I used to love my Realistic base scanner back in the 90's. Fire service was about 71mhz, police was about 440mhz,cordless phones was about 31mhz mobile phones was in the 900's mhz, police helecopyer was out 133mhz, Ambulances was about 166 mhz. Great Times laying in bed for hours eavesdropping, then when I had a car I used to listen to 71.150 which was westmids fire service and used to go to the fires to watch 😂

I remember when you could listen to the primitive car phones in the late 70's with a Bearcat Police and Fire scanner. Listening to the same clown call 5 women in a row and get turned down was more amusing than fiction.

Remembered when I was a little kid and my father and I couldn’t sleep he was searching on our wireless set for US jazz music. By accident we heard American taxi’s, probably through active sunspots, which was absolutely amazing to me. I will never forget this and this was really the base for my interest in technique.

Thank you for not having background music, intro splash screens, and badgering us to subscribe.

This is awesome mate, a non BS approach to what is still a fascinating hobby!

I was lucky enough to be into scanning in what I think was the golden age of scanning.. Late 80s to late 90s. It was so much fun, I could hear all the police, cordless phones and even the new Mobile phones of the time. In my opinion, all the things that are worth listening to are now encrypted (other than airband) and that is no coincidence.

I used to build small FM transmitters and bug the downstairs of the house while I tuned in on the commercial FM band in my room :D ..Memories

I listen to the police all the time in fact I’m doing so right now I live in Ventura County California. All analog unencrypted.

Thank you for someone finally producing a decent accurate frequency list. Used to be an avid CBer growing up in the 80s and 90s going to get scanning again, and invest in SDR / digital scanning equipment.

This is so helpful. Thank you. I'm in East Manchester and after a visit to the RSGB at Bletchley Park about 6 months ago, I have bought an SDR Play Duo and stuck a Discone on a pole on my roof. I'm constantly learning and find it fascinating, but working out where to look has been a challenge. This is going to be an invaluable resource. Thanks again.

Useful and thanks for your hard work putting it all together. It's sad that a lot of interesting stuff is no longer listenable but there will be a lot of old gear users around for a while.

There was a friend I worked with 2002-05 we both were into amateur radio. He had a handheld digital scanner that could be setup to listen into the digital trunking & encryption of the time. he did have local & provincial police programmed into the receiver. Can't remember what model it was now but it did work. listented to it at his place a number of times.

Hi there Lewis 05:00 here in FLA. USA. Just watching another Vid. Of yours W/my wife. She's got a thing for your Golden Voice.😍 I'll have my TX-Iguanna ring you when he warms up later on. Great work. Spot On. Straight Away. &Last but not least BOBS YOUR UNClE😆😆😆

Jumped on channel 21 on an old cobra walkie I found in tbe garage and happened upon an engaging conversation about underground poker rings. I was surprised, there was only 2 people talking but I could hear them really clearly and god knows where they were or what they were doing. Intercivilian radio will make a comeback. Its just too convenient and the knowledge gained is just as useful because the tech never really changed it just evolved.

Best introduction to radio scanning. Good work.

Wonderful compilation, thanks.

My memory of analogue cordless phones was that they broadcast on ordinary radio frequencies, usually on mediumwave and you could just tune in on any radio, which was hardly confidential!

Thanks for taking the time to make this. It's so confusing when all the other KZfaqrs are from America talking about their laws.

Great video Lewis. Many thanks for all the work you put into producing the info in the video. Nice one! 73

Nice to see BMRT vehicles, used to be Lowband 86.3125 for Mountain rescue back in my days in the team.

I always find your videos and the contents fascinating. Yours and "The Amp Hour" are the two YT channels I find myself returning to again and again. Thank you.

Last month, I was grading Amateur Radio exams in the U.S. One of our graders stated that she needed a new emergency scanner for her new (additional) vehicle. Sitting at the table with us was the director of communications for our local emergency services. He looked her dead in the eye and said, "Don't bother getting one. In January of 2023, we are moving everything to both spread spectrum and it will be encrypted." About the only thing to listen to now is the businesses that still run radios in their fleet vehicles.

NICE ONE. Can hear the audio change thru the years. All the very best. :-)

Brilliant, learnt something new!

During many years of youtubewatching, it's the first time I've heard: 18:36! I'll give you a like for this! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Thoroughly enjoyed this informative video, well done and thanks for clarifying a baffling subject

Well put together mate. I enjoyed and will take some notes on these numbers. All the best, 73's Lee.

I remember being able to hear cordless phones with an am radio

I was able to pick up live TV coverage of my local Premiership Football Match commentary a mile away with no delay that one gets on live tv and radio with honest opinions from the director of whether a foul was a foul or not on 455mhz. I could the live countdown of videos and advertising playing along with how much time the presenter had to wrap an interview up. So much Pressure with all the precise timing makes one appreciate the skill set required in Live Broadcast.

A scanner and SDR dongle are great together. I found stuff on my SDR dongle that weren't even listed in local frequency databases. I bought an analog scanner at probably the less opportune time. Police and fire were switching to digital trunking, and now the school district is slowly migrating to digital trunking as well. Scanning gets to be a bit more interesting in the winter months here, when the snow plows are out. Each plow is fitted with a radio, and they transmit through a repeater on top of a hill, so I'm able to hear all the plows loud and clear.

Some brilliant information thanks for posting!!

A very informative video, and concisely done. One bunch of frequencies I would've included (seeing as you mentioned Baofeng "factory testing presets") are those for GMRS/FRS, because often they've been bought from eBay and mis-sold as "Super Long Range PMR" or brought back into the UK by tourists - but are set for American UHF frequencies and not PMR 446. Which I think trample on where UHF emergency services in analogue used to reside. Often heard farmers around here use them thinking they were completely fine to use, and other unusual pirate users.

Thanks for all your work in doing this .

Thanks for your interesting and informative video. Much appreciated. I live in Melbourne Australia.

Cheers mate , excellent presentation

Damn it. I wish I'd found this last week. I've just bought a uniden base scanner and wondered why I could only get airport transmissions. Great video. Very informative.

Almost a year old, but still a great video, Thanks! :)

Happy memories having a scanner when the poll tax riots were kicking off in London 😄

Great information, there is always plenty to listen to on HF and medium wave even during summer months. Plenty of shortwave stations that broadcast news in English

Hello, from the U.S. I still listen to the scanner from time to time whether Portable or Mobile. Aircraft, VHF Maritime, Railroad, CB, FRS, GMRS, Analog FM VHF/UHF Ham Radio Repeaters, including 255.550 MHz. (the FLTSATCOM Downlink.) Back in the early 1990s I used Police Call, Popular Communications, Scanner Master and Monitoring Times. Now I use Radio Reference.

There's loads still to listen to... my router, my neighbour's router... my other neighbour's router... all the routers down the road.

You forgot to mention listening to the audio of TV broadcasts. Before the digital TV transition in 2012, you could receive the audio portion of TV channels on a scanner (and also broadcast auxiliary services such as studio-transmitter links and remote pickup units). Since you are only listening to the audio portion of the broadcast, you don't need to pay the licensing fees. This was the only legal use of radio scanners other than listening to FM stations and amateur radio communications.

Hi just getting into the radio ham hobby and I find your videos and advice invaluable. I have the Ailunce HD1 and from your advice I bought it and I must say what a fine radio it is. Thank you for your clear and precise advice and I look forward to any more content you add.

in New Zealand, you can still listen to the police

Back in the 1990's I was listening to cordless phone conversations of my neighbors, cell phones, police and fire of course and schools, the whole nine yards it was great. I have to get back into the scanning hobby, I haven't been active since the 90's.

Thanks once again Lewis.Very informative and a very handy guide.Cheers 73's

Thank you. You trimmed all the fat, and I learned a lot and will review this video for reference as I am renewing my interest in radio.

Very thoroughly done! I'd love to see someone do a guide like this for the USA.

I listen to aircraft and ships and planes and anything i want to on my baofeng dual band fm transceiver and i tweaked a few older AM/FM radios to receive everything a expensive radio can get

No rail in the UK? Did I miss it? In the 'states we have about 100 or so railroad frequencies. They're very active but transmissions are extremely brief, like one word, mostly unintelligible. I don't know why so many people listen to it.

Great guide, I'm off to program my Baofeng now. I can stay within the law on a lot of these frequencies including PMR 446 if I use low power and stick with the onboard antenna.

In the beginning of cellphones I used to listen to everything. I even heard a congressman calling his parents on the way up to Alpine Ca.

1:09 Maybe a little historical perspective is due here regarding the issue of frequency availability. Before anyone (in the States, at least) ever heard of an "Internet" the public safety frequencies were very widely published via books such as Police Call (available through Radio Shack; may they rest in peace) and other type mediums available in book or magazine format. As more and more law enforcement fall under the scrutiny of the public eye and are exposed for their oft failures, they seek to withdraw behind the curtain of encryption. No matter how much they say this is not the case; it's hard to believe otherwise.

Cheers.nice share..love my analog radios..bug out communicate is a must. If the powers off internet down you need to talk. So old school scanners will still be of interest..top of the day wave.👋 from Ohio USA

Fantastic!

Wished I had information on the bands like this about 30 years ago when I was into listening on a scanner I got for Christmas as a kid!

Where I live (San Mateo county, just south of San Francisco) public service radio is still analog. County fire and all the PDs and public works. SFPD is still fighting with their digital system.

Looking at coming back to scanning and SWL great video

A bit more detail on marine VHF: The low side goes from 156.000 to 158.5 and is all the simplex channels, and the ship side of split channels. 160.6 to about 162 is the shore side of split channels and some private simplex channels. AIS channels are 161.975 and 162.025.

I'm 46 ( not from the UK )and I was always fascinated by RF and at 17 I joined a local club to get the licence. However, for various reasons i gave up. I recently came across your channel and something rekindled the interest. I was told the hobby is still quite active locally, but I think modern comms ( internet / mobiles phones ) have made young people loose interest in this. I'm considering getting my licence next year. Hopefully there's still something left in it.

Hello from Phoenix Arizona USA. When I was a kid growing up in the early 80s I loved listening to the scanner it was very simple and easy I had 100 channel RadioShack programmable scanner I just punched in the frequency in the local Phoenix Police had 10 different frequencies and one hot channel. But when they went to digital I have not been able to listen to it effectively at all. I even spent $700 on a digital scanner and all I got was bits and pieces of voice and it was very hard to understand and there was no set up like hot traffic on one simple channel so I could not follow any kind of police call. I wish today I could still listen I don’t know if it’s just me and not knowing how to work digital radio scanners or if I truly just can’t listen to it anymore.

Appreciate the effort to put all this information in one place - thanks

Great video! Thanks!

Thanks for a very clear, informative and extremely well presented video. It's been a few years since I used my scanner and this has given me a good update and many pointers on where to concentrate my efforts. Thanks again and 73's!

Im almost tempted to dig out the 27/81 rig and have a listen.

I am currently studying for my Tech and general lic. Im so excited to be able to talk to people all over the world.

I used to drive around in my VAN equipped with a TV antenna, with it I could LOOK at the Screens of PC using a CRT monitor with a RF Adapter or ANYTHING using an RF transmitter for Audio or Video like Video Game Consoles . but with the advent of cheap LCD monitor that too was ended.

Good video lots of info. I used to work the 10 meter band back in the early 90s had lots of contacts in the UK. I still have my QSL cards it was good back then, lots of fun. Unfortunately technology has taken it's toll. Keep the videos going great information. Thanks for posting 73 from 9 division.

I currently scan (analog) using a PRO-2053. I can actually still get the state trooper frequencies in on it. I also get a small suburb fire department, the gas company, ambulance company, and even the bus service. Sometimes you catch gems of communications. Heard some crazy stuff.

Fantastic guide. It would be great to be able to download this as a PDF.

Ofcom publish all the business licence details online, with frequency, exact location and sometimes the DMR colour code. With a digital scanner or SDR TV dongle that's more than enough info to tune in. Talkgroup (or even CTCSS tone) could end up in the wrong hands and be used to cause trouble. Even on a cheap DMR handie you don't need the talkgroup to listen if you have the right firmware updates. Most DMR systems round here started out with encryption, and everything else still active is using analogue FM. I'd think any new industrial or security systems would be starting out encrypted now.

When I was young (late 80s and 90's, I'm 38now) , my uncle was and is an amateur radio license holder. Which one? Im not certain, but it's in the US. His basement was full of radio equipment and computer stuff. I thought it was cool. He taught me a lot of Morse code and the proper phonetic alphabet, he always said that it was important to know and that cops always butchered the military phonetic alphabet. I regretfully have forgotten Morse code (except ••• --- •••) he has an antenna,and he also had something on an even taller antenna down the road from his house. It was pretty cool. We listened to all kinds of conversations. I remember him listening to stations that would constantly rattle off Morse code at an unbelievable rate, but he understood it and he would then change the channel and talk to another person about whatever they understood about the Morse code transmission. It was crazy but it's almost like it was his job. He was self-employed, and no matter what, he would go drop whatever he was doing to listen if he were away from his room he would listen on his handheld in private. I thought it was cool that he took his hobby so seriously because his hobby was his job because he has always had a radio or computer business. I moved away, and we haven't hung out.

Very useful! I work near an airport, so I can potentially listen in on aircraft/tower radio communications. Might try that just out of interest.

I never hear anything. When I was a kid, I could hear so many things such as guards

Fantastic presentation Lewis, really useful. Thanks 2E0TWD

Hello Ringway Manchester Thanks for this really good video, Please can I make a couple of observations / comments? 1) It IS possible to listen to CB operators using a VHF/UHF antenna... I do it with a colinear sometimes! However the operators will need to be very close to you (within a mile or two), or running more than the legal 4 Watts, or both! 2) SSB is only legal on the CEPT CB frequencies between 26.965 and 27.405MHz , not the UK40 between 27.60125 and 27.99125MHz where only FM should be used. 3) FM broadcast starts at 87.5MHz rather than 88MHz. 87.7MHz is worth monitoring in particular. This frequency often seems to house temporary (28 days maximum), low power (25 Watts maximum) Restricted Service License stations. These are often referred to as RSLs. 4) In the 2 meter amateur band, 144 to 144.050MHz is for things like moonbounce and CW (Morse Code). SSB should be between about 144.150 and 144.395MHz. There are propagation beacons between 144.400 - 144.500MHz which are good for checking for enhanced tropospheric conditions. 5) Full licence holders can transmit digital stuff (e.g. Reduced Bandwidth Fast Scan Television) between 146 and 147MHz. 6) LPD has 69 channels and runs between 433.075 and 434.775MHz. Those overlap amateur radio repeater outputs, simplex frequencies, and repeater inputs in ascending order. However the maximum (legal) power is 10mW so you would need to be very close to the person transmitting. I have never heard a LPD433 user. 7) In my area, channel 1 on the default Baofeng BF-888S frequencies is very popular (462.125MHz). For the same reason, it might also be worth keeping an ear on 462.5625MHz. This is channel 1 of the Family Radio Service, the equivalent of PMR446 in the USA and Canada. Although it's not legal to use the FRS frequencies in the UK, many FRS radios seem to find their way over here... I hope this information is useful, and keep up the good work RW! 73 from Ed M0MNG.

Great informative Video. Very interesting and helped Me to tune in.....Thanks

Here in the states a lot of agencies have moved to the digital trunked P-25 phase two systems, luckily scanning is still possible but it definitely comes at a cost, the lowest price that I’ve seen for desktop scanners is about 350 to 400 dollars, the highest going well into the thousands of dollars.

Over here in the U.S., my scanner never stops talking. Wether its law enforcement, fire, EMS, or other services, theres always something to hear. And yes, some law enforcement agencies have switched encryption on, many departnents still use unencrypted VHF and UHF channels. Also, P25 Phase 2 systems are great to listen to

There use to be people that lived in my apartment complex that had a 49mghz for years even after there kids were in school age you could here everything that when on in the house.

I'm from the US, and its interesting to see how different and similar some frequencies are in other countries. One think I appeared to miss was your Railroad Frequencies?

I tend to tune in to military and airband most active nowadays

Top Man. Was not sure whether to buy a scanner or not but think it is probably not worth it now. Very good video. 10/10

Nice presentation!

And less us not forget the old baby monitors. They were very entertaining 😀

In my area about 90+% area in the clear of Las Cruces, NM as well as El Paso, TX.

nearly blew my cover there lol. that is correct but were miles away from where transmit circumferences cant be located.

Hi mate , your the man in the know and clearly know your way around, do you rate the Whistler 1065? Cheers for your help

Awesome video, I got my first scanner yesterday and I’m loving it so far.

I do like all these scanners but I love my p25 436 hp portable. I love how slim and how it fits in my pocket.it all depends on what you looking for.all of these are good.

thank you

I have a old Radio Shack scanner that still works and still receives stuff over the air... It really all depends on your area I know a friend who lives in mobily Missouri that has an old analog scanner and gets ton of stuff... I recently upgraded to a digital and there's hundreds of stuff I can get..

Thanks!!

I have a Baofeng UV-5REPlus and sometimes use it on PMR446. I also use it on 145 armature band since I've got my M3 licence. It's maximum power is 5W so It's above the specified power allowed on PMR but nobody seems to care all that much. Have even heard people using a bass station on lower power on PMR before now. It's also a nice little scanner if you know what to look for.

Facinating. Many thanx. M6 KII

scanners , 1986-1994. loved listening in. London.

Great video. I really like that you mentioned not posting frequencies online because I also think that it contributes to systems going encrypted.

The only thing that I'd do a band search on nowadays is for funny karaoke voices on wireless mics and some Cable TV leaks on some still analog service providers to get free audio. Other than that I'd rather switch to my shortwave receiver listening to a more comprehensive live news broadcast and exotic music coming from around the world, or do some DXing on the AM/ FM broadcast band of some still analog radio stations from all across Asia.

Great vid information spot on.

Mid-band (26.965 Mhz - 27.405 Mhz) is now legal to use for CB in the UK in all modes (FM/AM/SSB).