When you have a radio that LOOKS like a CB, has chrome faces and rebel flags, has "bands" of "channels" (channels have NOTHING whatsoever to do with amateur radio), are SOLD in truck stops and
CB shops, PROMOTED
TO CBers as having FAR more watts than the 4 allowed, BRAG on having 160, 200, 280, 320 "channels", NOBODY is being fooled by the charade:angry: OR the lettering that is put on the phony "amateur" radios---Least OF ALL FCC!!!:thumbdown: Most ALL radios can be made to do things they are not intended to do. The reasons for the liberal parameters allowed for the REAL amateur radios is that
FOR THE MOST PART, THE AMATEURS HAVE PROVEN TO BE RELIABLE, PROVEN RESOURCES AND, UNLIKE THE OUTLAW MINIONS OF CB, GENERALLY BEHAVE THEMSELVES! Two examples of this are MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System) and members of the Civil Air Patrol who may nor may NOT be amateur radio operators. CAP members operate under completely MILITARY authority, and until recently, often used Amateur radio equipment extensively. Often amateur sets such as the Icom 706 were routinely modified to operate on CAP frequencies according to the parameters set by US Air Force, NOT by FCC. This was done because of expense that would be incurred IF CAP members were forced to buy military (NTIA-compliant) equipment. They are volunteers (as are MARS members) and cannot afford to pay $2500+ for HF and VHF equipment.
Therefore, it matters not that a relatively small group of operationally non-essential (CB) operators who, unfortunately, show a penchant for ignoring regulations want to have these outlaw radios (10 Meter) proliferate unabated. It matters that there IS an agency that, thankfully, DOES make such distinctions and draw lines as to what equipment may or may not be used for CB----OR be allowed to filch frequencies from legitimate, legally authorized licensees!!!!:angry: Sure, those that don't LIKE the idea of having their precious and ILLEGAL "10 Meter" (and junky) radios banned, criticized, and FINED are going to try to find every excuse to cry "UNFAIR", and "FOUL" and ask why REAL amateur radios don't suffer sanction from FCC. The REAL amateur radios AND their ability to be modified according to the RULES of the service into which they are usually put
serve a legitimate and proven purpose! It is relatively RARE to find a ham radio that has been put into a use afoul of its actual purpose by a ham! It is more likely that a ham radio will be found misused by---------some outlaw CBer!!!
Perhaps, the answer is to be found in a MIRROR!!!!!:drool: For quite a few years, FCC was asleep. IF the export builders had fixed the so-called "10 Meter" junk so that once they had been modded to work on CB, they would NO LONGER work on
10 Meters, the FCC might not have awakened. They really didn't WANT to have to enforce CB radio!!! But NOOOOOOOOO! The CB outlaws wanted ALL them thar channels and all them thar "bands" that belonged to someone ELSE!!!!!!!:thumbdown: So they not only went into the non-existant "freeband", they figured that the actual 10 Meter band was fair game as well. And being ignorant of any such thing as licensing, band plans, and agreements, they plopped their butts right smack dab onto the CW sub-band. After all, them beeps and blops were 'just noise' right? Being that the amateurs DO have a bit of pull via ARRL and many FCC engineers ARE hams anyway, the Feds woke UP and said, "Oh no, h--- you DON'T!" The result was a bunch of P----ed off hams AND an awakened FCC!!!!!!!!! AND a bunch of dealers getting their butts kicked via FINES, CB operators crying about the $10,000 fines they got!
I don't mean to be unkind, but like most hams, finding some unlicensed, ignorant clown ON the ham bands makes me FURIOUS!!!!!!!!!! They have ALL of the CB band to play free (mostly) from rules and tests; they are not welcome to come onto other turf! They have the privilege of doing the SAME things *I* did by taking the TESTS, and FOLLOWING the same rules I do!!!! So I don't like the outlaw stuff OR the illegal radios that make it possible for the rambos to show up on 10 Meters. If I offend, I am sorry. It's how I feel!!~!!
CWM
