Ron:

As a sociologist, I couldn't agree more.  And, the sad thing for me, both
professionally and personally, is that many of my current colleagues think I
am "old school".  In fact, I have been called that publicly at times.

I, too, remember getting a letter from an official observer back in my
Novice days in the early 1970's about the fact that I was heard transmitting
on 20 meters when I was not licensed to do so.  I had a crystal-controlled
Heath Kit Dx35 transmitter back then, and had somehow inadvertently switched
the transmitter to 20 meters from 40 meters.

Like you, I was literally shaking in my shoes when I wrote my letter of
explanation, and promised it would never happen again.

So far as I know, I have held true to that promise.

Tom Behler: KB8TYJ


-----Original Message-----
From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
On Behalf Of Dr. Ronald E. Milliman
Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2014 10:16 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs

The saddest issue is not that a bunch of licensed hams are violating the
rules and behaving in the way they are, but rather, the saddest issue is
that it represents a much deeper societal problem than that. Step back and
think about all aspects of our society that are out of control, consider
what we hear on the radio, see on TV or in the movies, read in the
newspapers, the mass shootings that are weekly, if not almost daily, road
rage, the gang violence, and the list goes on and on. None of these things
were happening in the 1950's and 1960's. There is very little respect for
the laws of our society, and the total disrespect for the FCC is just one
tiny microcosm of the problem. When I got my first ham ticket in 1957, we
were genuinely respectful and fearful of the FCC. When I received my first
letter warning me that I had been heard transmitting outside the ham bands,
it scared the crap out of me. The letter required a written explanation of
why I was operating outside the ham bands, and I remember actually shaking
as I was trying to compose my letter back to the FCC, writing, reading,
re-writing, reading again, and re-writing it again, making certain that each
word very carefully conveyed what I needed to say, and letting the FCC know
I was extremely concerned and would take steps to insure that it would never
happen again. 

We're living in a very different era, and I think that for every step we
have taken foreword in terms of technology and other things, we have taken
two steps backward in terms of human relations and civility. Again, Ham
radio is just one example.

Ron, K8HSY