On Jan 25, 10:02 pm, "Sarge" wrote:
Does the FCC think that people will actually pay $75 bucks for a
licence when u can use a gmrs without one and not get caught.
How can they catch you if you don't give out your name on the radio and
make up call letters?As a ham operator,I can point out people who get busted all the time.
Believe me, they will find you.

Maybe I am doing something wrong, but I just looked through the FCC's
list of busts, fines
and other non fun things. Several hams got nailed, but it takes years
even for that, several
broadcasters for various and most often stupily silly offenses. But I
couldn't find a single
instance of anyone getting nailed for using GMRS or MURS without a
license.

Could you please provide cites of the "people who get busted all the
time"?
Thank you

Operating without a required license is illegal. Neglecting to pay a
parking meter is
also illegal. I don't see either as a moral or ethical quagmire. As
that famed child
actor said; "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time". Although to
be fair I suspect
it should be "Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine". The FCC
sure looks like
a money raising operation.

Somehow I figure the chances of getting the FCC to even look into GMRS
or MURS
violations to be on the order of picking winning lottery numbers.

When I add in the fact that every enforcement action I have read about
has a cease
and desist warning before the fines begin.

For me it isn't a big deal. I value my ham license and wouldn't want to
place it
at risk. But here in the Lexington KY area I hear very little traffic
on GMRS and
I have enver heard any on MURS. I use my ham radios with hams, and FRS
for everyone else. Although one stormy night before my wife had her
license
we were towing a friends AirStream and ran into deep water. I had 2
IC-2ATs
with me and gave one to her and I lead the way. Illegal? Yes. Life and
property
safey issue? Yes! I decided to take the ever so slight risk of a pink
ticket
and save our friends home. Dumb? Yes as a rock. Had I checked the
weather
I would have picked another route. My wife was driving the truck, much
better
at it then me, but given the one lane road with no good place to turn
around,
we had to press on. Lossing my license was the least of my worries that
"Dark and Stormy Night". It did prompt my wife to get her license. And
somehow
I really doubt if I managed to hurt anyone, interferr with any comms as
I picked
an out of the way freq and we ran low power into smaller(then stock)
stubby duckies.

That is why I have 3 FRS with spare batteries in the car these days.

Terry