Illegal CB Radio Operators Hunted Down & Fined!

In the winter of 1990, the FCC decided to crack down on a network of blatant broadcast bandits after years of benign neglect. Most of their targets were CBs with modified equipment firing at adjacent bands with signals they could broadcast across the country because I've been left alone for so long, most believe the FCC didn't care or wasn't paying attention, but were wrong all along, the FCC's dispersed but super-sensitive listening post had been monitoring the transmissions, as well as pinpointing their approximate locations and logging the information into government computer logs when FCC agents hit the roads. In pursuit, they were armed with

radio

frequency printouts, as well as CB handles the approximate locations and even times of day the criminals were usually on the air. j jerry freeman was the engineer in charge of the norfolk virginia fcc region his office was located in virginia beach and he had jurisdiction over all of virginia and north carolina on the night in question he was practicing a craft as old as

radio

itself the techniques had little changed since the days of the murderous cycle policemen of the former American radio intelligence division who helped catch Nazi spies during World War II;

However, by that time the team had moved light years away from the dark old vans of war movies with their loop antennas on the roof and agents huddled in front of the dials of a Glow Tube Receiver, many pirates of radio still fooled themselves into believing they were safe if there weren't panel trucks in the neighborhood with FCC written on the side. Freeman went to one of the many secret storage areas of his office and got into what looked like an ordinary American car. no suspicious antenna protruded from its body no official seal marked it for identification but this was all but the original FCC engineers had removed the original roof and replaced it with a fiberglass duplicate in which special antennas had been embedded.

Under a dust cover on the floor between the front seats was the hardware that made it all work: commercial scanners and custom-designed radio spectrum analysis receivers were laced with preamplifiers and attenuators that helped you hear weak signals or eliminate them all. , except the offending source near the windshield was what it looked like. It could be an ordinary electronic compass, but it was a display connected to the radio system that immediately tracked the source of whatever signal was being tuned as soon as the source touched its transmit key. , the FCC had a direction. Freeman used one of the FCC's radio phones to contact Washington, which was collecting monitoring information from around the country.

He took a look at his computer's footprint of recent

illegal

activity in his area and tuned to 27 decimal 420, the frequency he would be monitoring that night. 27 420 is just above the citizens band, which peaks at 405 and is a frequency reserved for international services, but a network using single sideband equipment had crossed into the territory some time ago and was now using it like an improvised amateur radio channel. Freeman was sure that none of the

illegal

s were really radio amateurs.

operators

, but rather rogue beers that resorted to linear amplifiers and out-of-bounds bans to expand their reach. At 7:23 someone began transmitting on the frequency on which he identified himself as number 387 and comfortably asked about the strength of his signal to someone who identified himself as 3-5-7 responded that 387 was broadcasting an 8 and then After 387 did some tinkering with his illegal VFO he said the signal sounded better.

Freeman headed south after 357, the nearest target followed the direction finder but the radio check conversation was brief, so he stopped in a school parking lot to wait longer. In most places, high-tech equipment makes it easy to find addresses, but in Virginia Beach, where Freeman operated, he is still the arm of a detective to this day. This is an area crisscrossed by inlets. creeks, bays and swamps, the streets are not arranged in regular grids but rather circular developments that take advantage of the coastlines. After a while the targets returned to the frequency talking about radio antennas and rumors of unusual activity by the free man of the FCC turned his car around Leaving the parking lot and following the signal using the radio spectrum analyzer, he was able to tell if he was approaching or if someone was on nearby frequencies when a target once again asked about the quality of his signal.

Freeman estimated he was a quarter mile away. From his goal, he turned the car into an upper-middle-class development and drove around the neighborhood turning through dead ends in hopes of locking in the source. He moved systematically and relentlessly until he reached one of the dreaded dead ends. Freeman backed away and headed. for the next little development, when 357 closed the frequency, it went silent, it was almost 9 p.m. when another FCC car radioed Freeman telling him they would locate a different criminal and told them not to go in but to wait until the entire network had been found.

They found him at 9:15 p.m. Freeman stopped his car at the top of a bridge, one of the highest points in the coastal area, just at that moment the frequency came on again, one of the targets was talking about buying a new radio, Freeman turned around and headed after him. It was three five seven again as he got closer he turned off the preamps and then began to attenuate the signal the screen showed a strong thick band and the electronic compass guided the way the target was complaining about a friend who had been arrested by the FCC when Freeman slowed down and announced that we had it, the compass was pointed directly at the house on the corner.

Freeman turned and the compass spun as he continued to track that house and, if further evidence was needed, the house had a 60 foot tower and beam antenna. It was 9:57 pm and Freeman wrote down the address and pertinent information for the ticket. which I would later impose on him. He had a recording of the man's transmissions and had verified that they were coming from the house in question and that was enough to issue him with a thousand dollar fine, he could also take steps to confiscate the man's equipment, but he said he probably wouldn't do it to unless the guy didn't accept the heavy monetary suggestion and returned to the forbidden frequencies again.

Freeman set out again to find the other side of The 357 Conversation and a few minutes later he was circling the house miles away again, a large outside antenna was further confirmation along with a number of cars with antennas on the driveway As Freeman finished his circle to confirm the location, a car across the street turned on its lights. To him, it was another FCC car and they had both independently targeted the same criminal.