Two brit hams arrested as spies in Albania . . . have a look at their gear . . .

[KB2GOM]

Doesn't look like any amateur gear I am familiar with . . . is it something else?

Two Brits held in Albania as cops accuse them of spying after seizing radio gear

Two Britons were quizzed on allegations of espionage by officers at Tirana International Airport in Albania after police discovered sophisticated Kenwood radios in their luggage

www.mirror.co.uk

 

[chrismol1]

"Spy gear" "Electronic warefare" LOL

Looks like a bunch of Kenwood NX5000s series portable

NX-5200_5300_5400 VHF/UHF/700-800MHz Digital Transceiver P25(I&II)NXDN Multi-Digital & FM Analog Portable Radios - NEXEDGE KENWOOD

NX-5000 Series portable radios are ready to serve in all public safety, public sector and commercial roles with flawless performance and advanced feature sets. In addition, enhanced and increased features extend the digital capability.

www.kenwood.com

Then again, for a lot of countries over there, simply possessing commercial gear capable of monitoring "government bands" gets you in trouble

 

[KB2GOM]

"Spy gear" "Electronic warefare" LOL

Looks like a bunch of Kenwood NX5000s series portable

NX-5200_5300_5400 VHF/UHF/700-800MHz Digital Transceiver P25(I&II)NXDN Multi-Digital & FM Analog Portable Radios - NEXEDGE KENWOOD

NX-5000 Series portable radios are ready to serve in all public safety, public sector and commercial roles with flawless performance and advanced feature sets. In addition, enhanced and increased features extend the digital capability.

www.kenwood.com

Then again, for a lot of countries over there, simply possessing commercial gear capable of monitoring "government bands" gets you in trouble

So this is commercial gear? Do Brit hams typically use that type of gear? Just curious.

I use some Motorola gear on 2-meters, but it is not typical.

 

[TELCO1]

Doesn't look like any amateur gear I am familiar with . . . is it something else?

Two Brits held in Albania as cops accuse them of spying after seizing radio gear

Two Britons were quizzed on allegations of espionage by officers at Tirana International Airport in Albania after police discovered sophisticated Kenwood radios in their luggage

www.mirror.co.uk

Brits with "Sophisticated Gear" WOW are they Hams ? Was it those Low Band Trunking Portables ? As Chirsmol1 Said An HT200 could be considered a Sophisticated radio in some counties , Just Don't get caught with 2 Tin Cans & a String !

 

[buddrousa]

Well I have a NX-5300 and NX-5200 NXDN DMR ANALOG with my approved frequencies plus all local Ham Repeaters programmed also as backups for me also.

 

[jeepsandradios]

So this is commercial gear? Do Brit hams typically use that type of gear? Just curious.

I use some Motorola gear on 2-meters, but it is not typical.

Tons of hams use commercial gear. I only own one "ham" rig and its for APRS. Everything else I have is commercial gear. I mostly run APX gear but still have some XTL/XTS stuff floating around.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Both my VHF and UHF portables are Motorola. I can't deal with the tiny Icom/Yaesu/Kenwood HT radios that they seem to believe are ideal. Some of us have "man-hands".

 

[GlobalNorth]

As far as the story goes, they either have a UK amateur license or they do not. Not difficult to ascertain. Why two supposed amateurs have four identical band radios is beyond me, short of wanting to sell some or all of them.

 

[wa88it]

clear'n my throat, & saying w/straight face & quietly "MI6"

cheers mates...

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

A cautionary note. If your social network profiles reflect any military or worse, government intelligence background, be careful about what you carry across borders.

 

[mmckenna]

Those antennas are either UHF or 800MHz. Would be interesting to know the exact radio models, are they NX-5300's or NX-5400's.

 

[KB2GOM]

Those antennas are either UHF or 800MHz. Would be interesting to know the exact radio models, are they NX-5300's or NX-5400's.

Are either of those models encryption-capable?

 

[alcahuete]

Are either of those models encryption-capable?

Yes.

 

[KB2GOM]

Yes.

see wa88it's post

 

[mancow]

I'm sure Albania is a wealth of Intel coveted by every entity on earth.

 

[mancow]

As far as the story goes, they either have a UK amateur license or they do not. Not difficult to ascertain. Why two supposed amateurs have four identical band radios is beyond me, short of wanting to sell some or all of them.

To talk to each other?

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I'm sure Albania is a wealth of Intel coveted by every entity on earth.

There is the growing Albanian auto industry. Meet the Tartan Prancer:

Meet The Tartan Prancer, The "Honda Of Albania" Minivan From The Vacation Movie [w/Videos] | Carscoops

What car has a ridiculous name like the Tartan Prancer? A ridiculous car, obviously. The Tartan Prancer is a one-off MPV built specifically for the new

www.carscoops.com

 

[mmckenna]

see wa88it's post

I suspect MI6, or any other major intelligence agency, would be smarter than that, and have much better tools at their disposal.

There's nothing magical about these radios. Yes, they'll do encryption, all the way up to FIP-140 AES-256, but just about any LMR radio is capable of that either via software or internal encryption module. Heck, even LTE cell phones have encryption. You don't need a fancy radio for that.

This is either legit hams that made a poor choice, or someone try to smuggle something. Like most things, I'm sure there is a lot more to this story.

 

[chrismol1]

Tons of hams use commercial gear. I only own one "ham" rig and its for APRS. Everything else I have is commercial gear. I mostly run APX gear but still have some XTL/XTS stuff floating around.

And unless a specific amateur company repeater is used, like a Fusion repeater...Most ham repeaters are commercial mfg repeaters "re-tuned" to the amateur bands.
I only own one amateur mfg made radio, A kenwood. The rest is commercial mfg Motorola & Vertex gear

 

[GlobalNorth]

To talk to each other?

In stereo?