Teens Jam Airwaves, Arrested

[n9zek]

Yeah right.......... Don't forget this isn't the '70's anymore... Remember, one can now be arrested for merely spanking let alone using a belt......... IMO the inability to punish kids (especially in school) these days has a great deal to do with the problems of todays youth.

AMEN!!!

 

[RedPenguin]

Speaking of jamming and unauthorized transmissions...

I definitely do not support this type of behavior and I must say the kids/adults committed a very stupid act and did not think.

My question is, obviously it's illegal to transmit on licensed frequencies, but what actually happens when it comes to unlicensed frequencies?

For example my local Wal-Mart uses FRS Ch. 1, what if someone has an FRS/GMRS radio and talks to them? Maybe they don't even do it maliciously or purposely, maybe, they were using Ch. 1 to talk to each other from a road trip, and just ended up passing by Wal-Mart when they talked.

With how many Wal-Marts I've seen use Ch. 1, you would think they owned the channel. LoL.

Isn't FRS/GMRS even though GMRS radio is licensed, supposed to be more of a free radio service where it's like a community thing, almost similar to HAM frequencies, where it's not like a business license, where only that business can use it or a public safety license where only public safety can use it.

I mean, if Wal-Mart, is using an unlicensed almost community frequency, they can't really scream bloody murder for someone transmitting on their frequency can they?

Also, the same with road crews who use FRS/GMRS. I don't believe either service is a only-you-can-use type of service, I believe they are more of open ones.

 

[n5ims]

Operation on licensed frequencies generally grant you "exclusive" access to that frequency in the licensed area. FRS/GMRS frequencies are shared use frequencies. If a Wal-Mart was using a licensed frequency and you talked with them they have a legal right to object, including requesting FCC action be taken against you. If the're using an FRS frequency and you talked with them, there's nothing that they could do about it (intentional interference aside). You would have as much right to that channel as they would.

 

[bezking]

O.K. GPS Tracking? I gotta hear more about that BS!

There is a speaker mic for XTS series radios which transmits GPS back to HQ.
I bet it is available an a standard onboard option, but I'm not sure.

 

[N1SQB]

Its All About The Family!

Hello All!
IMHO, it's all about the family life! Did anyone besides me catch on to the fact that the F.D. spokesman whos' radio/house it was, is the teens' STEP-father? I say that because at some point, this young man was exposed to either a divorce or no father at all.
It is tough for someone else to STEP in and assume that role without problems. This young man was probably not taught to respect others property or made to have some respect for public safety. I have a crap load of TX radios in my shack. Some Amateur, some commercial. My 3 kids KNOW the meaning of respect, they know the importance of radio communications but more importanly, they know the CONSEQUENCES that touching my equipment without permission brings. Call it fear or call it respect, they know better because I have taught them better. I dont know at what point in this young mans' life the Spokesman stepped in, but its clear that the youth has been doing what he wants and not worried about any consequenses for a VERY long time. The spokesman should not be blamed at all here. How do you predict that 18 year olds are going to do a childish and down right stupid thing such as this? You cant! This may very well be the first time these young men have had to "own up" to something they have done. There are choices and there are consequences......Welcome to adulthood!

Manny

 

[Skadar]

I think very very few people that are not into radios realize they can be tracked. I mean look at all the people with the bubble pack frs radios for example.

Huh? I'm new to all of this, but I can't think of any way that a person with an FRS radio can possibly be tracked via GPS. Am I wrong?

 

[radioman2001]

I suspect the GPS portion of the story is BS. More than likely the radio has an identifier, and some one looked up that ID and realized who's it was and went to their home. I'm not aware of any Public Safety radio systems that have for portables GPS tracking yet. Not to say it's not on the way.

 

[popnokick]

No Federal charges? Interesting. Local infractions were all I saw they were charged with.

 

[wbhad83]

Sadly it's nothing new

So I have heard a lot about these kids being immature and irresponsible, which I agree with 100%. They deserve to be dealt with according to the law, and that is what is happening. My concern is the attention a case like this gets. I live in Pennsylvania, and this is the first I have heard of this particular case; and I have never heard of another as far as the violators being prosecuted.

Where I live there are certain people that like to have fun with their radios. By fun, I mean keying up and playing dispatch tones over the licensed frequencies. I have a problem with this practice because it sets the house sirens off, as well as all the responders’ pagers (besides the fact it is illegal and stupid). It is usually done in the middle of the night when they just want to have some "fun". What if someone heard their pager go off while they were sleeping and rushed to the station, even if they did not realize right away there was no voice transmission stating the emergency. That puts people in harms way as we have a tendency to lose responders while responding to their stations or the scene of an incident.

I personally think more attention needs to be brought to this topic on a public level. This website has all the information someone needs to program their radio allowing them to broadcast on licensed frequencies. I love the information on here because it allows me to be a scanner junky, but we also have to realize that irresponsible people can get a hold of this information just as easily as responsible ones. It's just a thought. Unfortunately, we have too many idiots in the world that do not know right from wrong. Even worse we have a**holes that do know the difference and choose wrong time and time again. We have to all be accountable for our own actions and put some fear into peoples' heads. Infomercial anyone?

 

[danielkarluk]

it seems like that if these radios were digital, that the dispatcher could have disabled it from his terminal. and about the frs radios, what a trip, the things people talk about when they dont know they are being listened too, just like the government does to our phone calls.

 

[N1SQB]

The Government listens to our phone calls? NO! It can't be true! Say it isn't so!.........LOL
I bet that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's the things they do that we DON'T know about that scares me.

Manny

 

[RedPenguin]

I agree with you

people even kids which do things like this are the enemy of the scanner hobbiest. because of their actions legislative action is sometimes taken, against who? the scanner community more than anyone else. Not to mention comments about C4, and the danger they put the Tax Paying public in. People like this should be harshly prosecuted and sentenced.

I agree with you. Yet the laws seem strange, remember that guy on here who called 911 like 7 thousand times and almost nothing happened to him?

No wonder radio scanning people have a bad name, because even though a huge amount of them are good people, normally the idiots are looked at who just do stupid things.

All I do is just listen and monitor stuff just for fun but also to kinda learn, because you know better what's going on in your neck of the woods, yet, sometimes I'm treated like a criminal by my peers, because appearntly what I'm doing is "wrong?".

It would appear that the scanner enthusiasts have a huge amount of enemies and a lot less friends.

 

[RedPenguin]

Yes you are right.....

it seems like that if these radios were digital, that the dispatcher could have disabled it from his terminal. and about the frs radios, what a trip, the things people talk about when they dont know they are being listened too, just like the government does to our phone calls.

Yes you are right.

I know so many people that think that no one can listen to their cordless phone and many think that no one can listen to their baby monitors.

Alright, I admit that more people would end up listening to cordless phones probably than a baby monitor, but through out the years, I've heard of people listening to both, and what they hear, they could probably commit identity theft, if they wanted.

One guy told me, he heard someone calling their credit card company and gave their name and SSN.

Wasn't there some kind of rule to always use a landline-only phone when giving out personal information like that?

 

[zz0468]

Yeah right.......... Don't forget this isn't the '70's anymore... Remember, one can now be arrested for merely spanking let alone using a belt......... IMO the inability to punish kids (especially in school) these days has a great deal to do with the problems of todays youth.

Spanking a child has nothing to do with who well they turn out. I raised two kids, and NOT ONCE, EVER did I lay a hand on them in anger. Not one spanking. They turned out great. The key was being aware of what they were up to, and making them take responsibility for their actions when they did wrong.

 

[Grog]

Three teens are facing several charges in Superior Court 4 after being arrested Friday morning for an incident involving unlawful use of a police radio for what appeared to be either malicious or prank calls.

So what were their RR screen names?

 

[ka5lqj]

"Wal-Fart on Ch. 1", LOL!

Geez!

You mean if I go and buy a combo FRS/GMRS set to "talkies" with batteries I can't sit out in Wally World's parking lot and tell them they "have a clean up on Aisle 11"?? I'll bet if you were to hit the right combination of 'tones', you could get on the PA system.

"Who knows what EVIL lurks in the heart's of men....."The Shadow" knows....Muhahahaha!

'Scuse my tongue-in-cheek humor.

Respectfully,
Don

 

[Grog]

Oh, the garmin rhino series are combo two way radio/GPS and can send their info to other radios. Just for info.....

 

[Batwings21]

Sorry to bump a two week old thread, but for any that followed this story I have some inside details. I personally programmed the radio that was used for the Fire dept. They found the unit because of the MDC ID. There was no GPS involved, thats just to scare the public into thinking they can track the units with GPS. It was either a ex600xls or ht1250 that was used. Why they did not kill the radio, I do not know, as there console is capable of it.

 

[N3KGD]

I figured as much it had to do with MDC. Just see who the MDC is registered to in a log book or records system and then figure out that person's location.

 

[jaymatt1978]

Waalmart almost exclusively uses the green dot (154.5700) and blue dot (154.6000) which are now part of the MURS frewquencies. They are license free frequencies so as long as you don't interfere with their communications, you have just as much right to use the frequencies they do. If you're using these frequencies within the legal power limits and not intentionally interfering with t hem, you have just as a right to be on there qas they do.
The FCC action, yeah it could happen but do you really think the manager at Walmart has the brains to call them. If they happen to being using FRS radios, they don't really have a leg to stand on

Operation on licensed frequencies generally grant you "exclusive" access to that frequency in the licensed area. FRS/GMRS frequencies are shared use frequencies. If a Wal-Mart was using a licensed frequency and you talked with them they have a legal right to object, including requesting FCC action be taken against you. If the're using an FRS frequency and you talked with them, there's nothing that they could do about it (intentional interference aside). You would have as much right to that channel as they would.