FoxBox Notice and Letter
Most of the beacon transmitters
that we hide for our hunts are contained in old repainted military ammunition
boxes. Although we usually hide them in rather obscure out of the way places,
there is always the chance they'll be seen by a passerby. Especially in
times of world tension, our boxes COULD seem suspicious to the casual observer.
To help forestall any undue fear on the part of the general public we put
a notice on each box.
For larger hunts where we expect to place many transmitters or have more than a few hunters, we also send a letter to the law enforcement agency in each jurisdiction through which we expect the hunters to travel in their search.
Here is the notice we place on
each transmitter.
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DO NOT DISTURB FCC Licensed Radio Transmitter This is a Homing Beacon Radio Transmitter authorized to operate by the Federal Communications Commission under Part 97 of its regulations. This device is harmless and poses no threat to public health and safety. It is currently being operated as part of a public service exercise in Emergency Radio Direction Finding and will be removed at the conclusion of this exercise. Movement or control of this device while it is in operation without the appropriate FCC license is a violation of U.S. Federal Law. For additional information about this radio
beacon and these Radio Direction Finding exercises contact the Hudson Valley
Direction Finding Association at (PUT YOUR ADDRESS HERE), by Electronic
Mail at (YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS), or at
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If you wish to send letters to your local law enforcement agencies you can take some ideas from the one we send. Use your club's letterhead stationery to make it look as official as you can.
TO: (Orange County NY Law Enforcement Agency)
SUBJECT: Notification of Exercise
On the morning of Saturday March 31, 2001, the Hudson Valley Direction Finding Association, in conjunction with several other area organizations, will be conducting a brief exercise in Radio Direction Finding Techniques that may include your area of jurisdiction. We anticipate that between five and twenty private vehicles with directional radio antennas will be on the roads of Orange County between the hours of 9:00 AM and 12:00 Noon. Using techniques and equipment somewhat like those used in the “Lo-Jack” vehicle tracking system with which you are no doubt familiar, these vehicles’ occupants will be searching for several low powered portable radio beacon transmitters that will be strategically placed at safe, publicly accessible locations within the county.
These radio beacon transmitters, operating on authorized VHF Amateur Radio frequencies in accordance with Part 97 of the Federal Communications Commission regulations, are typically housed in small metal containers up to and including the size of a military ammunition box. They contain a battery power source and electronic transmitting circuitry, as well as in most cases an external antenna.
Although the small radio beacons will be clearly labeled and are completely harmless, we believe it appropriate to notify you of their placement. In this climate of heightened world tensions it is always possible that a passerby might notice one of our radio beacons and become suspicious of its presence. If that should happen and your office is contacted, please assure them that these are not harmful devices.
The techniques we use in these exercises have been applied in situations such as the location of downed aircraft and the tracking of malicious interference to police and public service radio communications. We hope that our organization will never be called upon to employ our skills in an actual situation within your jurisdiction, but this exercise will better prepare us for such an occurrence.
Thank you very much for you understanding and cooperation. Please don’t hesitate to call us if there are any questions.
Sincerely,
_________________
Your Name Here, Director
(914) xxx-xxxx____________________
Your Name Here, Director
(914) xxx-xxxx