Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Strange Case of DJ6SI


CQ DX Hall of Fame member Baldur Drobnica, DJ6SI, has endured a bizarre series of events that started when he tried to operate his portable ham radio while on vacation in Greece. According to reports on Newsline and other sources, a police officer suspicious of the "strange noises" coming from Baldur's computer placed him under arrest. Initial reports were that he was charged with espionage, but Baldur said that did not happen. 

He was, however, charged with making radio transmissions without permission from the Greek government (both Greece and Germany are signatories to the CEPT treaty which permits amateurs from any one member country to operate in any other member country without special permission), operating a radio that covered more spectrum than only the Greek amateur bands, and refusing to turn over his equipment to the arresting officer.

According to Baldur's attorney, the first two charges were dropped by the court after determining that Baldur was a properly licensed radio amateur. However, he was convicted on the third charge, which the attorney said would be appealed. Meanwhile, if you're visiting Greece, it might be best to leave your ham gear at home.