Another CB Shop Gets Busted By The FCC...

I understand what you are trying to say... But let's stop the baloney. You may honestly want to believe what you say. I don't know you personally and will not comment on your habits. But I would bet the ranch most of the complaints against people an shops are born out of boredom or revenge these days... My case is as follows:

Let's start with an honest assessment.... There just ain't that much traffic period. In most of the existing services there is bandwidth to spare. I would love to get some splash and find a neighbor to talk to... it just dont happen. So, hammers (or CB'er for that matter, or even scanner listener, or shortwave listener) spins around the dial. Finds an offending station and reports to FCC. Something to do with the radio. More "fun" thasn monitoring. Maybe some need to "justify" the 1000's they have in their shack because they are not happy with just listening. Were you "into radio" back in the 70's? If so look at the number of citations issued then. "Uncle Charlie actually had mobile setups they would move around to find offenders. They even had units to find pirate radio stations on the commercial broadcast bands. We had one off the coast of Brooklyn just outside he 5 mile limit that was pretty famous.

Today anyone with a basic PC can:
Contact anyone that has a PC, anywhere in the world easily.
Start their own Internet radio station, or TV station, for that matter.
I know ALOT of people who own backup generators and can even stay up during a blackout! Yes depends on your last mile staying up but my provider is the local telco and they have generator backup too. Last blackout even the cordless phones worked... I have a generator. Can pretty much run the house as long as I dont use the AC's. No like the old days when a guy in a blackout with a radio and battery (or mobile) was pretty much cutting edge.

A second reason for complaints is unhappy customers. They report the "offending" shop because they are unhappy. There is a very well know CB shop on LI that was heavily fined and penalized by the FCC a while back. The story I ws told id that a customer ried an amp he bought do to improper installation. When the owner of the store poinyted out iyt was plainly printed on the receipt there were no returns on amps for this reason, he turned the fellow into the FCC.

I firmly believe boredom an revenge are the top reasons for complaints. Truth be told if I knew of someone interfering with police, fire orn EMS near me I would turn them in myself. Just for the fact I would not want my family deprived of necessary services. But an occaisional buzz on my CB, Scanner, TV etc. Not my style.

Doubt what I am saying? If you can get copies of magazines like CQ, Pop Coomm, etc. fom the 70's and you'll find pages and pages of citations issued every month. Today citations are much more rare and big news when they are issued.

I wished radio would get quiet... and it did. Now I wish I could get some "noise going...

 

Are you kidding? That filtering will reduce the EXXXTREME SWING on my signal, and I won't get as many Birdbrain watts!

News flash... the amps that are being sold now for CB are "illegal for CB use".

 

I've said many times on here, I don't hold with talking on the ham bands, and interference like you mentioned above is over the top and needs to be stopped. Some hammers just can't stand that a CBer has more than 4 watts! Even if he never bothers that particular ham. Get wind of a shop selling them and they can't wait to call the FCC and file a complaint of some kind. Gadfly admitted in his post he would turn in a shop selling amps. "GADFLY: True hams are not going to stand for the Service to be diluted and POLLUTED with nonsense that does nothing but harm to the radio art! And if it entails reporting some of these "clip joints" who sell illegal "leenyars", promote radios that allow band hopping, and snip and clip good radios.................so be it!" No reason except he wants to. Sure it is "illegal" to have a amp on CB. But you will never, ever, stop some from having them........sooooo a lot of us have them for defensive purposes. It doesn't hurt anything unless you are interfering. The government knows this and that is probably why they don't worry about CB anymore unless there is a valid complaint.....and interference with emergency services or airports, etc deserves a complaint. The fact that a hammer can search for bleedover and find some, is not a valid complaint IMHO. And yes, the CB band would be better off if there were only legal radios, but that will never happen despite the "hard work" of the overly dedicated ham operator. CB is what it is. The ham guys should be glad there aren't as many of us as there was back in the 70's!! (there are a lot more amps available now) (Disclamer: I have no hard feelings for anybody on this board, may disagree with some, but that is no cause for hard feelings.) 73's

 

I have 3 or 4 hammers in my various toolboxes. None of them know what a CB is, much less what the legal power limit is.

I linked to his actual quote, in case anyone wants to go read his post in context.

Nowhere did he say he would turn in a shop simply for selling amps. His beef is with the radio equivalent of a "chop shop" that will sell or do anything to make a buck, even turning good radios into "splatter boxes". Not to put words in his mouth, but my bet is that he has no problem with a shop that makes sure that their radios (and amps) put out a signal that meets the FCC regs for spectral purity on the Amateur bands.

What are "defensive purposes" for a CB amp? Use it to hit someone over the head if they try to break into your truck? A fire extinguisher would work better, and be a lot cheaper, as well.

Interference with *ANY* licensed service deserves a complaint. I don't care if you're interfering with the drive-thru window at the burger joint down the street.

I have to stop and say that I object to your repeated use of that derogatory slur. Having an Amateur Radio license in no way turns a person into a hand tool made of wood and metal.

As an illustration, take that word and substitute the following letters: h->n, a->i, m->g (twice). Is that something you'd say on an open public forum?

Now, for the bleedover aspect: The bleedover is over THE ENTIRE FREAKING BAND! I was trying to work a weak station in Europe a couple weeks ago, up around 28.400 MHz. Yes, the 10 meter ham band. Then, the noise floor jumps up 2 S-units, and the station I'm trying to work is lost in the noise. I spin the tuning knob down, and find Mr. Super Trucker, complete with echo turned to 11, transmitting on 27.185.

The real kicker? He was S-8 on 27.185, and his splatter was S-5 nearly 1.5 MHz above that. And yes, the noise was on all the frequencies in between. I don't know how much power he was running out of his "tweaked and peaked, snipped and clipped" radio, but I can tell you this... he wasn't putting much of that power on Channel 19. He could have been a mile away with a radio being pushed to 40W, or he could have been several miles away with a 350W "leenyar".

I would have been happy to turn in the shop that sold him those "improvements".

73!

 

News flash for you... The vast majority of the amps we're are discussing are sold as CQ units or ten meter amps. I am NOT saying that is where they are used but how they are sold...
Alternately they are marketed for medical or scientific purposes. If the purchaser uses it illegally it should ber on hjim. not the seller in my opinion.

 

I'm a CBer and a Ham I sure don't go looking for persons to report to the FCC. And I don't think most hams care where you talk as long as it's not on the Ham bands. Saying it's the Hams is the same as saying all Drivers are mad killers driving over our hi-ways. I don't think Hams are your problem at all. Just like I know most Drivers are good hard working Law Abiders. But remember that people are people. And people have been known to do dumb stupid things.

Here's something to thing about read below.


President Signs CB Enforcement Bill

NEWINGTON, CT, Nov 29, 2000--President Bill Clinton has signed legislation that permits the enforcement of certain FCC Citizens Band regulations by state and local governments. Amateur Radio operators are exempt from the provisions of the law, now PL 106-521.

Congressional lawmakers saw the measure as a way to give a voice to those experiencing radio frequency interference resulting from illegal CB radio operation. The FCC will not yield its authority to regulate Citizens Band or other radio services, however.

In short, the measure authorizes states and localities to enact laws that prohibit the use of unauthorized CB equipment--consistent with FCC regulations. This would include the use of high-power linear amplifiers or equipment that was not FCC-certificated (formerly called "type-accepted").

Specifically, the bill enables state or local regulation over the "use of Citizens Band radio equipment not authorized by the Commission" and "the unauthorized operation of Citizens Band radio equipment" between 24 and 35 MHz. FCC-licensed stations in any radio service--including the Amateur Service--are excluded from such state or local enforcement, and state or local laws enacted under this legislation must identify this exemption.

Anyone affected by the enforcement of such legislation could appeal to the FCC if they believed the state or local government had overstepped its authority under the new law. Any applicable state or local law would not preclude the FCC from enforcing regulations in a given case at the same time.

The new law also says the FCC shall "provide technical guidance to state and local governments regarding the detection and determination of violations" of any regulations localities might enact.

The bill--HR.2346 is the House version; it was S.2767 in the Senate--actually is the old Senate "Feingold bill" from several sessions ago. After introducing his original version a few years back, Wisconsin Sen Russell Feingold requested assistance from the ARRL to rewrite the measure to ensure that licensed hams could not be affected, that the bill featured a wealth of "due process" provisions, and that the concept of federal preemption over telecommunication activities wouldn't be compromised. The bill signed by the President is nearly identical to the Feingold bill.

The bill's sponsor, Rep Vernon Ehlers of Michigan said Amateur Radio operators encouraged him to introduce the measure in the House last year. Ehlers maintained that the local hams asked him to support the bill because of the bad rap they were getting from illegal CBers using high-power linear amplifiers that resulted in TV and telephone interference while the CBers involved hid behind federal preemption.

Ehlers says that when he was contacted initially by a frustrated constituent who had been experiencing TV, radio and cordless telephone interference, he thought the problem was an isolated incident. The CBer in question was using an illegal 100-W amplifier, he said, and the FCC told his constituent that it did not have the personnel to enforce CB lawbreakers around the country. Ehlers says he introduced his bill as a result.

As did Feingold before him, Ehlers asked the ARRL to review his measure to ensure that it would not unintentionally harm Amateur Radio.

The bill was amended in the Senate, which made a specific change requested by the American Trucking Association. The final version contains language with respect to CB gear aboard a "commercial motor vehicle" (as defined in Title 49, §31101 of the US Code) requiring that state or local authorities have probable cause that the vehicle or its operator was in violation of the regulations before they attempt to enforce such a statute. On the House floor, Ehlers said truckers were "worried about perhaps being harassed by improper use of the law."

During discussion of the bill on the House floor--as reported in The Federal Register--one member spoke of "rogue operators" whose routine CB radio operation at excessive power levels left victims "helpless" to defend themselves. "When these operators boost their CB power levels, it often causes bleeding into nearby frequencies," the congressman said.

The bill passed the House under suspension in September, and passed the Senate at the end of October under unanimous consent. The measure went to President Clinton for his signature on November 14.

A copy of the new legislation is available on the ARRLWeb.

 

This has become boring.....moving on.

 

Now.......c'mon. You KNOW that is only a ruse--same as the so-called "10 Meter 'amateur' Radios" that are so popular with CBers/truckers. They're no more 'amateur' than teats on a boar hog! Such equipment is sold with "disguise" names so they can still legally be sold to the CB market. Same with the "scientific, medical, or experimental" monikers. No one, least of all FCC, is being fooled by this. One of these items ( guess they're still around) is the "Texas Star CW 'transmitter'. Yeah, right! Move a w'ar, solder a jumper and.........VOILA! Ya gots yerself this h'yar hunn'ert watt, or five hunn'ert watt leenyar! An' all the spurs, trash, and harmonics that come with it are FREE!

All legal, too............until the little shop around the corner (I mean, TRUCKSTOP) gets thru snippin' and clippin' "wa'rs", an addin' jumpers to git them extree channels, an' put it on the CB band. And it just happens to cover the ham band anyways, and what outlaw CBer can resist flippin' the channel selector to find---AH HA! "I found me a quiet channel (usually 28.085 because it is often channel 19 two UP) fer me and my buddies". And there's where the rub comes in. It AIN'T a "quiet channel"--it isn't even a "channel" at all. It is an ASSIGNED part of the INTERNATIONAL 10 Meter Band on which our FCC in the USA says WE Americans can't use phone on! But, here are these truckers (by their lingo and unique words associated with driving) yapping away on AM while the legally licensed ham (he doesn't usually drive nails) is trying to do a digital QSO with Pactor, RTTY, CW, etc. I suppose, from what the CB genre says in these conversations, we are supposed to "share". Let'em just join in, bringing their lingo, their dirty amps, their habits, their butchered-up "10 Meter" radios right along with 'em. How DARE anybody get upset or report the fact that there are "'squatters" on the band who did nothing more than buy an ILLEGAL radio (it is illegal because it is being USED out-of-band). Why, we (hams) ought not to say a word, but just sit there while somebody FILCHES something that doesn't belong to 'em.

Now. I don't spend time chasing shops who sell illegal equipment. I don't "chase" truckers on 10 Meters, but IF I hear one close by AND I am ON the interstate, I might listen out for them. Would I report the fact once I isolated the source? YES! I once had a trucker "hail" me on 28 MHZ on AM because of the big HF antenna on the car. He objected because I was "messing up 'their private truckers' channel'" with my CW signal. He was RIGHT BESIDE ME looking down into the car. GOTCHA! I reported his *** to Riley Hollingsworth, then special FCC counsel to FCC at the time. His company got a citation and warning letter to have ALL their drivers cease and desist and REMOVE all illegal "CB sets" from their fleet! So what should I have done? Ignored him? Let him keep on? Chat with him---which is as ILLEGAL as it is for HIM to be talking there?

No. Illegal stations are NOT WELCOME on the amateur bands. CB radio generally has an extremely relaxed attitude towards rules while amateur radio has more structure, tradition and rules that must be followed. Hams generally don't spend time worrying about what's happening on other bands; they try to keep their own house clean, but WILL report violators who affect their bands. If they didn't, it would become, well...........................like CB.

 

gadfly "Same with the "scientific, medical, or experimental" monikers. No one, least of all FCC, is being fooled by this. One of these items ( guess they're still around) is the "Texas Star CW 'transmitter'. Yeah, right! Move a w'ar, solder a jumper and.........VOILA! Ya gots yerself this h'yar hunn'ert watt, or five hunn'ert watt leenyar! An' all the spurs, trash, and harmonics that come with it are FREE!

All legal, too............until the little shop around the corner (I mean, TRUCKSTOP) gets thru snippin' and clippin' "wa'rs", an addin' jumpers to git them extree channels, an' put it on the CB band."

Anyone looking at your words can only conclude this is racist stereotyping CB shops, CB'ers, in general all TRUCKERS who run them as dumb ignorant hillbilly rednecks. Or am I wrong, and this choice of colloquialism on your part is the normal way you talk? So tell me, why are you so prominent on a CB forum dedicated to truck drivers if they are the ignorant redneck hillbillies one can only conclude you believe from your choice of words such as "w'ar", "Ya gots yerself this h'yar hunn'ert watt, or five hunn'ert watt leenyar", "an" instead of 'and', "extree channels", "CB genre says in these conversations" :"bringing their lingo", "their habits". What lingo, what habits? Very ironic also is the fact that you never mention nearly ALL of the interference on 10 meters is skip from Mexico where they use ten meters as a cheap phone system, a 'CB' band of their own? Having been an Extra for many years I know exactly what goes on in these bands and hearing an English voice in the lower portion of 10 meters is actually quite rare. So you berate the one in a hundred thousand illegally using 10 M and never once mention the 99,999 others we find there daily. Why is this one must wonder. Are you able to see the irony in this? Do you see the choice of 'words' you posted here as the normal way Americans talk in your opinion is little more than thinly veiled disgust on your part, i.e., hatred you have for all of these citizens you have 'lumped' together. For this is what you convey to anyone on the outside looking in at the post you made.

By the way when you stated "Same with the "scientific, medical, or experimental" monikers" with implication they are all (here you go again with the lumping of all in one group) no more than bootleg CB'ers. Does this mean you not aware there are thousands studying and experimenting on the subject of Rife's research into cancer treatments? Some experiment with diathermy, which is actually in the mainstream or have you never studied diathermy. Better yet have you never had your 10 meters jammed by nearby hospitals using such equipment. I have during the years I lived in Phoenix where trying to use either 10 or 11 meters was pointless when Maryvale Hospital was operating their machines. I know several scientists studying Rife's work and oddly they do use amplifiers such as the Texas Star DX500 or 667V because they were low cost, readily available, and of the correct power level for their work. So you see not every single one was lying as you stated in your post.

However the points you made which annoyed me the most was your choice of the 'words' and way of talking you ascribed to all these in a most derogatory way. Not being in the group of whining liberal yankees I for one am not really bothered, I merely am pointing out the hypocrisy. Being of both Cherokee and southern heritage it may surprise you than neither I nor anyone I know around here talks in the way you so eloquently ascribed to us all. Besides, Southern Man doesn't need you around anyhow.

 

I have some vintage CB radio's in my "man cave" and only use a Dipole in my room. I do digital artwork and sometimes put a CB on. There is nobody near except the truckers on 19. They usually call out to a friend. The radio's are in mint condition out of the late 70's.There really is nothing on the radio except occasional skip.