A listed frequency may not be active
Ofcom's Wireless Telegraphy Register describes who is licensed to operate on particular frequencies or within geographical areas. A scanner can use that information as a starting point, but a licensed assignment may be quiet, intermittent, digital, encrypted, outside reception range or no longer used in the way a listener expects.
Files are prepared for receive-only use and do not authorise transmission. Users remain responsible for following UK radio and interception law.
The eight UK scanner frequency groups
Customers can select any combination of these groups. Local sources are distance-filtered; national channel sets are marked UK-wide so they do not pretend to be physically located beside the search postcode.
Local business radio (Ofcom WTR)
WTR means Wireless Telegraphy Register. This choice finds nearby publishable business, transport, venue and other licensed frequencies around your postcode or place centre. They are discovery leads, not proof that a channel is active today.
UK CB radio
The recognised UK and CEPT CB channel sets provide nationwide listening channels where your selected scanner covers the required bands and modes.
PMR446
Analogue and compatible digital PMR446 channels are UK-wide. Analogue-only scanners automatically receive only channels they can monitor.
Amateur radio
UK calling and simplex channels are included alongside compatible local RSGB ETCC repeaters with a reported available status, filtered to the chosen radius. Repeater status can lag behind real changes.
Civil airports
Nearby published aerodrome channels are selected from public-domain airport data and filtered by distance from the requested location.
Published military air
The UK-wide member catalogue combines permitted Military AIP site communications, official area and national services, refuelling, range-safety, public harbour channels and identifiable Ministry of Defence WTR assignments. The selected receiver's real tuning and file-capacity limits are shown before generation.
Marine VHF
99 distinct receive frequencies cover the international Appendix 18 plan, both ship and coast sides of duplex channels, UK Coastguard/MSI channels, port and marina working, M/M2, Channel 31, DSC and AIS. Digital data entries are removed when an analogue-only selection requires it.
Common frequencies
Ofcom Business Simple and PMSE schedules, 30 UK low-power SRD channels from the current 434.04-434.79 MHz range, ISS, safety and recreational aviation channels remain separate from Marine.
How a postcode becomes a scanner file
A full postcode gives the most precise centre point, although UK towns, cities, counties and regions are also accepted. The chosen radius changes which local WTR and airport records qualify.
- 01
Set the search centre
Enter a UK postcode or place and choose a 5, 10 or 25-mile radius.
- 02
Combine the selected groups
Nearby public records are combined with any chosen UK-wide channel sets.
- 03
Apply scanner compatibility
Out-of-range frequencies are removed. Mode-not-stated and data/other rows remain labelled tuning leads, and separate assignments sharing a frequency stay distinct.
- 04
Deliver names and loading help
The result includes readable channel names and the loading instructions for the selected scanner or software.
Sources and updates
Local assignments are built from Ofcom's public WTR source. The wider groups use official published schedules or permitted public-domain information, including public airport data. Sources are checked regularly. If an update fails validation, the previous checked copy stays live.
Published military-air content is limited to publicly listed airfield information; no restricted, tactical or secret material is supplied.
Choose a file your scanner software can open
The same set of frequencies cannot simply be renamed with a different extension. ScanLocal UK generates the structure required for supported Uniden, Whistler EZ Scan, AOR, CHIRP, Scan125 and SDRuno workflows.
UK scanner frequency questions
Does a listed frequency guarantee something will be heard?
No. A licence, published allocation or calling channel does not mean somebody is transmitting. Reception also depends on distance, terrain, aerial, equipment, band conditions and local activity.
Why can the same frequency appear more than once?
ScanLocal preserves separate published assignments even when their frequencies match. They may belong to different licence holders, sites, colour codes or digital configurations, so frequency alone is never used to merge them.
Does the amateur-radio group contain repeaters?
Yes. The amateur-radio group contains calling and simplex channels plus compatible RSGB ETCC repeater output frequencies with a reported available status, filtered to the chosen radius for receive-only listening. Reported status can lag behind real changes.
Will an analogue scanner receive digital frequencies?
No. When an analogue-only model is selected, incompatible digital-only entries are removed automatically. A digital-capable scanner may still need the correct protocol and settings for a particular transmission.
Are trunked radio systems mapped?
No. The files are conventional discovery lists. A trunked control or voice frequency may appear as a conventional lead, but talkgroups and complete trunked systems are not mapped.