July  6, 1994 
             FIELD OPERATIONS BUREAU ACTIVITIES FOR THE WEEK OF JUNE 28
   
  FCC SHUTS DOWN EMERGENCY BEACON:
  The Coast Guard was hearing a distress call from a vessel in the Solomon's Island area
  of Maryland, but could not find the vessel.   At the Coast Guard's request , Baltimore
  FCC engineers drove to the area and were able to pick up the distress signal.  The
  direction-finding vehicle gave the general location of the signal source to a Solomon's
  Island marina.  Using a hand-held direction-finder, the engineer found the vessel giving
  the distress signal.  There was no distress.  In fact, the vessel was docked.  An
  emergency beacon on board the vessel falsely triggered and broadcast the distress
  signal.  
  
  VESSEL TRAFFIC JAMMED IN SEATTLE:
  The Vessel Traffic System (VTS) is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard in Seattle to safely
  control commercial shipping in the Puget Sound.  Last Thursday, the Coast Guard
  requested FCC assistance to help locate a signal that was interfering with the supervision
  and control of the VTS operating between Tacoma  and the Canadian border.  FCC
  engineers, using direction-finding equipment, responded and identified the source of
  interference as the  fishing trawler  Alaska Ocean.  The ship's crew had accidentally left
  the transmitter on.  The FCC informed the captain and he quickly shut the transmitter
  down and eliminated the interference.
  
        
  ASSISTANCE TO U.S. NAVY:
  The San Francisco Office receive a call from the Alameda Naval Air Station complaining
  of interference to their fire emergency channel.  FCC investigators tracked the
  interference source to an amateur radio repeater station in Hayward, California.  The
  transmitter produced an unwanted signal that drifted through several government radio
  communications bands.  This same signal also interfered with nearby FAA
  communications.  The amateurs shut down the station to eliminated the interference.
  
  HAWAIIAN FIELD TRIP:
  The Honolulu Office responded to a collection of complaints from the remote villages of 
  Honokaa and Kamuela last week.  The complaints primarily centered around the
  interference caused to electronic home entertainment equipment by local CB radio
  operators.  A random inspection of vehicles with CB antennas in Kamuela  produced two
  illegal radio frequency power amplifiers and several non-type accepted transmitters.  CB
  operators in Honokaa, hearing of the investigation, removed all CB radio equipment in
  the village bringing a temporary resolution to the interference problem there.
  
  For further information, call Jeff Young at 202-418-1176.