[Spooks] Sam Signal Strength

[Chris Smolinski]

>I am however old enough to have a young adult son who has truly impressive
>knowledge of an arcane subject (unfortunately not radio) and a good sense of
>humor.  Looking at Mike and his friends, I still wonder about someone(s)
>with really good radio knowledge (somewhat arcane) and a good sense of
>humor.  A stellar prank would be to do a broadcast that: 1) Jumps
>frequencies (to use computer control knowledge) 2) uses an artificial wave
>form that looks like a data burst (to throw folks off), 3) DSB (because it
>is unusual), 4) loop a cartoon character (because it's funny), 5) runs
>automatically from a remote location (to not get caught), and 6) appeals to
>a small but enthusiastic group of people (so you get noticed and stay
>anonymous at the same time). WWB frequencies might have been taking it too
>far (that's interfering and might get the person caught by the FCC), so he /
>she / they went back to other frequencies.
>
>Doing something funny that is basically harmless, anonymous and noticeable
>while being very clever are the hallmarks of a prank in my book.  A
>successful prank also means you don't get caught.  Sam's timing has also
>appeared when college students may not have a lot to do.  On my scale of
>pranks it would rank a "10" on a 1 - 10 scale - if a prank.  I also doubt "a
>drunk ham", but still wonder about a smart and underemployed person(s) with
>impressive radio and computer knowledge.  Could be some government plot, but
>I'm still not convinced.  Of course, all speculation on my part.
>
>Mark T.
>

Agreed. This is a prank. And a very good one at that. Modifying a ham 
rig to do DSB is not that difficult. Nor is using a very cheap 
computer to command it to switch frequencies and play the audio. 
Heck, a microcontroller would do. Likewise a simple switchable 
antenna tuner could be used allow operation on the various 
frequencies from one antenna. There's nothing here to suggest any 
sort of government operation. Indeed, all the facts so far suggest 
the government is not involved.

I just want to get my Yosemite Sam QSL ;-)

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Chris Smolinski
Black Cat Systems
http://www.blackcatsystems.com