In China, after an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale caused more than 55,000 deaths and billions of dollars worth of damage in May 2008, rivers blocked by landslides threatened to worsen the tragedy with torrential flooding. To prevent further loss of life, local government offices sent emergency text alerts to residents downstream, warning them of the rising waters and urging them to leave [source: Yahoo News/AP].
© Wang Jian/China Fotopress/Getty ImagesWeather alerts are used for tragedies like the May 12, 2008 earthquake in China.In Boone County, Ill., an unseasonal tornado surprised Poplar Grove residents in January 2008, flattening four houses and spurring neighboring Winnebago County to adopt a Reverse 911 system that now sends residents alerts of bad weather and other emergencies via landline phones, cell phones, e-mail and voice-over Internet protocol (VoIP) numbers [source: Rockford Register Star].
Loud sirens are increasingly being replaced by the use of digital and Web technology for emergency alerts. Weather alerts provide the warnings we need to head to shore, batten down the house or simply seek shelter. And while a siren may be the first thing that comes to mind as a bad weather alert, emergency alerts can be sent using many different forms of communication. In fact, Internet and wireless technology make it possible to receive emergency weather alerts as notifications on your PC, cell phone or other mobile device.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Cell Phone Weather Alerts
Whether you're on your way to a soccer game or waiting to board a plane headed across the country, you'll want to know about problems with the weather at your destination. The easiest way to receive a bad weather alert may be on your cell phone or other mobile device. And you don't necessarily have to pay a premium for weather updates.
© George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty ImagesCell phone weather alerts can notify users of impending storms, such as tornadoes or hurricanes.
Application developers offer cell phone weather alerts ranging from simple weather alerts to notifications that offer broader types of emergency alerts. But media sources, such as The Weather Channel, also can provide an emergency weather alert on your cell phone, often based on reports they've received from the National Weather Service via the EAS. And even some cities are starting to offer these services.
Prices and options vary widely for cell phone weather alerts. Service availability depends on your wireless provider. While some services are free, you'll still need to pay your provider's rate for text messages. Here are some, but certainly not all, of the options:
The Emergency Email Network will send free e-mails to your cell phone, wireless device or PC notifying you about homeland security emergencies, local natural disasters, severe weather and other emergencies in your area. All you have to do is provide your ZIP code, e-mail address and device on which you want to receive the messages. You can choose the topic content you want to receive.
The Weather Channel provides a variety of weather information, including free 4CAST text-message alerts ranging from severe weather alerts to those specifically for next-day rain, extreme heat, extreme cold, icy precipitation and snow by subscription, as well as on-demand pollen alerts.
My-Cast from Digital Cyclone offers forecasts, maps and other weather information, including automatic phone alerts that make your phone beep when storms approach or lightning strikes nearby. My-Cast also brings you weather watches and warnings from the National Weather Service. This is a $3.99 per month subscription service for BlackBerry devices, iPhones and many other phones. The alerts aren't available on AT&T's network.
Norfolk Alert is a city-offered emergency alert service. If you live in Norfolk, Va., you can register a valid e-mail address and choose the alerts you'd like to receive, such as inclement weather, road closings and emergency notifications. Alerts can be sent to your home phone, cell phone or e-mail. Other towns also offer this type of service, so check what's available locally for you.
WeatherBug Protect from WireFly delivers severe weather alerts and daily forecasts to BlackBerry devices and other cell phones for $2.99 per month. The notification service pinpoints the subscriber's cellular location and gives any alerts for that location. Alerts can be formatted as recorded voice, text message or e-mail. Two-way messaging gives the subscriber a way to respond and report back personally on weather conditions.
Finally, if you're looking for weather alerts about somewhere more distant -- check out NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. You can sign up for free e-mails that'll alert you about comets, asteroids, geomagnetic storms, radio blackouts and more.
© George Doyle/Stockbyte/Getty ImagesCell phone weather alerts can notify users of impending storms, such as tornadoes or hurricanes.
Application developers offer cell phone weather alerts ranging from simple weather alerts to notifications that offer broader types of emergency alerts. But media sources, such as The Weather Channel, also can provide an emergency weather alert on your cell phone, often based on reports they've received from the National Weather Service via the EAS. And even some cities are starting to offer these services.
Prices and options vary widely for cell phone weather alerts. Service availability depends on your wireless provider. While some services are free, you'll still need to pay your provider's rate for text messages. Here are some, but certainly not all, of the options:
The Emergency Email Network will send free e-mails to your cell phone, wireless device or PC notifying you about homeland security emergencies, local natural disasters, severe weather and other emergencies in your area. All you have to do is provide your ZIP code, e-mail address and device on which you want to receive the messages. You can choose the topic content you want to receive.
The Weather Channel provides a variety of weather information, including free 4CAST text-message alerts ranging from severe weather alerts to those specifically for next-day rain, extreme heat, extreme cold, icy precipitation and snow by subscription, as well as on-demand pollen alerts.
My-Cast from Digital Cyclone offers forecasts, maps and other weather information, including automatic phone alerts that make your phone beep when storms approach or lightning strikes nearby. My-Cast also brings you weather watches and warnings from the National Weather Service. This is a $3.99 per month subscription service for BlackBerry devices, iPhones and many other phones. The alerts aren't available on AT&T's network.
Norfolk Alert is a city-offered emergency alert service. If you live in Norfolk, Va., you can register a valid e-mail address and choose the alerts you'd like to receive, such as inclement weather, road closings and emergency notifications. Alerts can be sent to your home phone, cell phone or e-mail. Other towns also offer this type of service, so check what's available locally for you.
WeatherBug Protect from WireFly delivers severe weather alerts and daily forecasts to BlackBerry devices and other cell phones for $2.99 per month. The notification service pinpoints the subscriber's cellular location and gives any alerts for that location. Alerts can be formatted as recorded voice, text message or e-mail. Two-way messaging gives the subscriber a way to respond and report back personally on weather conditions.
Finally, if you're looking for weather alerts about somewhere more distant -- check out NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. You can sign up for free e-mails that'll alert you about comets, asteroids, geomagnetic storms, radio blackouts and more.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
How the scanner builds the image
When scanners only scanned in black and white, the actual scanning process was fairly straightforward. The scanner motor would move one step, capture a single horizontal line of the image from the CCD array, save the results, and move on. When color scanners hit the market, there were several possible ways to scan in color, each one with different advantages and disadvantages.
The first color scanners used a black-and-white CCD array and featured three colored lamps--red, green and blue--or used a single white lamp and had three colored filters for the CCD. The traditional way to scan in color was to scan the entire document three times, one pass for each color, and then build up a composite image that was sent back to the computer. This method had some marked disadvantages. If the image moved even the slightest bit during the scanning process, the resulting misregistration of colors would make the scan useless. (It was also slow, since it required the scan to be done three times in a row.)
One-pass color scanning was eventually introduced, although there were several different ways to pull off the same trick, each again with its own benefits and drawbacks. The first method was to simply scan the whole document once in white light with a color-sensitive CCD array--which required a CCD array that may be much more expensive to produce than a single black-and-white CCD. Another method was a variant on the old three-pass system: at each step of the scan, the scanner turned on the red, green, and blue lamps in sequence and recorded the results from each, creating a composite image at each step. Many current LED-based scanners use this method, since LEDs can be switched on and off very quickly.
There are two basic methods for scanning an image at a resolution lower than the hardware resolution of the scanner. Method 1 simply involves taking the output from certain pixels in the CCD. For instance, if you scanned at 300 DPI on a 600 DPI CCD, the scanner would only sample the results from every other CCD pixel. Method 2 involves scanning at the full resolution of the CCD and then downsampling the results in the scanner's own memory. Most better scanners do this instead, since it yields far more accurate results.
When color scanners scan in grayscale, there are also a number of methods used. Scanners with multiple lamps (such as LED-based scanners) often scan in grayscale by switching on the green lamp and scanning that as black-and-white. This does not always yield the most accurate results with colored documents, but works fine for most black-and-white originals and it is slightly faster than taking a three-channel color image and removing the chrominance values from it (which is how some other scanners work).
As we will find, every single one of the elements in this setup is critical to a good scanner. Let's examine each one in turn, starting with the lamp.
Lamps
Without a bright and consistent light source, no scanner can deliver good results. The vast majority of scanners these days use one of several basic types of lamp:
Cold-cathode fluorescent lamp. So named because they emit very little heat, which prevents image distortion and also prolongs the life of the lamp and other scanner elements.
Xenon-gas cold cathode lamp. Superior to fluorescent lamps, in that they come up to brightness faster and last longer, but they are also considerably more expensive. They also have the advantage of more closely resembling natural light.
LEDs. LEDs are now being used in many inexpensive scanners as light sources. For one, they use very little power, which makes it possible for a scanner to be powered by the USB or FireWire connection, and have a far greater lifespan than cold-cathode fluorescent light sources. LEDs are also much cheaper and more compact, making smaller, lighter scanners possible. The downside is that scanners that use LEDs don't quite provide the same level of richness of color or detail that non-LED scanners do.
Focus and lenses
There's also some variety in the type of lens in a scanner. Most cheaper scanners use a fixed-focus lens--the focus of the lens is set to what is just beyond the surface of the glass and nothing more than that. This is fine if you're putting a flat original on the bed, as is generally the case--although if you are scanning from a book where the spine does not lie completely flat, fixed-focus scanners will not be able to reliably reproduce what's near the spine as well as a scanner with focus control.
The more expensive and advanced scanners have focus control, where the focus of the lens is changed depending on the distance of the document from the glass and mirror. This not only helps you scan a three-dimensional object on the scanner but also provides better control over scans of slides or chromes in slide holders, since the slide holders places them slightly farther away from the lens than other objects. Also, cheaper scanners generally use plastic lenses; the more expensive and professional-quality scanners use genuine glass lenses.
Sensors
Scanners typically use two kinds of sensor arrays. The CCD, or Charge Coupled Device, is the most common type of sensor, and is usually very precise and accurate. It's also a time-tested technology: CCDs are used in many applications, including video and digital still cameras.
Another variety of sensor is the CIS, or Contact Image Sensor. CIS arrays are much smaller and more compact than CCDs, since the signal-amplification circuitry is placed directly onto the sensor itself. CISs are cheaper, but they also yield less impressive and often noisier-looking results, and the scans from CIS-based scanners often need more tweaking to look good. Most people will want to opt for having a CCD rather than a CIS array in their scanner at this point.
Once the scanner has the data, the information needs to be transferred to the host PC. There are, as you might imagine, a variety of ways to accomplish this--some of them extremely archaic but still being used today.
The first color scanners used a black-and-white CCD array and featured three colored lamps--red, green and blue--or used a single white lamp and had three colored filters for the CCD. The traditional way to scan in color was to scan the entire document three times, one pass for each color, and then build up a composite image that was sent back to the computer. This method had some marked disadvantages. If the image moved even the slightest bit during the scanning process, the resulting misregistration of colors would make the scan useless. (It was also slow, since it required the scan to be done three times in a row.)
One-pass color scanning was eventually introduced, although there were several different ways to pull off the same trick, each again with its own benefits and drawbacks. The first method was to simply scan the whole document once in white light with a color-sensitive CCD array--which required a CCD array that may be much more expensive to produce than a single black-and-white CCD. Another method was a variant on the old three-pass system: at each step of the scan, the scanner turned on the red, green, and blue lamps in sequence and recorded the results from each, creating a composite image at each step. Many current LED-based scanners use this method, since LEDs can be switched on and off very quickly.
There are two basic methods for scanning an image at a resolution lower than the hardware resolution of the scanner. Method 1 simply involves taking the output from certain pixels in the CCD. For instance, if you scanned at 300 DPI on a 600 DPI CCD, the scanner would only sample the results from every other CCD pixel. Method 2 involves scanning at the full resolution of the CCD and then downsampling the results in the scanner's own memory. Most better scanners do this instead, since it yields far more accurate results.
When color scanners scan in grayscale, there are also a number of methods used. Scanners with multiple lamps (such as LED-based scanners) often scan in grayscale by switching on the green lamp and scanning that as black-and-white. This does not always yield the most accurate results with colored documents, but works fine for most black-and-white originals and it is slightly faster than taking a three-channel color image and removing the chrominance values from it (which is how some other scanners work).
As we will find, every single one of the elements in this setup is critical to a good scanner. Let's examine each one in turn, starting with the lamp.
Lamps
Without a bright and consistent light source, no scanner can deliver good results. The vast majority of scanners these days use one of several basic types of lamp:
Cold-cathode fluorescent lamp. So named because they emit very little heat, which prevents image distortion and also prolongs the life of the lamp and other scanner elements.
Xenon-gas cold cathode lamp. Superior to fluorescent lamps, in that they come up to brightness faster and last longer, but they are also considerably more expensive. They also have the advantage of more closely resembling natural light.
LEDs. LEDs are now being used in many inexpensive scanners as light sources. For one, they use very little power, which makes it possible for a scanner to be powered by the USB or FireWire connection, and have a far greater lifespan than cold-cathode fluorescent light sources. LEDs are also much cheaper and more compact, making smaller, lighter scanners possible. The downside is that scanners that use LEDs don't quite provide the same level of richness of color or detail that non-LED scanners do.
Focus and lenses
There's also some variety in the type of lens in a scanner. Most cheaper scanners use a fixed-focus lens--the focus of the lens is set to what is just beyond the surface of the glass and nothing more than that. This is fine if you're putting a flat original on the bed, as is generally the case--although if you are scanning from a book where the spine does not lie completely flat, fixed-focus scanners will not be able to reliably reproduce what's near the spine as well as a scanner with focus control.
The more expensive and advanced scanners have focus control, where the focus of the lens is changed depending on the distance of the document from the glass and mirror. This not only helps you scan a three-dimensional object on the scanner but also provides better control over scans of slides or chromes in slide holders, since the slide holders places them slightly farther away from the lens than other objects. Also, cheaper scanners generally use plastic lenses; the more expensive and professional-quality scanners use genuine glass lenses.
Sensors
Scanners typically use two kinds of sensor arrays. The CCD, or Charge Coupled Device, is the most common type of sensor, and is usually very precise and accurate. It's also a time-tested technology: CCDs are used in many applications, including video and digital still cameras.
Another variety of sensor is the CIS, or Contact Image Sensor. CIS arrays are much smaller and more compact than CCDs, since the signal-amplification circuitry is placed directly onto the sensor itself. CISs are cheaper, but they also yield less impressive and often noisier-looking results, and the scans from CIS-based scanners often need more tweaking to look good. Most people will want to opt for having a CCD rather than a CIS array in their scanner at this point.
Once the scanner has the data, the information needs to be transferred to the host PC. There are, as you might imagine, a variety of ways to accomplish this--some of them extremely archaic but still being used today.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Some Of What U Can Do Once U have BookSnap
Scanning stacks of books quickly.BookSnap digitizes books quickly and accurately using two overhead cameras, mounted either side of the v-shaped book cradle, potentially saving hours in book handling time.
Make an eBook.BookSnap can output PDF files, a standard format widely supported across the globe, so you can enjoy your favorite books on any device installed with a PDF reader, such as a notebook, PDA, or eBook reader.
Great for OCR.BookSnap generates sharp, flat-looking page images superior to the distorted (and sometimes unusable) curved page images generated by conventional scanners (flatbed and overhead types) and thus the efficiency or accuracy of OCR text conversion is greatly increased. See comparison of OCR accuracy using images from BookSnap vs. Flatbeds
Create a digital library.BookSnap can be used by educational institutions, companies and individuals around the world to amass content for building digital libraries.
Make an eBook.BookSnap can output PDF files, a standard format widely supported across the globe, so you can enjoy your favorite books on any device installed with a PDF reader, such as a notebook, PDA, or eBook reader.
Great for OCR.BookSnap generates sharp, flat-looking page images superior to the distorted (and sometimes unusable) curved page images generated by conventional scanners (flatbed and overhead types) and thus the efficiency or accuracy of OCR text conversion is greatly increased. See comparison of OCR accuracy using images from BookSnap vs. Flatbeds
Create a digital library.BookSnap can be used by educational institutions, companies and individuals around the world to amass content for building digital libraries.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Image scanner
In computing, a scanner is a device that optically scans images, printed text, handwriting, or an object, and converts it to a digital image. Common examples found in offices are variations of the desktop (or flatbed) scanner where the document is placed on a glass window for scanning. Hand-held scanners, where the device is moved by hand, have evolved from text scanning "wands" to 3D scanners used for industrial design, reverse engineering, test and measurement, orthotics, gaming and other applications. Mechanically driven scanners that move the document are typically used for large-format documents, where a flatbed design would be impractical.
Modern scanners typically use a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) as the image sensor, whereas older drum scanners use a photomultiplier tube as the image sensor. A rotary scanner, used for high-speed document scanning, is another type of drum scanner, using a CCD array instead of a photomultiplier. Other types of scanners are planetary scanners, which take photographs of books and documents, and 3D scanners, for producing three-dimensional models of objects.
Another category of scanner is digital camera scanners, which are based on the concept of reprographic cameras. Due to increasing resolution and new features such as anti-shake, digital cameras have become an attractive alternative to regular scanners. While still having disadvantages compared to traditional scanners (such as distortion, reflections, shadows, low contrast), digital cameras offer advantages such as speed, portability, gentle digitizing of thick documents without damaging the book spine. New scanning technologies are combining 3D scanners with digital cameras to create full-color, photo-realistic 3D models of objects.
Modern scanners typically use a charge-coupled device (CCD) or a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) as the image sensor, whereas older drum scanners use a photomultiplier tube as the image sensor. A rotary scanner, used for high-speed document scanning, is another type of drum scanner, using a CCD array instead of a photomultiplier. Other types of scanners are planetary scanners, which take photographs of books and documents, and 3D scanners, for producing three-dimensional models of objects.
Another category of scanner is digital camera scanners, which are based on the concept of reprographic cameras. Due to increasing resolution and new features such as anti-shake, digital cameras have become an attractive alternative to regular scanners. While still having disadvantages compared to traditional scanners (such as distortion, reflections, shadows, low contrast), digital cameras offer advantages such as speed, portability, gentle digitizing of thick documents without damaging the book spine. New scanning technologies are combining 3D scanners with digital cameras to create full-color, photo-realistic 3D models of objects.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Cell Phones! All you need to know to monitor them.
First off I would like to tell you that listening to any wireless phone conversation is now illegal. New laws were passes back in the 90's to keep manufactures from making and selling scanners capable of receiving the cellular band. I don't care what you have been told, it is illegal to listen to ANY phone call. It's quite legal to own a cell capable scanner which was made before the laws were passed but it's illegal to listen to cellular phone calls. Two totally different things. Its kind of like owning a legal gun, but it's illegal to kill someone just cause you want to.
Ok, down to the good stuff! First off you need to know that analogue cell calls are in the 869.040 to 893.970 MHz range. This is the tower side of the conversation. The actual cell phones transmit in the 824.040 to 848.970 MHz range. There is a 45 MHz split in the phone and the tower. You can hear the tower side for about 5 square miles and the phone itself for only about a mile or two at best. Lets say you were using a frequency counter and someone walks by you talking on a cell phone. Your frequency counter would show something like 824.600 MHz. You can add 45 Mhz to this and listen to the tower side of the conversation which usually has both sides of the conversation at 869.600 MHz.
Some scanners pick up cell phone conversation in other parts of the band. This is known as "imaging" and most dual conversion scanners will pick up images 21.7 Mhz above or below the actual frequencies. Lets say you have a cell blocked scanner but your picking up calls at 901.690 MHz. If you minus 21.7 MHz away you would get 879.990 MHz. This is where the real conversation is taking place. Triple conversion scanners have better front ends and eliminate most "imaging". There are some out there that do pick up images in the 1100 to 1200 MHz region like the PRO-2035.
If a person is traveling down the road, the phone will switch from cell site to cell site as the signals weakens and they get closer to the next tower. You will have to stay close to them with a frequency counter to keep getting the frequency as the phone switches or you can get a Oki-900 cell phone and a CTEK cable and trunk track them. That's right, follow the calls instantly as they change from site to site. I would not suggest getting caught with one of these because its VERY illegal and it could end you up in prison with bend over Billy as a cell mate! You can also get a Optoelectronics Scout frequency counter and a AOR-8200 scanner (unblocked from Canada or Europe) to track cell calls. The Reaction tune cable lets the Scout lock onto any frequency and tune the scanner to that frequency instantly! The only difference with it from the Oki/CTEK combo is that the Scout/AOR will follow the actual cell phone side and you have to stay close to the phone so that the counter can monitor the RF signal. If you really want to follow the calls, go with the CTEK and Oki combo! Please do not email me asking about where and how to buy this stuff. If you follow the links and do some reading, you will figure it out. Building a CTEK cable is not for the week hearted! You MUST have excellent soldering skills. If you are not sure about building the CTEK cable then just go out and buy a older scanner that was made before the laws were passed and listen to them like most other people do. You can still get new unblocked scanners but you have to take a small risk. Most countries out of the USA sells unlocked scanners. Places like Javiation over in the UK. I have heard many, many good thing about this company and success stories of people ordering unblocked scanners and having no problems getting it. Lets face it folks, the government is more worried about terrorism right now than you listening in on a perverted cell phone conversation. If you purchase one, use your VISA or Master Card. If by chance Federal Customs caught the scanner, play dumb! Your credit card company will probably refund your purchase. I have never heard of anyone getting fined for importing one scanner. Now if you tried to buy 20 or 30 of them to resell and they caught it then you might face some men in black at your front door.
Some of you are probably wondering about digital cell phones? I know of NO scanner as of now that will let you listen to them but here is a interesting article that looks promising! Trust me, there are a crap load of analogue cell phones out there (over 70 million). You will have more to listen to than you can handle. In most big cities, you can find many conversation at any hour of the day or night.
The most important thing is this: If you DO decide to listen in on a phone call, keep your dang mouth shut about what you hear! Do not go around bragging about it and telling secrets you heard. Not all people appreciate the fact that you can listen in on calls! Shut up and enjoy.
Ok, down to the good stuff! First off you need to know that analogue cell calls are in the 869.040 to 893.970 MHz range. This is the tower side of the conversation. The actual cell phones transmit in the 824.040 to 848.970 MHz range. There is a 45 MHz split in the phone and the tower. You can hear the tower side for about 5 square miles and the phone itself for only about a mile or two at best. Lets say you were using a frequency counter and someone walks by you talking on a cell phone. Your frequency counter would show something like 824.600 MHz. You can add 45 Mhz to this and listen to the tower side of the conversation which usually has both sides of the conversation at 869.600 MHz.
Some scanners pick up cell phone conversation in other parts of the band. This is known as "imaging" and most dual conversion scanners will pick up images 21.7 Mhz above or below the actual frequencies. Lets say you have a cell blocked scanner but your picking up calls at 901.690 MHz. If you minus 21.7 MHz away you would get 879.990 MHz. This is where the real conversation is taking place. Triple conversion scanners have better front ends and eliminate most "imaging". There are some out there that do pick up images in the 1100 to 1200 MHz region like the PRO-2035.
If a person is traveling down the road, the phone will switch from cell site to cell site as the signals weakens and they get closer to the next tower. You will have to stay close to them with a frequency counter to keep getting the frequency as the phone switches or you can get a Oki-900 cell phone and a CTEK cable and trunk track them. That's right, follow the calls instantly as they change from site to site. I would not suggest getting caught with one of these because its VERY illegal and it could end you up in prison with bend over Billy as a cell mate! You can also get a Optoelectronics Scout frequency counter and a AOR-8200 scanner (unblocked from Canada or Europe) to track cell calls. The Reaction tune cable lets the Scout lock onto any frequency and tune the scanner to that frequency instantly! The only difference with it from the Oki/CTEK combo is that the Scout/AOR will follow the actual cell phone side and you have to stay close to the phone so that the counter can monitor the RF signal. If you really want to follow the calls, go with the CTEK and Oki combo! Please do not email me asking about where and how to buy this stuff. If you follow the links and do some reading, you will figure it out. Building a CTEK cable is not for the week hearted! You MUST have excellent soldering skills. If you are not sure about building the CTEK cable then just go out and buy a older scanner that was made before the laws were passed and listen to them like most other people do. You can still get new unblocked scanners but you have to take a small risk. Most countries out of the USA sells unlocked scanners. Places like Javiation over in the UK. I have heard many, many good thing about this company and success stories of people ordering unblocked scanners and having no problems getting it. Lets face it folks, the government is more worried about terrorism right now than you listening in on a perverted cell phone conversation. If you purchase one, use your VISA or Master Card. If by chance Federal Customs caught the scanner, play dumb! Your credit card company will probably refund your purchase. I have never heard of anyone getting fined for importing one scanner. Now if you tried to buy 20 or 30 of them to resell and they caught it then you might face some men in black at your front door.
Some of you are probably wondering about digital cell phones? I know of NO scanner as of now that will let you listen to them but here is a interesting article that looks promising! Trust me, there are a crap load of analogue cell phones out there (over 70 million). You will have more to listen to than you can handle. In most big cities, you can find many conversation at any hour of the day or night.
The most important thing is this: If you DO decide to listen in on a phone call, keep your dang mouth shut about what you hear! Do not go around bragging about it and telling secrets you heard. Not all people appreciate the fact that you can listen in on calls! Shut up and enjoy.
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