khayo@sonia.cs.ucla.edu (Erazm J. Behr) (11/22/87)
Bob Parnass writes about his wireless mike adventure -
something just like that happened to me recently, but it
was *clearly* a bug & I seriously considered calling the
cops or tracing the house, until I started thinking about
all the possibilities (man checking on his wife from a car
parked nearby, FBI investigation etc.; I read a lot of trashy
books these days.)
Finally, after 2 days it occurred to me that it was one of the
wireless intercoms that some parents use to monitor their kids'
rooms. The 1/2-funny thing was that the child involved sounded like
a 10-year old, and I wonder if the thing will still be in her
bedroom when she's 16 (Johnny, no, please, what if my parents
hear us?...) Just wondering.
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>>>>---------------> khayo@MATH.ucla.edu parnass@ihuxz.ATT.COM (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (11/22/87)
x While tuning around on my ICOM R-7000 receiver last Sun- day, I came across an odd signal on 171.125 MHz. It sounded like the banter of a teenaged boy and girl. As I listened more closely, I could detect music and other conversation in the background. Somebody mentioned an Oswego florist. The signal was transmitted continuously, unlike the back and forth transmissions in a two-way radio conversation. Was this a "bug" planted by some cloak and dagger federal agency? A maverick cordless telephone? I phoned another radio enthusiast friend in town to see if he could hear the signal, but he wasn't home. Being a curious guy, I hopped into my truck and program- med the mobile Bearcat 260 scanner. My mobile antenna, a 19" whip inside the truck, isn't very sensitive. Even so, the signal got stronger as I drove the 1.5 miles from my house into Oswego (Illinois). I found the source of the signal after a few minutes of driving around town, and listening to the activity. The mysterious signal was from a wireless microphone being used for a play at Oswego High School! More tuning the next day uncovered 2 other Oswego High School wireless mike frequencies: 170.225 and 171.825 MHz. A word to you security-minded types: If your company uses a wireless microphone, then your competitors are in a position to say "We hear you!" -- ===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-===-=== Bob Parnass, Bell Telephone Laboratories - ihnp4!ihuxz!parnass - (312)979-5414