[RFI] Helping Neighbors 101 - A True Story

[Cortland Richmond]

This sounds very much as if the residence involved either had bought a "wireless" (carrier current) extension modem operating on 3515 or had one installed by the Cabe TV folks to connect the cable-box's modem. I have heard a number o f such conversations, and similar occurrences had been reported to the ARRL when these devices began showing up in the low end of 80 meters. You can hear them a LONG way.

The ARRL has tried to get all of them off the air, with some degree of success.

Cortland
ka5s


-----Original Message-----
From: "WD8ARZ" <WD8ARZ@IX.NETCOM.COM>
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 13:10:28 -0400
To:  <rfi@contesting.com>
Subject: [RFI] Helping Neighbors 101 - A True Story


> 
> Due to the current nature of the messages on this reflector about Rfi and
> helping neighbors, maybe it is time for the sharing of an interesting story
> a friend of mine told me about that happened in a southern state.
> 
> Seems a friend of hers was thinking about getting out of ham radio, when she
> asked why, he bemoaned about the technical void of the general public, and
> how tired he was of being blamed for issues he had no control over. Many
> were Rfi issues, but some were starting to do in the Elmer in him. Seems
> that the less some know about something, the stronger the opinion..... and
> there are a lot of strong opinions out there by those that think "we' are
> invading their privacy. Not just public individuals, but also law
> enforcement!
> Some even threatened him physically, and antenna cables had been cut.
> 
> So before you educate others about how their wireless activities are really
> radio activities, make sure they don't know where you live.... hi hi
> 
> 73 from Bill - WD8ARZ
> wd8arz@ix.netcom.com
> ===========================================
> ----- Original Message -----
> From:
> To:
> Sent:
> Subject: Privacy 101 - A True Story
> 
> Beware of what you do about helping others be aware of wireless privacy
> issues. The following is a true story! This is the first time this has been
> shared over the internet. Because the transmission in question is now off
> the air, I feel more comfortable detailing the story.
> 
> About two years ago I began to notice a carrier with a slight hum on
> 3.515Mhz. With all the digital stuff running in the house I have tons of
> carriers, some quiet, and some with various types of modulations (tones,
> hums, digital, etc), so did not pay it much attention, especially because
> it was there night and day, thus not propagation affected. Then one night
> while tuning around, I hear this phone conversation on that same frequency,
> in narrow fm! Two women were chatting and sounded like a normal wireless
> phone conversation connection, but on this frequency?!? I began monitoring,
> and over the next couple of weeks I noticed some odd things. I never heard
> an incoming ring, touch tone dialing, or pulse dialing. One moment it was a
> quite frequency (with a slight hum in a.m. or f.m. mode), and the next you
> heard the phone conversation. This told me this was no normal wireless
> phone, had to be professional. I was convinced that it was ac powered (the
> hum), was crystal controlled, with a very slight temp drift between the cool
> weather frequency and the warm weather frequency.
> 
> Listening continued for a few months. Strange enough was that the
> conversations were all normal. No cussing, nothing illegal, almost always
> a mother and her daughter talking to friends, and family. At first I figured
> this is some legal bug, but I was not hearing conversation to justify that
> motive. Well, maybe it is an illegal bug. If so, what do I do about it? The
> family seemed nice enough.
> 
> So I did a partial investigation. Took my hand held broadband receiver and
> went direction finding. Note that this is not a scanner, but much more, but
> it is about the typical size of hand held scanner made in the last few
> years. Fits in a shirt pocket easily. In a short time I had tracked down the
> house that the signal was coming from, just a couple miles from me. Nice
> home, small lot, typical block with houses close together on a paved road,
> much like any other subdivision from the 60's or 70's.
> 
> I went home and pondered this situation for a long time. More weeks went
> by. Eventually I decided if this was a illegal bug, I was obligated to let
> them know. By this time this had become a kind of Carl and Jerry mystery, or
> a Hardy Boy's story of the typical kind, and I was hooked!! I wanted to know
> what was going on, and boy did I want to look at that bug!!! So I took the
> plunge.
> 
> After talking to a friend about what I wanted to do, I went to the home in
> question (even though my friend thought that was a bad idea). Hey, come on,
> I am being a nice guy and want to help out if I can, right?
> 
> I knocked on the door and the daughter answered, I asked to speak to her Dad
> or Mother. The Mother came to the door and I explained who I was, gave my
> name and showed my drivers license as proof. I was even wearing my ham
> jacket with my name and callsign on it. I wanted them to be relaxed and not
> think some scam was going on or some kook was bothering them. After
> explaining what I had been hearing she got very suspicious and wary. She was
> finding this difficult to believe and was not having any credibility in what
> I was explaining. I noticed by the front door a panel set in the brick wall
> with a cover on it. I opened it, and it was an electrical connection with
> about a dozen connections available. Now that was odd. She knew nothing
> about it, said it was there when she moved in. I asked if I could walk
> around the property and see if I could tell wither the bug was outside near
> a telephone or power line lead in..... she reluctantly agreed. At this point
> I
> decided maybe I would not ask about going into the home, though I was
> very disappointed to not see this bug.
> 
> Walking around the outside of the home and property convinced me that the
> bug was inside the house and on the phone line system antenna wise. The
> signal was weaker at the power pole, the power box, and strongest at the
> phone line box AND the connector on the front of the house. But the phone
> line connector was the strongest. I explained all that to her.
> 
> Next I explained to her and her daughter that I was puzzled, and did not
> know if this was a legal or illegal bug. Therefore I suggested that they NOT
> talk about this over the bugged phones, and to think about what their next
> step should be. I suggested the police, the Fbi and the Fcc. But I also
> suggested that anyone of them may be the source of the bug, and even the
> husband might. He ran his own business as a construction contractor
> they told me at this point. This bothered me as I thought, oh sh.t, maybe
> the mob is evolved. I didn't want to be anywhere around that issue, so I
> left wishing I had not been so open about who I was. Darn!
> 
> When I got home, of course I went back to monitoring, just to see if I had
> any effect or not. Wouldn't you know it, there was the daughter on the phone
> telling her boy friend all about what had just happened!!! There was not a
> secret about the phone being bugged anymore. At this point I was not sure
> where to go with this any further. So I stayed away and continued to listen.
> 
> Next thing I know the mother is complaining to others about me using a
> scanner to listen in on her phone conversations. Said a ham friend of hers
> told her that was how I was doing it, and it had nothing to do with a bug.
> So much for a our fraternity helping out. I had made it very clear in my
> visit that this was not a cell phone or wireless phone frequency, but a bug
> frequency inside the eighty meter amateur radio band. Further discussions by
> her to others over this bugged phone system made it clear that now she and
> her family were uneasy about some kook bothering them and listening in on
> their private phone calls and what she could she do about it. Now I was
> getting bugged. Here I was trying to help out and now this thing had
> taken an unexpected turn of events. I especially I was bothered about
> them being upset and genuinely concerned about what I had done to create
> the wrong impression.
> 
> So, what I did next was to type up a one page memo explaining all that
> I had already told them, explained about the differences between cell phone,
> wireless phone, and bug frequencies, and of course amateur radio. I was
> clear in explaining that the information from their ham friend was well
> meaning, but wrong in this case, and to make sure he was told about the
> frequency this bug was on and he would be convinced of the problem and could
> help out. I further stated that I was bothered by how they were shooting the
> messenger, and I that I only had honorable intentions. That it was time for
> them to get professional help and to quit speculating about me or what I was
> doing. Also explained the need to have the telephone company to remove the
> bug if nothing else.
> 
> Because it was clear at this point that she did not remember my name or call
> letters, I decided to play it safe this time. I did not let the two typed
> pages
> or the envelope I put them in get any of my finger prints on them. I used
> gloves and placed this information between the crack of her front door and
> door frame at a time when they were not home and I would not be noticed
> in the area. Even parked on a different block.
> 
> Of course I went back to monitoring, convinced that now all would be well,
> as I had set the matter straight. Right! Wrong!!
> 
> Now the conversations over the bugged line was really bad. She was angry,
> so angry that I was harassing them that she took the information I had
> given them to the police and filed harassment charges. But, they did not
> know who I was but she was going to find out!!!!  I was breaking several
> laws in her eyes, and she was going to nail me. She said her ham friend
> said to check out the local couple of blocks looking for ham antennas
> and check that out. Fortunately I was much further away then that, and my
> ham jacket was a club group in the opposite direction of where I actually
> lived.
> 
> Turned out she was also angry at the police. They had confiscated the two
> copies and the envelope to try for finger prints. She no longer had the
> information I had given her and they wanted her to pay for copies if she
> wanted them. Darned if she would do that she said!
> 
> Now I was mad, frustrated and just a little bit worried. My friend said she
> told me so, I should have stayed out of it.
> 
> Next the conversations changed to how they had called in the phone company
> and no bug was found. Still they had a new phone line and new phones to be
> put in the next day. Two days later the carrier was still there, but no more
> audio conversations were heard for the next several a weeks. Then the phone
> audio came back. Seems the daughter was complaining about not having a
> working phone in her room so they tied the old phone line in her room to the
> new phone line, and viola, they were back on the air again!
> 
> Now I felt like I had some pirates in my ham band and I wanted them out!!
> One day when I knew only the daughter was home, I stopped by and explained
> to her that they were wrong, and they were back on the bug again and I would
> never be back.
> 
> Now the conversations on their end was taunting and accusing me of being the
> source for the bug. Many things were being said that I began to think that
> the police felt that they had some sort of psychopath here and was trying to
> lure him back for entrapment. What a mess. I frankly felt self preservation
> was the best merit here and gave up.
> 
> The bug was active for about another six months or so before it finally went
> off the air. That was about six months ago. I haven't gone back and wont.
> For awhile there I wished I had a untraceable internet account that would
> have let post information about this bug to some of the hobby sits on the
> internet. I was convinced that this signal could be heard out of state at
> night, especially in the winter time when there was no static. At one point
> they even put a computer on line and I was tempted to send email, but
> I had no way to do that with out being traced. Even the library computers
> would not let un-ided usage. I wanted to set the record straight and clear
> my self...... but now I have to live with things the way they are.
> 
> Would I help out in this area again? NO WAY!
> 
> Question? Am I a wanted man????
> 
> (The preceding is a true story)
> 
> 
> --
> FAQ on WWW:                <A HREF="http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/rfi" TARGET="_new"><FONT COLOR="BLUE">http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/rfi</FONT></A>
> Submissions:              rfi@contesting.com
> Administrative requests:  rfi-REQUEST@contesting.com
> Questions:                owner-rfi@contesting.com
> 
> 

-- 

_______________________________________________
Get your free email from http://mymail.earthlink.net

Powered by Outblaze

--
FAQ on WWW:               http://www.contesting.com/FAQ/rfi
Submissions:              rfi@contesting.com
Administrative requests:  rfi-REQUEST@contesting.com
Questions:                owner-rfi@contesting.com