A condemnation, therefore, of the CBisation taking place
in the UK (and in no small part caused by the M3/CB Fool's
Licence)?

Modern Cheque Book (CB) rigs contain so much that there
is little incentive for the CBer-Masquerading-As-A-Radio-Ham to
actually become a Radio Ham - even now there are those who turn
up their noses at a radio if it requires the use/construction of a manual
ATU.

The rigs seem to go on for years, and contain everything that you
think, mistakenly, makes for a Radio Ham. The result? That you
never have to visit the shop again. No buying of second-hand
gear. No buying of the odd component. No buying of ex-govt
gear with a view to conversion.

All the little shops close down because there are no Radio Hams;
there are only CBers of one sort or another who visit a shop once
and then never return.

Result? The shop closes down or is taken over by stack'em high
sell 'em cheap merchants who can never give the value that you
used to get from an enthusiasts shop.

The CB ethos is like a cancer - feeding off the body of Ham Radio,
but then finally destroying it; biting off the hand that feeds; killing
the goose with the golden eggs.

It is not too late to turn the tide. (Even if a mixed metaphor sings,
it should be derailed by pulling out the carpet from underneath?)

We can make a start, perhaps, by agitating for the abolishment
of the M3/CB Fool's Licence, and for it to be replaced by
a form of CB licence. All other licence classes to enforce
home construction and, perhaps, the use of CW only for
the first year, as an encouragement to tackle successfully a first
constructional project.

Geoff wrote in message
...
That's a bit difficult if you have already purchased the item. Anyway,
where else? There is very little choice available within the UK, and
purchasing outside the UK may have been done to death in another thread.