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Millions of baby monitors have been sold over the years by Big Box retailers, mail order, etc. Most buyers have no idea how these things work. They plug them in & they forget about them.
These gadgets are radio transmitters that operate on the following frequencies called channels:
49.30
49.83
49.845
49.86
49.875
49.89
(all in MHz).
All use FM mode. Without any added antenna, these things can be heard with an everyday police scanner up to half a mile away,
That's correct. People who own & operate baby monitors are installing an open microphone in their homes. A lot of what can be heard by the baby monitor can be eavesdropped on by anyone with a police scanner.
My current interest in ham radio is focused on the so-called 6 meter band, which covers 50.00-54.00 MHz. The current examples of state-of-the-art radios to cover this band include 2 that I have: a YASEU FTdx-10 & an ICOM 7300. These radios cover (on receive) the channels listed above.
I was a bit surprised to find 2 baby monitors active in my vicinity, one weak one (S8 noisy) on 49.875 with a TV going in the room & one strong one on 49.83 (S9) where I heard a TV the other night. I only listened to these long enough to confirm that they were indeed active baby monitors & to confirm their frequencies. They make good source signals for me to see on my spectrum display in order to verify that my station is OK on receive.
So, if you have one of these gadgets, be aware that some of your most private moments might be listened to by anyone & you have no way of knowing.
These gadgets are radio transmitters that operate on the following frequencies called channels:
49.30
49.83
49.845
49.86
49.875
49.89
(all in MHz).
All use FM mode. Without any added antenna, these things can be heard with an everyday police scanner up to half a mile away,
That's correct. People who own & operate baby monitors are installing an open microphone in their homes. A lot of what can be heard by the baby monitor can be eavesdropped on by anyone with a police scanner.
My current interest in ham radio is focused on the so-called 6 meter band, which covers 50.00-54.00 MHz. The current examples of state-of-the-art radios to cover this band include 2 that I have: a YASEU FTdx-10 & an ICOM 7300. These radios cover (on receive) the channels listed above.
I was a bit surprised to find 2 baby monitors active in my vicinity, one weak one (S8 noisy) on 49.875 with a TV going in the room & one strong one on 49.83 (S9) where I heard a TV the other night. I only listened to these long enough to confirm that they were indeed active baby monitors & to confirm their frequencies. They make good source signals for me to see on my spectrum display in order to verify that my station is OK on receive.
So, if you have one of these gadgets, be aware that some of your most private moments might be listened to by anyone & you have no way of knowing.