"Dave Platt" wrote in message
...
The fact that he "didn't deny" that he was "broadcasting illegally"
isn't proof, by any means.

I agree with you, Dave, but it's the usual case where it sure *looks*
suspicious if someone who's doing something entirely legal doesn't claim as
much when accused of doing something illegal. Something like, "Actually, I'm
a licensed amateur radio operator, and my setup is perfectly legal, although I
don't really care to debate this with you -- good day." is in no way
provocative.

I would suggest that the O.P. contact his local amateur radio club and see if
anyone there has a spectrum analyzer -- that should very quickly resolve the
question of whether he's transmitting on 11m or some ham frequency. If it is
a ham frequency, I would agree that realistically one has to assume he's
transmitting well within his legal rights, as (1) exact power measurements
aren't going to be easy and (2) perfectly legal power levels can still cause
plenty of interference.

I would hope that all hams would be intersted in assisting the O.P. in this
case. While the transmitter may well be a hermit ham operating perfectly
legally, it's certainly in the amateur community's interest (and perhaps even
charter) to help the O.P. out by at least verifying that the transmissions are
plausibly legal, and then providing suggestions on reducing interference (if
they are legal), as you have done.

However, even if your neighbor doesn't have a ham license, and is
transmitting on CB, it's entirely possible that his transmissions
could be getting into your radio even if they were limited to legal
power...

Also true, but highly unlikely, IMO. This can usually be verified by just
listening to the guy for awhile -- pretty much every CB'er I've ever met who
had an amplifier liked to brag about it at some point on the air.
Additionally, if some local ham with a spectrum analyzer can additionally
estimate the gain of the antenna, he can estimate what sort of signal power a
5W CB should produce with a test dipole connected to his analyzer. If he's
getting, e.g., 20dB or more above the estimate, the likelihood that it's a
legal CB transmission is effectively zero.

---Joel