Bid: $RACESBUL.320
Subject: SB320 Direction Finding in RACES

TO:    ALL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCIES VIA AMATEUR RADIO
INFO:    ALL COMMUNICATIONS VOLUNTEERS IN GOVERNMENT SERVICE
INFO:  ALL AMATEURS U.S  (@USA: INFORMATION), CAP, MARS
FROM:     CA GOVERNORS OFFICE OF EMERGENCY SERVICES
       (W6SIG@WA6NWE.CA)            Ph: 916-262-1600
       2800 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA  95832
       Landline BBS  Open to All: 916-262-1657
RACESBUL.320         RELEASE DATE:  April 4, 1994

Subject: OPS - Direction finding in the RACES

Question: What role does direction finding have in the RACES, if
any?

Response: Direction finding - the process of locating Radio
Frequency signals by other radio equipment - has a tremendous
role for Amateur Radio operators, particularly in urban areas.
RACES units have been called upon to locate spurious signals from
a variety of sources from malfunctioning equipment, such as stuck
transmitters, to deliberate jamming of local government or other
facilities.

One direction finding response involved successful location of a
moving radio that virtually crippled a major police department
radio system. One of the departments handheld radios moved from
officer to officer as the shifts changed and as they moved about
the city. The particular radio had a unknown habit of keying up
at odd intervals while in the belt holster of the officer. Since
the mike was against the officer's body, little could be heard in
the way of sound but it was wiping out the entire system. Each
time the interference went off the air, and the others on the
frequency were advised to switch channels, so did the unknowing
officer. Consequentially the interfering signal followed every
move to a different channel. Until the problem was solved, the
department thought they had a deliberate jammer, when in fact it
was malfunctioning commercial equipment in an "impossible
configuration that just couldn't happen" but did!

In addition to such uses for direction finding, as in the RACES
type operations, there are others as well; the "fox hunt"
(direction finding contest) of the local Amateur Radio club being
an example. Such activities range from an ongoing "sport" to the
real preparation for serious and dedicated direction finding.
Both aspects have their place, but those who see "fox hunts" only
as a pastime and purposely overlook the serious nature of the
work that can be done, are a discredit to the Amateur Radio
Service whose primary purpose - as set forth in FCC regulations -
is public service. (eom)