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Our TX site was broken into. and the vandal left us a present.

T

TXengineer

Guest
While cleaning up, reboarding up, and dealing with the mess some vandals left our building in after a romp around last night, I realized the vandal left us a little present. He took a dump by one of the outside doors! Yes, you heard me correctly, he used our former storage room as a toilet!
It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen, and I don't think I have ever heard of such a present being left at a break in.

Just curious what other transmitter site break ins by vandals have you guys had and how was the outcome?
 
Several stations in Indiana had site break-ins and the vandals spent time at one site during the daytime hours. Several Friday afternoons at 3:30pm the station calls "off air."

The first break in the shrill phone caused the vandals to leave. Found no meter in the electric service. Gone. Power company restored, then we inspected. No power (daytime) and vandals took all they could easily take and were taking screws out of rack equipment. This site was in the middle of nowhere. Later installed a camera and a lone school bus might be the only traffic for a 24 hour period.

Made us look at door jambs, re-inforcement for the area of the door near the door handle. Newer lock sets with dead bolt and a door lock. Schlage makes a good lock. Entry had been using a sledge hammer. Lock just fell off.

I worked for several of the stations and each break-in was at a time the stations were less likely to notice. Early morning, late at night, even late afternoon. Automated and voice tracked stations beware.

The best break-in was at an Indiana State Police relay site. Americas dumbest criminals. This got attention from the right people.

They began taking electrostatic prints from shoes on floors, had a response team to show up at affected sites.

Vandals started their own radio station: Goat Radio. Unfortunately for them they did so with a stolen exciter near the owners home. He griped to his engineer and the cops busted the station and discovered all the goodies froma years worth of break-ins.

Sony sells a great time lapse camera. Schlage good locksets and dead-bolts. Buy a new steel door. How about a $40 a month security system (including monitoring)? Sine system remotes will call if the door is open or if the door is left open and temperature changes. Does your transmitter call when audio ceases? When the transmitter is off?

By the way - several ways the cops got dna. Cigarettes, etc. Other things provide DNA. This is a Federal offense.




> While cleaning up, reboarding up, and dealing with the mess
> some vandals left our building in after a romp around last
> night, I realized the vandal left us a little present. He
> took a dump by one of the outside doors! Yes, you heard me
> correctly, he used our former storage room as a toilet!
> It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen,
> and I don't think I have ever heard of such a present being
> left at a break in.
>
> Just curious what other transmitter site break ins by
> vandals have you guys had and how was the outcome?
>
 
Weird but serious

> I realized the vandal left us a little present. He
> took a dump by one of the outside doors! Yes, you heard me
> correctly, he used our former storage room as a toilet!

If the police didn't save any and you still have it around,
save a small amount. It may help prove identity if someone
is accused.

It being a transmitter site, does not the FBI become involved?<P ID="signature">______________
Fanatics are picturesque, mankind would rather see gestures than listen to reasons.
--Friedrich Nietzsche</P>
 
> > Just curious what other transmitter site break ins by
> > vandals have you guys had and how was the outcome?

Late 1970's, working at KERO TV in Bakersfield. Our xtr. was on Breckenridge Mountain, 35 miles east and at an elevation of over 5000 feet above sea level.

Middle of January, alarm sounded. Turns out a person who had been lost for 2 days in the mountains finally found our xtr, and broke in. The Search and Rescue folks had been searching for her.

Also heard about someone who had broken in to the same bldg in the mid 70s. Station went off the air, would not restart from Studio.

The legend was the engineers found a very well cooked burglar who had apparently tried to get something out of the xtr. That copper must have looked awful attractive. Those capacitors really will kick your ass, if you let 'em, right?
 
People always label me as the doomsday guy. A pessimist. Someone always looking at the negative. This is expressly why we ALWAYS need to consider worst case scenario.<P ID="signature">______________
</P>
 
Craig Worthing, a South Florida radio talk host, once told a story about a boyhood friend of his who left such "presents" at break-ins.

When he was a teenager in rural Massachusetts, he had a friend who liked to break into tourist cabins during the winter. He would leave a "present" on the floor of each one, with a home-made sign stuck into the "pile" that read: "The Secret Sh--ter Strikes Again!" He never stole or trashed anything--just left his scatalogical "calling card." -- J. Jason Wentworth
 
Re: Weird but serious

> If the police didn't save any and you still have it around,
> save a small amount. It may help prove identity if someone
> is accused.

It should have lots of DNA! I would post a sign on the door, saying "thanks for the DNA evidence" in case the creep comes back to gloat at the scene of the crime. At the very least it would prevent a repetition of the disgusting clean-up.

> It being a transmitter site, does not the FBI become
> involved?

That's what I thought - homeland security was getting involved.
 
Re: Weird but serious

> It being a transmitter site, does not the FBI become
> involved?

Unfortunatley not because there was no distruction to any broadcast equipment. Now if they took a hammer to the exciter cabinet, that would be different.

Just vandalisim
 
FCC often inadvertantly helps vandals.

Look at the CDBS and it links to a site where you can see the transm

> > > Just curious what other transmitter site break ins by
> > > vandals have you guys had and how was the outcome?
>
> Late 1970's, working at KERO TV in Bakersfield. Our xtr.
> was on Breckenridge Mountain, 35 miles east and at an
> elevation of over 5000 feet above sea level.
>
> Middle of January, alarm sounded. Turns out a person who
> had been lost for 2 days in the mountains finally found our
> xtr, and broke in. The Search and Rescue folks had been
> searching for her.
>
> Also heard about someone who had broken in to the same bldg
> in the mid 70s. Station went off the air, would not restart
> from Studio.
>
> The legend was the engineers found a very well cooked
> burglar who had apparently tried to get something out of the
> xtr. That copper must have looked awful attractive. Those
> capacitors really will kick your ass, if you let 'em, right?
>
 
Yeah but in this case that has nothing to do with it.
It's a combination of our Police deparment's lack of patrols up there, and the fact it is on two VERY popular ATV trails where loser kids with nothing better to do, come up.
 
> While cleaning up, reboarding up, and dealing with the mess
> some vandals left our building in after a romp around last
> night, I realized the vandal left us a little present. He
> took a dump by one of the outside doors! Yes, you heard me
> correctly, he used our former storage room as a toilet!
> It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen,
> and I don't think I have ever heard of such a present being
> left at a break in.
>
> Just curious what other transmitter site break ins by
> vandals have you guys had and how was the outcome?
>

Damn! Talk about one CRAPPY signal!

<P ID="signature">______________
--- THE Insultant ---</P>
 
The worst present ever...

Back about 20 years ago, an old engineer showed me some pics of a southern station where the kids broke in, ransacked the place, then decided to climb the tower. On the way they decided to rip out all the pretty coils and stuff at the base of the 50 KW stick. One survived, one didn't. <P ID="signature">______________
Never hold a cat and a dustbuster at the same time.</P>
 
You do know about the rash of Houston-area breakins earlier this year? HOU area FBI was *most* interested; they made interesting presentations to the HOU and BPT SBE groups.

If you are not getting satisfactory attention from your locals a call down to the 713 folks might help raise your profile.

Paul E. Burt,
San Antonio
 
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