"Leland C. Scott" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 28 May 2005 13:06:44 -0400, alexb wrote:


Aside from what you just said which is valuable, I want to point out
that my
communications, I hate to say it, are encrypted. That small GMRS has 15
or
so codes and multiplied by the number of channels I can use (from the
top of
my head from the 12th

I would take what he said about call sign usage with a grain of salt. It's
no different than somebody telling you it's OK to do 20 over on the
highway because they never saw a cop. Yeah you might get away with it for
a long time, but sooner or later you'll get nailed. Also consider you're
trying to use it for business, that gives the licensed users an extra
incentive to report you.

Now for your comment above, if your talking about those
so-called "privacy codes", forget it. They don't encrypt anything. What
they're for is to keep other radios from opening up the squelch for every
transmission on that channel except for the one using that code. That way
you don't have to be bothered listening to transmission you're not
interested in. Anybody with a scanner can still hear everything you say.
One more thing, if you read the rules about station ID it states clearly
that you must ID either in English or Mose Code on the GMRS channels. That
basically ends any sort of encrypted transmission on GMRS. You may find
FRS radios using "voice inversion" scrambling, but then again you have to
have all matching radios typically from the same manufacture and most
people who are serious monitors have ways to unscramble the signal anyway,
either using hardware or some software based technique using a computer
sound card. The best rule to observe is assume that somebody can hear you
regardless of what kind of transmission you make scrambled, or in the
clear.

Regards,

Leland C. Scott
KC8LDO
WPYJ972

Thanks, Do I have to get a second license for the second walkie-talkie that
works vis-a-vie of mine?

I am not paranoid about encrypting. There is basically nothing I need to
hide. I just do not want to broadcast what I am doing unnecessarily across
town. When I talk to people I know I am very open about it. All I want to do
is to take MINIMAL precautions with minimal cost involved.

Thanks.