Or impersonate. One of my pilot friends was planning a trip across the CA Central Valley, and he reported with some bemusement that there was at active NOTAM (NOtice To Air Men) to be on guard about some guy in the Fresno area that was impersonating ATC. Apparently it had been happening for months and nothing much by way of investigation had taken place.
At this point I pretty much concluded that bad Part 15 devices or PG&E power line noise h0rk1ng over my ham radio reception was not going to get any attention, ever, if the FCC can't be bothered to find an ATC impersonator. I mean really, there are hams that do hidden transmitter hunts purely for sport. A posse of them could find that clown easily on any random Saturday morning and not be late for lunch.
> there are hams that do hidden transmitter hunts purely for sport. A posse of them could find that clown easily on any random Saturday morning and not be late for lunch.
What is a bunch of random nerds going to do? They have no power to fine or arrest. All they can do is document the evidence and turn it over to the FCC, which does happen on occasion. But, I have listened to ARRL division directors talking about trying for years to get well-documented egregious cases of malicious interference dealt with by the FCC. The FCC just can not be bothered. It's not so much that they can't be bothered to collect evidence, which they can't, but even if they have evidence, that can't be bothered to act on it. The FCC should be a technical organization but is pathetically political.
One of my ham friends deals with the FCC often, because he works in spectrum management at the NTIA. The stories he tells make me never want to set foot in D.C. except to visit all the museums that my taxes fund.
You need to get the community organised for a hunt. I recall one that happened when a rogue retransmitter managed to spill religious radio onto TWR2 frequency at local Airport
You're assuming it would broadcast long enough to find the station, not a hit and run operation. And even if there was a constant signal, they could be using a repeater.
The T-hunting game is usually pretty spicy, with intermittent transmissions and propagation hacks. A repeater adds no difficulty at all.... just DF the input of the repeater.
Or impersonate. One of my pilot friends was planning a trip across the CA Central Valley, and he reported with some bemusement that there was at active NOTAM (NOtice To Air Men) to be on guard about some guy in the Fresno area that was impersonating ATC. Apparently it had been happening for months and nothing much by way of investigation had taken place.
At this point I pretty much concluded that bad Part 15 devices or PG&E power line noise h0rk1ng over my ham radio reception was not going to get any attention, ever, if the FCC can't be bothered to find an ATC impersonator. I mean really, there are hams that do hidden transmitter hunts purely for sport. A posse of them could find that clown easily on any random Saturday morning and not be late for lunch.