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Radio Controle Dienst (RCD)
In the Netherlands, Agentschap Telecom (AT), is the national
Telecom Agency, responsible for tracing and confiscating clandestine radio
stations and monitoring the frequency spectrum in general.
In the past, this organization has been known under
different names and was at one time part of the
Dutch Post Office (PTT).
The agency is based in Groningen and Amersfoort.
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The history of the former RCD (now AT) is somewhat clouded
and most websites give incomplete or incorrect information.
The most complete story so far, is presented in Frans Kluiter's excellent
Index of Security Agencies in The Netherlands [1].
The agency started life in 1927 as RCD (Radio Controle Dienst),
and was at that time part of the state-controlled Dutch Post Office (PTT).
Although the RCD did not disappear until 1989, its work was interrupted by WWII.
During WWII, the RCD continued to exist, but was only allowed to investigate
radio interference. Towards the end of the war,
the newly erected BNV (Bureau Nationale Veiligheid) took over the
task of finding clandestine transmitters.
This resulted in the BRD (Bijzondere Radio Dienst)
and eventually in two sections responsible for the work: OCZ
(for civil tasks) and GMP (for military tasks).
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Finally, in 1975, the OCZ and GMP were merged and renamed RCD again.
The new RCD acted under supervision of the PTT.
During the 1970s and 1980s, the RCD arguably had its most busy period when
The Netherlands was flooded with illegal FM radio stations,
also known as pirates.
Initially, the RCD had its headquarters in The Hague (Den Haag), but in
1974 all departments were moved to the magnificent building on the right:
the history-rich NERA radio station in Nederhorst den Berg where, back in
1954, the RCD had installed a radio monitoring station.
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The building at NERA (Nederhorst den Berg Radio) was erected
shortly after WWII, in July 1948, for the international radio traffic of
the PTT. The central location of the premises and the moist terrain
had proved to be ideal for the reception of (weak) radio signals.
It was opened in 1950.
After the first trans-atlantic telecommunications cable was put into use
in 1956 and the first telecommunications satellite was lauched in 1958,
the interest in radio for long distance communication declined.
In 1974, the last radio link (with Paramaribo) was closed [2].
In the meantime, several other organizations had used the premises
for experiments and research. Once the radio station was closed, the
PTT moved all departments of the RCD to NERA and gave it full control
over the premises. On 7 May 1981 the refurbished NERA building was reopened.
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One of the first events at the new premises was a visit from the State
Secretary of Traffic, Mrs. Neelie Smit-Kroes. The director of the
RCD, Daan Neuteboom, gave her a tour through the building, presented his
'troups' and complained about the fact that he was understaffed.
When Mrs. Kroes asked him how many people he needed, he stared
at the ceeling for a moment, and replied 'Fourty Mrs. State Secretary' [3].
She promised him his new staff and also gave permission for the development
of a new high-end surveillance receiver: the PAN-1000.
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This situation lasted until 1989 when the PTT was privatized.
As the RCD performed goverment tasks, it was put under the supervision
of the newly erected HDTP
and was renamed RDR.
Then, in 2002, the service moved from the Ministry of Transport to the
Ministry of Economics and the name was changed into
Agentschap Telecom (AT), with its headquarters in Groningen.
In 2005, the AT left the NERA building in Nederhorst den Berg and
moved its operational division to Amersfoort, where they are still
located today. The large mast is still present and is now remote
controlled from Amersfoort via a radio link.
The NERA building is currently abandoned whilst the Dutch
Government is investigating new destinations. Plans for demolition
of the building and development of the surounding area for housing,
have met with great critisism
[2].
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Over the years, the RCD/AT has used and still uses a wide variety of equipment
for their many different tasks. Some of the equipment is highlighted on this
website:
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In the early days of the of the RCD, small portable direction finding
receivers were used for finding pirate radio stations. One example
is the Wilhelm Quante StSG-52 shown on the right.
In his early days as an inspector, RCD director Daan Neuteboom toured the
countryside with this device, seated on the back of a bicycle.
 More information
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The PAN-1000 was an intercept and surveillance receiver that was
developed in the early 1980s by the NRP,
especially for the RCD. It was used for finding clandestine transmitters
and was designed to fit inside a normal car.
Development of the receiver took several years and a single unit was
priced at NLG 160,000 (approx. EUR 73,000). About 30 units were built.
More information
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Minilock was a series of high-end receivers that were ideal
for surveillance and intercept tasks. The RCD used a variety
of such communications receivers, including the Minilock 6910.
More information
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For tracing clandestine radio stations and for finding sources of
radio and television interference, the RCD/AT has to rely on mobile
radio monitoring installations. Depending on the task, suitable contemporary
vehicles are used. Below is a non-exhaustive overview of such vehicles that
were used by this agency. Some of these vehicles are equipped with
direction finding equipment.
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One of the first mobile monitoring stations used by the agency,
was housed inside a Ford Transit van. In order to hide its true identity,
the Transit was disguised as a camper van, complete with curtains and a
roof rack. The rather large circular direction finding antenna, was installed
as a 'spare tyre' on the roof rack.
These Ford Transit camper vans were used well into the 1970s.
The image above shows one of the Ford Transit vans that were used by the
Bijzondere Radio Dienst (BRD) during the 1960s. The picture was taken
on the Waalsdorpervlakte in Scheveningen (Netherlands) during an experiment
with VHF direction finding. The man standing in front of the car is Gerard
Mulder. His boss, Piet van Egmond, is standing aside the vehicle [4].
The image above shows the interior of the Ford Transit camper van.
Central in the picture is the Telefunken Telegon direction finder
that was used on the HF bands. It was connected to a large direction
finding antenna that was installed on the roof rack, disguised as the
spare tyre. The unit to the left of the Telegon, is a VHF converter
that was used for an experiment.
This type of vehicle was still in use when the agency
changed its name back to Radio Controle Dienst (RCD) in 1975.
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In the late 1970s, when The Netherlands was flooded with clandestine
radio stations (pirates), the RCD started using smaller - standard - cars.
One of the first normal cars to be used was the Ford Granada, that was
choosen because it had a plastic rooftop. It allowed the directional
antennas to be hidden inside the car and attracted less attention.
The the early 1980s, after the RCD had moved from The Hague to
Nederhorst den Berg, the purpose-built PAN-1000 receiver
was introduced. It replaced earlier less accurate receivers and was
built inside the trunk of the existing Ford Granada vehicles, with a
panoramic display mounted at the dashboard and an intuitive remote control unit
in between the two front seats.
Although the Ford Granada was a rather unobtrusive car, it soon became
an RCD icon and was widely known by the pirates who assembled long
lists of RCD licence plates. In order to catch more pirates, the agency
started using other vehicles as well, such as the Peugeot 204.
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The Dutch Radio Monitoring Service is currently known as AT (Agentschap
Telecom), but this was not always the case. In the past, the agency has been
known under various names, of which Radio Controle Dienst (RCD) is
arguably the most well-known one.
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PTT
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Staatsbedrijf der Posterijen, Telegrafie en Telefonie
1915-1989. Dutch state-owned monopolist for telecommunication and post.
Privitized in 1989 and later split into several companies, such as
Postbank (bank), KPN (telecom) and TPG (post).
(Wikipedia)
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RCD
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Radio Controle Dienst
1927-1940. Radio Monitoring Service. Established as part of the Department of
Post and Telegraphy (PTT) of the Ministry of Transport (Verkeer en Waterstaat).
Temporarily interrupted during WWII (1940-1945).
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BNV
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Bureau Nationale Veiligheid
1945-1946. National Bureau for Security.
This Bureau had a special Radiodienst (Radio Service) that took over
the tasks of the RCD.
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BD
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Bureau Bijzondere Diensten
1947-1952. Bureau for Special Services, sometimes known as Bureau BD.
Established by the PTT as a co-operative body between the PTT and the BNV.
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BRD
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Bijzondere Radio Dienst
1952-1975. Special Radio Service. Post-war agency to follow up on the dismantled
BNV, combining the efforts of the PTT and the BNV. Initially it was called
Bureau BD, but in 1951/1952 the name was changed to BRD.
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OCZ
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Opsporingsdienst Clandestine Zenders
1947-1975. Law Enforcement Agency for Clandestine Radio Stations.
Department of the post-war BRD (formerly Bureau BD).
Later part of the RCD.
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GMP
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Groep Mobiele Peilers
1969-1975. Mobile Direction Finding Group. A new department of the post-war BRD
specialized in mobile direction finding. A combined effort of the PTT and the
Dutch Security Agency
BVD (Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst,
now called: AIVD).
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RCD
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Radio Controle Dienst
1975-1989. Radio Monitoring Service. Part of the Dutch PTT.
In 1975 the entire post-war BRD was integrated with the PTT (as RCD6).
The same happened with the OCZ that was renamed to RCD7.
The PTT acted on behalf of the Dutch Ministry of Transport.
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HDTP
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Hoofd-Directie Telecommunicatie en Post
1989-2002. Main Division for Telecommunication and Post.
In 1989 the Dutch Post Office (PTT) was privatized and the RCD was moved to
the newly created HDTP; the new Dutch organization for Telecommunication and
Post.
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RDR
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Rijksdienst voor Radiocommunicatie
1989-2002. National Department for Radio Communication.
This was the new name of the RCD when it was moved from the PTT to the HDTP.
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AT
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Agentschap Telecom
2002-Present. Telecommunication Agency.
In July 2002, the agency was renamed once again, following the move from the
Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Economics.
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- Headquarters
Agentschap Telecom
Emmasingel 1
9726 AH Groningen (Netherlands)
Phone: +31 (0)50-5877444
Fax: +31 (0)50-5877400
E-mail: info@agentschaptelecom.nl
- Monitoring and Enforcement
Agentschap Telecom
Piet Mondriaanlaan 54
3812 GV Amersfoort (Netherlands)
Radio interference: 0900-8991151 (EUR 0.20 per minute)
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- F.A.C. Kluiters, De Nederlandse inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten. Sectie 2.
The Dutch Intelligence and Security Agencies, Part 2 (Dutch).
ISBN: 90-12-08179-3. Den Haag (Netherlands), 1995.
- NERA Gebouw, NERA en de Horstermeer
Website for the preservation of the NERA building (Dutch).
Retrieved January 2013.
- Anonymous former Investigator of the RCD
Interview at Crypto Museum, May 2011.
- Cor Moerman, Photographs of RCD vehicles
Courtesy of Museum Jan Corver. February 2012.
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© Copyright 2009-2013, Paul Reuvers & Marc Simons. Last changed: Saturday, 22 June 2013 - 05:53 CET
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![Ford Transit intercept vehicle used by the BRD/RCD [4]](img/rcd_transit_1.jpg "Ford Transit intercept vehicle used by the BRD/RCD [4]")
![Interior of the Ford Transit intercept vehicle, showing the Telefunken Telegon [4].](img/rcd_transit_2.jpg "Interior of the Ford Transit intercept vehicle, showing the Telefunken Telegon [4].")
