Scanners
Alan Greig
LITTLE BLUE MEN NAB RADIO HAMS
==============================
Police trying to trap a group of radio eavesdroppers
came up with a plan that was out of this world.
Officers in Warrington, Cheshire, fed up with people
listening in to their messages, broadcast that a flying
saucer had crash-landed in a field -- and gave details
of where to find it.
Radio messages about a huge glowing spacecraft were
broadcast with the warning: "Do not approach. It may
be radioactive." The warning was followed by directions
to the field in Appleton. The eavesdroppers arrived at
the field within minutes, expecting to see little green
men. They were arrested instead.
Police said five people had been reported to the Crown
Prosecution Service for telecommunication offences.
Scanning devices which can pick up police radio messages
are widely available but using them to listen to police
transmissions is an offence.
--
Alan Greig Janet: Al...@UK.AC.DUNDEE-TECH
Dundee Institute of Technology Internet: Al...@DCT.AC.UK
Tel: (0382) 308810 Int: +44 382 308810
-- There is only one true conspiracy --
Alan T Potter
ccd...@dct.ac.uk (Alan Greig) writes...
>
>LITTLE BLUE MEN NAB RADIO HAMS
>==============================
>
[...story of scanner users deleted...]
Without wanting to be pedantic, I'd like to point out that there is no
necessary connection between scanner users and radio hams. The latter are
people who have passed two City and Guilds exams to allow them to transmit and
receive on a restricted set of frequencies. The former are people who have
walked into Tandy and given over some money.
regards,
/atp
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Alan....@edo.mts.dec.com | My opinions are mine, not DEC's 0506 423307 |
| NTS: GM7GLJ@GB7EDN.#77.GBR.EU | VMS Engineering, Livingston, UK EH54 6AG |
+------------- The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn -------------+
A.J.Ro...@lut.ac.uk
>From "The Times" Mar-23 1993.
>
>
>LITTLE BLUE MEN NAB RADIO HAMS
>==============================
>
>Police trying to trap a group of radio eavesdroppers
>came up with a plan that was out of this world.
>
>Officers in Warrington, Cheshire, fed up with people
>listening in to their messages, broadcast that a flying
>saucer had crash-landed in a field -- and gave details
>of where to find it.
>
Only a certain KIND of radio ham would respond to this ploy -
i.e. one who owns at least FOUR anoraks. I'm all for
the purging of this variety :-)
>[...]
>
>Police said five people had been reported to the Crown
>Prosecution Service for telecommunication offences.
>Scanning devices which can pick up police radio messages
>are widely available but using them to listen to police
>transmissions is an offence.
How did they sort out any people who were just passing by ?
Alan.
Ken Johnson
# The eavesdroppers arrived at the field within minutes, expecting to see
# little green men. They were arrested instead.
I believe that in the United States this counts as `entrapment'.
Ken Johnson
--
Son, all the pretty, intelligent, healthy # Ken Johnson, AIAI, Edinburgh
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