"Corwin, Prince of Amber" wrote in message . ..
New user. I know I may (hopefully not) get 9 angry replies and 1 who
understands my ignorance and will provide an articulate reponse, but
I'll take my chances.

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

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?

Rick Bryan
New York, NY



Please don't take offense, but you will almost certainly be found out
very soon. While the lingo is not all that hard, it is hard to sound
convincing.
At best you will be labeled a LID, at worst the local hams might
decide
to use you as the fox in a RDF hunt. Given that a normal fox hunt has
rather
low powered txs, in difficult locations and run very short bursts, to
RDF a
person engaged in normal conversation is, as the computer gurus say,
"a trivial
task". Even with no special equipment, meaning no fancy Yagis, I have
tracked down ham friends just for grins.
Given that it will cost you less then $10, and, at most a few days of
study,
why run the risk. I would worry a lot more about a local cop, who
might well be a ham, deciding to bust you for having a radio that will
receive "police comms".
While real hams are imune, you would be fair game. Big fine, plus the
chance of real jail time.
Terry