alter the environment and as such you a right to monitor or view changes to your environment no matter how minute the change.

Apart from the legality issues, I would also like to discuss the devices used; I am interest in getting an Icom R3 (video/audio scanner). If that device were bought in the US it would cost €260-ish but in Ireland it costs a whopping €749 (perhaps another post for ripp-off Ireland?). Any suggestions etc. as I'm thinking about getting one (if legal).

also finally, the useage of such devices, what do people use them for. Obviously most are used to listen to radio stations and/or transmissions (the device I suggest allows the viewing of such transmissions if they are video). EG. security - leaving a 'bug' in a place of interest and tuning in to the frequency or even listening to gardai or airport transmissions, whatever. again, if legal.

Heres hoping this will last more than my meagre post.

Agent Smith

legally, you can lissen to police broadcasts, and the like, but you cant use the infomation.

i.e
if your sitting outside a bank in the getaway car, lissening to the poilce boardcasts, then you cant,

if your sitting at home, lissening for the laugh, then your fine...



if you want any LEGAL freqz then feel free to pm me

bp_me

Can I ask where you got the price for the icom r3?

@agent smith
if you are sitting outside in the getaway car, you may have other slightly more pressing legal difficulties

Invader Zim

Why, in 2004, are the Gardai using unencrypted analogue transcivers?

Christ, even civilian GSM mobile calls are encrypted, consumer PMR is digital etc.

What is the problem?

Wertz

Invader Zim wrote:

Why, in 2004, are the Gardai using unencrypted analogue transcivers?

Christ, even civilian GSM mobile calls are encrypted, consumer PMR is digital etc.

What is the problem?

It's cheaper.
The Special branch and detective divisions of the GS have been using scrambled radios for years.

bp_me

Check out http://watcomm.go.to. The IC-R3 is €525 there.

Aquos76

SolarNexus wrote:

I'm setting up this thread for a number of reasons, first and foremost I cannot find any website, forum or even shock-horror a thread regarding radio scanning in Ireland. though the pickings are slim elsewhere also.

Here are a couple of websites for you to look at

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Chip/5459/scanpx1.html

http://www.esatclear.ie/~derekhaughton/scannerz.htm

http://www.longcom.ie/

http://www.sec.ie/
You might need to call this guy for latest prices. He is based in Waterford. His prices are not up to date on his site. I bought the IC-R5 from him for €230 a while ago and the price on http://watcomm.go.to is €270

bp_me

You might need to call this guy for latest prices. He is based in Waterford. His prices are not up to date on his site. I bought the IC-R5 from him for €230 a while ago and the price on http://watcomm.go.to is €270

While it is true that the prices in general are not up to date, I maintain the site and updated the price of the r3 after coming upon this thread. €525 is the current price.

segadreamcast

Would http://www.radiowaves.fm not be into this kind of thing?

Aquos76

bp_me wrote:

While it is true that the prices in general are not up to date, I maintain the site and updated the price of the r3 after coming upon this thread. €525 is the current price.

When I mentioned that the prices were not up to date on the website, I was referring to http://www.sec.ie and not your website which i think is http://watcomm.go.to

I merely mentioned your website as a reference site to the difference in prices between the two sites.

SolarNexus

sec.ie is b0rked...

any useful link is broken. I've fired off an email but in the meantime will have to type in the pages manually

Aquos76

SolarNexus wrote:

sec.ie is b0rked...

any useful link is broken. I've fired off an email but in the meantime will have to type in the pages manually

Are you using Firfox? I am, and I was also getting errors, so I had to go back to IE to get it to work. It worked fine then.

SolarNexus

IE is more... "friendly" to sloppy code.

heres an example:
http://www.sec.ie/pricelist\pricelist_contents.htm

that backslash is understood by IE because its used in disk reading, but firefox doesnt allow it because its incorrect syntax (we all know firefox enforces stricter HTML than IE).

EDIT:
forgot to answer your question - yes I'm using firefox

the_syco

[url=http://www.leeradio.com/icom-r3.htm]Icom R3 Review[/url] wrote:

The ICR-3 also comes in PAL B or PAL G versions-not available in the U.S. The R-3 is a Triple-Conversion superheterodyne receiver below 1150 MHz and Quadruple-Conversion above 1150 MHz. Do not buy the U.S. version for use in Europe or most of Asia It will not work, at least for TV. Presently, you can only buy the U.S. version new in the U.S. and Canada. Auction sites on the internet such as Ebay have various flavors of the R3 for sale.

It wouldn't work, due to the NTSC use there, and PAL use here.

So importing one from the US may cut off half its usability (picking up video from stuff).

SolarNexus

I may have read it incorrectly, but some versions are available with both NTSC & PAL.

However, I am told that our television transmissions differ from the UK though I'm not sure how, its supposed to prevent us importing TVs from the UK and as such may be a problem here.

If I could get the device for around €260 (new) in Ireland, I would buy it here; elsewise I'll probably not get it if I cant import it.

SolarNexus

bp_me wrote:

While it is true that the prices in general are not up to date, I maintain the site and updated the price of the r3 after coming upon this thread. €525 is the current price.

err... so the price has risen with the passing of time?? should that not be the other way around?

please explain

bp_me

SolarNexus wrote:

err... so the price has risen with the passing of time?? should that not be the other way around?

please explain

It was €749 before the update.

Aquos76

Are we talking about Eamon Phelan's site OR www.sec.ie

SolarNexus

Leonard wrote:

You might need to call this guy for latest prices. He is based in Waterford. His prices are not up to date on his site. I bought the IC-R5 from him for €230 a while ago and the price on http://watcomm.go.to is €270

I must have read that incorrectly, sorry. I see now what must have happend - I read IC-R5 as IC-R3, an easy mistake.

still a big rip-off compared to the US. though that could easily be down to the distributors and not the store itself.

bp_me

It seems to me that most electronic products are cheaper in the US than in most places in Europe.

The thing is if you buy something in Europe, you are still protected by eu law, whereas if you buy something from the states, a) the store is 3000 miles away b) eu law doesnt apply c) the product is designed for us market, so 110V adapter, NTSC, etc.