DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
It's not some big national security secret, the FCC publishes their enforcement activity.
Legal vs illegal radios
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It's not some big national security secret, the FCC publishes their enforcement activity.
Investigative & Adjudicatory Areas
www.fcc.gov
That is my point
Can you link a single case of a user being fined for using a radio, ever? And no the 2 or three cases that are brought up where so some guy was jamming a repeater etc dont count. There has never been enforcement against someone simply using a non type accepted radio.
I get that hams are into their hobby and want to protect it. But that does not change the fact that the average person that buys a baofeng and is not maliciously using it, is never going to have an issue. All fear mongering does is drive people away form the hobby
Shawn
FordGuy1
Adventurer
Shawn, your comments are spot on. I have been flamed for years on this subject, people are so off base, but just cant admint that the FCC does not give one ******* about us using ham for personal use. I appreciate your knowledge.
WanderingBison
Active member
But is that the point?!?
Sadly, if enough people used that reasoning to use a non-type accepted radio, we will ALL lose the use of the band.
Yes, there are more important things that government should focus enforcement efforts towards but that doesn’t mean it’s legal, that there are no good reasons for the regulations, etc.
Yes, Hams can be a little quirky but getting licensed (Ham, GMRS, industrial) isn’t exactly a hardship and neither is using appropriate equipment on the right band.
Their are reasons for rules and if we don’t agree with them we should either work to change them or find an alternative solution.
I hope most of us don’t get drivers’ licenses because of all the extensive, active enforcement ….
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skyfree
Active member
When the government stepped in with licensing requirements in 1912, the US Navy was concerned about interference to their communications which by necessity were longer wave bands at the time. There was also the necessity to suspend all non-sanctioned amateur radio operations during wartime which happened in both WWI and WWII. The licensing requirement was to provide a little education so people didn't walk all over other bands and to use the approved bands in an ordered way. There was also the desire to provide a citizen group of people able to provide emergency communications during emergencies.
If people follow the rules "follow the band plan and don't transmit out of band", everyone is happy whether you are licensed or not. However, not following the band plan is something a non-licensed user may inadvertently do. For example, conducting simplex communication on the input for a repeater. This is certainly a low-priority problem now, but during an actual emergency it would become a much higher priority.
If people follow the rules "follow the band plan and don't transmit out of band", everyone is happy whether you are licensed or not. However, not following the band plan is something a non-licensed user may inadvertently do. For example, conducting simplex communication on the input for a repeater. This is certainly a low-priority problem now, but during an actual emergency it would become a much higher priority.
Kevin108
Explorer
A crime requires an injured party. No victim, no crime.
Do you really think that a century later that the Navy doesn't have more advanced communication than 5w GMRS?
skyfree
Active member
Exactly
DaveInDenver
Middle Income Semi-Redneck
Their worry back then was amateurs causing interference, which doesn't require a specific radio to cause and is still a problem. Some of the Chinese radios a few years ago could easily have been mistaken for jammers they were so bad. Of course it's possible to work around. That's one reason behind encryption, spread spectrum and frequency hopping in the first place. So that bad guys can't jam or snoop on you. But it's not as easy for legal users (e.g. GMRS, ham, whatever) who don't have DoD budgets to deal with it.
sonoronos
Usually broken down on the side of the road
A lot of Hams are what I call HOAms. They like to dictate the rules for everyone, and bully people into submission.
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billiebob
Well-known member
I love this, "I went to the Library"..... the best, most under utilized resource ever.
