I am reluctant to jump into this discussion--but one point
of clarification needs to be made because I think Roger has
made ONE serious mistake. The mistake is to lump the illegal
activities of "freebanders" into the group defined as CBers.
There are really three groups that have been improperly
grouped together by Roger.
CBers--Those people operating within the CB band in accordance
with the regulations. I encourage them to enjoy their hobby and I
will do what I can to help them gain an amateur license and enjoy
MY hobby, if that is what they want to do. There are many great
amateurs that have come up through the CB ranks. Unfortunately
there are relatively few of these legal operators left because they
have been driven away by the illegal activities within the band.
Illegal CBers--Those people operating within the CB band but
running excessive power. They have given CB a bad name.
And have driven away many of the legal CB operators of the past.
Their activities--although confined to the CB band has a negative
impact on ME because the public often does not differentiate
between CB and Amateur Radio. Hams often get blamed for
Illegal-CB interference. And this is one thing that has led to the
increase of covenants making it very difficult for a ham to
be able to put up an antenna in many neighborhoods.
"Freebanders"--CB-LIKE activity, but usually running high power and
outside of the authorized CB band. These are the worst offenders
and they are NOT CBers. And to refer to them as CBers is a grave
injustice to the legal CBers that WOULD make good hams. The
"freebanders" are PIRATES. No license and no authorized frequency
for operating. I have no use for them and firmly believe that their
blatant disregard for the regulations makes them a very poor
candidate for amateur radio--a hobby that is generally regarded
as being self-policing and law-abiding. The "freebanders" not only
impact me with negative public opinion because of the public's
lack of differentiation between a "CBer" (freebander) and a ham.
But they also impact me directly as they move into the 10M ham
band--specifically the CW segment. Making it become more and
more difficult for me and all licensed amateurs to enjoy OUR hobby.
As PIRATE radio stations, operating outside the law, I think that
resources SHOULD be brought to bear upon them to remove them
from the air.
Here is a brief analogy that might make it easier to relate to my
differentiations. Admittedly a bit oversimplified--but it does help to
make my point.
CBer = licensed driver who drives (operates) on the roads and highways
(frequencies) and generally obeys the driving laws
HAM = a CDL-licensed driver who drives (operates) on the same roads and
highways (frequencies) and has passed a more comprehensive
test and has received more privileges for his efforts such
as the right to drive an 18-wheeler
ILLEGAL CBer = a licensed driver who tends to exceed the speed
limit, roll through a lot of stop signs, and generally disregard
the rules
FREEBANDER = an unlicensed driver, who totally disregards the laws
and the welfare of the public. All reasonable efforts should
be made to remove unlicensed drivers from the public roads
BUT THE AMPS REFLECTOR IS NOT THE PLACE TO DEBATE
THESE ISSUES. Although helping unlicensed operators to break
the law MIGHT be analogous to aiding and abetting illegal activities,
the information provided on the reflector is available from other
NON-restricted sources such as engineering textbooks. So it
is hard to make a case for banning a specific group.
If the debate of the issues and their remedies IS important then
an appropriate reflector should be established. In any case, the
debate does not belong on the amps reflector.
John W0UN
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