The late 1990’s and early 2000’s saw tight arse Commercial Two-Way Radio companies like Crosscom and Aust-Two Rentals, amongst many other companies, deliberately place their customers on the UHF CB 40 channels of the day using CTCSS or DCS so the customers would not hear CB users, they were FALSELY told they were operating on their own private channel. At that time it was ILLEGAL to use CTCSS and DCS on UHF CB. The 40 channel allocation had become over crowded in Melbourne with Enthusiasts, truck drivers and commercial operators. Many Enthusiasts were getting sick and tired of the commercial users taking over channels with CTCSS and DCS preventing shared use of the band as it was intended for.
I started documenting all the CTCSS and DCS users on the band but I was told by a Radio Inspector named Andrew Carter that he was told by his superiors that even though it was not allowed on UHF CB that he was NOT allowed to investigate anything on UHF CB.
With all the angst against these commercial users by the enthusiasts on UHF CB I decided to talk to all of these users and advise them they were operating on UHF CB. The majority of them would go berserk telling me I was operating on their PRIVATE channel, so I would tell them what channel and the tone they were using and to go back to their two-way radio supplier as they were not getting what they had paid for.
The worst offenders were the crane operators that Chris Long VK3AML FALSELY claims I jammed. The fact of the matter is I spoke to them advising them they were operating on UHF CB with DCS and that they were putting themselves in DANGER by continuing to operate, they were extremely abusive so I SHARED the CB channel with them and at NO TIME did I jam them out. I repeatedly gave out the channel and DCS code over the air and advising them they were the ones placing themselves in DANGER by deliberately continuing to operate on UHF CB.
One night I gave them my work phone number over the air to talk sensibly about the dangers they were placing themselves in but they were hostile and abusive over the phone making death threats. That week Caller ID had just become available to the public so because of their multiple death threats I read their phone number over the air to them. Next phone call was from a blocked ID from a woman claiming to be a Constable from Footscray Police Station and wanted to talk to me about using commercial radio channels. So I said I would call her at the Police Station, which I did. She asked me who I was and I told her, she then tried to tell me I was operating ILLEGALLY on commercial channels which I tried telling her the crane operators were operating on UHF CB and had been told on multiple occasions that they were placing themselves in danger by doing so. The Constable then said I would be charged with having access to Caller ID and I laughed saying it was publicly available that week.
Within a minute of getting off the phone to this Constable my details were being broadcast by the Crane Operators over UHF CB and I was getting death threats from their phone number on my personal phone. The Policewoman had obviously given them my personal details. I started receiving hundreds of calls from the crane operators number, so I diverted them all to Footscray Police. A few days later I got a call from a Senior Sgt from Footscray Police station asking why I was diverting my phone to the station so I explained the situation and said it would continue until he resolved the problem. The phone calls from that number stopped and the Constable that gave out my details was also dealt with.
One day I was driving through the city attempting to talk to some friends on UHF CB channel 14 in the Northern Suburbs when Flinders Street Station was talking with CTCSS over the top of us, so I fired up the tone and told them that where operating on UHF CB using the CTCSS tone, their reply was that they were on a private channel and that they were operating in a SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENT. My reply was they had encountered a problem by using UHF CB channel 14 and that by law in a SAFE WORKING ENVIRONMENT they were to CEASE OPERATIONS immediately and resolve the situation, my advice was to contact the two-way rental company and have them attend immediately and reprogram their radios. They then started swearing so I told them where to go.
A short time later I was spoken to by a Transit Police Sgt. and he took down my drivers licence and Security Licence details, he said I was on Flinders Street Railway Station’s private radio channel which I said bullshit they are on UHF CB channel 14 and showed him the radio with them swearing at me. I was told by the Sgt. that he would have my security licence revoked. Again within minutes of him leaving the Railway Operators were giving my name and address out over the radio.
I contacted the Radio Inspector Andrew Carter and told him of the issue immediately and advised him of the situation. I was subsequently called by the Private Agents Registry for a formal hearing of my security licence, Andrew Carter attended that hearing and told them that Flinders Street Railway Station was in fact using UHF CB ILLEGALLY and had subsequently been issued a $40,000 fine. Andrew Carter went on to say that he had been instructed by his boss not to investigate the issues on UHF CB and that had caused the problems that had NOTHING to do with my Security Licence. I was asked to leave the room for 5 minutes and upon my return I was instructed NOT to communicate with commercial radio operators for twelve months. I was to hand over all the information I had about the ILLEGAL commercial operations to Andrew Carter, who was instructed by the Sgt. Belinda Murphy of the Private Agents registry to investigate. I was then told I could continue operating as a Security Guard with no penalty contrary to Chris Long VK3AML bullshit claims of two years suspension.
Andrew Carter promised to investigate and remove all the commercial operators I had documented and true to his words within three months they were all gone off UHF CB. Within twelve months commercial interests had lobbied Government for 80 Channels on UHF CB and the legalisation of CTCSS and DCS.
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