1982 Dodge SpaceVan television detector van - photo

[Altair]

1982 Dodge SpaceVan television detector van used detect the presence of television sets in use to enforce TV licensing laws in the UK.

Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...r_fullsize.jpg


Fullsize image: https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...1_fullsize.jpg



Previously:

Austrian radio monitoring vehicle - photo
Tracking tools with RFID technology
See-through television - GIF
1951 combination television/radio/bar - photo
US radio frequency allocation chart - photo

[nova_robotics]

Pure theater. The BBC used these as props to scare people into paying a TV license.

[schuylergrace]

Pure theater. The BBC used these as props to scare people into paying a TV license.

I had heard about these things on British TV shows, so I had to go out and read about the hoax. But according to this, it isn't a hoax! And the article was fascinating, chronicling the history of this bizarre thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TV_detector_van

[nova_robotics]

I had heard about these things on British TV shows, so I had to go out and read about the hoax. But according to this, it isn't a hoax! And the article was fascinating, chronicling the history of this bizarre thing.

There are lots of accounts on the internet from people who used to be employed to drive the detector vans. They were just paid to drive around London with a list of addresses that weren't paying the licensing fee. The "antennas" weren't connected to anything.

You could convince me that you could detect a single older CRT television in an open field with no other devices around. In densely populated London with hundreds of televisions in all directions? No chance. It's nonsense. And the final nail in the coffin; they're still saying they can do it. This is on LCD TVs, smart phones and encrypted wifi. Super secret vans that can instantly decrypt and monitor your wifi. Seriously this is the claim. BBC actually says they have a fleet of covert vehicles monitoring your (encrypted) wifi to see if you're illegally using their BBC iPlayer app. Just think about that claim for a second. They're so committed to perpetuating this myth that they're claiming they have better technology than the NSA, which is being used to perform egregious violations of privacy for the purpose of handing out a television tax. It's laughable. I genuinely doubt the NSA could pull that off, but the BBC is committed to the hoax because around 70% of their £5 billion annual budget (£3.5 billion) is the licensing fee. The reality is they know which addresses pay the fee, residences that don't pay the fee are assumed to be using illegal and receive nasty letters. Also if a store sells a TV they are required to report it. Much more mundane, but that doesn't capture everyone so they perpetuate juvenile scare tactics.

https://www.agetimes.co.uk/entertain...s-fact-or-fake

So, we cannot 100% say whether TV detection is technically possible. However, we can perhaps draw some conclusions by looking at the number of times detector van evidence has led to a conviction of non-payers. The answer to this? None. Countering this, the BBC claims that detection technology is used with advertising as a “deterrent.” However, the adverts imply that people are being monitored and that this will lead directly to conviction.

https://www.techdirt.com/2008/10/31/...s-kept-secret/

The BBC claimed that it could not reveal the details of the van “because if it did so it would damage the public’s perception of the effectiveness of TV detector vans.” I’m not sure, but I think that statement alone destroys the public’s perception of the effectiveness of the TV detector vans.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...ping-analysis/

https://medium.com/@adambanksdotcom/...i-ce0ac4fe1e82

[meyer77]

Does one have to pay for over the air TV in England?

[nova_robotics]

Does one have to pay for over the air TV in England?

Correct. I think technically if you ever watch the BBC you're supposed to pay £159.00 per year. I don't live in the UK, but I have a weird fascination with the BBC and their detector vans.

[bob_3000]

Correct. I think technically if you ever watch the BBC you're supposed to pay £159.00 per year. I don't live in the UK, but I have a weird fascination with the BBC and their detector vans.

And they also have the cat detector vans from the Ministry of Housinge.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/f59eb89...a-7b119cd31ba0