WaveTalkers Emergency Prepardness Guide: Public Safety Radio
Monitoring Public Saftey Radio for Situational Awareness - Episode 82
Recorded LIVE at 1pm PST September 17, 2023
Terminology
Scanner – A specialized radio receiver that sequentially listens to a series of pre-programmed frequencies, stopping when an active frequency is found.
Lockout – The ability to eliminate an individual frequency from the scanning sequence
Priority Scanning – One, or more, frequencies that receive priority in the scanning process.
Digital Frequencies – Digital Schemes, usually P-25 in Public Service
Trunking – A frequency assignment scheme in which available frequencies are not assigned to a specific group but are placed in a queue. When a member of a group keys their microphone, a computer selects an available frequency from the queue and switches all members of the group to that frequency.
P-25 – A digital mode commonly used in public service radios. Other digital modes such as DMR and NEXDN are less frequently used in public service. Specialized scanners are required to receive digital frequencies.
Encryption – A technique used to prevent unauthorized users from hearing transmissions. Encryption is becoming more widely used in public safety, particularly in law enforcement. Encrypted channels can not be monitored by scanners.
Below are Amazon Affiliate links to common Public Saftety Radio Frequency Scanners that you may want to consider for your own situational awareness. Before using any equipment to monitor public saftey frequencies, be sure to check your local laws for any legal issues related to monitoring such frequencies.
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