Hello NorthStar:
This has been going on for years and years and will continue as two way radios are used.
We use to hear the local police on different bands and frequencies after hours. Like the Police would show up on the highway maintenance channels for a steek out or other activities. Kind of a neat find really.
We had a forest fire in the mountains near us a few years back. A Northern California Fire Fighting crew showed up on the local MURs channel. The Fire Chief asked who we where, and we told him about the MURs radio service. We took a stand by for the fire fighters, they are emerengy traffic. Later we had Pizza and Beer after the fire, with all the fire fighters, Great times.
Commercial Fishermen use what is called Pirate Channels on the HF Band. Just listen for the guy with a Disel Engine in the background.
Military Pilots have what is called "Winchester" and "Haircut" frequencies that they talk to each other on. Been going on since the advent of radio. Listen in on 123.45 MHz and that is the aircraft to aircraft VHF channel.
The Los Angles Fire Department and County, use to use the VHF Low and High Band. Now use 400 and 800 Mhz. Thet also will show up on long abounded VHF frequencies at times.
I hear military op's on some of the freeband freq's at times. Maybe MCW will turn them in to!
In Barstow there was a Servaier outfit that used old RCA handheld radios, probable orginally licensed back in the 1950's, or 60's and long forgotten.
I listen in on the UHF Channels with my scanner, we have a few 440 Ham repeaters that I listen to. I also listen in on the GMRS channels. You can here the same ham operators using ham call signs on the ham 440 band, as on the GMRS UHF channels.
So there is unauthorized radio activity all over.
Jay in the Mojave
NorthStar said:
I have been noticing a growing trend of Volunteer FIre and EMS that program freqs in their radios that they do not have a license for and call them tactical Channels. But I noticed the FCC has not done anything about this.