A Lima man charged with disrupting police and fire communications gets sentenced

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jaspence

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Had a similar result where I used to live several years ago. He "accidentally" stepped on the foot of my best friend at the next hamfest because the friend had been part of the team that tracked him down.
 

chrismol1

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Came across this interesting title- Although the story isn't as clear. What happened here?

Techs worked for two days to restore dimished comms which were unsuccessful? What did this guy do? AT&T techs were there too. Did he have some sort of celluar jammer?
 

n3obl

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What about the explosive charges? Said he was found in possession of explosive devices at his residence?
 

jonwienke

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No indication in the story whether the interference was intentional or not, or what exactly caused it.
 

KK4JUG

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According to the database, Lima has what appears to be a standard VHF system, probably less secure than 2 tin cans and a string. Apparently, the powers-that-be weren't too concerned if they let him do all his time on paper.

The potential for serious consequences didn't hit home. A 5-second emergency call for help from an officer might have been covered or blocked but it was treated as an "Oh, well, nothing happened. Forget about it." If I shoot at you and miss, I hope they treat it the same way.
 

wa8pyr

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There's a link to the previous story which has quite a bit more detail. Lima and Allen County are on MARCS.Screen Shot 2021-01-26 at 11.29.21 AM.png

 

mmckenna

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Techs worked for two days to restore dimished comms which were unsuccessful? What did this guy do? AT&T techs were there too. Did he have some sort of celluar jammer?

Many years ago there used to be Chinese companies selling cellular jammers on E-Bay. People were buying them to use in their cars to combat other distracted drivers. Others used them in their businesses, (especially movie theaters) and homes to stop people from talking on their cell phones.
Problem was, they were not very particular about what they blocked. They tended to spew hash all over the 800MHz band, including public safety frequencies. Likely whatever Mr. McName had was not only interfering with the MARCS system, but also AT&T cellular.
 

N8WCP

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Many years ago there used to be Chinese companies selling cellular jammers on E-Bay. People were buying them to use in their cars to combat other distracted drivers. Others used them in their businesses, (especially movie theaters) and homes to stop people from talking on their cell phones.
Problem was, they were not very particular about what they blocked. They tended to spew hash all over the 800MHz band, including public safety frequencies. Likely whatever Mr. McName had was not only interfering with the MARCS system, but also AT&T cellular.

I heard it was a high voltage Jacob's Ladder, curious if that's accurate.
 

KevinC

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Many years ago there used to be Chinese companies selling cellular jammers on E-Bay. People were buying them to use in their cars to combat other distracted drivers. Others used them in their businesses, (especially movie theaters) and homes to stop people from talking on their cell phones.
Problem was, they were not very particular about what they blocked. They tended to spew hash all over the 800MHz band, including public safety frequencies. Likely whatever Mr. McName had was not only interfering with the MARCS system, but also AT&T cellular.

Not to get off-topic, but the last jammer I found (several years ago) was in a high school. The teacher turned it on during tests so students couldn't research the questions. He told me it was common among teachers and even showed us a flyer passed around at a meeting advertising them. This was talking out several cellular carriers as well as a PS site.
 

mikewazowski

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Not to get off-topic, but the last jammer I found (several years ago) was in a high school. The teacher turned it on during tests so students couldn't research the questions. He told me it was common among teachers and even showed us a flyer passed around at a meeting advertising them. This was talking out several cellular carriers as well as a PS site.

I know of two that we have had to shut down.

First one was in a church and the second was in a chop shop. Tech walked into the shop, saw what was going on and backed out. Once the operation was shut down, we were allowed to go in and seize the device.
 

iMONITOR

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Looks like they're still available, just a small sample:







 

mmckenna

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Looks like they're still available, just a small sample:

Yeah, the FCC is pretty clear on it.
But that doesn't stop the Chinese from selling them online.
I'm sure someone will point out that "owning" one isn't a crime, only using it. Sure…..
But the FCC does have specific postings about these.

The huge issue with them is pretty obvious. Issue is, that the people who use them are pretty oblivious. They don't understand that they take out everything in the band, like public safety radios. I really wish the FCC had some stronger tactics for this sort of stuff. Longer jail terms would be a nice start.
 

iMONITOR

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Yeah, the FCC is pretty clear on it.
But that doesn't stop the Chinese from selling them online.
I'm sure someone will point out that "owning" one isn't a crime, only using it. Sure…..
But the FCC does have specific postings about these.

The huge issue with them is pretty obvious. Issue is, that the people who use them are pretty oblivious. They don't understand that they take out everything in the band, like public safety radios. I really wish the FCC had some stronger tactics for this sort of stuff. Longer jail terms would be a nice start.

Unfortunately we don't do a very good job of enforcing any laws in our country these days.
 
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