Way back I tested for an amateur license and used them for years chatting with neighbors I only saw at the coffee shop once a month or less. The last license I held was amateur extra but I havent kept up. I understand you dont even need to know the code anymore. I remember working on my 'fist' for months.
My reason for posting is to pass on a rule/law you may not know. In case of emergency (especially life threatening emergency) you can build any radio you want and with any power you want without restrictions. If you have a flat tire on the side of the road (considered a possibly life-threatening situation) and you need help you can hook that amp up to your CB and broadcast for help. You dont need to use much power in reality. I can reach Arizona from here in South Alabama with 2.5 watts as long as the sun is down.
In case of radio violators it wont be U.S. Marshalls that take your equipment. Just saying.
Yes I passed the test as well, thats how I gained access to all that high powered
equipment.. Back in those days, ya had to have a licence before anyone would sell
the heavy duty equipment to you.. Although there was a black market for the stuff...
Don't know about now, havent messed around with it in years.. Just because you were
licenced and legal, in one band.. Doesn't mean you (or your equipment) was legal to roam
ALL the bands... But cell phones have pretty much ended the need for all that anyway...
And yes, on SSB it doesn't take a whole lot of power to reach distant stations as long as
the conditions are right... More power, allows you to reach out, DESPITE conditions...
If it is only good occasionally, it isn't much good at all... That was my way of thinking...
Often I would establish contact with a station in CW mode, (Key).. So we could line
everything up, and then see if we could, (or how hard) we could hit eachother with
a voice signal.. Just to see if we could do it... Lots of fun...
95% of the time my amps were idle.. Mostly I used them for experimentation.. The behavior
of RF signals is a mysterious thing.. Mapping the lobes of a Yagi beam antenna, adjusting
the reflector and director elements, Tuning it for different wavelengths, just to see how it
changed performance.. It was very interesting, noting all the oddities, that occur around
High Powered RF as well... Like the talking toaster, LOL!!!
Yep, in an emergency, or when doing a public service, I didn't matter HOW much power you used..
I was the local REACT operator as well... With gigantic ears, I could hear the smallest signal,
and zero in on it, even in the deepest valleys at the foot of Mt Rainier.. Always did radio relay work
for Explorer Search and Rescue... Because the power would allow me to drive a signal into those
same deep valleys... Many a stuck 4x4, lost hunters, or injured backpackers, made it
out of there, because of my radio station.. And/or, a phone call to the State Patrol...
Of course there were always the RF love muffines..
The truly impotent ones, are the ones who feel the need to force their will upon others...
That was never my "Thing"... People can do as they wish... None of my biz...
But when ppl have tried to do that with me, they've always ended up with my boot on their neck...
I don't tolerate that, Just the way it is!!!
RC
