Has Ham Radio become too easy?

[TheSpaceMan]

And how do you propose to catch them? when you do tell me so we can get the one that has made it almost impossible to talk on our repeater.


K3CFC

Good point. Since we can't expect the FCC to go after those clowns, it's probably going to be up to hams to track them down, and then hopefully the FCC might take action once they are identified. Back in the good old days on the CB band, the troublemakers would often get tracked down by other CBers. We had one guy who would just sit on CH 10 with his mike keyed for hours, preaching about how the CB communists were taking over the Bronx! One day they had an antenna raiding party, chopped his antenna down, and actually pulled his rig and mike out the window by yanking on the coax!

 

[feets]

And how do you propose to catch them? when you do tell me so we can get the one that has made it almost impossible to talk on our repeater.


K3CFC

Is he not using a call?

If he's using a ligit call, it should be easy to catch him.

If he isn't using a ligit call, what makes you think he is licenced at all?

 

[shortride]

This may be a poor analogy but when you get your drivers license do you know all of the traffic laws in your state? I haven't got my ticket yet but it's hard to imagine that every amateur operator knows every regulation unless they've been around for a very long time. Even then one would have to do a lot of reading to keep up with new regulations.

 

[N4DES]

The Part 97 Rule book purchased over the counter is not very long, besides most of the items in there are common sense. If you are an active operator and you keep on top of FCC releases, that are widely distributed via the public domain, are very hard to miss.

One think that I high recommend, if you are looking to venture into a new mode of operation, be sure to read...read...and read before implementing anything Nothing worse than getting an OO card to make you put your tail in-between your legs and refrain from experimenting due to a lack of research.

 

[bill4long]

A Baofenger in a mobile is all but impossible to catch.

 

[zz0468]

This may be a poor analogy but when you get your drivers license do you know all of the traffic laws in your state? I haven't got my ticket yet but it's hard to imagine that every amateur operator knows every regulation unless they've been around for a very long time. Even then one would have to do a lot of reading to keep up with new regulations.

You bring up an excellent point. There are all sorts of obscure details in the rules that you'll never get tested on, but you could get cited if you violate them.

How many of us know that if you operate, say, maritime mobile, your frequency assignments are aligned with the ITU region you happen to be operating in, meaning you may not have the full ham band you have at home. How many of us are aware that on the 420-450 band, in a lot of areas in the U.S. there is a 50 watt transmitter power limitation, unless you get a waiver from the military? How many know how to actually get that waiver?

We're expected to abide by all those obscure rules, but you'll never see most of them on any test.

 

[feets]

A Baofenger in a mobile is all but impossible to catch.

What brand of HT is easy to catch if the operator is moving? Or any other mobile/portable device?

I really don't understand the distain for baofeng. The only difference for operating on the ham freq's is price. The rules and laws remain the same.

 

[WB4CS]

Is he not using a call?

If he's using a ligit call, it should be easy to catch him.

If he isn't using a ligit call, what makes you think he is licenced at all?

Even if they are using a call it can be hard to catch. A few months ago in my area we had a guy that was using a valid callsign (as in it's an active call). He would cuss up a storm, cause malicious interference, etc. He didn't think it through because the call he was using was over 20 years old, and this 27 year old kept saying he got his ham license just a few years ago. Busted. With QRZ.com and the FCC page, it's not hard for someone to search for a callsign and get on the air illegally.

 

[feets]

Yes, but increasing license requirements won't stop that. Unlicensed is unlicensed.

 

[TheSpaceMan]

What brand of HT is easy to catch if the operator is moving? Or any other mobile/portable device?

I really don't understand the distain for baofeng. The only difference for operating on the ham freq's is price. The rules and laws remain the same.

Here is a bit of information that remains widely unknown. The Feds can track any radio or electromagnetic emission from any point on the globe instantaneously. There are military satellites in orbit that can identify the source from within 1 yard, then image and track it in real time. Are they going to use this technology to stop a clown on an HT from jamming a repeater from inside a moving vehicle? I think not.

 

[Rozie45]

I have MANY thoughts/opinions... 1st: history. Yes, easy IS relative. But if you want something bad enough, you will find a way to get it. 40 years ago, you had to seek out someone (another ham) to volunteer to give you the novice. 5 WPM and a written. Anything above that you had to visit an FCC field office. My General involved 13 WPM and a written which by the way included drawing schematics that was reviewed by the commission's engineer proctoring the exam. as was the advanced and extra class. The extra also required 20 WPM. Again, if you wanted it bad enough....

There were also no study guides with the answers....just the questions that "might" be asked. It was difficult, but worth it.

Now a federal exam is a federal exam. It doesn't matter if it's FCC or FAA. I spent many years driving airplanes. Every test we took in at least the last 20 years, the study guide gave you the answers to (memorize) learn. You still had to take a practical (flight) test, but if you didn't score a 100 on the written(s), something was wrong. When I took my initial flight test, you learned how to control airplanes a great deal by "feel." 25 years later, you were no longer a pilot, but a "systems' manager." Pilots today, much like ham radio operators spend very little time learning the basics. Funny how Congress is now debating an increase in pilot experience/training for a career in the airlines because of recent crashes....

People have become to used to getting things fast....including licenses (for everything). Does this mean that the standards are lower? In my opinion, yes. It is what it is.

I'm still of the opinion that every ham should take a code test. Makes no difference if you'll never use it, BUT in an emergency (which is was HAM radio is all about) it's a basic form of "communication." If your mic doesn't put out audio, you can still send an SOS by clicking....

Bottom line, if my novice test was easy years ago, I wouldn't have respected it for what it was... Today we find many people raising this (the same) questions..... If you have to ask the question - Is ham radio too easy today....the answer is obvious.

Rozie45.

 

[LtDoc]

YES! It's too easy. All things considered, I think the solution is to raise the price of taking the test. And... send the difference to me!
- 'Doc

 

[ab3a]

What is the license for?

First, I was licensed as a novice in 1975. I got my Extra Class license the old fashioned way: taking a test at FCC headquarters, including the 20 WPM code test.

That said: Morse code is as obsolete as riding horses. It still may be appropriate for a few places, but it is mostly used for enjoyment. Yes, I still maintain my proficiency because I enjoy the anachronism. Yet it is quite obsolete. That wasn't the case in the 1970s, but it is the case now. Get over it.

There were people back then who thought the exams were too easy. Geezers have always said things like that. There were also unlicensed idiots on the air. There were jerks on 14.313 (some things do not change). There was loads of interference and the radios, well, despite those tales of yore, they left a lot to be desired.

So we ask what getting a ham license should be like? Should it be "easy?" Well, you should know what you're doing on the air, how to set up an antenna that radiates where it is supposed to, how to know that the signal you're putting on the air is clean, what the band edges and and rules are, where the authoritative sources are, and how to be a good citizen on the air.

A multiple choice test pool is about as good as it gets. I wish there were some actual, practical, performance test that we could administer. But testing for Morse code would be like testing for horsemanship skills to get a driver's license. It has become irrelevant.

Let's be honest here. If your only goal is to pass a test, then you're doing it wrong. The test preparation should include many more things to introduce prospective candidates to the magic of radio, the fascinating history, the responsibilities, and the ethics. We should encourage people to learn.

This problem is not unique to ham radio. It is rife in other endeavors as well. If I had a dollar for every idiot pilot I have known, I would have a substantial sum of money. People chase certificates, and think that the certificate is the art. It is not. I am going to offend many people by saying this, but it must be said: THIS IS NOT SOME DAMNED MERIT BADGE FROM SCOUTING. This is a license to practice and to learn on your own.

We should recruit people who are passionate and curious about this endeavor. We should teach the arts and practices. And we should instill the sort of citizenship that we expect of each other on the air.

THAT is the goal of this hobby. The license is merely the price of entry.

 

[bill4long]

What brand of HT is easy to catch if the operator is moving? Or any other mobile/portable device?

I really don't understand the distain for baofeng. The only difference for operating on the ham freq's is price. The rules and laws remain the same.

I cite the Baofeng as a representative example because they are often sold cheaply at flea markets (around $50) to unlicensed people who then proceed to talk illegally, hoot, holler, jam and otherwise cause problems. I have no disdain for the radios themselves. In fact I've got one right here. But I think it should be illegal to sell ham radios to unlicensed people.

 

[petey_racer]

I cite the Baofeng as a representative example because they are often sold cheaply at flea markets (around $50) to unlicensed people who then proceed to talk illegally, hoot, holler, jam and otherwise cause problems. I have no disdain for the radios themselves. In fact I've got one right here.

A) If you find radios like this at flea markets please let me know where. I'll pick up a few more.
I got mine on Amazon for $45.
B) I HARDLY think anyone buying a radio like this at a "flea market" is going to know how to use it, let alone program it to work on your local repeater. If they can, then the type of radio and where they got it is completely irrelevant.

But I think it should be illegal to sell ham radios to unlicensed people.

This is a bit extreme.

 

[beischel]

Yes

It has become easy, and it should be. It's the 21st Century.

 

[bill4long]

I HARDLY think anyone buying a radio like this at a "flea market" is going to know how to use it, let alone program it to work on your local repeater.

You would be mistaken. We've had several instances of this occurring in Indianapolis. They had no problem programming them. Any idiot can do that.

...the type of radio and where they got it is completely irrelevant.

It's relevant because the radios are cheap and the people that sell them don't care who they sell them to. Mischief makers generally aren't tempted to shell out $180 for nice Yaesu HT. And they generally don't do business with Ham Radio Outlet, who at least attempts to discriminate between licensed hams and the non-licensed. But some of them do bite the hook for $50 at a flea market by sellers with zero discrimition. Again, this is not speculation. It has occurred several times in the Indianapolis area. I'd bet it occurs other places as well.

 

[newsphotog]

Not to take the thread further off topic, but I just wanted to mention that Des Moines Police had their system jammed on several occurrences in the last half of last year. Once they foxhunted the moron down he was literally standing out in his front yard using his Baofeng to jam the system when the radio tech and detective rolled up at his house.

 

[k3cfc]

Not to take the thread further off topic, but I just wanted to mention that Des Moines Police had their system jammed on several occurrences in the last half of last year. Once they foxhunted the moron down he was literally standing out in his front yard using his Baofeng to jam the system when the radio tech and detective rolled up at his house.

LMAO My dad lives there and told me about this one.


K3CFC

 

[bill4long]

Not to take the thread further off topic, but I just wanted to mention that Des Moines Police had their system jammed on several occurrences in the last half of last year. Once they foxhunted the moron down he was literally standing out in his front yard using his Baofeng to jam the system when the radio tech and detective rolled up at his house.

That's too much, hehe. Hope he got the customary $10000 fine. Probably worse, if it was deliberate jamming.