Can one just look up any frequency in the FCC listings?
I usually get this question from users who haven’t spent much time actually comparing the frequencies listed in the FCC records and the world of reality. While the Internet-accessibility of FCC records is a welcome addition, it is wholefully insufficient for the even the casual listener, much less a serious scanner enthusiast or land-mobile radio professional. Federal frequencies are never listed in FCC records. Add to this the tremendous growth of “unlicensed” frequencies, particularly by small and medium enterprises. Also, the rapid growth of “managed systems” by SMR’s and holding companies makes linking radio usage to an FCC record difficult at best. And finally, issues related to usage, tone-coded squelch, coverage footprints, and co-channeling mitigation are not documented well, or at all, in the FCC records. Just as an historical note, FCC records have always been publically available (I recall quite vividly perusing the microfiche at the Long Beach FCC office in the early-1980’s
