Linus

The first thing I did today was call my father and thanked him for serving. For everyone else who is a Veteran...Thank you.

This makes you wonder why these people intentionally interrupt things. Someone has to be psychologically messed up to interfere with ecomm messages. I never understood it myself. I do not think I want to know what goes on in their minds. LPS

I often wondered what is done after said idiot "keyer" is located. I guess recording and documenting might help, but what would be next? Ordinary citizens start to enter a dangerous area.

FCC enforcement is lax on GMRS and the Ham bands. Every now and then a serious offender is hit with a fine. This is sad, but it is reality. It is best to ignore those unlicensed users who play on the bands (unless they become a very serious problem). Business are different, they stand a better chance of being fined. They tend to be more reasonable when educated about the risk of operating unlicensed. Presentation of the facts is important. As suggested, a polite education goes a long way. If they ignore the advice and continue and it is confirmed that they are not operating on a grandfathered business license, well, it probably makes sense to involve the FCC. Now if some joker gets on a public safety bands there is quite a rapid response in locating the offender. It makes sense. Enforcing the law to prevent someone from interfering with a fire department or police response is more important than the general public bands. There are exceptions. Interfering with E-communications during a disaster on any band should be swiftly taken care of. The funny thing is, I would not have known about the Sonic opening if I had not heard the transmissions.

I heard Sonic over the radio across town years ago. They really had a good signal. I could not believe how well their bubble pack radios signal traveled. They had a grand opening and they were using GMRS to direct cars. I drove over and ordered a hamburger. While eating I explained to the manager that what was going on was not a good idea. FCC rules, etc. He was also unaware of the ramifications. They had just purchased the radios for the opening, I suggested that he have his staff change over to one of the FRS only channels. I showed him how and explained that 0.5 watts would work well in the parking lot. There was no need to paint the entire city with parking lot activity. It worked out well. I never heard them on the air again. I visited often for a meal every now and then. LPS

I have a few loaner frs radios. They go to people who are not licensed when skiing or when we loose power and communications. They have their place. Range is limited but better than nothing at all. I use my gmrs or ham radios most of the time when we are not able to use cell phones.

The challege with Wouxun and Beofang radios might be the odd bandwidth for MURS. MURS uses 11.25 and 20 kHz. Most radio service in the same region (2m) is 12.5 or 25 kHz. Has anyone tested one of these radios with a MURS specific radio listening? What does it sound like? I am curious how it sounds when a radio is transmitting slightly over the bandwidth allowance.