Corwin, Prince of Amber wrote:
So what if I invent my call sign, learn the lingo, and start using my
2M radio without jumping through all the hoops to get licensed. Does
anyone *really* care? Is 'big brother' really going to bust through
my front door with a SWAT team? Of the 1+ million HAM operators, how
many are actually fined each year for doing what I'm considering?

If you learn all the lingo and invent a plausible "where did you take
your test?" story, you might get away with it. (I notice you live in
NYC. If you were in rural Kansas somewhere, where every ham knows every
other ham, it'd be far less likely to work)

You'll have to be VERY convincing. Licensing databases are freely
accessible. If I contact a station identifying as "WB9NME", and have
any reason whatsoever to be suspicious, I can put that call into
http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsS...rchLicense.jsp (among other
sites) and know in a few seconds it's not valid. [0]

At the point when it's learned you're operating without a license, you
will find contacts much more difficult to make. You will almost
certainly be reported to the FCC. I doubt (but don't promise) they'll
fine you on the first offense, but there's a good chance they'll
confiscate your radio. And you'll probably find it difficult, if not
impossible, to get a license. They might even hold it against your
application for a license for some other service. (GMRS etc.)

If I stick with it instead of packing the radio up and putting it next
to my photography equipment, I will get licensed, I promise.

Really, getting licensed is easy & inexpensive. Especially in New York.
(again, our theoretical Kansan might have to wait months and drive
hundreds of miles to get to a testing session. Definitely not true in NYC!)

Also, even if I *really do* need a license to transmit, I don't need a
license to turn the radio on and listen, do I?

No, it's perfectly legal to listen without a license. Indeed, it would
be a very good idea to listen while awaiting your license; that way
you'll be familiar with operating procedure once the license arrives.
--
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66
http://www.w9wi.com

[0] anymore. WB9NME was my old callsign back in the 1970s, it was
surrendered to be changed to W9WI in 1977.