Recent Air Patrols Frighten Some, Fascinate Others
[Source: The Washington Post]

By Marc Fisher
Thursday, September 20, 2001; Page B01

...The military won't divulge details of the operation -- what planes, how often they fly. But everyone who lives in these parts hears the patrols, and this being America, plenty of folks have made it their business to figure out exactly what's passing overhead.

"It's lots of F-15s and F-16s, some AWACS, most likely off the coast, and then there's an FBI airplane, a Cessna, that's been driving everyone nuts," says Alan Henney, a freelance newshound in Takoma Park who monitors radio transmissions and heads up the Capitol Hill Monitors, a group of local hobbyists who like to listen.

In bedroom bunkers, "listeners" sit surrounded by stacks of radios, eavesdropping on the chatter among pilots and air traffic controllers patrolling our very own version of the no-fly zones we've seen on TV from far, far away. These are the same guys -- they're almost all male -- who monitor police and emergency radios; in severe cases, they spend every waking minute scanning the airwaves for action...
more...
posted by Tracy at 9/20/2001 0 comments

Green light for digital police radio
[Source: Computer Weekly]

by Bruce Ackland
Wednesday 19 September 2001

The Home Office and British Telecom are pressing ahead with the £2.9bn rollout of the Airwave digital radio service to every police force in the UK despite technical difficulties during trials, which have just ended.

A three-month pilot by Lancashire police was extended to six months after problems with voice clarity and coverage occurred.

Lancashire Constabulary told CW360 that a fix list of "30-odd" problems had been drawn up during the trial.

"In some geographical areas there were cases of calls being dropped as well as the appearance of screeching sounds - called 'spiking' - and 'metal Mickey' voice distortion. BT and Motorola are now working to sort them out," a police spokeswoman said.

The Airwave system's Terrestrial Trunked Radio (Tetra) digital handsets have also caused fears over health risks to officers using them.

The Police Federation has called for more research into these risks. Guidelines suggest that wavebands above 16Hz should be avoided, but the Airwave handsets operate at 17.6Hz.

However, the Police IT Organisation (PITO) - the Home Office's national police IT coordinating body - has insisted that the figure of 16Hz is merely a guideline and that the handsets are safe.

Greater Manchester Police will be the next force to take up Airwave. Every force in the UK is expected to be using the system by 2005, when the government will withdraw existing police radio frequencies.

Lancashire Police said they are already experiencing the benefit of the new radio voice and data service.

Encryption means that, for the first time, police have secure transmissions and sound clarity, and coverage is generally better than the old systems.

"Officers who in the past had to radio to their base and request a check on the Police National Computer and then wait for the information can now do it direct on their handsets," said the Lancashire police spokeswoman. "It allows officers to be more efficient and time-effective and will result in more officers being visible on the streets."

BT is responsible for building and managing the national service throughout its 15-year, £2.9bn contract, with Motorola the main sub-contractor for the supply of Tetra digital system infrastructure.

BT Quadrant general manager Jeff Parris said: "We're delighted that the Lancashire trial has measured up to our expectations. We look forward to progressing with the roll-out to deliver a world-class service to Britain's police and public safety organisations."
posted by Tracy at 9/19/2001 0 comments

[Source: Mike Peters, Dayton Daily News]


posted by Tracy at 9/18/2001 0 comments

A NYFD dispatcher's account of events on September 11th, 2001
[Source: Frank Raffa, Supv. Dispatcher, FDNY]

Tuesday, September 11, 2001. It was Primary Day and I was going to my union office to help our chosen candidate. Around 0840 I'm making my way down 7th Ave when I hear a jet plane overhead. Not a common occurrence in Manhattan but not outside the realm of possibility. I thought to myself that it sounded a little low. (Little did I know I was correct.) Minutes later I started hearing sirens. Coming from all directions they appeared to be heading south and west. Police cars, unmarked cars, and ambulances started forming convoys down 7th Ave. With nary a clue as to what had occurred I made my way to the union office.

In the lobby the doorman had a TV on. On the screen was what looked like a scene from "The Towering Inferno". Fire and smoke were billowing from the upper floors of tower 1. My immediate reaction is unprintable. My second thought was that I had to get to the Manhattan CO as they must have been going through hell. I wandered out into the street to find a cab, my head in a daze knowing full well what to expect when I get to the office.

While cruising uptown in what must have been the slowest cab ride ever recorded I gathered my thoughts, tried to control the adrenaline that was rushing into my system, and thought about that other fateful day in 1993. The cab driver was listening to a local all news station. Then I heard about the second plane. The situation must have been pure bedlam in the office.

I arrived at the Manhattan CO around 0940. A dispatcher was standing outside in tears. She had taken some calls from people above the fire floor. They begged, pleaded, cried for help but all exits were blocked by fire. On the news they showed pictures of people jumping to their deaths rather than being burned alive. It was overwhelming her.

Inside, the situation was serious but not totally chaotic. They had just transmitted a second alarm over and above the 2 fifth alarms already out. We had to pull units from Queens and Brooklyn just to make the required 8 engines and 5 trucks. Then the unthinkable happened. A voice on the radio screamed that 2 WTC was collapsing. (The TV was turned off prior to this.) Not being able to see what was happening I thought to myself that it must have been the top part of the building cut off by the plane that had fallen down. The radio went eerily silent. "Manhattan calling Field Comm. Manhattan to any chief at the WTC."

It wasn't just the top of the building. It was the entire 110-story building falling into a classic pancake collapse. People down below had just barely enough time to start running when the building started collapsing. The force of the debris hitting the ground was tremendous. People thrown about like rag dolls. Windows were blown out everywhere. A dust cloud rose high enough to be seen by the International Space Station.

In Brooklyn, units were assembling at the entrance to the Battery Tunnel in preparation for coming to Manhattan. Engine 228 was already on the Manhattan side when the tower fell. The dust cloud over took them and they made an urgent transmission to Brooklyn saying that no one should enter the tunnel at this time; visibility was zero. Another radio transmission to Brooklyn reported a collapse in the tunnel. Fortunately this report was erroneous. About 30 minutes later tower 1 fell.

The next few hours were a blur to me. I was one of 24 people in the office: 12 dispatchers, 8 supervisors, a borough supervisor, both deputy directors, and the director of dispatch operations. There was too much going on to focus on the big picture so I zoned in on the tasks I was given by the deputy directors who tried their best to orchestrate the entire incident.

To break the tension we rotated positions a lot. Many dispatchers took turns at the radio and the telephones. We went outside to get some air quite a bit too. The streets surrounding all of the central offices were barricaded and police were stationed outside. It seemed so surreal. The mighty towers had been reduced to a pile of rubble, the streets of Manhattan deserted, F-16's flying overhead, and the possibility that we lost at least 10 alarms worth of fire fighters and apparatus. (40 engines, 16 ladders, 10 battalions) With a massive search and recovery mission ahead of them the department instituted off duty recall and fire fighters went to a 24-on, 24-off schedule. All surplus members from every house either staffed a spare apparatus or were transported to Ground Zero.

I was scheduled for a day tour the next day in Brooklyn so I went off duty at 2200 hours. The ride to the Times Square subway station was spooky. There were very few cars on the road and pedestrians were conspicuous by their absence. The normally crowded Times Square had more police than tourists. On the subway platform, only the occasional passing of a train pierced the silence. No one was talking very much. There was a certain amount of paranoia in the air. I must have envisioned every subway disaster I'd ever seen in a movie during the ride. (E.g., The Taking of Pelham 123, etc.)

In Brooklyn on Wednesday the situation was pretty bad. About half of our resources were in Manhattan; most wouldn't be coming back for a while. Luckily, someone had arranged for mutual aid from New Jersey. We had dozens of rigs from all over the state. Some came from paid departments, some volunteer. We had apparatus from Elizabeth, Summit, Cedar Grove, Bloomfield, Montclair, Piscataway, Edison Twp, Belleville, Newark, Manalapan, and many others whose names I can't recall. They couldn't hook up to our hydrants, nor could they operate on our radio frequency. But they had booster tanks, water cans, tools and portable ladders that were better than nothing had they not been there.

Because of the lack of interoperability we assigned them to firehouses in which there already was a FDNY apparatus in full service. They were instructed to turn out and operate as a team. As units came back from Manhattan we reassigned mutual aid companies to other firehouses. Some of these companies saw 3 or 4 firehouses in different neighborhoods. I don't know how many of them did any work or how much.

It's uncanny but whenever we have a major incident the fire activity in the remainder of the city drops off. Other than an occasional call for smoke (whenever the wind shifted) we were pretty quiet in Brooklyn. By Thursday afternoon our own resources started to firm up and the decision was made to release the mutual aid companies. Some of them probably went home with a war story or 2. Some of them may just be able to say 'we helped out in a small way'. In either case their presence was greatly appreciated. By the last night of my 4-day swing life in the office had gone almost back to normal. We had enough companies back in service to disband all but 1 spare apparatus
company.

The mood on the platform was still somber at best. Many of the dispatchers who have over 20 or 30 years on the job knew many of the fire fighters personally. They'd go on golf outings, fishing excursions, or just hang out at the firehouse and play cards. We know first hand what some of the family members of the missing are going through. We know the anguish of just sitting, helplessly waiting for some word good or bad.

It will be months before life returns to anything close to normal. While we try to cope with the current losses we mustn't forget that this may only be a single step in the terrorist's grand scheme. We must remain diligent and prepare for what may be their next move.


Frank Raffa
Supv. Dispatcher, FDNY
www.FDNewYork.com
posted by Tracy at 9/18/2001 0 comments

Memorial Service on National Day of Prayer and Remembrance
[Source: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]

"May we go forward with our righteous convictions. May we walk in truth and in faith and in love. For if we will do so, we will be upheld and strengthened by the Lord: 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid'."

-- (John 14:27)


Church Donates Humanitarian Funds to Help Red Cross
12 September 2001

SALT LAKE CITY -- To assist the American Red Cross in its response to yesterday?s tragic attacks, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is donating $160,000. The money comes from generous contributions to the Church?s humanitarian relief fund.

The Presiding Bishop of the Church, Bishop H. David Burton, said $150,000 will be given to the national office of the American Red Cross to assist with search and rescue work, emergency food and shelter, and other needs arising from the terrorist activities in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Another $10,000 contribution will go to the American Red Cross chapter in Salt Lake City to offset its costs in helping stranded travelers obtain food and shelter here.

"All of our hearts ache and reach out to the victims of these tragedies," said Bishop Burton. "Latter-day Saints have been eager to do something to help, to ease the hurt. We believe using contributions that Church members are making to the Church humanitarian fund is a quick and effective way to get aid where it?s needed."

Bishop Burton added, "We continue to express our appreciation and thanks for the many people who contribute to the humanitarian fund."

"In this hour of sorrow, the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints expresses profound sympathy to those whose loved ones, friends and associates were lost or injured in today?s senseless acts of violence. We offer our prayers in behalf of the innocent victims of these vicious attacks. We ask our Heavenly Father to guide President Bush and his advisors as they respond to these devastating incidents.

"We join with others in prayers that the Savior?s peace and love will comfort and guide us all through this difficult time.

"The resources of the Church will be made available to any relief agency requesting assistance."
posted by Tracy at 9/15/2001 0 comments

Motorola responds to disaster communications needs
[Source: Motorola, Inc.]



As recovery efforts continue in the wake of this national tragedy, Motorola is continuing extensive around-the-clock efforts to globally expedite new shipments and meet numerous customer requests for emergency help to support police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services in the affected areas.

Motorola business and logistic teams and manufacturing facilities worldwide will remain on full alert and will continue to give priority to public safety emergency orders as needed.

To date, Motorola has delivered at least 36 truckloads of communications equipment to field teams and customers in the New York City area, Virginia and Maryland. Two planes carried Motorola equipment into the affected areas on Friday, September 14, 2001, and another two planes are scheduled for future deliveries.

Three major communications systems have already been delivered, including a 900 MHz ?trailer? radio system and an 800 MHz ?trailer? radio system in New York City, and an 800 MHz ?trailer? system that is being used at the plane crash site in Pennsylvania. These systems are similar to those used in the past for major sporting events. A fourth major system, an 800 MHz, 15-channel communications system, is now enroute to New York to provide back-up communications for emergency services. Motorola workers produced the system, which typically takes about three weeks to assemble, in 30 hours for shipment to the emergency areas.

More than 5,800 portable radios, over 13,000 batteries and about 2,500 chargers have been delivered so far. Additionally, Motorola has delivered 700 Iridium satellite telephones to emergency agencies in the New York City area.

Earlier this week, Motorola provided 1,000 cellular phones to a major insurance company for its policyholders in the affected areas.

Motorola has also donated 10,000 iDEN multi-function phones to various federal, state and local government agencies, plus about 88,000 batteries, chargers and other accessories. Nextel will provide the phone service.

The Motorola Foundation will donate $1 million in support of relief efforts, dispersed to: New York Police Department, Fire & Rescue; The Federal Employee Education and Assistance Fund (World Trade Center / Pentagon Fund); General Relief in New York; Abilities, Inc.; and Employee Match to the One Motorola Responds Fund.
posted by Tracy at 9/14/2001 0 comments

Fireman's Prayer
[Source: Unknown author]







To make a donation to the NYC Police/Firefighters Widows and Children's Fund, please visit the Fallen Brothers web site at www.fallenbrothers.com or you can send your check or money order, made out to the New York Police & Fire Widows & Children's Benefit Fund.

Ranieri & Company
50 Charles Lindbergh Boulevard
Suite 500
Uniondale, NY 11553-3600

The New York Police & Fire Widows & Children's Benefit Fund, established by Rusty Staub in 1985, assists the families of over 500 New York City firefighters and police officers. The Fund provides $10,000 to surviving family members following a line of duty death and provides $1,500 a year to each family thereafter.

This fund is in no way affiliated with Freq Of Nature. For more information you can contact the City of New York or the above mentioned Fallen Brothers web site.
posted by Tracy at 9/13/2001 0 comments

Nationwide, Blood Donors Heed the Call
[Source: American Red Cross]

Within a half-hour of today's terrorist attacks, volunteers from around the country filed into American Red Cross blood centers and hospital blood banks.
more...

Red Cross Continues to Respond to National Crisis

The American Red Cross responded immediately to today's disasters and continues to provide mass care and blood products in affected areas. The Red Cross activated its Aviation Incident Response (AIR) Team to respond in New York City, and trained disaster workers from the American Red Cross of Greater New York and the National Capital Chapter in Washington, D.C. are leading relief efforts in the affected areas.
more...

Los Angeles Chapter Prepares to Assist Grieving Families

The American Red Cross Los Angeles Chapter has opened two "Family Assistance Centers" to provide comfort to the families of passengers involved in today's tragedy.
more...

To donate blood, please call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE or visit www.redcross.org for more information.
posted by Tracy at 9/11/2001 0 comments

Air Force One cleared for landing at Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
[Source: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]



(Simi Valley, Calif.) The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation announced today that Air Force One (72-27000) has been cleared to land at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA. The aircraft, a Boeing 707, was used exclusively by Ronald Reagan during his eight years as the President of the United States. Other presidents who used the aircraft were Presidents Carter, Ford, Nixon, George W. Bush, Clinton and George H. W. Bush.

"We are thrilled that this national treasure will be on public display at the Reagan Library and we will begin work immediately to create a permanent home that is a fitting and appropriate tribute to this awesome symbol of presidential power," said Mark Burson, executive director of the Foundation.

72-27000 is due to be retired by the Air Force at the end of September 2001. It had been used as the back-up Air Force One to the current Boeing 747 now used by President Bush. Shortly after it is formally retired, it will make its final flight to Southern California where it will be stored in a hangar until a permanent facility is completed on the grounds of the Reagan Library.

Library officials announced plans to build a Museum of Presidential Travel with private funds that will showcase this magnificent aircraft. Inside this new museum, visitors will explore the history of how presidents have traveled throughout this nation and the world and trace the significant events that have surrounded the life of Air Force One and its Chief Executives. Complementing Air Force One will be Ronald Reagan?s Presidential Limousine.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, the Center for Public Affairs and the Presidential Learning Center. Located in Simi Valley, California the Library houses over 55 million pages of government documents and personal papers and the Museum is home to more than 100,000 artifacts chronicling the life and legacy of America?s 40th President.
posted by Tracy at 9/09/2001 0 comments

Exploiting and Protecting 802.11b Wireless Networks
[Source: ExtremeTech]

NetStumbler, a shareware program available on www.netstumbler.com, used in conjunction with a Lucent-chipset based Orinoco NIC "sniffs" for wireless networks. The data that NetStumbler returns is truly amazing. When NetStumbler identifies an 802.11b signal, it logs the MAC address of the access point, the network name, SSID, manufacturer, channel that it was heard on, WEP Enabled (Yes or No), signal strength, signal to noise ratio, and various flags. In addition, if you have a GPS that outputs standard NMEA (National Marine Electronics Association's standards for data communication between marine instruments) data, the latitude and longitude data points are also entered into the log file. Additionally, a real-time display showing signal strength is available.

Click here for the full story
posted by Tracy at 9/08/2001 0 comments

Law Enforcement concerned about RF Detectors
[Source: Kansas Police Officers Association]



According to reports from law enforcement agencies in the eastern part of the United States, Pep Boys automotive stores are selling an air freshener that is also capable of detecting RF from a cellular phone. When activated by RF, a set of lights on the air freshener illuminates. The danger is that suspects can use them to see if undercover personnel are wired with a body transmitter. For example, in Atlanta, offenders are reportedly using them to detect law enforcement personnel.

Apparently the air fresheners are being marketed to persons who listen to loud music in their cars and, consequently, cannot detect when their cellular phone is ringing. One version of the air freshener is in the shape of a small airplane on a glass globe. These devices also come in shape of blimps, helicopters, and planes, and are very inexpensive.

The device seems to detect all RF radiation in its immediate area, INCLUDING law enforcement frequencies. (Low wattage radio transmitters and newer digital body wires have not yet been tested, but will be soon.)

The State Liaison Office at the INTERPOL USNCB has opened a file on this; their case number 20010100128.

Here is some additional information:

An officer stopped at a Pep Boys recently and discovered that there is more than one brand. One was a clear plastic airplane air freshener from a Georgia company (no further information) that was advertised as an air freshener and cellular telephone notification device, good for 1.5 meters.

The other was the "Celi-Teli" Buddy Duck air freshener and cellular notification device that looked like a Duck. It is made in Taiwan and distributed to Pep Boys and Keystone automotive parts stores in the U.S., with a part number of ED 8081. It is distributed by American Auto Accessories, Inc. of 112-01 Northern Blvd., Corona, NY 11368, telephone 718-458-6200. The company has a website address of www.americanautoacc.com. However, the product is not shown on the website as of January 8, 2001. Their e-mail address is aaanyusa@aol.com. Retail on these products was $5.99. The product from Georgia was an airplane and you could plainly see the small circuit board and LED inside. It, like the duck, alerts you to an incoming cell phone call.

Additional information comes from the INTERPOL State Liaison office in Massachusetts:

We have come across two variations of this device. The first device is a cigarette lighter holder. It is made by RATEX Ltd. in Hong Kong and distributed in the USA by Tai Seng Video Marketing 170 South Spruce Ave. Suite 200 San Francisco, California. When we first discovered these devices, they were being given away by a video store in the Chinatown section of Boston.

The second device is a key chain that was being given away this past summer at a Biotech trade show in Boston. This device is called a "Handy-Light" and was being given away by a German company called DEVOFERM. The manufacturer of this device is unknown.
posted by Tracy at 9/06/2001 0 comments

Shooting in Simi Valley
[Source: Simi Valley Police Department]



Three people were shot to death and two other wounded when a man entered a Simi Valley home on Wednesday just before 4:00pm and began shooting. Police are looking for the suspect, identified by the Simi Valley Police as Reynaldo Herrera Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a 35-year-old male approximate height of 5'5", 130-140 pounds and has dark hair and dark eyes. The suspect?s home is on Teasdale Street in Thousand Oaks where an arson fire broke out about a half-hour before the shootings. He was last seen driving away from the scene in a dark blue Ford Explorer, California license plate 4SCG647, that is registered to a car rental company. posted by Tracy at 9/06/2001 0 comments

FCC Construction and Operation Audit
[Source: FCC and APCO]

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) began a process of mailing hundreds of thousands of letters to license holders for all frequencies below 512 MHz. These letters will request a response to a question of the construction or ?in use? status of all licenses including all public safety operations. With so many letters, the FCC will spread the mailing over several months beginning alphabetically. (If you have licenses that state ? Alabama , State of? and ?State of Alabama ?, they will not appear together unless they are all associated with your TIN registration.)

FCC records show more than 56,000 public safety licensees who have not registered their TINs (Taxpayer Identification Numbers)! Failure to register your TIN will result in the delay of renewals, minor modifications and processing of major modifications and new applications, which could result in the loss of licenses (frequencies). This could be devastating to public safety agencies, with the current shortage of available spectrum. APCO urges public safety licensees to register their TINs immediately to avoid recoordination of frequencies or having to change out equipment, which can be costly and timely.

The FCC will ask if the station is constructed and currently operating in accordance with the parameters of the current FCC Authorization. A yes/no reply is expected. If the station is no longer operational and should be cancelled, the FCC wishes to know this as well. If there are extenuating circumstances, the FCC also requests that information in the form of an attachment.

There are potential penalties for misrepresenting information.

?An authorized employee of the licensee must certify to the accuracy of the response(s). Licensees must respond to the Bureau?s letter(s) within sixty (60) days of the date on the letter. Licensees must provide true and complete responses, and may be subject to sanctions for misrepresentations or willful material omissions.[1] The Commission may conduct random station inspections to insure the completeness and accuracy of the responses it receives.?

This action is intended to ?cleanup? the FCC database and possibly free up some unused frequencies. One intent is to locate unused channels that can be freed up for re-assignment. APCO and public safety applauds this action, but warns all public safety agencies of certain unintended results. Many agencies have not maintained their contact information on their police, fire, ambulance, or other radio authorization license with the FCC. In such cases those agencies risk losing their license through automatic cancellation if they fail to respond. It is the responsibility of each licensee to maintain such information.

Further information is located on an FCC web site, which will eventually include the status of all licenses as to whether or not the FCC has received a response.
posted by Tracy at 9/03/2001 0 comments

Amateur radio interference in the 470 - 471 MHz band
[Source: Bill Kelsey W6QC/SCRRBA]

Do you utilize a 'scanner' to listen to frequencies or channels in the 470 - 471 Megaherts (MHz) band in Southern California? Do you now hear amateur radio conversations in place of, or along with the stations that you have been trying to monitor?

This document will explain why this phenomenon occurs and what you can do to stop hearing the offending transmission.

This document requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader
posted by Tracy at 9/02/2001 0 comments