"THEWIRELESSTRANSMITTERSOFTHECOMMUNISTS HAVE BEEN SEIZED IN ATHENS""WIRELESSTRANSMITTERSFOUNDINCOMMUNIST HANDS""HOW THE FIVE TRANSMITTERS OF THE COMMUNISTS WERE DISCOVERED""THE SIX INSTALLATIONS SEIZED BY THE POLICE"Two of the newspapers printed the identical photograph (included in the montage) with the following caption, 'The Communist transmitters seized by the Piraeus police'.This was a photograph of the shack of Mikes Psalidas SV1AF.At the top right one can see a 2-inch home-made monitor oscilloscope, which the newspapers described as a 'powerful radar'!
"During the last three days", wrote one newspaper, "the police in Piraeus have been investigating a very serious case implicating leading cadres of the Communist party." Of course, it was nothing of the sort.The equipment they had seized belonged to five radio amateurs, George Gerardos SV1AG, Mikes Psalidas SV1AF, Nasos Coucoulis SV1AC, Aghis Cazazis SV1CA and Sotiris Stefanou who didn't have a callsign yet.In fact Mikes Psalidas was not even at home at the time of the police raid, as he was in a military camp in the outskirts of Athens, doing his compulsory military service.The newspapers described in detail what had been found."At the house of Mikes Psalidas, who is a student at the Athens Polytechnic, the police found wireless telegraphy receiving equipment (a National HRO), wireless telephony equipment in full working order, that is, two transmitting microphones, a step-down transformer and various other items."The same newspaper went on "Unfortunately, at the house of Aghis Cazazis, at 25 Tenedou street, the search was inconclusive because a certain person, well known to the police, and whose arrest is imminent, removed a high power transmitter just before the police arrived and disappeared with it."Another newspaper referred to "telegrams in code", received from abroad and from the secret headquarters of the Communists, "which are now being deciphered by a special department".These were SV1AG's little collection of QSL cards.
Stefanos Eleftheriou of the Ministry immediately took up the matter.Firstly, he pointed out to the Piraeus police that Athens did not come under their jurisdiction, and they had no right to arrest anybody there without a warrant.Secondly, all the five radio amateurs they had arrested were known for their nationalistic political convictions, particularly Psalidaswhose father was a senior officer of the Royal Hellenic airforce.
Before the 'suspects' were released and their confiscated equipment returned to them, they were warned not to speak to newspaper reporters at the risk of getting a kick up their backsides.This was to prevent the public from learning how ludicrous had been the accusations, and how completely unjustified the arrests had been.But one newspaper came out the following day with a banner headline "THE OWNERS OF THE WIRELESS AND RADAR EQUIPMENT ALL TURNED OUT TO BESTAUNCH ROYALISTS!" This paper sent a reporter to interview SV1AC.They wrote, "In reply to a question from our reporter, Mr Coucoulis said that when the police realised the foolishness of their action, they issued a summons against him under Law 4749, which has absolutely nothing to do with amateur radio." "During the ten years following the end of World War II there were about 15 to 20 very active amateurs in the Athens area, all using callsigns of their own choice because no government legislation had yet been enacted.Most of these operators subsequently obtained licences and had to change to the official series.I remember two YLs who were very popular in Europe and the U.S.A.because they spoke several languages fluently, but they never re-appeared when licences began to be issued."Since 1945 the U.S.and British signals units were authorised by the Greek Ministry of Communications to issue calls to military and diplomatic personnel in the series SV0WA in the case of American staff and SV0AA for the British.
Socrates continued: "I heard that the Americans had formed a club called 'Attica Amateur Radio Club' in Kifissia, a suburb to the north of Athens, and in due course I was able to become a member.""In 1954", Socrates continued, "George Zarifis (currently SV1AA) who was a regular army officer in the Legal Branch approached Mr Nicolis who was Director of the Wireless Division at the Ministry of Communications and asked him 'Since you have authorised the Americans and the British to issue licences to their personnel, why do you not grant the same facility to us Greek amateurs?'.To which Nicolis had replied 'There is no law of the land recognising the very existence of radioamateurs so how can I issue licences to you?'.
"It was then that we decided to form an association whose principal objective would be the enactment of legislation recognising officially the existence of radio amateurs in Greece.As a recognised body we would then be able to go back to Nicolis and get him to pursue the matter.
