#Police scanner codes meanings how to#
#Police scanner codes meanings software#
#Police scanner codes meanings code#

law enforcement circles, but there is no consensus on the issue. The topic of standardized codes has long been discussed in U.S. There are similarities among popular sets of 10-codes. Different agencies can have codes dissimilar enough to make communication difficult. While agencies with adjacent or overlapping jurisdictions often have similar codes, it is not uncommon to find differences even within one county or city. It is rare to find two agencies with exactly the same ten-codes, signals, incident codes, or other status codes.

#Police scanner codes meanings code#

These code types may be used in the same sentence to describe specific aspects of a situation.Ĭodes vary by state, county, and agency.

Examples of police codes include '10 codes' (such as 10-4 for 'okay' or 'acknowledged'-sometimes written X4 or X-4), signals, incident codes, response codes, or other status codes.

#Police scanner codes meanings how to#

Now that you know the basic concepts of police scanners you can either shop for scanners or visit our guide on How to Buy the Best Police Scanner.A police code is a brevity code, usually numerical or alphanumerical, used to transmit information between law enforcement over police radio systems. Whistler & Uniden both have 1 year warranties. We highly recommend buying high power batteries for max scanner lifetime. Scanners work on line-of-sight, not satellites so topography makes a large difference & anything from a tree or hill to a factory can affect reception.Īll battery operated police scanners use AA batteries. 2 GB of memory is far more than most users will ever use unless recording 100s of hours of conversations.Įstimated scanner reception range without an antenna upgrade. Memory - this only affects digital scanners driven via SD cards. If Radio Reference lists what you want to hear, then it's on one of these scanners. Some scanners come with US & Canadian frequencies.

#Police scanner codes meanings software#

Some digital scanners come with software & frequencies. If you have a Mac we can program your scanner for you. There is no Mac compatible software, even in aftermarket. Users accustomed to interfacing with iPads & smartphones may prefer touchscreen to button interface.Īll scanners have an audio input for use with headset or external speaker.Īll scanners can be programmed via PCs but not Mac's. Can be used when out and about to pick up near by radio transmissions.Īllows you to record conversations for later playback.īacklit keypad allows scanner to be used easily in the dark.Īll scanners use buttons to interface with the device except the HomePatrol 2.

Rapidly detects & monitors frequencies close by. This frees you from having to manually enable and disable systems or channel groups as you change location. Location-based scanning allows you to control which systems/sites and channel groups are scanned based on your exact location. Example: 156 = DEA, 330 = FBIĮssentially this allows allows the scanner to operate in a standby mode and respond to fire tone-outs, a system comprised of standardized two-tone sequential paging, short one-tone paging, and long group tone paging. Network Access Code (NAC) is a 12 bit code that prefixes every packet of data sent (including voice packets). In order to use GPS on your scanner, a GPS device is required.Īlpha tags are descriptions under 12 characters used to label frequencies & talkgroups. GPS allows users in vehicles to pinpoint their exact location, allowing new frequencies to load on their scanner as they move to new areas.