In article ilgate.org, "K0HB
with non-approved radios" writes:

"N2EY" wrote

I'm glad the ARRL is keeping quiet. This guy gives ham radio a black eye.
You wanna defend his "right" to modify his rig to a bunch of emergency
personnel who scrambled to answer the phony distress calls?

I do NOT want one cent of my dues, or one second of ARRL personnel's time,
spent defending the modification of amateur equipment for *illegal*
transmission on frequencies hams are *not* authorized to use.

Under FCC rules there is NOTHING ILLEGAL about modifying an amateur
radio transmitter. NOTHING. ZIPPO. NADA!

OK, fine.

The *illegal* part of this incident lies in the *USE*.

Yup.

I'm not here to defend this guy for USING his radio in the manner he
did, nor did I ever suggest the ARRL should defend his illegal use of
the radio, but they damn well SHOULD defend our existing privelege of
tinkering and modifying our equipment, as mandated by 97.1(b) of the
Commissions Rules.

With the privilege of being able to modify goes the responsibility to follow
the rules. That guy demonstrated that he could not follow the rules, therefore,
he lost the privilege.

Now if a law-abiding ham gets into trouble with the FCC for modification,
that's a different story. I don't know of any law-abiding ham who has gotten
into trouble for modifications. Do you?

But this dude isn't law abiding. Got his license two weeks and he's sending
phony distress calls on a marine freq.

"Modified radios don't break the rules, people do."

Yup. So the rulebreakers don't get to modify.

With all kind wishes for your QCAO chapter membership drive,

If you only knew.....

73 de Jim, N2EY