Scanners and Cell Phones

Lukin639

Maybe a dumb question...but here it goes.
Is it possible for neighbors to pick up a cell phone conversation on a home base scanner? Thanks.

DarkStar

Lukin639 wrote:

Maybe a dumb question...but here it goes.
Is it possible for neighbors to pick up a cell phone conversation on a home base scanner? Thanks.

yes, but it is illegal:

A law passed by Congress of the United States (under the pressure of cellular telephone interests) prevented scanners sold in the U.S. from tuning the 800 MHz cellular band. Later, the law was amended to make it impossible to modify radios to receive those frequencies. This law remains in effect even though few cellular subscribers still use analog technology. Typically, there are Canadian and European "unblocked" versions available, however these are illegal to import into the U.S. The cordless phone bands at 43.720--44.480,46.610--46.930 MHz and 902.000 – 906.000 MHz can still be picked up by many scanners. These bands, too, are illegal to monitor in the U.S. The proliferation of scanners led to cordless phone manufacturers going to a much more secure 2.4 GHz system using spread-spectrum technology. Certain states in the U.S., such as New York and Florida, prohibit the use of scanners in a vehicle unless licensed by the FCC.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scanner_%28radio%29

ds

Lukin639

Thanks for the info DarkStar.