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Q: "And if you were not licensed how would they even identify you or track you down?" A: Ham radio uses a frequency band plan that everyone agrees to adhere to
by Mister_X 6y ago
Q: "And if you were not licensed how would they even identify you or track you down?"
A: Ham radio uses a frequency band plan that everyone agrees to adhere to, so if someone shows up on those frequencies who doesn't belong, we will notice.
Hams are also required to broadcast their FCC allocated "call sign" about every 10 minutes, or when starting and ending a transmission, if you're not doing that, then licensed Hams will notice.
If you think you're being "clever" and make up a fake call-sign, we will notice, we know who the regulars on the Ham frequencies are in our geographic areas.
If you're producing "harmful interference", i.e. illegally broadcasting on a licensed Amateur Radio Band, then some of "us" Hams will get together and Track your signal, via triangulation, and eventually we Will find your transmitting location.
Then we notify the FCC, and eventually... they will contact you, and you Will stop, or face legal consequences.
A lot of Hams enjoy tracking down hidden transmitters, we even set up "games" to practice doing just that, we call it a "Hare & Hound" practice.
I'm quite good at tracking down harmful interference on the VHF Ham bands.
Ham radio has a lot of places to explore, but do avoid the H/F bands, it's full of "rag chewers", and you'll want to poke out your eardrums if you listen to them.
73, KE6---
- underseacables 6y agoOh, a 2x3. Did you get into Amateur Radio late?
- Mister_X 6y agoOh look... another amateur radio Snob. I'm sure you'll also want to belittle me because I'm a lowely Tech, thats usually how commenters like you follow up.
- jlgaddis 6y agoOn the other hand, I don't care which license class you are, whether you passed a code test or not, or even if you just got your ticket yesterday. Welcome to the hobby, it needs more folks like you (if nothing else, it'll help out the signal-to-noise ratio!).
- Mister_X 6y agoThanks for that, I tried getting my ticket when I was 12, but I have a probelm with numbers and time, difficult to explain until I got a brain scan years later. But years later, thanks to the FCC dropping the CW requirement, I was able to pass the test, but I'm stuck as a Tech due to the brain injury, and plenty of Older Hams give me greif about being a Tech. I do what I can and promote Ham radio, I started a Ham club that lasted 2.5 years, taught classes, had them building 5 element, 2 Meter beams out of old TV antennas, I've tried for years to contact the ISS when a Ham was on board (still trying). It's way more than a hobby for me though, it's an intellectual persuit where one can build things too. If you're ever on the Mendocino coast, I always monitor 146.520, one of the few that does anymore. 73-
- GekkePrutser 6y agoTo be honest I hear a lot more ragchewing on the local repeaters than on HF. On HF it's just people trading 5/9s and signing off for the next contact (and as I find contesting really boring I stay away from HF for that reason :) ). I also don't understand why HF operators always say 5/9 when the signal is clearly nowhere near that good.
- Mister_X 6y agoHere in N. California 2 Meters is king, and we have local and linked repeaters, but mostly they are quiet save for the weekly nets, and I'm fine with that. Since we reside in a rural and coastal/mountainous County, what usually happens is Hams will set up QSO's on "open" frequencies and chat there to keep the repeaters clear for emergency use. So they either call on 146.520 simplex or jump on a repeater and connect, then go to their other frequency to chat. Aside from not have many privileges on HF, I avoid it, too much Noise as far as I'm concerned, and I mean the Hams.
- 1996 6y ago> A lot of Hams enjoy tracking down hidden transmitters, we even set up "games" to practice doing just that, we call it a "Hare & Hound" practice. Hams really seem to enjoy being snitches! I'll keep playing with my Baofangs and their aftermarket antennas! Also I'll wait until HAM dies out as a old white men hobby, and the frequency band are repurposed to a better use that allows anonymity and encryption - or I'll stay on public solutions like WIFI/LoraWAN!