Editing Conspiracy BBS Archive/jfk-0002 (section)

== THE 1978 ANALYSIS ==

In May, 1978, [[The House Select Committee on Assassinations]] turned the recording over to Dr. James Barger of Bolt, Beranek and Newman who had previously examined the infamous Watergate tapes.  The firm had only a short time to analyze the sounds as the Committee was entering its final months.  The tape was filtered and digitized so that repetitive noises such as engines could be removed and waveforms could be produced.  They found at least six impulses (and possibly as many as nine) which could have been gunshots.

The Committee, based on the [[Zapruder Film|Zapruder film]], set a certain time frame that the shots had to fit within.  All six impulses occurred at the at the correct time.  The sounds also matched patterns of gunfire recorded through a radio system similar to the Dallas police departments.  The former Chief Counsel of the Assassinations Committee, [[Robert Blakey (Attorney)|Robert Blakey]], has said on several occasions "There were six or seven shots on the tape."  Of course, [Lee Harvey Oswald|Oswald]] could not have fired near this many shots in the 5.6 second period that most experts agree on (based on the [[Zapruder Film|Zapruder film]]).  Also, only three empty cartridges were found at [Lee Harvey Oswald|Oswald]]'s supposed firing spot.

Next, BBN recommended firing test shots in [[Dealey Plaza]] to see if they matched any of the six impulses.  By setting up microphones at various positions and firing from different places, unique acoustic fingerprints could be taken.  Each combination of positions would result in a unique spacing of the shot's noise and echoes.