https://hackaday.com/2021/01/18/tv-detector-vans-once-prowled-the-streets-of-england/ Skip to content Logo Hackaday Primary Menu * Home * Blog * Hackaday.io * Tindie * Hackaday Prize * Submit * About January 18, 2021 TV Detector Vans Once Prowled The Streets Of England 100 Comments * by: Lewin Day January 18, 2021 * * [TVdetector] The United Kingdom is somewhat unique in the world for requiring those households which view broadcast television to purchase a licence for the privilege. Initially coming into being with the Wireless Telegraphy Act in 1923, the licence was required for anyone receiving broadcast radio, before being expanded to cover television in 1946. The funds generated from this endeavour are used as the primary funding for the British Broadcasting Corporation. [TV-licence]A typical TV licence invoice. Separate licences for black and white and color sets still exist, with 6000 B&W licences issued in 2019. Of course, it's all well and good to require a licence, but without some manner of enforcement, the measure doesn't have any teeth. Among other measures, the BBC have gone as far as employing special vans to hunt down illegally operating televisions and protect its precious income. The Van Is Coming For You To ensure a regular income, the BBC runs enforcement operations under the TV Licencing trade name, the entity which is responsible for administering the system. Records are kept of licences and their expiry dates, and investigations are made into households suspected of owning a television who have not paid the requisite fees. To encourage compliance, TV Licencing regularly sends sternly worded letters to those who have let their licence lapse or have not purchased one. In the event this fails, they may arrange a visit from enforcement officers. These officers aren't empowered to forcibly enter homes, so in the event a homeowner declines to cooperate with an investigation, TV Licencing will apply for a search warrant. This may be on the basis of evidence such as a satellite dish or antenna spotted on the roof of a dwelling, or a remote spied on a couch cushion through a window. Alternatively, a search warrant may be granted on the basis of evidence gleaned from a TV detector van. Outfitted with equipment to detect a TV set in use, the vans roam the streets of the United Kingdom, often dispatched to addresses with lapsed or absent TV licences. If the van detects that a set may be operating and receiving broadcast signals, TV Licencing can apply to the court for the requisite warrant to take the investigation further. The vans are almost solely used to support warrant applications; the detection van evidence is rarely if ever used in court to prosecute a licence evader. With a warrant in hand, officers will use direct evidence such as a television found plugged into an aerial to bring an evader to justice through the courts. Detecting Television Usage [tv-detectorvan-old]An example of the original detector van design, as deployed in 1952. Note the three loop antennas - one front, two rear. The vans were first deployed in 1952, with equipment designed to pick up the magnetic field from the horizontal deflection scanning of the picture tube, at 10.125 KHz. Loop antennas were used to detect the second harmonic of this signal at 20.25 KHz, which was mixed with a local beat frequency oscillator at 19.25 KHz to create a 1 KHz tone to indicate to the operator when a signal was picked up. Three antennas were used, one on the front of the van and two on the rear on the left and right sides. When the van was next to an operating television in a house, the signal between the front and side antenna would be roughly the same. Signal from the right and left antennas could then be compared to determine which side of the street the television was on. [tvdetectorvanvhf]The VHF era brought with it a new detector van design, this time built on a car such as to avoid clearance issues with the tall antenna. Once ITV started broadcasting in 1963, this method of detection became impractical. The two television stations did not synchronise their line-scan signals, so neighbouring houses watching different channels would create confusing interference for the detector. To get around this, the vans switched to detecting the local oscillator of the TV set's superheterodyne VHF receiver instead. With stations broadcasting on bands spanning 47 to 240 MHz, it was impractical at the time to build a tuner and antenna to cover this entire range. Instead, the equipment was designed to work from 110-250MHz tuning in the fundamental frequencies of the higher bands, or the harmonics of the lower frequency oscillators. A highly directional antenna was used to hone in on a set, and a periscope was installed to allow the operator to view the house the antenna was pointing at. If operating in the dark, the periscope could instead be used to shine a small dot of light in the direction of the antenna's facing, to identify the relevant target. Results were cross-referenced with a list of houses with lapsed or absent licences to help hunt down evaders. [tvdetectorvan-uhfb]A pair of antennas was used to search for televisions in the UHF era, with the twin setup helping to improve directionality. The introduction of UHF transmissions led to further redesigns. Engineers again leaned on harmonics to allow a single system to cover the full range from low VHF to higher UHF frequencies. A pair of 6' long log-periodic spiral antennas were used, mounted on top of the van, which could be varied in spacing to effectively tune different frequencies. In practice, the antennas would be pointed towards a row of houses, while the van was slowly driven along the street. The beam pattern of the antenna pair would show seven distinct lobes on a CRT inside the van when a TV was detected. An operator would press a button to mark house boundaries on the CRT as the van moved, and when the lobe pattern centered on a particular house, the TVs location was clear. The hardware was further refined over the years, with various antenna rigs and detection equipment used as technology marched on. Seeking Television in Modern Times [tvdetectoruhfscreens2]In the UHF era, pinning down a detected television set took some finesse, with the operator having to interpret signals received on a CRT display. Modern efforts to detect licence evasion are shrouded in mystery. Modern flatscreen displays receiving digital television signals do not emit as much radio frequency interference as older designs, and any such signals detected are less easily correlated with broadcast television. An LCD television in the home can just as easily be displaying output from a video game console or an online streaming service, with both being usage cases that do not require the owner to pay a licence fee. Based on an alleged BBC submission for a search warrant in recent years, there may be optical methods used in which reflected light from a television in a viewer's home is compared to a live broadcast signal. The BBC declined to answer the Freedom of Information request with any details of their methods, other than to say they have employed vehicles and handheld devices in enforcement efforts. However, given the multitude of broadcast, cable and satellite channels now available, the comparison effort would necessarily be much harder, leading some to suspect the days of the detector van are largely over. While the TV licence may have its days numbered with the increased dominance of streaming content, it remains a quirky piece of legislation that spawned the development of a technical curiosity. If you fancy yourself a television sleuth, sound off in the comments with your chosen approach to hunting for televisions watching broadcast content illegally in this modern era. And be sure to look over your shoulder - you never know when TV Licencing might be knocking on your door! * [share_face] * [share_twit] * [share_in] * [share_mail] Posted in Engineering, Featured, History, Original ArtTagged television, television licence, television set, TV licence, United Kingdom Post navigation - A Miniature VT102 Running A Miniature PDP11 Robotic Fish Swarm Together Using Cameras And LEDs - 100 thoughts on "TV Detector Vans Once Prowled The Streets Of England " 1. Mark S. says: January 18, 2021 at 7:09 am "somewhat unique in the world " Not really. We had the same system here in the Netherlands until the year 2000 and they still have similar schemes in France, Germany and Belgium. And yes, we also had vans driving around looking for "blackwatchers" Report comment Reply 1. Brandano says: January 18, 2021 at 7:13 am And in Italy, though lately this has been incorporated into the electricity bill. It's used as a means of financing state television so that it won't be too dependant on advertisers, and to maintain the State owned FM radio network since it has strategic value (for example to coordinate people during natural disasters, to inform motorists about traffic conditions on motorways etc). Report comment Reply 2. Tim D says: January 18, 2021 at 7:50 am Belgium is (as usual) a strange case. Technically the system still exists, although the different parts of the country have reduced this tax to 0EUR between 2002 and 2018. They are not allowed to abolish the tax itself (which is a federal responsibility). So this means that technically the tax still exists, while at the same time nobody has to pay it. Report comment Reply 3. R. says: January 18, 2021 at 8:35 am In France, don't think so. Never heard of it and we are really paranoid for this sort of things... Report comment Reply 1. mac012345 says: January 18, 2021 at 9:14 am It's called "Redevance audiovisuelle" and it's still well alive (above 100EUR). Technically speaking it's declared by default into your taxes, you must declare not to have a television set to be exempted. A lot of people are less inclined to cheat as declaring so may trigger a tax examination. Report comment Reply 2. Morgan Delahaye says: January 18, 2021 at 9:20 am In France, its named <> or <>. Its implemented in our residencial tax (<>). Despite the latter has been reduced to 0EUR for most of the citizens in the last 3 years, you still receive a residencial tax only to pay the TV license to finance France Television. Report comment Reply 4. dprocs says: January 18, 2021 at 9:16 am And in Denmark, until the end of this year. The detector vans were decommissioned back in 1990, but some of the equipment were then used to track signal interference. Report comment Reply 5. Antti says: January 18, 2021 at 9:37 am Finland utilized a similar scheme until recently. Now the government just smacks all citizen that earn a preset amount of money per month with a progressive media tax, doesnt matter what you watch or what you use to watch it, you pay. Report comment Reply 2. HTF says: January 18, 2021 at 7:16 am In Portugal the charge the monthly license with included in the power company's invoice. Every power meter is charged with this audio/visual tax even if it's the traffic lights meter or outdoor sign lighting. Report comment Reply 1. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 7:41 am It's nice that the traffic lights can watch television when they get bored late at night. Report comment Reply 1. Ostracus says: January 18, 2021 at 7:46 am They shouldn't get bored. https://www.quora.com/ Why-are-cameras-on-top-of-traffic-lights Report comment Reply 2. plouc says: January 18, 2021 at 9:20 am This is why ;) https://youtu.be/S5K9kSEIWZE Report comment Reply 1. Jan says: January 18, 2021 at 10:15 am brilliant! Report comment Reply 3. John says: January 18, 2021 at 2:05 pm Same in Greece where a lot of people put lights on gravestones so even dead people pay a TV license. Report comment Reply 3. trackdayspecial says: January 18, 2021 at 7:18 am I had a visit from a TV license enforcement officer many years ago when I was at University. From memory there was a clause that allowed TV 's to be used outside the home as long as the power source was wholly contained inside the TV casing. I think this was for the case of portable TV's but the officer insisted I had a TV and no license. My response was that of an engineering student and added that it's battery powered which he did not believe but it was and I showed him a TV with sealed lead acid batteries inside. I quizzed him on the legality of a solar powered TV but he told me to go away in unpleasant terms. I think now they assume everyone has a TV and they cross reference addresses to the database of license holders. If they are not on the database they assume they are dodging the license fee. Report comment Reply 1. YGDES says: January 18, 2021 at 7:30 am sweet sweet sweet :-) Report comment Reply 2. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 7:46 am I don't have a TV license and I keep getting strongly worded letters from TV Licensing. Before the COVID times they included dates that terrifying inspectors would apparently be turning up to look around my home. I don't know if they ever turned up though, I have a job. Report comment Reply 1. Max Allan says: January 18, 2021 at 11:53 am I work from home. They haven't turned up in the last 8 years. Got a threatening letter just yesterday. You would think they'd be sparing the post office the extra load of delivering their firelighters during lockdown. Report comment Reply 3. abjq says: January 18, 2021 at 7:59 am We never renew the license, but take out a new one each year using a different family member's name, which confuses the hell out of them. Recently they cancelled the license half way through and I had to take out a new one, after getting a refund. So I got six months for free! Report comment Reply 4. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 10:39 am Yup - that's how our government works. Assume you're breaking the law, and threaten you into compliance (because it's not really worth their time to investigate and prosecute). Report comment Reply 5. Chris Snyder says: January 18, 2021 at 12:51 pm Don't you just love offish officials who are determined to show you Who is in charge? Report comment Reply 4. cBaer says: January 18, 2021 at 7:19 am "The United Kingdom is somewhat unique in the world for requiring those households which view broadcast television to purchase a licence for the privilege" In germany its called GEZ and every houshold is required to pay it, no matter if you own a recieving device or not. Its almost 20EUR and most of it goes to pensioners. Report comment Reply 1. macsimski says: January 18, 2021 at 7:48 am are the program announcers that old already? But seriously, all the money goes on a big pile and gets redistributed, so it also could end up making an extra autobahn lane somewhere. Report comment Reply 5. Peter says: January 18, 2021 at 7:23 am In Belgium there was a tax on Color TV's and Car radio's. I guess the U.K. wasn't that "unique": https://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Television_licence shows more info. For the Flanders region this ended 2001, for Wallonia this was only abandoned in 2018 (typically Belgium ;-). We did "fear" the "taxman" who would be looking through the window and "see" if there was a color TV or not. Those were the days. LOL Report comment Reply 1. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 7:50 am Here in the UK the licence fee was dropped for radio, and black and white TVs. Now you need a licence if you want to watch anything on BBC IPlayer, or live TV by any means (including streaming). Report comment Reply 1. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 10:40 am Live TV that's also broadcast over radio in the UK. Watching other live streams isn't included. Report comment Reply 2. Gregg Eshelman says: January 18, 2021 at 2:04 pm They've also gone from a per-device license to a site license given how many TVs, tablets, phones etc a household may have. Last I looked, people over 70 don't have to pay the TV license. Report comment Reply 1. John says: January 18, 2021 at 2:09 pm The over 70 thing was removed last August. My mum is 91 and only read the teletext but she is supposed to pay for that privilege too. Report comment Reply 2. shrad says: January 18, 2021 at 8:02 am For what I know it has been transferred to annual taxes in some obscure part of the sheet... this is again a smart move to get more money for the state and suck out everything they can... Belgium is one of the countries where taxation is the highest and still the available money for infrastructure, justice and others is always insufficient... seek the problem... Report comment Reply 6. DTR says: January 18, 2021 at 7:24 am In my experience when these guys knock on your door they ask: "do you have a TV licence?" i say "nope", "do you watch live broadcast TV from this premises?" i say "nope", "do you mind if we come in and take a look?" i say "yes i do". Then i close the door. Generally that's the end if it until your address pops back up on their automated system again a year later. Report comment Reply 7. RW ver 0.0.1 says: January 18, 2021 at 7:24 am You can play "detector van" with a pair of (superhet) AM radios, you turn one on and put volume on lowest or plug a jack in the headphone socket, (Just so there's no cheating via audio) set to the AM band of course if it's a multiband unit... have someone hide it... then get the other one, and hunt up and down the band until you hear the beat frequency of the IF transformer (local oscillator) which will be for AM around 455khz might be 450-470, above or below the frequency the target is tuned to.... then by turning the detector radio around you can sweep for the direction of the other... the nulls are usually sharper than signal peaks off the internal loopstick ferrite antenna, more directional. Report comment Reply 1. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:01 pm I have built a low intensity mini Tesla Coil that can generate Theremin like sound effects in an AM Superhet, controlled by changing hand proximity to the Tesla Coil Report comment Reply 8. Morberis says: January 18, 2021 at 7:29 am Holy snap. Good to see how these worked and that at least a few were real. All I had heard before was that they were essentially a scare tactic. Report comment Reply 1. BT says: January 18, 2021 at 7:52 am I vaguely recall a series of scare-ads for what would happen to you if you were caught. Never knowingly saw one though, so I came to the same conclusion. Report comment Reply 2. RW ver 0.0.1 says: January 18, 2021 at 7:57 am I don't know the exact particulars, but like wartime computing capabilities, the local oscillator detection method was kept quiet into the 1970s. This was because it was used in WWII (I think originated then, as a practical method, even if it was known experimentally before) to detect spies or enemy sympathisers who were merely listening to broadcasts, and not transmitting in response. Of course if they managed this on a crystal set, then they were not detected, but the Abwehr supplied their agents with the latest in radio technology, i.e. superhet radios, for best reception. Report comment Reply 9. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 7:48 am That is the lunacy of the UK, a quasi socialist state where a three wheeled car is counted as a motorcycle, so getting a license for such is easy. The birth of those crappy Reliant Robins Report comment Reply 1. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 7:53 am Hang on... you're claiming that paying for a service is socialist? Interesting take. Not sure why you've drawn Reliant Robins into this discussion. Report comment Reply 1. abjq says: January 18, 2021 at 8:03 am Maybe because they are quasi reliant, as is your deduction. Report comment Reply 1. Billy says: January 18, 2021 at 8:26 am The engine of the three wheeled Reliant were much sought after for formula four racing cars when I was a lad. And on the subject of the detector van, it is hard to imagine a modern day TV set getting type approval if it emits RF that can be picked up outside on the street, it might have been possible last century, but I firmly believe the Van is now a myth, perpetuated to keep the great unwashed crossing the BBC's palm with silver. Report comment Reply 1. RW ver 0.0.1 says: January 18, 2021 at 11:38 am It was PLLs and direct digital synthesis in the tuners, along with higher frequency detectors that killed it really. No need for IF transformers. Funny thing is though... I think VCRs got these a decade or so before they were commonplace in average consumer TVs, i.e. standard definition CRTs up into early 00s. So TVs with a scart socket, you had your VCR hooked up through that, direct composite or RGB, and your TV tuner wasn't in play while you were going through the VCR, as many people find more convenient unless you're actually recording. So your VCR, or possibly satellite box, was shielding you from detection by using it's more advanced tuner, rather than the narc in your TV. Report comment 2. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:09 pm Good point Report comment 2. Dude says: January 18, 2021 at 12:26 pm >you're claiming that paying for a service is socialist? Interesting take. An unsolicited service that you didn't need nor did you ask for, that serves the ruling party's political interests, that you're legally required to pay for, that everyone dodges by lying and making a charade out of the whole thing, mostly to employ a bunch of government servants that pretend to be doing their jobs, to no practical purpose? That's pretty much the practical description of socialism. The essential functions of broadcast tv/radio should be covered by the general taxes, and the rest of the political propaganda is unnecessary. Put it behind a pay card and see how many people really want it. Report comment Reply 1. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:29 pm Couldn't have put it better myself Report comment Reply 3. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:07 pm Taxing everything is Socialistic too me. And for the auto reference, I am into retrotech nostslgia Report comment Reply 1. Mark S. says: January 18, 2021 at 2:54 pm Socialists didn't invent taxation. Report comment Reply 2. DainBramage says: January 18, 2021 at 8:07 am Many jurisdictions consider 3-wheeled cars to be motorcycles. It's true here in the US as well, though getting a motorcycle license also requires one to have a regular drivers license (at least here in my state). Report comment Reply 1. Will says: January 18, 2021 at 8:39 am Here in MA I had my motorcycle license before my regular diver's license Report comment Reply 2. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:12 pm Many of them actually are motorcycles, with small cabinlike enclosure for the driver and a passenger Report comment Reply 3. Gregg Eshelman says: January 18, 2021 at 2:08 pm In Idaho you have to take a motorcycle safety course to get a motorcycle endorsement on your regular driver's license. Dunno if that applies to 3 wheelers, or if open or fully enclosed makes a difference. Report comment Reply 10. seigonio says: January 18, 2021 at 7:56 am Watching TV in 2020s is like belonging to a caste of subhumans. There are Twitch or YT streams, imageboards, online games - plenty of better things to do. Report comment Reply 1. Dude says: January 18, 2021 at 12:35 pm There is certain value in having a service that pushes new things to you without trying to undermine your privacy and close you into an information bubble. TV isn't it though. Report comment Reply 11. Rene Arts says: January 18, 2021 at 7:56 am It is way before my time, but this reminds me of a great April Fools joke that the (public funded) Dutch Television Foundation (nowadays NOS) played on the Dutch people in 1967. In the news broadcast the day before they announced a countrywide campaign to track so called 'zwartkijkers' (dark watchers) by having inspectors drive through the streets with a scanner to catch people watching TV without paying the required license fees. The only mitigation to avoid detection would be to wrap the TV set in aluminium foil. A day after almost all stores were sold out on aluminium foil... link (warning: Dutch): https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Kijk-_en_luistergeld#Zwartkijken Report comment Reply 12. Eugene says: January 18, 2021 at 7:56 am "Of course, it's all well and good to require a license" Nope Report comment Reply 1. DainBramage says: January 18, 2021 at 8:05 am Agreed. As an American the thought of requiring a license to RECEIVE radio signals is entirely foreign to me (though I think it's been tried here also). That would be like requiring people to pay a fee to open their eyes. Report comment Reply 1. Ostracus says: January 18, 2021 at 8:13 am Hence encryption so it's clear what one is "required" to do. Report comment Reply 2. Col. Panek says: January 18, 2021 at 8:24 am Don't give Biden any ideas! Report comment Reply 3. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 8:34 am The TV Licence in the UK doesn't only pay for the ad free content on the BBC, some of it goes to original content creation on the commercial channels. Additionally: one of the good things about UK TV is that we have stricter laws regarding the amount and frequency of advertisements, as well as product placements in the programmes themselves. There are also laws about what types of advertisements are allowed to be shown and when certain types of advertisements are allowed to be shown, for instance there's now a ban on advertising fast food during children's programmes, and there's a complete ban on advertising tobacco products. Report comment Reply 1. CW says: January 18, 2021 at 9:02 am Keep kidding yourself that a government thinking for you is a good thing....I am so glad my family left England in 1635. Report comment Reply 1. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 10:43 am Oh, totally. And now we get content from the US, where a 1 hour show contains about 35 mins of content once you've removed the ads, they still have to pad it with crap to keep to a sensible schedule. Report comment 2. RW ver 0.0.1 says: January 18, 2021 at 11:20 am If you remove the outros and intros of each segment for going to commercials and back that don't actually contribute any info, it's down to 20 minutes. Report comment 4. A says: January 18, 2021 at 9:49 am Cable and satellite TV may require the use of a special smart card to decode the radio signals. You may run afoul of DMCA laws if you cicumvent encryption because you are not *licensed* to do so. The BBC license is essentially a fee for anyone that watches broadcast television. It would be more robust of a system to just supply set-top boxes that could decode the over-the-air content but that would be very expensive for a license that doesn't cost that much. Report comment Reply 5. Ren says: January 18, 2021 at 11:19 am As an American, I don't pay to receive TV/Radio signals, I pay taxes to transmit them (Via PBS and NPR) both are a complete waste of my tax money. Report comment Reply 6. kc8rwr says: January 18, 2021 at 12:38 pm Ya. As an American I have an almost involuntary emotional reaction every time TV licenses are mentioned that it is some sort of dystopian big brother thing. But let's be fair about this. As a modern internet literate person I have almost as bad a reaction to the thought of watching American TV with all the commercials. We all have a limited amount of time on this world. That's not how I want to spend mine! Report comment Reply 7. Gregg Eshelman says: January 18, 2021 at 2:13 pm When the FCC made TVRO (TeleVision Receive Only) satellite dishes legal in the USA, they also required that any TV signal containing advertisements, distributed via satellite, could not be encrypted or scrambled. The reasoning was the advertisements should be paying the costs of transmission, therefore the viewers shouldn't have to pay. But eventually either the TV industry lobbied to get that changed or they found a loophole, and the C and Ku bands began to go into the darkness of scrambling. Then came digital, Primestar, Dish, DirecTV, with everything scrambled and encrypted. Report comment Reply 13. Knit Eldhuset says: January 18, 2021 at 8:00 am Same in Norway until recently. A comedy skit on the topic shows the license police in action (Norwegian language, but it'll get the point across: https://youtu.be/iaVMO4t_D8c Report comment Reply 14. Jim Shortz says: January 18, 2021 at 8:01 am Nowadays they can just ask your Alexa if you're watching TV :) Report comment Reply 15. DainBramage says: January 18, 2021 at 8:03 am Dang, this seems a bit draconian. Then again, I do hate watching TV commercials. At the very least I now understand how the BBC can operate without commercial breaks. As a ham radio operator, I can't help but wonder how easy it would have been to "accidentally" blind one of those vans with a completely legal transmission, such as on the 2 meter band (146 MHz or thereabouts). I wonder what the power limits are for English hams on VHF. Certainly high enough to overload the receivers of one of those vans, I would think. (I'm kidding, I don't operate in such a way that I cause intentional interference. Still, it's fun to think about!) Report comment Reply 1. Shannon says: January 18, 2021 at 8:27 am Depends on your licence, but could be 400W: https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/vhf-uhf/ 144mhz-band/ Report comment Reply 2. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:16 pm It is possible for the NSA to pick up 2-meter ham messages from the scatter propagation of "ducting" Report comment Reply 16. Danjovic says: January 18, 2021 at 8:16 am Now I know the real meaning of acronym WTF: Watching Television Fee! Report comment Reply 17. Robert says: January 18, 2021 at 8:22 am All citizens and residents of Japan is still required to pay annual TV tax even if you don't have a TV, everyone gets a bill via post mail. Report comment Reply 18. ThisGuy says: January 18, 2021 at 8:39 am I seem to recall former BBC "license enforcement officers" admitting the vans were mostly a scare tactic. They were usually just watching for the light of a TV being on in a house with no license. Report comment Reply 19. UnderSampled says: January 18, 2021 at 8:40 am "This is a dog license with the word 'dog' crossed out and 'cat' written in in crayon." "Man didn't have the right form." "What man?" "The man from the cat detector van." "The loony detector van, you mean." ... "I never seen so many bleedin' aerials. The man said their equipment could pinpoint a purr at four hundred yards, and Eric being such a happy cat was a piece of cake." Report comment Reply 20. Netbeard says: January 18, 2021 at 8:57 am All the people from the US complaining about "socialist draconian evil UK" don't realize that an informed population leads to better elected officials. More TV that isn't (or at least less) beholden to corporate interests would've gone a long way towards preventing our slide into fascism. I'd gladly pay a TV license to ensure NPR, PBS, etc get plenty of funding, just like I gladly pay school taxes despite having no kids. Report comment Reply 1. CW says: January 18, 2021 at 9:04 am Really? So the people keeping you from being fully informed know better than you do? At least you admit it. I wouldn't brag too much about Boris to be honest. Report comment Reply 2. Chris says: January 18, 2021 at 9:12 am Aah yes, because being beholden only to the government ensures accurate content without purposeful omissions. Report comment Reply 1. Steel_9 says: January 18, 2021 at 10:06 am Being beholden to the corporations leads to the same problem, only in the opposite direction. That is when they aren't pushing one politicians views over another because of the ratings. Report comment Reply 1. kc8rwr says: January 18, 2021 at 12:47 pm Yes. You are both right. Then the internet swoops in to save the day, leveling the playing field by giving voice to common individuals instead of just large corporations and governments. And it turns out that's how you get Q-anon. There seems to be no winning, only whining. Report comment Reply 3. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 11:02 am Sorry, guv, but that's bollocks. The BBC is busy pushing an agenda, albeit often at odds with our current government. Around the world, state controlled media doesn't exactly have a good reputation. The BBC's quality is more due to our relatively polite politics, but it's been heading downhill rapidly in recently years as our politics becomes as divided as the US's. Report comment Reply 4. Dude says: January 18, 2021 at 12:40 pm Counterpoint: Brexit. Report comment Reply 21. Chris Maple says: January 18, 2021 at 9:27 am The fee is PS157.50 a year -- equivalent to $213.92. That's more expensive than some TVs. Report comment Reply 1. RW ver 0.0.1 says: January 18, 2021 at 9:39 am Wow, last I had anything to do with one, they were around $80, quite a few years ago. Seemed like a lot then though too. My great aunt used to get one pound fifty worth of stamps for them every week when she collected her "giro". I heard they stopped the stamp scheme now though. Report comment Reply 2. Ken Boak says: January 18, 2021 at 9:44 am How much do you pay a month for broadband? How much do you pay a month to your cell phone service provider? Please do not assume that these services are free. In 1923 when the BBC was our only national broadcaster, the licence fee seemed a sensible and fair way to pay for their operational costs. Things have changed a lot in the last 100 years - but there have always been charges, either real (phone bill) or hidden (advertising revenue) attached to communication services. Report comment Reply 22. Ken Boak says: January 18, 2021 at 9:32 am The BBC only took over the enforcement of the licence in 1991. Prior to that it was done by the Home Office - a government department, aided by the GPO - essentially our post office authority. It originates from The Wireless Telegraphy act of 1904 where every transmitter required to be licenced. In 1923, a time when the BBC was the only public broadcaster in the UK, any receiver listening to the BBC required to pay a licence - and it was in the national interest that the BBC was adequately funded. Commercial radio and TV stations only appeared in 1955 funding their activities from advertising. The actual enforcement of the licence has been put out to subcrontractors, including Capita - a private company, and sub-sub-contractors to Capita. The licence is currently PS157.50 or $213.90. At $0.586 per day it is a small price to pay compared to other forms of media. As usual, the complete story is on Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Television_licensing_in_the_United_Kingdom Report comment Reply 1. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 11:04 am It's only a small price to pay if you want what they broadcast, when they broadcast it. If you don't, it's a complete waste of money. Regardless, it's not right that the government backs up one private company like it does. Report comment Reply 1. John says: January 18, 2021 at 2:58 pm It's not so much the "one company" it is that the government make a law requiring you to have then the private sector take advantage. Vehicle insurance being an example and if you think about it so are water rates. Everyone needs water but we have to pay private companies for the privilege of having it. There is a lot wrong with things in the UK but I still prefer to live here than any other place I have been to and I reckon that is most of it. Report comment Reply 2. Gregg Eshelman says: January 18, 2021 at 2:28 pm In contrast to the UK government's desire to have control of radio broadcasting, then TV broadcasting, and charging for it even for people who only listened to or watched non-BBC broadcasts - the USA government didn't want to be in the radio or TV business. So they fostered an open market where network owned and independent stations could put their own money at risk for a license fee that allowed them to broadcast from a specific location, at a specific power, on a specific frequency range. The government collected to license fees and managed the location, power, and frequency assignments. How to pay for the equipment, electricity, and content to broadcast was all left to the broadcasters. The listeners and viewers got to tap into all that merely for the cost of a radio or TV receiver. Not requiring millions of people to pay to listen to radio or watch TV (especially people who had to really pinch pennies just to afford a basic radio receiver) was of huge benefit to the broadcasters because it ensured their audience would expand as rapidly as possible - enabling them to charge more for advertisements. The launch and initial years of broadcasting in the USA was an example of pure capitalism with the lightest of government regulation (after an initial 'wild west' period before frequency allocation and transmission power was regulated). The ones providing the services made money, the ones paying for it all by advertising made money through improved sales, and the public at large benefited by getting news and entertainment for free after the initial cost of reception equipment. Report comment Reply 23. Brian says: January 18, 2021 at 10:06 am My cousin and her hubs used to live north of London (they are not UK citizens). They are both engineers and were not at home much and did not watch TV; but they did have several monitors as part of their security system. Over a three year period, they received multiple demands to search premises - all by private people contracted by the BBC. On the fourth 'visit' they had to call law enforcement because the license enforcement people were ripping out cables and other wiring as part of their high-tech search methods. Brexit resulted in their reprieve from the BBC STASI when their company transferred them to Germany. So tell me more about these super-secret sophisticated search technologies. Report comment Reply 1. Chad Castagana says: January 18, 2021 at 1:24 pm The NSA can pick up 2meter HAM emissions via "ducting" Report comment Reply 24. Paul says: January 18, 2021 at 10:49 am And here in Israel we had until some years ago to pay for having/ holding a receiver, not for receiving or using it. That is smarter! Report comment Reply 25. Michael says: January 18, 2021 at 10:49 am We had a TV tax here in Israel until about 7 years ago. And my father told me that in Toronto, Canada there was a radio receiver tax in the 1930s and 40s. Report comment Reply 1. Michael Black says: January 18, 2021 at 11:32 am Yes, I've never seen much about the Canadian license, but as a kid fifty years ago the radio in the living room, once I got interested, had a license stapled to the inside of the cabinet. Report comment Reply 2. Hirudinea says: January 18, 2021 at 1:28 pm First google answer about Canadian Radio Licenses. http://www.radioalumni.ca/z_rcvg_lics.htm And the most amazing fact is that the Canadian Government actually repealed a tax! Report comment Reply 26. M H says: January 18, 2021 at 10:51 am Shouldn't be that alien. Look at things like SiriusXM, or cable TV. Many cars come with radios equipped to receive subscription radio service, but you have to pay for it if you want to listen. Many houses have connections for cable TV, but you have to pay to watch it. Call it a license, call it a subscription - same thing, different words. Report comment Reply 27. Dan says: January 18, 2021 at 11:15 am Fantastic article. Worrying though how the U.K. government was using anti-nazi tech to spy on its citizens back then, and is still using anti-terror legislation to spy on its citizens now. Yay for the U.K. Report comment Reply 1. Jorge says: January 18, 2021 at 1:11 pm Pro: Doctor Who (the old one). Cons: The SJW Doctor Who (the new one). Report comment Reply 28. Tito Figueiredo says: January 18, 2021 at 11:24 am In Portugal since the begining of TV a tax on the eletricity bill. In the present time to detect Tv broadcasting one way is record 5 seconds of sound near the suspect house and compare with samples from all chanells at the precise time. Report comment Reply 29. Nathann says: January 18, 2021 at 12:01 pm In Switzerland they have a radical method that do not require any advanced technology :') You must pay (~350 CHF) unless you can prove you have nothing that can pick up a TV or radio signal (and since a single transistor is enough the task is close to impossible.) Report comment Reply 30. Adam says: January 18, 2021 at 1:09 pm I used to get visits from enforcement officers a few years back - I owned a TV but didn't require a license as I only stream and never watch live broadcast. It got to the point of harassment. What you can do, it turns out, is revoke their implied access rights to your property. You write to TV Licensing and just state that you're revoking their implied access rights, they should write back confirming they've received your instruction. From that point on they can't come onto your property unless they are accompanied by Police, else it's trespassing. Once I did that, they stopped bothering me - haven't been back since. Haven't even received a stern letter since. A little off topic but might help someone in a similar situation. Report comment Reply 31. Gregg Eshelman says: January 18, 2021 at 2:30 pm I've often wondered what they'd do if some company made a TV with the tuner configured to be unable to receive any BBC broadcast frequencies? Report comment Reply Leave a Reply Cancel reply Please be kind and respectful to help make the comments section excellent. (Comment Policy) This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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