FCC Notice of Unlicensed Operation and Interfering with a Public Safety Trunking System

[N4DES]

The FCC posted it on 4/17/2025 with the infraction occurring in June 2024.

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-410850A1.pdf

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC or Commission) received a complaint from the Stafford County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff) concerning interference to the Stafford County P25 public safety radio communications system (Stafford County System) operating countywide on certain exclusively licensed radio frequencies. In June 2024, Agents from the Columbia, Maryland Field Office of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) conducted an investigation and determined that the source of interference to the Stafford County System was a radio transmitting signals in an attempt to self authenticate and thereby gain access to the Stafford County System. The signals were emanating from a handheld Motorola APX7000 two-way radio that generated a unique identification code and had apparently been illegally programmed to operate on Stafford County System’s licensed frequencies. The investigation identified you—John T. Calhoun—as the radio’s operator. You stated to Sheriff investigators that you had programmed the radio with the Stafford County System’s frequencies and that you were operating the radio at the time it made a self-authentication transmission in an attempt to gain access to the Stafford County System.

 

[FFPM571]

Wow... Then people wonder why we say. Buy a scanner...

 

[K9KLC]

Wow... Then people wonder why we say. Buy a scanner...

yep I've done it just recently locally. He wanted me to help program it (I program a lot of stuff but no nothing about NAS) and I told him nope. Get a scanner.

 

[kc2asb]

Nice work getting this guy. Guessing that this was not an encrypted system? If so, another reason encryption becomes a no-brainer for departments upgrading their systems,

 

[KevinC]

I wonder if John T Calhoun is this guy???

Need some Insight on how to get a Motorola APX 7000 Unbricked.

I recently loaned my APX radio to an ex-friend of mine, and he changed the programing and got it bricked. There was an investigation with the local Sheriffs office, and it was cleared, but the Sheriffs office wont unbrick the radio. Who and Where should i send my radio to? or is there a way for...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[kc2asb]

Nah, purely a coincidence.

I wonder if John T Calhoun is this guy???

Need some Insight on how to get a Motorola APX 7000 Unbricked.

I recently loaned my APX radio to an ex-friend of mine, and he changed the programing and got it bricked. There was an investigation with the local Sheriffs office, and it was cleared, but the Sheriffs office wont unbrick the radio. Who and Where should i send my radio to? or is there a way for...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[GTR8000]

As I said in that thread...FAFO.

And despite all of the warnings, we still have a few members around here who just can't help themselves when it comes to aiding and abetting this "NAS" nonsense. Members who get all bent out of shape when we discourage talk of obtaining unauthorized system keys or using prohibited software to program these systems into their eBay specials.

Anyone who has had their toy stunned and turned into an expensive door stop with no further action should consider themselves lucky. Others, like this Calhoun dolt, learn an even harder lesson.

So to all of the members I described above who persist in thinking this sort of programming is no big deal, and to those who spew nonsense about the FCC no longer having field investigators or wouldn't bother going after something as "petty and harmless" as a 3 watt portable blipping a control channel for a few milliseconds at a time...yeah, you keep on f'ing around, you're bound to eventually find out.

 

[mmckenna]

The FCC posted it on 4/17/2025 with the infraction occurring in June 2024.

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-410850A1.pdf

Thought that name sounded familiar. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Him and his imaginary friend.

 

[KevinC]

Thought that name sounded familiar. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Him and his imaginary friend.

But in an emergency....

 

[marcotor]

His profile on fb is of an "Investigative Photographer" in full turnout gear. Whacker extraordinaire.

 

[414RadioTech]

pretty soon P25 systems will have encrypted control channels and you can thank people like this for it..

 

[prcguy]

I wonder if John T Calhoun is this guy???

Need some Insight on how to get a Motorola APX 7000 Unbricked.

I recently loaned my APX radio to an ex-friend of mine, and he changed the programing and got it bricked. There was an investigation with the local Sheriffs office, and it was cleared, but the Sheriffs office wont unbrick the radio. Who and Where should i send my radio to? or is there a way for...

forums.radioreference.com

No reason this picture is here, just disregard. If your thinking anything just look somewhere else.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Nice work getting this guy. Guessing that this was not an encrypted system? If so, another reason encryption becomes a no-brainer for departments upgrading their systems,

Encryption doesn't stop a radio from attempting to affiliate.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I wonder if John T Calhoun is this guy???

Need some Insight on how to get a Motorola APX 7000 Unbricked.

I recently loaned my APX radio to an ex-friend of mine, and he changed the programing and got it bricked. There was an investigation with the local Sheriffs office, and it was cleared, but the Sheriffs office wont unbrick the radio. Who and Where should i send my radio to? or is there a way for...

forums.radioreference.com

Now we know how he got caught. Should have dumped that bricked radio and gotten a scanner. I doubt a "friend borrowed the radio and changed the programming".

 

[DaveNF2G]

Nice work getting this guy. Guessing that this was not an encrypted system? If so, another reason encryption becomes a no-brainer for departments upgrading their systems,

Why is encryption relevant? The offender was unable to gain access, which does not require encryption. That's just how the system works.

 

[DaveNF2G]

pretty soon P25 systems will have encrypted control channels and you can thank people like this for it..

Not necessary to prevent system access, and the RFI from kerchunkers will still interfere.

 

[kc2asb]

Why is encryption relevant? The offender was unable to gain access, which does not require encryption. That's just how the system works.

So an encrypted system would not be more secure from unauthorized access?

 

[mwjones]

So an encrypted system would not be more secure from unauthorized access?

Nope. A bad actor doesn't need encryption keys whatsoever to inflict damage on the system (and even with an unencrypted control channel there are still encryption keys needed to affiliate with the system).

All they have to do is flood the system with requests (think like someone knocking on a locked door because they don't have their keys), and with enough of them would overwhelm the control channel so no other radios could affiliate let alone let registered users use the system. In the Information Technology world, we refer to is as a "Denial of Service" or DOS attack.

 

[kc2asb]

Nope. A bad actor doesn't need encryption keys whatsoever to inflict damage on the system (and even with an unencrypted control channel there are still encryption keys needed to affiliate with the system).

All they have to do is flood the system with requests (think like someone knocking on a locked door because they don't have their keys), and with enough of them would overwhelm the control channel so no other radios could affiliate let alone let registered users use the system. In the Information Technology world, we refer to is as a "Denial of Service" or DOS attack.

Excellent explanation, thank you.

 

[dlwtrunked]

Excellent explanation, thank you.

And in case it is not clear, once a transceiver like this is programmed for a system (with or without and encryption key), if you switch to a talk group, and do not even key the mic!, the transceiver still transmits to the system to register itself. And if the dispatcher is watching things, she sees that. So without keying the mic and without having a key, you have interfered.