Mr. Wilson, with all due respect, your reply had absolutely "nothing" to do
with the thread. "Read it!". He didn't say he wasn't permitted to talk, he
said he was setting off alarms - you know - the "theft deterrent" alarms
that go off when you walk out of a store with stolen merchandise. This
thread is probably 5 months or more old. I wrote into it many months back
with my own reply as to what could be happening - under a different name. As
I stated before and as have others, I go into stores/malls all the time with
fire radios, ham radios, etc. No alarms and not a word is said. They can NOT
assume you to be "stealing". That would be a law suit they wouldn't want to
face. You say you walk into a store using your Ham H.T. with no complaints -
again, so do many others!!!!! Most store employees wouldn't know the
freaking difference between my fire radio, your ham radio or an FRS radio.
So, that statement doesn't hold water. This man was only wondering WHY his
radio was setting off the Theft Alarm... that is ALL.

L.


"john wilson" wrote in message
...
It's called private property. Malls and shopping centers are on private
property and can establish whatever rules they wish regarding the use of
cellphones, radios, etc. If you don't like it move on. If you want to
enter the premises, leave the radios in the car. In addition to concern
regarding a radio's use for shoplifting is the concern of comparison
shopping. My son had a summer job at a Target Store in the mall and knew
of
more than one employee who was sent to Walmart to compare prices using an
HT. Not a good idea. However, I have been in Circuit City using my HT
and
talking through our local 444.275 mhz. repeater and had no problems. It
just depends on who allows what where.

wrote:

p.s. I did not steal these FRS radios. I bought them legally, and have
had them probably over a week now.

They were advertised as to keep in touch witg yur family (and locate
each other) at shoppng malls and parks.

of course, when you go to a shopping mall, you usually shop, and since
these radios were advertised for to be used at shopping malls,

it never even crossed my mind that just having them (turned off, not
transmitting, just having them) would set off the theft alarms of every
single store in the mall that I went into and out of both when I went in
and when I went out.

until. it happened to me today.

I did not have anything else with me that would have set off the theft
alarms, and I did not try to steal anything from any store.

The alarms must have detected the metal and went off when they did so.

So I imagine anyone carrying just a regular handheld scanner they have
to listen to would also acidentally set them off.

My purpose was communications since the radio I had was advetrised to be
used at the mall for personal communications with famly (to locate each
other when we're ready to leave).

Whose at fault here? The stores and mall or the radio manufacturers or
the FCC for allowing it (FRS) to be used for that purpose and promoting
it to be used that for purpose?

They'll all probably blame each other.

What I do know however, is that this can cause some very serious trouble
and very serious problems with people. such as

Theft alarms going off when people didn't steal anything and are just
legally carrying their FRS radios and getting picked up by mall security
and police for it, even if they didn't transmit anything. and were using
it the way it was intended to and advertised as.

Theft alarms going off when Liscened GMRS users are just carrying their
radios and getting picked up by mall security and police for it, even if
they didn't transmit anything, and were using it the way it was intended
to and advertised as.

Mall security and police going to a store where the theft allarm went
off because of a FRS user or liscened GMRS user just having their radio
with them, to be used as intended, while a real burglarly happens at a
different store in the same mall and all the security personnel and
police are at the store with the FRS or GMRS user because the theft
alarms went off just from the FRS user or GMRS user having their radio
with them. (not even transmitting anything).