Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!accuvax.nwu.edu!nucsrl!telecom-request From: Mike Bell Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Licenses for Television in the UK Message-ID: <8716@accuvax.nwu.edu> Date: 6 Jun 90 12:37:00 GMT Sender: news@accuvax.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 36 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 417, Message 1 of 12 johns@happy.uk.sun.com (John Slater) writes: >Evasion is widespread, and personally I am deeply cynical about the >efficacy or even the existence of detector vans (I've never seen one). >I believe the authorities rely largely on non-renewed licenses to >catch defaulters. Before all UK readers fail to renew their TV licenses, I can confirm that TV detector vans do exist - I visited one on display at the East of England show two years ago. The equipment inside looked about 1960 vintage. The operator seemed rather unknowledgeable about the principle of operation, but from what I surmised it is identical to the methods described by Peter Wright in "Spycatcher" for identifying enemy receivers listening to a particular frequency - ie. blip the transmitter frequency and correlate it with secondary emissions on other frequencies. (Note that this distinguishes between a TV being used with a VCR and a TV watching live transmissions - a license used not to be required for the former, although I'm not sure if this is still the case). The TV detector van gets fairly good range information from this source. The antenna can be rotated to give bearing - but it wasn't clear if it could be adjusted to give elevation. The operator is given list of houses in the area which do not have TV licenses from which to start... Even if the equipment does not work, it is often reported that large numbers of TV licenses are suddenly applied for in areas where it is publicized that the vans are operating! Mike Bell --