[TWIAR] Faulty TV receiver launches SOS mission

[Greg Williams]

Faulty TV receiver launches SOS mission
From: Agence France-Presse From correspondents in London
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,17835669-13762,00.html
 
A FAULTY digital television receiver has sparked a helicopter rescue 
mission after sending out a rogue distress signal, Britain's Royal Air 
Force said yesterday.

The "freeview" box - which normally allows television viewers access to 
dozens of digital TV and radio channels via a standard, rooftop aerial - 
sent out a signal identical to that for emergency beacons at sea.
The SOS, beamed from Portsmouth, on England's south coast, was picked up 
by a satellite and sent to the RAF's Aeronautical Rescue Co-ordination 
Centre in Kinloss, northeast Scotland, in the early hours of January 5.

Personnel then alerted English coastguards, who sent a helicopter to 
investigate. The aircraft spent two fruitless hours flying over 
Portsmouth Harbour looking for stricken sailors until the signal was 
traced to dry land.

RAF spokesman Michael Mulford said: "Our Kinloss rescue centre picked up 
this beacon from one of five orbiting satellites listening out for these 
things.

"It was a 121.5 transmission - that's the major emergency frequency, a 
'Mayday'. We traced it to Portsmouth Harbour, checked and found out 
there were no vessels in the area or missing planes.

"We checked with (British telecoms watchdog) Ofcom and they quickly 
established it was coming from a household. It turned out to be a faulty 
'freeview' box.
"This is very very unusual, it's a complete freak and the odds of a 
digibox sending out a 121.5 signal must be astronomical."

Ofcom described the incident as a "real one-off" as digital boxes should 
only receive and not send signals.

"The householder was happy to hand it over to our engineers who are 
trying to get to the bottom of the defect," a spokesman said.