Last year this was sent to Riley, FCC, Congressmen, newspapers, etc. It gave location, time and date of a "keydown" to authorities a month in advance of the event.
Nothing was ever done by any agency. ------------ On 12 Oct. 2001, there will be an event that I feel should be brought to your attention. It's called a "keydown", and is effectively a radio-frequency drag-race between "outlaw" CB radio operators. The purpose is to see who can produce the most radio power from their vehicle. Power levels often exceed those of broadcast stations (up to 70,000 watts), but without the engineering skills to eliminate interference. What makes this event notable is that it's within spitting distance of the US Capitol - a site ringed with tactical communications systems - and currently in a heightened state of alert. The keydown is expected to create potential RF interference hazards to military, government, and public safety agencies in the Washington Metropolitain area, including commercial broadcasters. TV and FM broadcast stations are part of the EAS (Emergency Alert System) and high frequency users in the Public Safety Pool (Police, Fire, some ground-to-air and air ambulance services, and many private services) will likely receive interference. The keydown organizers call themselves the UCBWC (The United CB'ers of Watergate City). Participants come from all over the USA. Identities and details of the keydown locations are usually kept secret. For example, attendees of the Oct. 12 event book advance reservations at the Ramada Inn in New Carrollton, MD, but are not told where competing mobile CB setups will face-off until the last minute. Even suppliers of equipment used in the illegal setups prefer to stay anonymous. One company called "NoName", based in Waldorf, MD, employs elaborate deceptions and disclaimers to avoid possible FCC prosecution. *Note: The location of the keydown has now been verified. It was obtained by calling the phone numbers listed on the UCBWC web page. Time: 11 AM Location: Tracey's Park/Tracey's Elementary 20 Deale Road, Tracys Landing, MD 20779 Unlike ham operators who are licensed by the FCC, must pass technical tests, and are generally self-policing, the keydown competitors are 'outlaws' who operate completely outside of FCC rules. External amplifiers are strictly forbidden to CBers, and under The US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Telecommunication the penalties for noncompliance include fines up to $20,000 and jail terms. But CB is virtually unregulated and unenforced. When the CB boom of the 1970's hit, the FCC could no longer cope with the sudden influx of millions of CB users, and now the FCC only intervenes in extreme cases. One attempt to stop routine interference from illegal CB operators recently came in the form of H.R. 2346, which became law in September of 2000. It authorizes the enforcement by State and local governments of certain FCC regulations regarding use of citizens band radio equipment. For more information, contact - (Contact name and phone numbers) Or visit - UCBWC SITE (http://www.angelfire.com/md/ucbwc/) KEYDOWNS (http://www.bigradios.com/) (http://www.keydowns.com/) NONAME AMPLIFIERS (http://www.angelfire.com/md3/nonameamps/ampspecs.html) FCC REGULATIONS FOR CB (http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_00/47cfr95_00.html) HR2346 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d106:h.r.02346:)
