"carl seyersdahl" <carlseye@tampabay.rr.com> says --
> A few days ago there was a request for info here on 10 mtr. amps opn.
>someone suggested that one could build one, aparently happy to do so, while
>the
> requestor didn't sign with an amateur call sign, which left me wondering if
>the one who wanted this info was in fact a Ham!!! the person who , it seems
>, was offering to maybe build a 10 mtr. amp , when asked, off list , about
>it , had this to say, I don't know and I don't care, If he wants an amp I
>'ll build it, or words to that effect!!! I certainly do hope that this isn't
>the attitude of the majority of hams today!!!! that has been a problem in
>the past and I would hope it isn't indicative of the ham way of thinking
>today!! I , for one, would never stoop that low, and I will cheerfully
>report to the proper authorities anyone I know of who does these things!
> I once modified an amp for a friend, a ham, who gave the amp to another
>friend, who later turned out to be a non-ham!! It won't happen again!!!!
Bottom line? The FCC doesn't look at the chain of custody for "10 meter"
amps past the last person who sold the amp for money. They do have a
significant record for pinching off violators' heads and dumping
unspeakable substances in the hole.
I would condemn anybody's decision to refuse to _build_ a 10M amp based
solely on existing law or the possibility that the amp might be used
illegally.
That said, I laud everybody's decision to actively keep amps out of the
hands of those people who WILL use them unlawfully or divert them for
unlawful uses -- and not just on 10 M. (cf. Herbie Schoenbaum on 20M)
And -- having seen plans for an amp modification that placed a plate-choke
parasitic dead-center in 11 M -- I feel that this kind of modification
constitutes a violation of the Communications Act of 1934 proscription
against sabotage of a radio station.
Build good stuff, gentlemen. Share it with people you know. As for the
domestic freebanders -- it's a much better deal to get them legal than to
make them convicted criminals. Remember, a newly licensed General class
ham is just a couple of exam elements away from a chicken chokin' duck
pluckin' mud duck freebander.
The experience here in Central Texas since volunteer exams started in 1986
has overwhelmingly been that the "tower of power" CBers make DAMN good hams.
Jim N6OTQ
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