Lostgallifreyan wrote:
Another lively form of ham radio exists where people use Pringles tubes and
such to make small directional relays for RF-based localised internet. While
the TCP protocol comes ready made, the spirit of ham radio is very alive in
the way people coerce a pringles tube into doing these things.

Unfortunately if they are properly made, they are illegal to use in the US
and other places in the world.

The EIRP limit in the US is 1W for portable/mobile and 4W for fixed
(point to point use), a properly made Pringles antenna produces slightly over
4W with 100mW input.

Here it's even worse, the EIRP limit is 100mW, so any gain antenna is
technicaly illegal, though 5dbi ones they are sold here.


It's become IMHO more like the spirit of modifiying CB rigs to transmit and
receive in that little slice of radio spectrum between CB and the 10m ham
band aka "freebanding" than the spirit of lawful, respectful ham radio.

Geoff.

--
Geoffrey S. Mendelson, Jerusalem, Israel N3OWJ/4X1GM
New word I coined 12/13/09, "Sub-Wikipedia" adj, describing knowledge or
understanding, as in he has a sub-wikipedia understanding of the situation.
i.e possessing less facts or information than can be found in the Wikipedia.