Did This Government Radio Tower Spy On You?

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[@cjc363636]

As a Yank West of the big Pond, let me say I always find it fascinating the differences and similarities between American and British government, etc. That said, I'm wondering how often we here in the USA have had strange observation equipment hiding in plain sight. More than I'd care to guess, I'm figuring.

[@petesmith2234]

I once did similar but on a slightly lower budget. I realised that one of our county ambulance 1.5GHz microwave links passed right over my parents house. I did, however, have the slight advantage that I maintained the ambulance system at the time and knew what frequencies they were on, where the links went and how they were multiplexed. It was purely an experiment, I had no need to ‘spy’ I legitimately had a couple of ambulance radios to communicate with the control room during maintenance, so could hear everything anyway. The setup consisted of an old 1.5GHz shrouded yagi on an aluminium pole connected to the IF (LNB) input of an analogue satellite receiver tuned such that the IF was the same as the link frequency. From there the video (baseband multiplex) output was fed into a mixer which converted it up to around 10MHz. That in turn was fed into an HF receiver where each of the multiplexed channels could be demodulated as SSB signals, each being 4KHz apart.

[@philsharp758]

Excellent stuff Ringway. I would be more surprised if the Government was not spying on us. Pity the poor soul given the task of bugging me. Me being a grumpy old codger they would become bored witless, especially when I include my ongoing health issues. By the way just noticed you now have 121K subscribers. Keep up the good work.

[@gitfoad8032]

They could casually be colleting key 'reference points' in people's lives, names, places, relationships, dates, numbers, favourite colours, for use in the ambiguous stimuli phase of menticide, as 'ideas of reference'. Basical psychological corrosion techniques. Setting everyone up to be knocked-down, at will.

[@0therun1t21]

Unless ongoing health issues are code for something.

[@gitfoad8032]

@@0therun1t21 - I see dead EEG clone murder by torture-compelled suicide programmes.

[@nickjung7394]

I can identify with your characteristics! Have you thought that they may have watched Solent Green and were monitoring our phones to identify grumpy bods as the next batch of soup?

[@philsharp758]

In my case I would be rejected as containing too many carcinogens as I am a smoker.. I have left my lungs for resurfacing works of the M25 junctions 14 to 15 Northbound.@@nickjung7394

[@robg3545]

Its probably worth emphasising that GCHQ had a pretty good set of reasons for monitoring phone calls between the mainland and Ireland in those days. It wasnt just general monitoring of the population, there was a full blown terrorist bombing campaign going on by the IRA against British civilians on the mainland, including in Warrington town centre, less than 20 miles from the tower and the devastating lorry bomb in Manchester in 1996. We wont know if this monitoring prevented other similar atrocities.

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

It is easy for readers in the 21st century to take the wrong line. In the 90's we did indeed have a problem that needed monitoring. Thanks for your reminder of bad times which I hope do not return. I was RNR comms and we would have a visit from 'A department' who would walk around the building listening for RF leaks and data radiated from VDUs. Main problem was 455kc IF with mod. The building had a lot of Faraday screens including door seals. Happy days.

[@nickjung7394]

Why do you think recent protests have been allowed. Using voice prints, the antics of unmutual people can be easily monitored!

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

If you have been a good boy you won't get detention......@@nickjung7394

[@Larri-b]

It was used for that exactly. My grandparents lived in Northern Ireland and there was a distinctive pause before being connected .

[@MrBollocks10]

No?🥴 It sounds just like general monitoring of the population.

[@markpunt9638]

Rather than residents being told not to talk about it, it is much more likely that they were told not to object to the planning application?

[@psprog]

Shame it's gone - would have made a great Grand Designs episode!

[@amcluesent]

We can assume that the fibre link to Ireland is also tapped by GCHQ, as is every cable coming into Britain. NB at the hight of the 'Troubles', BT was pretty much the only British company continuing to have a presence in NI, perhaps supporting the RUC, Special Reconnaissance Unit, Force Research Unit and SB and '5'

[@deang5622]

They don't need to tap the fibres.

[@alastairbarkley6572]

BT as a cover for counter-intel work? Back in the 90's, the partner of my close friend and work colleague worked for British Telecom. He was, as part of other duties, a member of the engineering team responsible for applying in-country phone taps across the Kent and Sussex areas at the behest of MI5. He was a pretty senior engineer and his story that many of these taps were made WITHOUT warrant sounded credible.

[@Bond2025]

All of them are without warrant, how do you think GCHQ and NSA operate. All your internet traffic goes through them for processing. That includes what you THINK is secure. They run multiple sites and operate VPN companies too.

[@oliverw.douglas285]

This was an early example of a large scale, man in the middle 'attack'. This has been going on in the U.S., & other countries for quite some time. Many Telecom Circuits have had similar 'taps', which were fed back to a point, where they could be surveiled & monitored by the various government agencies. The amount of money spent on these endeavors is incredible, but 'the powers that be' like to have their finger on the pulse of things, at all times.

[@TrippyNoodles]

My dad who worked for BT told me about various spooks coming to the exchange & knew not ask what they were up to & help them find what they needed, give them a seat next to the window, paper & cups of tea. One chap who turned up to directly listen 🎧 was a very rude & aloof so they repeatedly turned the exchange radio up to an unbearable volume until he got the hump & left.

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

Alastair, I have learnt over the years from chance meetings and conversation that some interesting kit may be in trunk telephone exchanges, sadly they never expand on the detail. I expect your friend was the same even after a few beers. The OSA ( official Secrets Act ) was a bit scary and once sighed one would be more circumspect. I think a lot of the population has signed it in some form.

[@jonathanj8303]

Of course BT are cover for intelligence work. It's the only way of explaining how they're still in business when they're so awful at literally everything else.

[@peterking2794]

I lived in Great Sutton, a mile or two from the tower and remember it well. I often walked our dog around Capenhurst and was forever wondering about its purpose. I don't remember the Channel 4 news items, but have learned a lot from your previous YT video, and now this one. I was always curious about Pale Heights too. Thanks for a fascinating video, Cheers!

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

I did not see the CH4 report either.

[@buffplums]

A few of my colleagues used to work there but couldn’t discuss because their security clearance was a lot higher than mine… need to know lol 😂

[@MMID303]

We had several very similar towers here in the mid atlantic United States in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Site Corkscrew, Cowpuncher, Creed, Cannonball, Cactus, Cartwheel, and Crystal. They were known to be "Presidential Emergency Facilities" however, no president ever traveled to one that I know of. They were typically located in remote wooded locations on mountains. They could be seen from many roads but most people assumed they were just concrete water tanks. Some were demolished, but a few still stand abandoned. Site Corkscrew was purchased by the FAA Administration and is used in an unknown manner.

[@anthonyfranz8317]

Another outstanding piece of work! I often think when I see a tower in the middle of no where, wonder what they are listening to?

[@ewanduffy]

Didn't surprise me at all. I live in Dublin - my Dad was the CIO for the Irish Government (now retired) and told me many decades ago that it was known that the UK government were monitoring all GB Ireland communication.

[@dw7920]

An excellent update there Lewis - you've filled in some recent history as well as recapping the story perfectly - thanks! As a long-standing member of Sub Brit I remember this story and Richard/Duncan's excellent exposé very well. Capenhurst was a perfect demonstration of the lengths that the security services will go to in order to keep prying eyes away from their activities and the subterfuge they are capable of in order to achieve their aims. Talk about hiding in plain sight..

[@gonzo_the_great1675]

The cellular companies were similarly tied in to allowing access for court warranted phone taps. Though in their case, it was an unmonitored feed directly from the GSM network that dropped out to Whitehall. And the authorities did a 'cross my heart' type promiss, to only use it to monitor calls that the courts had permitted. Hmmm, sure they did!

[@TrippyNoodles]

The legendary Duncan Campbell. It’s good they got inside & documented this fascinating & expensive facility. Many just intentionally evaporate away without people realising what was going on. At least this one had plans, council departments usually help hide the subterfuge!

[@nickjung7394]

Peter Laurie's book "Beneath the City Streets" is well worth a read. I bought the book when it first came out and wandered around identifying the places mentioned.

[@grahamfisher5436]

KZbin - * The secrets of underground Britain: Wartime secrets. * The secrets of underground Britain: Modern mysteries. * The secrets of underground Britain: Hidden history. Google- Struggle for survival written by Steve Fox

[@TheOpticalFreak]

They should have kept it! Like a modern stone henge!😂

[@wisteela]

'Espionage tower' sounds great. It would have made a fantastic cell phone site, and would have been great for an amateur radio repeater.

[@BerlietGBC]

Excellent, thank you

[@ryank5tar]

Outstanding work.

[@stuartjohnston7364]

I wonder what they're doing nowadays....

[@cjc363636]

Just vacuuming up fire hoses of internet traffic, 24-7.

[@paulmann1440]

On my old stamping ground was that Lewis! We all assumed (very wrongly, it seems), that it was BNFL related.

[@EdgyNumber1]

Properly fascinating stuff Ringway!! Operating in plain sight so as not to raise any suspicion. Hope see more late cold-war era, post cold-war era stuff 👍 (Btw, I live near Anchor Exchange and that has got a few stories - In fact, some urbexers recently explored the underground control centre and tunnels in the area.)

[@M500VYN]

Fascinating. Many thanks

[@DarkSitesChannel]

Excellent work as always Ringway!

[@ulfpe]

Secrecy acts and agreements would only have attracted unwanted attention.

[@chrisblay]

Talk about removing all evidence. They even knocked the neighbouring houses down. 😲 You have to think that’s overkill once the story became common knowledge. 🤔

[@Bond2025]

The neighbouring houses were full of computer equipment and people processing it. I drove up there a few times for work purposes and was always watched!!!

[@dasy2k1]

I used to work at EA technology and remember the lighting strike monitoring system It used to run on some very old Sun microsystems Unix machines back in the mid 00s Doubt it still exists given blitzortung has made it obsolete

[@killstreak.1]

As someone who lives in the US, I see this as a win

[@richardwillson101]

Fascinating to hear how these things mayhave been/were done in a pre digital era! (Digital as we know it today anyway) Thanks for and excellent video.

[@paulcharlton4788]

Its a common misconception that you have to have signed the official secrets act to be bound by it. The act is in fact a law not a contract so you are bound by it whether you have signed it or not. Signing it is intended more as a reminder to the person signing it that they are under such obligations. I think i commented on your first video that we were invited to bid for the tower when it was sold. I cant recall if anyone was interested enough to go along and view it!

[@AdMan-The-LabRat]

@1:41 THAT IS A REAL BUILDING?!? WOW, ABSOLUTELY INCONCEIVABLE! (Obviously the GCHQ got budget). THANK YOU and keep fighting that good fight, you are winning.

[@AdMan-The-LabRat]

Got your 10:21 There it is again... GCHQ Capehurst! Looks like it belongs on a lunar landscape installation, beautiful building, GCHQ got budget and class!

[@IndaloMan]

Back in the #goodolddays the GPO were kind enough to broadcast 'interrupt tone' when a 3rd party was listening to your calls.

[@buffplums]

It kept us safe simply as that sometimes you have to break the rules because you can’t reason with terrorists

[@dennismoore2894]

Were the houses on the neighbouring site not part of a separate experimental facility for testing different housing insulation materials and heating systems? Would explain why they were all removed together.

[@RingwayManchester]

Those ones survived quite a bit longer

[@HighWealder]

Big Brother again. I always assume that government agencies read or listen to every electronic communication that I make.

[@Bond2025]

In 1994 there was an attack on a radio communications tower in Delamere Forest in error. The tap was known about, but not exactly where it was located, someone tried to knock the tower down! I only know because of a building survey as an emergency to make sure cracks and damage would not cause too much of a problem. The area had a no-fly zone which was handy. As for vans and other vehicles used by intelligence services, they have a whole fleet of vans and uniforms from every company going. Facilities Management companies are a favourite as people get in to sites and are often left alone to do their "work". There is a training site in Ellesmere Port on the industrial estate if any of the auditor people want to go along! See how long you last. Residents were not told to keep quiet and never provided with double glazing or anything else, that is rubbish. A lot of the computer equipment and people operating it was in the houses in the road next to it, not the bungalows.

[@RingwayManchester]

I’ve been racking my brains all week on this, I knew there was something on Kelsall but couldn’t remember what. Could you drop me an email? Add is in description

[@bobroberts2371]

Said " Residents were not told to keep quiet and never provided with double glazing or anything else, that is rubbish. " Perhaps they were offered . . A shrubbery ? A nice one and not too expensive. . . . . .

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

A chum of mine who had an insatiable appetite for technical stuff told me in the 90's of some microwave developments the Telecom and other unmentioned departments "may have' but there was never any detail. We drove past this tower on a Pirate radio DF hunt and he stopped to look for a few minutes then drove on, nothing said. I thought nothing of the structure. Now I know the story and find it reassuring that GCHQ are keeping an ear on the world. Lewis great work as usual.

[@MacCaughey]

Lupins. Secret ingredient was always lupins @@bobroberts2371

[@richardsanders4624]

Interesting. Same Year as Train Stopped within Delamere on it's way UKF Ince-Elton. Early hours of morning.

[@markt.3454]

That's some great stuff! I'm always fascinated by those kinds of accounts.

[@thisandthat871]

Another brilliant documentary fascinating stuff 👍

[@jhonbus]

Yeah, "Excuse me, please don't talk about that secret building over there" is not how you get people to not talk about that secret building over there.

[@Milcom34]

Thanks RM. Another Super Radio Comm. Video. You are Truly the Professor of anything Radio Communication***** Take Care and Radio On*****

[@Ogma3bandcamp]

Superbly done! Thanks. Riveted from start to finish - a bit like that tower I suppose.

[@misterbacon4933]

Very interesting! Good episode! 👍

[@MrAliensix]

Fascinating story. Really enjoyed that!

[@ruabonite]

I researched this one about a decade ago,thanks a lot for posting this!

[@curranhouse]

Tha woman with the teeth / slightly suspicious smile :D :D :D

[@therealebolaboy]

It looks like a water tower to eyes from the U.S. Maybe vents for the pigeons to feel at home. : )

[@longsighted]

Fascinating..... ! Good one.

[@bob_mosavo]

Thanks 👍

[@EportChris]

I remember the original well mate 👍🏻😁 Cracking updated version though.

[@WOFFY-qc9te]

There just sweeping up residual RF.........

[@pauldeavall9157]

I love these videos very interesting and informative keep up the good work

[@gravyboat2370]

National security. Very important.

[@petercarter9034]

Very interesting, thank you

[@leepovey9084]

Excellent video, really interesting. Thanks

[@TheFastestSrbin]

Imagine what are they doing now with smartphones and the Internet...

[@Larri-b]

Definitely, I remember the pause on the phone when I used ring my grandparents in in Northern Ireland , wasn’t jut the republic.

[@BitTwisted1]

All so that GCHQ could monitor phone calls and data, which they had legal access to, but without having to, or bothering to get permission...

[@TraceUK]

That’s what Menwith Hill does now - tap into phone calls

[@outaspaceman]

I ❤ the rumours that appear locally around secure sites.. I grew up within spitting distance of Menwith Hill listening station, that was genuinely believed, by some, to house a Submarine base.. One guy did some contract work there, and said some interesting things, until he got a visit from some very, very big MOD Policemen..😬👍

[@Bond2025]

Oh I've heard that so many times, another urban legend. There are no houses near to Menwith Hill.

[@outaspaceman]

@@Bond2025 well, there’s a couple of farms.. and a lot of sheep..

[@outaspaceman]

@@Bond2025 and, now I think of it, what about Darley, and there’s a bunch of dwellings along the Ripon Rd..

[@outaspaceman]

@@Bond2025 err, I meant, Skipton Rd, of course…😬👍

[@MrBollocks10]

It turns out, yes!😮

[@simonmason8582]

Nice one, Lewis!

[@RingwayManchester]

Must catch up Simon

[@simonmason8582]

@@RingwayManchester Yes!

[@jhonbus]

6:10 BT were required to provide wiretaps *if a warrant had been obtained* Well, there's your explanation then! Joking aside (I'm sure that 5, 6, or the police would never have listened to anything _without_ a warrant) there is definitely some benefit to being able to execute such a warrant without involving BT and thus adding a number of extra people on its staff who would be required to implement such a wiretap as well as creating a potentially insecure paper trail, and so on.

[@MarkGreen-pp3qy]

Oh keep them coming

[@435arkroyal]

amazing 😮 Love your video.

[@ady-uk7150]

1:40 "Hey, lets make a building like the ELO Spaceship"

[@johnshaw8013]

Serco operates over half of the UK and commonwealth armed service's! Look them up! The biggest company that you've never heard of!

[@Eliteerin]

Well it's them or g4s that run most of the country 😂

[@mpol701]

And a run by israel as well both Zionist companies, also odd how many terror attacks in like Kenya shopping mall and other places just happen to be run by g4s, false flags to keep military industrial complex going and part of global capitalism

[@mpol701]

These companies run us by they are run by a larger shadow government regardless of who we bite for we'll get the same

[@johnshaw8013]

@@Eliteerin And Capita.

[@lonesheepdog6337]

Operation Tinkerbell makes interesting reading

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Probably not _IF,_ but _WHEN._ 🙄

[@INFLICTEDPAIN213]

Any chance of a video on fylingdales? Grew up in the area and it's always amazed me how it could work

[@mryeti1887]

Reminds me of the old Presidential Emergency Facilities in the US.

[@cityslacker6221]

some beautiful engineering in these unassuming towers.

[@marski-vv4qb]

And there still spying on us

[@dickscriminate]

Great video, but I'm gunna need a track ID 😅

[@dr.phillnaadoftennessee.9788]

"The Patriot Act" 😡‼️

[@itechflagstaff]

Thanks!

[@RingwayManchester]

Thank you!!

[@itechflagstaff]

@@RingwayManchester Wish I had more to give...

[@RingwayManchester]

You saying thanks is way more than enough my friend.

[@BigTwitchy]

Wait, so you’re telling me that the property was sold at a massively overinflated price, only for the new owner to tear everything down and do nothing with the property? Yeah, I have a ton of questions.

[@michaelgillett5477]

By the way, I don’t know if you’re interested in this I don’t know if he still is a Director, but Margaret Thatcher son is when the chief directors of sirco I’ve probably got the spelling wrong but it doesn’t stop the fact that’s her son running it Michael

[@dougle03]

You don't have to physically sign the Official Secrets Act to be bound by it. Simply being exposed to official secrets is enough to be considered under its restrictions. People being told not to talk about the tower would be enough to be considered bound into the secret.

[@msmith2961]

Excellent video and captivating story! Glad the security services were actively keeping us safe from the terrorists in our back yard at that time.

[@bear_chills]

Great video, really enjoyed it..73 M7LLA

[@steveneastland4128]

Pity it’s been demolished, would have made a nice explore

[@briankleinschmidt3664]

As a prophet, I think it's kind of funny the way people are afraid that someone is watching. Someone IS watching you, fool.

[@apc108]

I'm pretty sure Duncan Campbell and others were on to this tower long before the end of the nineties. I remember seeing this story, perhaps in Private Eye, or maybe Peace News, early, in the 80s.

[@RingwayManchester]

Early 80’s? They didn’t build it until 1989 and it wasn’t finished until 1990

[@apc108]

@@RingwayManchesterThat's what they want you to believe...

[@apc108]

Seems you are right. I do remember following Duncan Campbell's work quite closely in the early 80s and somehow thought he'd written about it then. Just digging aroudn a little turns up that there was also a tower which had similar functionality on Croslieve Mountain in South Armagh. This was intercepting calls between Dublin and Belfast.

[@gary3561]

SERCO the same serco that also works within the courts and prison systems?

[@jussikuusela7345]

Who was that news reporter? Looked familiar from some video material my English teacher showed us in some lessons back in the 90's.

[@richardlamont6424]

Judy Aslett

[@train4905]

Wow😊

[@neil2402]

Short answer, No.

[@pigpenpete]

Probably, I could seee it from my house!

[@MarkGreen-pp3qy]

oh yeah

[@MarkGreen-pp3qy]

oh yeah I be listening for a while

[@Joloke08]

Hi Lewis I grew up near the tower and was born and bread on the Wirral and during the early 90s went there with friends a few times to see how close we could get (not very) I was a Cber and when it was being built and once up you would hear breakers talking about it all over the Wirral and breakers mobile would often drive there to have a nosy id heard of rumors of those who got into the grounds and been chased by security,we never went that close but a few times parked in manor field close near and I recognize some of those faces as though people say they would never of been told not to talk about it the houses were full of curtain twitches you couldn't even get out of the car before they would run out and start grilling you who are you ? who have you come to see? You cant stop here? if you mentioned the tower the residents would get very edgy and say they were calling the police! Believe me most Cbers,Amateurs,SWL and Scanner users in the area knew it was a listening tower of some sort. I used to get the train into Chester on the line and there was a decent view from the train of it,I moved away down south in 2003 and was saddened to see it no longer there a few years later when i visited home :( Even when it was no longer operational it was a landmark you could see for miles and a memory for my youth of the happy days on Cb when it was packed! Thanks for sharing this video :)

[@newagetemplar6100]

Fred Dibnah would be turning in his grave if he saw that monstrosity . Meanwhile locals probably get many headaches, feel constantly crap and depressed while birds fly around disoriented and squirrels have turned bi 😂. On a slightly more serious note though it would be good to visually see the magnetic field around that tower , not good one could imagine, especially when our bodies are susceptible to magnetism, frequencies and harmonics. 😳🤔🤫

[@Davidnumber23]

they have far better tools to watch and listen to everyone now.

[@Bond2025]

The Internet and Smart Devices.

[@Davidnumber23]

@@Bond2025 yeah the world is so absurd now that people pay big to upgrade their personal smart tags to the latest model.😁

[@bobroberts2371]

Time 944 What does the " 53 " on the sign mean as well as the yellow flashing orb / numeric display / solar panel center pic and the gray orb / solar panel right pic ?

[@RingwayManchester]

The 53 I don’t know, the rest was a pedestrian crossing

[@ChristopherHindefjord]

Looks like it says something like "Days since last ???? time" under the number (the fourth word almost looks like "loot", "tool" or "fool", but I can't make sense of it). Tried looking on Street view, but there weren't any clear shots there.

[@bobroberts2371]

@@ChristopherHindefjord Thanks for trying, I had taken a screen shot of the vid and expanded and it was still blurry on my end.

[@CathodeRayNipplez]

2:16 "Electronics Facility" cost 20 MILLION POUNDS!? WTF? That's 37 MILLION POUNDS today for a freaking smart grain silo. Is it made of fukin lost Inka gold? Like.. What the bloody hell? Some contractor and their public servant pleb are still rolling around in their pile of cash laughing till they wet themselves. 🙄

[@eldraque4556]

what tune is the outro?

[@hvcomputech]

No pin of shame yet?

[@Volcano-Man]

The next tower that can spy on you will be a first. The antennas can't spy BUT the person listening in can! Reminds me of a planning application by a licensed amateur: local council to the LPA commented 'We note if not properly suppressed a mast can cause interference!'

[@Scotscan]

Very sorry it was demolished, I'd have put in an offer if I had won the euromillions

[@SDS-1]

Too bad it's gone. Be near to have apartments space there

[@ChristopherHindefjord]

Yeah, but think of the radio activity! ;D

[@alexnelson9512]

@@ChristopherHindefjord 🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤢🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

[@dwho3]

so they dont need the site but retain the capability ,so how are they doing it now or where