What is a Radio Scanner?
A radio scanner is a device that allows the user to listen in on someone else’s radio conversation. Radio scanners are especially useful for those who have a curiosity to monitor emergency communications channels or air traffic control channels. A radio scanner is often capable of receiving signals from a variety of applications and can be programmed to only pick up specific frequencies. Since human beings first picked up the ability to audibly communicate, other human beings have had the desire to listen in on what is being said. While eavesdropping is socially unacceptable, listening to a radio scanner is acceptable. This is because the public airwaves are just that — public. There is no expectation of privacy like there may be in other forms of communication. The main purpose of a radio scanner is to scan a width of frequencies to look for conversations. Once it finds a conversation, it may remain on that frequency until there is a sufficient lull in the conversation. Scanners may
A scanner is a radio receiver that can automatically tune, or scan, two or more discrete frequencies, stopping when it finds a signal on one of them and then continuing scanning when that frequency goes silent. Generally, scanners cover the non-broadcast radio bands between 30 and 950 MHz using FM, although there are models that cover much more of the radio spectrum and use other modulation types. The traditional use of scanners is to monitor police, fire, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and similar radio systems that use a number of frequencies but with only sporadic use of each.
