Amateur Radio "Urban Legends" Thread

chrismol1

P25 TruCking!
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MDC1200 is for radio testing to let everyone know you have a "real" radio

and don't forget its illegal, public safety digital, is illegal on the ham bands and restricted for public safety only. Only certified RACES/ARES "officers" can operate like that
 
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n9mxq

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As I get older my brain is like a full book shelf. If I add a new book on one end, another book gets pushed off the other end, and ends up in a big pile on the floor. The books on the floor aren’t really lost, but it sure takes a long time to hunt through to find what I need!
Oh my god I felt that in my soul.. A more accurate description than this would be near impossible to find...
 

kg6nlw

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MDC1200 is for radio testing to let everyone know you have a "real" radio

and don't forget its illegal, public safety digital, is illegal on the ham bands and restricted for public safety only. Only certified RACES/ARES "officers" can operate like that

So running P25 with MDC on some odd simplex frequencies between ham friends with commercial gear in a group is...? :LOL:

Regards,

-Frank C.
 

k6cpo

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........and don't forget the ham radio operator's badge, a dead giveaway that you're among the elite few.

View attachment 134456
I seriously wonder about the people that buy these things.

I thought about buying one of these, more as a conversation item which would never leave the shack, but didn't care for this design. And I always seem to have a better use for the money.
 

GrumpyGuard

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I seriously wonder about the people that buy these things.
When I lived in Fresno, I was at a ham convention and some hams from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services had a booth and were recruiting. Their biggest selling point was they were issued badges that would allow them access to any disaster scene. That really turned me off from that group. Also, you and your fellow radio technicians are the unsung heroes for those of us in law enforcement and the fire service.
 

mmckenna

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When I lived in Fresno, I was at a ham convention and some hams from the Governor's Office of Emergency Services had a booth and were recruiting. Their biggest selling point was they were issued badges that would allow them access to any disaster scene. That really turned me off from that group.

Yeah, CalOES knows how to get the attention of the hams.

Ham radio has its place in disasters. It's not on the front lines, though. There's nothing wrong being "in the rear with the gear".

Also, you and your fellow radio technicians are the unsung heroes for those of us in law enforcement and the fire service.

Thanks. I get pretty good recognition from the people that matter. Most radio guys do. Bonus is that I love my job.
 

k6cpo

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Yeah, CalOES knows how to get the attention of the hams.

Ham radio has its place in disasters. It's not on the front lines, though. There's nothing wrong being "in the rear with the gear".

As our Section Public Information Coordinator and ARES PIO, I took the necessary courses and obtained a Public Information Officer Specialist certificate from CalOES. So far, I haven't had occasion to use it but if ARES is ever activated in an actual emergency, I'll be in a position to represent them in a Joint Information Center (JIC)
 

GrumpyGuard

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Ham radio has its place in disasters. It's not on the front lines, though. There's nothing wrong being "in the rear with the gear".
I agree that ham radio has its place in disasters as long as we are in a support role. At the time I was a peace officer employed by the state and felt their sales pitch was off-putting. What really went through my mind was "Badges, we don't need no stinking badges!" from Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Then stolen by Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles.

Our radio tech in Merced was great. When he found out I was a ham, he taught me a lot when I would bring in a vehicle for either an installation or removal of a radio.
 

VA2SWP

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Boisbriand, Quebec
Ham/urban legends:
-The FCC has roaming SWAT teams and black helicopters just waiting for new hams to screw up.

A good friend of mine whose day job occasionally has him dealing with IC (Canada's FCC as far as amateur radio goes) once got into a discussion with them with regards to enforcement, etc. and their short answer was "our resources are dedicated to bigger things than ham radio, so unless an amateur radio operator is literally harming people, we don't really care..."
 

RadioDXfun

Omni low angle radiator
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"1dB loss does not make much difference."

I have a problem with this trope in that it can be true in some instances but may lead to carelessness. Firstly we are amateurs so I bear that in mind we all have our own ways of enjoying things with radio and it may be that some are more perfectionist than others. However, it could become a bit of a problem if this 1dB extends to another dB and another and another.

I do the opposite and save all those dB's. A dB on the coax choice, a dB gain on the antenna choice, a dB on the matching, a dB not lost through elevating the antenna, a dB lost running the radio at 70W instead of 100W. a dB lost not driving your audio right, a dB lost not worrying about a 2:1 SWR, etc etc. It can and does add up. I held contacts at S0 R3 with QSB so the stations disappeared altogether at times. I do this regularly in a low noise portable situation. It is when you hold these contacts that you were glad you kept you 4-5dB and not lost them !

It matters less in these times of increasing SFI's but I am glad I kept my signals intact where I could for those lower SFI's
and even strong signals eventually always become weak ones.

I think it is good to have an attitude to look after the dB losses. It is just a good approach.
 
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