-=> Quoting Ben Bass to Bud Jamison <=-
 -> -> -> Ham licensees have no right to use a mobile scanner in a State
 -> -> -> bans them in cars.
 -> ->
 -> -> Well I don't know the law in your state, but the New York Vehicle
 -> -> Traffic law section (397) on scanners says, "Nothing in this secti
 -> -> contained shall be construed to apply to any person who holds a va
 -> -> amateur radio operator's license issued by the federal communicati
 -> -> commission and who operates a duly licensed portable mobile
 -> -> transmitter and in connection therewith a receiver or receiving se
 -> -> on frequencies exclusively allocated by the federal communications
 -> -> commission to duly licensed radio amateurs."
 ->
 -> A 'duly licensed' transmitter is NOT a scanner,
 BB> Agreed. I never said nor implied that it was.
 -> nor is a receiver that operates on 'frequencies exclusively allocated
 -> to radio amateurs'.
 BB> That's a gray area. Once a receiver operates (is programmed) on the
 BB> above mentioned frequencies, AND the transmitter is present, it could
 BB> be argued that it meets the test for exemption from the section. The
 BB> law says NOTHING about the receiver being able to receive other
 BB> frequencies as well, only that the receiver has to be used with a
 BB> transmitter and receive amateur frequencies. Seem to me an "open" ham
 BB> transceiver or a scanner (used with a transmitter) meets that test.
Nope. Go back above and re-read the quoted law. It specifically states
that the receiver must be on "frequencies exclusively allocated by the
Federal Communications Commission to duly licensed radio amateurs."
There's nothing grey about that at all.
 -> FCC regulations, which supercede local laws, ONLY cover Ham radios,
 -> NOT scanners. Local laws CAN outlaw scanners in cars, and the Feds
 -> don't get involved.
 BB> That's a gray area as well. Federal law doesn't bar receiving
 BB> anything, except encrypted transmissions or certain telephone
 BB> frequencies. Federal law also says you can't divulge anything you hear
 BB> or use it for personal gain. Other than that, you can pretty much
 BB> listen to what you want. Yes local laws can outlaw scanners, but will
 BB> those bans hold up under appeal? Maybe not.
I think you misunderstood what Bud was talking about. He's talking about
a ruling from the FCC that claims federal jurisdiction over validly
licensed amateur radio equipment that, as a built-in feature, scans
frequencies outside of the allocated ham bands. The FCC considers that
equipment as being outside of state and local laws that ban scanners in
vehicles. The FCC, aside from this single pre-emption does not care if
states ban scanners in vehicles, as that doesn't otherwise impact upon
Federal jursidiction.
As for legal challenges to scanner laws, they've already been there and
upheld.
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