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Corwin, Prince of Amber wrote:
So what if I invent my call sign, learn the lingo, and start using my 2M radio without jumping through all the hoops to get licensed. Does anyone *really* care? Is 'big brother' really going to bust through my front door with a SWAT team? Of the 1+ million HAM operators, how many are actually fined each year for doing what I'm considering? If you learn all the lingo and invent a plausible "where did you take your test?" story, you might get away with it. (I notice you live in NYC. If you were in rural Kansas somewhere, where every ham knows every other ham, it'd be far less likely to work) You'll have to be VERY convincing. Licensing databases are freely accessible. If I contact a station identifying as "WB9NME", and have any reason whatsoever to be suspicious, I can put that call into http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsS...rchLicense.jsp (among other sites) and know in a few seconds it's not valid. [0] At the point when it's learned you're operating without a license, you will find contacts much more difficult to make. You will almost certainly be reported to the FCC. I doubt (but don't promise) they'll fine you on the first offense, but there's a good chance they'll confiscate your radio. And you'll probably find it difficult, if not impossible, to get a license. They might even hold it against your application for a license for some other service. (GMRS etc.) If I stick with it instead of packing the radio up and putting it next to my photography equipment, I will get licensed, I promise. Really, getting licensed is easy & inexpensive. Especially in New York. (again, our theoretical Kansan might have to wait months and drive hundreds of miles to get to a testing session. Definitely not true in NYC!) Also, even if I *really do* need a license to transmit, I don't need a license to turn the radio on and listen, do I? No, it's perfectly legal to listen without a license. Indeed, it would be a very good idea to listen while awaiting your license; that way you'll be familiar with operating procedure once the license arrives. -- Doug Smith W9WI Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com [0] anymore. WB9NME was my old callsign back in the 1970s, it was surrendered to be changed to W9WI in 1977. |
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