TexasCHLforum.com

No law against it in Texas that I know of. It is illegal in some states, however, just as radar detectors are (in other states but not Texas - except (I think I'm correct on this) truck drivers)

If you're thinking about buying a scanner, you should get one that receives digital broadcasts - a lot of agencies either have or will be converting in the next few years from an analog signal (voice) to digital (voice is converted to data and transmitted). Digital scanners are much more expensive than the older analog scanners that you can buy for $100-$200.

Well, how about that...taught an ol' dog a new trick. Guess I've been in the supervisor's chair too long. Yes, sure enough the Ham plate does return Os and 0s. Have to modify what I said to exclude the Ham plates. The standard Texas LP does not use Os or Is.

KD5NRH wrote:, (in the meantime, the plates and VIN came up "no record in database," which translates to "database is broken for the nine hundredth time today, but the state is too arrogant to admit that") he matched the VIN with the one on the insurance card and sent me on my way.

Sure enough, as I was pulling out, the dispatcher called him back to let him know that the third time she ran the plates they got a good return.

Two things to take away from this; scanners are nice to have, and I definitely agree with those who say LE should use a 10 code for CHL, rather than telling everybody else with a scanner that I carry.

Since the Dispatcher got a return on the third try, its more likely than not that she had an error in her first two inquiries. Depending on her or the officers level of experience, lesser experienced officers often misread the letter "D" for an "O" or the number "0" for the letter "Q" or "I" for "1". Texas does not use O(cean) or I(da) as a license plate character to prevent such confusion. Personalized plates? Look closer at those with what looks like an "I" its really a "1", and the "O' is really a "0".

Running by the 17 digit VIN is difficult as well, unless the dispatcher has experience in recognizing a good VIN number. VINassist from NICB helps correctly identify which character should be what for a particular vehicle.