Thread: TV Licence
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Old 29-07-2026, 13:26   #57
RichardCoulter
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Re: TV Licence

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris View Post
That’s a conspiracy theory based on the fact that nobody was ever convicted based on TV detector van evidence.

They were a real thing, the documentary evidence is vast, and the claims sometimes made that the vans and documentation around them was just one massive psyop really isn’t credible.

The reality though is that they weren’t very accurate and at best gave enforcers a pointer as to which unlicenced houses to knock at. Then as now it’s almost always confession evidence that does it. The vans were a starting point and a deterrent, as they were quite visible.
It's also said that, if their evidence was used in court, those being prosecuted would have the right to cross examine this evidence and this would disclose information that TVL don't want to get into the public domain.

A retired and trustworthy TV engineer has told me in the past that he was shown inside one and that it wasn't fake. However, maybe this conspiracy came about because some were empty inside?? TVL have long said that simply parking a branded TVL van up in various places resulted in a spike of TVL's being purchased in that area

---------- Post added at 14:26 ---------- Previous post was at 14:17 ----------

Quote:
Originally Posted by nodrogd View Post
Old CRTs had very leaky intermediate RF circuits that could be picked up yards away. From tuning into a single frequency, detector vans could tell not only that you had a TV on, but what channel you were watching at the time.
You could test this yourself by holding a portable radio near to the television, made a horrendous noise.

Last edited by RichardCoulter; 29-07-2026 at 13:24. Reason: Spelling FAC Nav
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