From: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Subject: Re: FCC URBAN LEGENDS
Reply-To: lasner@watsun.cc.columbia.edu (Charles Lasner)
Organization: Columbia University
Date: Sat, 11 Apr 1992 05:46:35 GMT

In article <1992Apr10.171101.1@vm2.cis.pitt.edu> tjw@vm2.cis.pitt.edu writes:
>
>> Someone also asked if the assignment of "N" to the US has to do with the
>> fact that aircraft numbers also begin with "N".  I doubt it.  All the
>> aircraft call letters begin with K or W, too.  Unless I missed something
>> in the list, "N" is restricted to amateur radio.  
>
>Every plane I've ever used had an "N" callsign.  "N7892W" was the call sign
>that we used on our Piper Cherokee back in the 60s.
>
>---------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>GENUINE URBAN LEGEND ALERT!
>
>(To understand this little I'm about to tell, it helps to know that in the
>60s/70s/80s the FCC completely lost control of the Citizen's Band (CB).
>
>Many stations operated in complete violation of the rules; some didn't even
>HAVE a license.  The FCC finally "rewrote" the rules to basically fit what was
>going on in the CB band rather than admit that they couldn't make anyone
>comply with the their rules). 
>
>
>So here's an "FCC and Avaition" story I heard when I was a kid:
>
>The FCC decides to "crack down" on those control towers and airplanes that
>don't use their FULL call letters for every transmission.  (After initial
>contact, it was customary to call "N7892W" just "92W" (actually spoken as
>"Niner Two Wiskey"))  Technically, this was a violation as "92W" was not
>the proper call.  But it made life easier for all concerned.
>
>So the FCC Enforcers go to an airport and begin "sighting" a number of pilots
>and control tower operators.  When the case comes to court, the judge who
>hears the case happens to be a HAM radio operator and throws the case out
>of court, saying that it's bullsh*t.
>
>He then embarrasses the FCC officials by asking them if they are now
>arresting pilots since they have done such a great job cleaning up 11 meters
>(the CB Band) that they have nothing better to do!
>
>Anyone else here a story like this?
>

Yeah, a personal one :-(.

Right in the middle of the totally out-of-control chaos of 11-meters, the 
following happened to yours truly:

I got a technician class license when I was 12, and did some mods to surplus
transmitters, receivers, etc., to put together a shoestring but functional
2-meter AM setup.  At the peak, it was:

Kit form of tube (RCA nuvistor) 144-148 => 7-11 down-convertor into a
Lafayette Radio Kit receiver from 1960.

Coaxial antenna relay switchable from push-talk mike.

8-element (Telrex) wide-spaced 2-meter beam antenna on AR-22 rotor.

ARC-5 transmitter running on regulated super-low voltage as a VFO (they are 
stable if they don't get hot enough to drift.  This is the one with the
calibrator crystal and "magic eye" tube inside of it that was meant as a field
transmitter with a motor-generator power supply.).

SCR-522 transmitter with 832A output past various frequency multipliers that
starts with either a xtal osc or the VFO.

200 watt linear using 4X150 with a pie network to load the antenna.  (Yes, a
two-meter pie network!  The input capacitor is a pair of neutralizing 
capacitor plates from an SW transmitter with a lead screw and knob on the
grounded one.).  The 832A was plate-modulated with a small audio amp running
a modulation transformer.  Power supply was made from two old TV power
transformers used in a bridge circuit instead of full-wave to get the voltage
up to 1000.  4x150 screen used a small separate swamped regulated power supply
to avoid non-linearity and secondary emission (negative feedback) problems
associated with a tetrode.  Had the silver-plated surplus socket for this
metal-ceramic tube, the porcelain chimney and the forced-air squirrel-cage
blower.

I'm not trying to impress anyone with the list per se, just that I was a
fairly precocious tyke who spent a lot of time RF hardware hacking, and that
I more-or-less knew something about electronics.

When I was 17, I took the 1st class radio-telephone certificate test (and
passed).  So, I think I was fairly well versed in this stuff.

Time passes; I renew my licenses.

More time passed; I renew again.  This time there are two new factors:

a)	I have to work now 9-5 at a technical job in the industry dealing with
real-time programming, research, and analog instrumentation, and am also taking
a few courses at night.  (Yes, I am a busy bee those days; that was over
500,000 lines of code ago.)

b)	The FCC is in deep shit between now collecting processing fees for
all classes of license, including amateur, and the open revolt where people
won't register their CB rigs, even if the paper-work comes with the thing in
the box.  The papers are full of gross violators: playing music, cursing,
deliberate interference/jamming, illegal fixed and mobile linear amps/boosters,
a totally out-of-control anarchy on 11-meters and surrounding illegally used
frequencies.  This is before widespread use of digital-synthesis channels, so
there is a lot if spillage onto other bands.  Amateurs give up 10 meters due
to the illegal usage there by unregistered CB'ers.  Record number of complaints
from TV set users.  (At least they blamed it on CB'ers, not on amateurs this
time; a better analogy than the current hacker/cracker debacle.)

So, I just paid for the first time a procesing fee, get my renewal, and am
actually thinking about RTTY and stuff to use computers and RF, when:

Bingo! I get a notice of a MANDATORY RETEST from the FCC!  Unless I report
on a certain date to take the test again, my license is revoked.  I called
them up and the bureaucratic cretin there (reminds me of DMV employess years
later) informs me that according to section xxx.yy of the rules and regs,
all amateurs are subject to a random spot check for retesting.  And, that
do to their manpower restriction, the test is only administered in their
office in downtown Manhattan (hudson street, near the river; I remember the
boat whistles distracting me when I took the 1st class test) and only every
other Wednesday at Noon.  Since I was taking a mandatory retest, I had to
report to only one of two possible dates.  

I asked the cretin if he was aware of the "war" going on out there meaning
the CB chaos, and he just rattled of the section that entitled him to pick
my name at random for the mandatory retest chapter and verse.  Just like a
good little bureaucrat cretin :-(.

I was so furious, I swore off Ham radio for good :-(.  (Probably a good thing,
since I have made more money writing code as a hacker since :-).)

I didn't fit into the "crowd" that was forming on the air those days anyway.
Most of them wanted to yack, but not discuss "innards" and this was the
beginning of the derogatory era known as "appliance operators" referring to
the large number of amateurs that BOUGHT, not BUILT their stuff.  In that
regard, I was a throwback, and did like to talk to the Ol'-timers, who I
shared a "kinship" with.

Just our tax dollars at work.  With 1,000,000+ illegal CB radios, let's
make sure that J. Random Ham isn't actually test-ready at all times :-(.

In all probability, if the CB craze hadn't happened, they wouldn't have
played this rule-book crap on anyone, so this is truly an example where
CB's (not goto's) are considered harmful.

cjl (never bought any RF gear I couldn't make on a shoestring budget)

Can someone please explain these N-calls I see as amateurs?  How long has
this been in effect?  Is there some form of no-code license now?  (I 
remember Australia having something like a USA tech w/o code).


Xref: sparky alt.folklore.urban:11980 soc.culture.canada:3287