AbNo
Regular Member
imported post
Yes, this is a double post....
KBCraig wrote:
Let's say someone hit their head on a rock, and suddenly decides that buying from Radio Shack is a good idea.
If one were to walk into the store and say "Hi, I'd like to buy a (parts for) scanner that can pick up cell phone conversations.", whoever is working there is supposed to show you the door.
If you walk in and say "Hi, I'd like to buy (parts for) a scanner that will receive on the 1710-1755 and 2110-2170 (CDMA frequencies) and/or the 1850-1910 and 1930-1990 (GSM) frequencies.", whoever works there can sell to you.
A few years ago it would have been 650-850 MHz. Analog cell phones in those days were unencrypted signal, much like your favorite radio station.
There are other technical limitations to this, primarily something to decode the digital signal.
tl;dr: You may not have anything that SPECIFICALLY is designed to intercept cell phone signals. It's about like going into a gun store and saying "Hi, I'd like to use that to kill my wife. Will you sell it to me?"
Yes, this is a double post....
KBCraig wrote:
Correction: You may not have anything that SPECIFICALLY is designed to intercept cell phone signals.The reasoning is correct: that we are free to receive anything that is broadcast in the RF spectrum, and it is up to the broadcaster to encrypt, encode, limit his transmission range, or otherwise take steps to prevent reception by unintended parties.
The FCC ignored that reasoning when they outlawed the sale of scanners that could pick up cell phone frequencies (this was back in the 1G analog days, after a couple of high-profile politicians had their cell phone conversations recorded and sold to news agencies).
Let's say someone hit their head on a rock, and suddenly decides that buying from Radio Shack is a good idea.
If one were to walk into the store and say "Hi, I'd like to buy a (parts for) scanner that can pick up cell phone conversations.", whoever is working there is supposed to show you the door.
If you walk in and say "Hi, I'd like to buy (parts for) a scanner that will receive on the 1710-1755 and 2110-2170 (CDMA frequencies) and/or the 1850-1910 and 1930-1990 (GSM) frequencies.", whoever works there can sell to you.
A few years ago it would have been 650-850 MHz. Analog cell phones in those days were unencrypted signal, much like your favorite radio station.
There are other technical limitations to this, primarily something to decode the digital signal.
tl;dr: You may not have anything that SPECIFICALLY is designed to intercept cell phone signals. It's about like going into a gun store and saying "Hi, I'd like to use that to kill my wife. Will you sell it to me?"