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Digital TV "Receiver" Broadcasts Emergency Signal
Sunday, January 15, 2006
A bizarre story from the BBC: a digital TV receiver ("digibox") near Portsmouth broadcast an emergency signal that resulted in a coastguard helicopter being scrambled.
On 5th January an SOS call was detected in the Portsmouth area. The signal was being transmitted on a "major emergency channel" and was picked up by RAF Kinloss via satellite.
A coastguard helicopter was sent out and spent two hours searching the harbour area before the signal was traced inland to a TV digibox.
As has been pointed out, digiboxes aren't supposed to transmit at all, let alone on emergency frequencies. According to the spokesman from the RAF base that picked up the signal, the chance of this happening is less than the chance of winning the lottery.
The rogue box has now been removed by Ofcom for "tests".
One for the conspiracy theorists...
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