Toshiba TV sends distress signal to USAF

A Toshiba TV sent distress signal on the 121.5 MHz frequency. After a confusing search they eventually found out that the signal was comming from the TV. The TV�s owner was then instructed to keep his TV turned off or face fines up to $10,000 per day.

From TV set aspired to higher things, emits distress signal

Chris van Rossman's flatscreen Toshiba TV came with a built-in VCR, DVD and CD player.

On the night of Oct. 2, it began emitting the international distress signal

The 121.5 MHz frequency signal was picked up by an orbiting search and rescue satellite, which informed the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.

Before long, van Rossman heard a knock at his door.

Outside were men in Air Force uniforms, a Corvallis police officer and a Benton County Search and Rescue deputy.

The international distress signals are usually emitted from electronic locator transponders that help search and rescue workers find overturned boats or crashed airplanes.

After checking in with van Rossman, the group continued the search.

They knocked on van Rossman's door again, and the signal abruptly stopped.

"When he answered the door he turned off the TV, and the guy in the hall said, 'It just stopped,'" Bamberger recalled.

An inspection of the television confirmed it was the source of the signal. "Their equipment was just bouncing everywhere as they turned it on and off," van Rossman said.

Van Rossman was instructed to keep his TV turned off or face fines of up to $10,000 per day for emitting a false distress signal.

Click on the US101 (below) for the full article from OregonLive.com...

Well, now, that's not normal....

What could be causing it?

Spontaneously generating AI?

Hellmutt

You beat me to this Too funny. They still have not replaced his TV and he is afraid to turn it on. Poor guy

Sounds like Toshiba owes Chris a new TV.

I just knew our TV's were 2 way & spying on us - just as I suspected.

lol I was waiting for the "our tv's are spying on us" brigade to turn up hehe. This is indeed VERY strange.

1. Why the hell does a tv need to broadcast anything?
2. Why the heck is it broadcasting specifically THAT signal.
3. Um... why haven't Toshiba given this dude a new tellie?
4. Why threaten him with fines and LEAVE the television?!? Would it not have made more sense to confiscate the television, & after verifying it was some weirdo fault, compensating this guy for the tellie they took off him?

If Toshiba doesn't replace it I must admit it does kind of raise the question of is this a standard thing / capability of ALL of these models made by Toshiba (or even all companies)?

*breaks out the screwdriver, dons the foil hat & eyes the tv*

The MSNBC article stated that Toshiba was giving him a new TV.

This is such a funny story.

Didn't they care to check up on the TV? I mean who knows, it may have been treated really badly.

I must admit, there have been times when I've needed rescuing from multiple channels of crap but couldn't be arsed to get up and turn it off

could it have been improperly equipped to provide wireless internet service or something?

I have a 36 inch cenima series flat screen hd ready Toshiba. I hope mine doesnt start sending those signals. I LOVE MY TV Please dont take it uncle Sam One question. How does a TV transmit a signal to a satalite. I thought TVs were recievers, not transmitters?

www.navcen.uscg.gov...

[edit on 19/10/2004 by Baldo]

I would be getting a signed statment from the Coast guard, or who every, and take the TV back that night if I could.



[edit on 19-10-2004 by SpittinCobra]

Its like that I robot movie or battlestar galactica where the machines start thinking for themselves!!!!

BE AFRAID! BE VERY AFRAID!!!

Isn't this just an example of interference? Don't most electronics devices have to be vetted to make sure that they aren't emiting interference, even if though they aren't 'broadcasting' devices?

My guess is someone at the Toshiba factory set up the TV to send a signal as a joke and get a few laughs from a distance..

I find this interesting, as well as hard to believe.

Electronic devices all emit noise. Usually they are shielded, but all electronics emit noise. Usually not but a few feet though. (put an am radio near your computer, and you can tune in the noise) RF noise, transistor switching noise, emf's, etc.

I really doubt though any consumer device to be able to transmit a fixed signal to a satalite. The power needed to do this would be fairly high. And the likelyhood that it be focused enough would be near nil.

All UL listed devices must be designed and demonstrated that they can also accept outside interference, without a failure.

Intentional radiators have acceptable use limits on them as well.

www.rdrop.com...

**Except as provided in paragraph (g), fundamental emissions from
intentional radiators operating under this Section shall not be
located in the frequency bands 54-72 MHz, 76-88 MHz, 174-216 MHz or
470-806 MHZ.


Interesting that the 121.5 Mhz is not a protected frequency also.

IMO, the ONLY way I think this could happen would be if this satallite was pointed directly at this tv set. It may pick up a harmonic from the set, but the toshiba tv IMO didnt 'transmit' a signal, let alone a known emergency signal on a known emergency band.

Originally posted by smirkley

Interesting that the 121.5 Mhz is not a protected frequency also.

Every other freq the Military is protected. Heck they even have thier own class of IP adresses(Class D&E) but I think that the signal was recieved as a distress signal, so its entirly possible that 121.5 Is just plain old milatary SOS freq.

Originally posted by IgnoranceDenied
My guess is someone at the Toshiba factory set up the TV to send a signal as a joke and get a few laughs from a distance..

This actually sounds like the most likely explaination.
If they ever find out who did it, someone�s gonna be without a job soon.
Or maybe it was someone�s last day at work?

two points to make....
first, for those that do not know it...
a speaker and a mic are the same thing... if you plug a speaker into your mic plug and yell really load into it, it will come out of the regular speakers...
and vice vera... if you plug your mic into a speaker line out, you can actual hear sound through it... they are just specialized to the primary use that they are dedicated to...
so essentially... we all have "bugs" in our house... and cable coax is two way.... now don't go running for a a set of tv muffs... this would be much harder to use to bug someone than just going into a house under the new patriot act and planting whatever high tech bugs they want to plant.

now point two....
maybe there are devices that broadcast in our units, and some wise employee figured out how to get the word out... via a mistake like this...