Sysco Drivers Warned about transmitting on 10 Meters!

[The New Yorker]

Originally Posted by kc0rey

When you consider the harm these radios do you would understand a little better. See, what you guys fail to realize is that this is life and death.

Ummm I guess your right I wouldn't know, How is Ham radio become life and death? Unless it can jam up EMS, FD, Police ect. or airline but those guys are on 12*.***

[pro1driver]

Originally Posted by buck and a half

Corey,where do these reports come from,the letterheads are confusing names are in different states and cities from fcc,all the info isn't there.I tried to find the complaint sources it originates from and can't find these letters any where on the internet except from nice folks like you putting them in here. Like I have been informed that 2 of your trucks were using 10 meter bands at two different dates and two different trucks,no truck numbers etc, who investigated from fcc,how did they know,how did fcc know if they were fcc lic,ham operators if they did not know these guys names truck numbers etc.just wondering,Im really curious of all this,I only use a cb.

as you drive along the highways, look for any vehicle with big antenna's on it, not anything like a cb antenna either. i have seen many "full sized" ford and chevy vans, pick-up trucks, and some cars with these huge antennas attached to them. if anyone is using a 10 meter radio, watch out for these 4 wheelers, and shut up............

or, i suppose a proper license to use a 10 meter radio would be the right(better) way..

[kc0rey]

Originally Posted by The New Yorker

Ummm I guess your right I wouldn't know, How is Ham radio become life and death? Unless it can jam up EMS, FD, Police ect. or airline but those guys are on 12*.***

Ham radio is all about emergency communication and that is why it is protected.
We provide communication when Public Service communications go down. Like they do in times of natural disaster and terrorist attacks. We have been there for every hurricane, tornado, and provided communication during 9/11.
But that is only a part of what my post was about.

These illegal radios interfere with whatever communications that are on the frequencies the radio is capable of, it is also splattering on frequencies that are muliples of whatever frequency they are on. One of these radios on Channel 19 (27.185) is also transmitting on 54.3700 Mhz (TV and 6 Meter Ham), 108.7400 Mhz (very close to FM Radio), 217.4800 Mhz (Government) and it keeps going up.


Then there is life and death situations on CB. I've seen this happen and you have as well if you've been on the road for any length of time. Somebody is trying to get help, there is no cell service in the area, and there has been an accident. Billy Big Rigger is talking to his buddy on his MegaWatt big Radidio and is covering the guy trying to get help.

Then you have the issue of RF absorption.........You may not care about what that RF is doing to your eyes, brain and testicles.....but how abot the folks around you?

You see partner.........Life and death......

BTW, what is 12*.****?

[kc0rey]

Originally Posted by pro1driver

as you drive along the highways, look for any vehicle with big antenna's on it, not anything like a cb antenna either. i have seen many "full sized" ford and chevy vans, pick-up trucks, and some cars with these huge antennas attached to them. if anyone is using a 10 meter radio, watch out for these 4 wheelers, and shut up............

or, i suppose a proper license to use a 10 meter radio would be the right(better) way..

If they were licensed they would be 5khz away from that frequency......operating CW. No phone (voice) allowed in that portion of the band. CW and Digital Comms.

[The New Yorker]

OK now I understand I had no idea that those freq’s were so close, mainly because I don’t know to much about those radio’s. But as far as Billy Big Rigger, yea heard that situation play out many times. This is interesting to me now I would like to find out more on it. And the 12*.*** was just a generalization, for example, an aircraft to tune into ground control at the local airport he would tune to 128.250.

[Gadfly]

Originally Posted by pro1driver

as you drive along the highways, look for any vehicle with big antenna's on it, not anything like a cb antenna either. i have seen many "full sized" ford and chevy vans, pick-up trucks, and some cars with these huge antennas attached to them. if anyone is using a 10 meter radio, watch out for these 4 wheelers, and shut up............

or, i suppose a proper license to use a 10 meter radio would be the right(better) way..

That might not work, either! Mr. ham "fox hunter" might sitting on the downside of the entrance ramp with a pair of binoculars. I can tell you this. Plenty of the hams are P. 0.'ed over this! THEY obeyed the law for the privilege of operating on certain frequencies only to have unlicensed people who think they have special rights to yap anywhere they want to just buy a radio and start jabbering where they don' t belong. Tell me, how would YOU like it if I just borrowed your car and drove it around without your permission? OH sure, I brought it back, so there was no harm, right? "Ah ain't doin' no harm a-tawkin' on them thar channels" So I'm not doing any harm if I borrow your car for a few hours, right? Right is right, and wrong is WRONG!!! Those who filch frequencies have no business yapping OFF the CB band, and *I* have no business borrowing their car! The law states that borrowing a car without permission (stealing) is against the law for good reasons, and the law also states that one must be authorized to operate radio equipment for other good reasons as well--mainly to protect OTHERS from interference and to protect the privileges to USE frequencies by LEGITIMATE operators. Citizens Band operators are allowed FORTY distinct channels, many of which go UNUSED most of the time!!! If a person wants MORE, then there are avenues provided for citizens to obtain them LEGALLY in most countries!

In the USA, Amateur operators are VERY protective of the privileges they E A R N E D by following the law of the land; they didn't simply pop down to Joe's Truck Stop and CB Hack Shop and buy an illegal "export" radio "so ah kin yap on them thar extree channels thar cuz ah'm jist so 'spay-shul' an' ah don' have to follow the LAW!" So, yes, I, for one, am just a bit ticked off when I hear one of the Billy Big Riggers running his mouth where he doesn't belong. And, yes, the hams will ride quietly along the road listening for truckers to key up on the 10 Meter band. Don't underestimate their ability to single out those drivers who are talking on THEIR bands! Such drivers do NOT belong there, and the hams WILL pinpoint you!!

The simple solution is to shed that illegal "10 Meter 'Amateur' (damn if THAT ain't a joke!) radio and STAY on the approved 40 CB channels.

So if I have just ranted a bit, I'm sorry! But I do not welcome intruders into the Amateur bands, nor on ANY radio frequency on which a person has NO business!!

Drive Safe, all!!

Gadfly

[Maxgussam]

How does one of the HAM junior G-men identify one of these threats to national security through binoculars, in what is probably a crowd of trucks?


These folks are drastically overstepping their supposed "authority", and are potentially jepordizing an innocent person's livleyhood with these antics.
Furthermore, it is irresponsible of the FCC to take any action based on these "reports".

Have your radio hobby, but leave law enforcement to the people that get paid to do it. I have enough to worry about on the road, without wondering if some dork is going to decide that he's "gonna clean up this town".

These are exactly the sort of people that caused me to turn around and leave the testing facility after studying all the guides and morse CDs. It was a huge dissapointment to be met by such haughty, arrogant people as were at that Hamfest. (Shelby) I have better things to do than endure that nonsense, I'm sure the hobby will survive without me though.

BTW, I spoke with my uncle, a ham for nearly 40 yrs, regarding this issue. He thinks that it is silly, and hams should spend their time cleaning up their own house instead of chasing trucks around.
I agree...

[kc0rey]

You are entitled to your opinion..........though I believe it is wrong........

Some answers to you question:

Riley Hollingsworth, head of FCC has asked all Hams to report these transgressions. Those who do, are experts at finding these illegal transmitters. The FCC knows that, and coupled with the recording.........well, you know.

Me? I'm not out hunting transmitters........I prefer to try to eeducate folks. Some folks refuse to be educated.

[Maxgussam]

I have no interest in owning or operating an illegal radio, or committing the terrible crime of talking on 10 meters, so I require no education from you or anyone else on this subject.

What I am interested in however, is the assurance that my job is not going to be jeapordizd because some clod, who considers himself an agent acting under FCC authority, without proper training or certification, and with only his HAM ticket (which any 4th grader can pass the test for) as his authority decides that I am doing something unlawful.

This person then records my truck info, and sends it to the FCC, who then sends an offical letter, worded in such a way that it makes the reader believe that an FCC agent collected this evidence. ("Information before the Commission", BAH!) None of these letters indicate that the info was perhaps in fact gathered by an untrained HAM operator, possibly only by looking through binoculars!!!
Now, I have the difficult task of convincing my boss that I have done nothing wrong. How would you explain away one of these letters? If you were the boss, who would you believe?

If you cannot see the problem with this, then you, sir, need to be educated.

If HAMs want to be vigilantes, let them go and patrol the southern border, where they will really do someone some good.

[Gadfly]

I can this turning into a huge, pointless argument. However, There are reliable indicators that those hams CAN use to determine which vehicle is doing the transmitting--some of which are so simple as to defy argument.
For example, truckers are huge complainers; they talk about the dispatcher, they talk about how they aren't getting enough hours, and they talk about the 4 wheeler that just cut 'im off. Again, do not sell these guys short! They DO know their stuff and that little "4th grade test"? I DEFY you to take the old Advanced or Extra Class license exam and pass it without either knowing the electronics theory or having
STUDIED the material; it ain't gonna happen unless one cheats!
The effort to remove drivers from the licensed Amateur bands has been going on for about 6 years. Not ONE incident has occurred involving an innocent driver. The hams are not interested in harming innocent people. What they are after is to remove the "Rambos" and radio hotshots from THEIR bands. The companies who receive these letters have been VERY cooperative with FCC in removing the illegal equipment from their trucks! When it is brought to their attention, they simply issue a memo to all drivers that goes something like.........."Efffective immediately, XXXX company trucks may have installed ONLY an FCC-approved, 40 channel CB radio with no additional accessories or power. Any driver found to have installed any illegal radio will be subject to discipline". That takes care of the problem simply because the driver is now required to comply with a company policy or directive. The company is fully within its rights to dictate to drivers what radios they have---or not have any at all. It happens, in this case, that it is a two-way radio that has some illegality issues.

Reporting drivers transmitting on unauthorized frequencies is NO different from a homeowner reporting that he has seen someone breaking into a neighbor's house; it happens every day. It is a COMPLAINT that is responded to in prescribed ways. The complaints by hams of drivers filching frequencies from them is NO different. It has been going on for several years and is going to continue until the problem abates OR FCC enacts some direct action initiatives to stop it (and there ARE some being looked at). Unfortunately, one of the worst culprits other than pirate radio broadcasters WRT incursions into illegal bands is rambo CB operators. IF CB violations were fully enforced, the numbers of "busts" would far over-weigh all other radio infractions within the USA COMBINED!

Whatever it takes, 1O meters WILL be defended vigorously!

Gadfly