Re: [Paddlewise] VHF Handheld Radios

rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com wrote:

> [snip] you no longer need a license for operating [a marine VHF] on a
> boat but you do need one for operating from a land station, meaning on
> land.  However, it is an FCC reg that isn't enforced unless someone is
> setting up something pretty permanent. [snip]  I understand
> from some sources that along remote stretches of the Alaskan coastline
> people regularly use marine VHF radios on land and the law does not come
> down cracking on them.

Similarly, in *remote* parts of the Charlottes, the VHF is the party line
means of communication, with some land-based stations part of the network. 
Don't know if the permanent land-based VHF installations have a special
license or not.  As Ralph says, occasional transmissions from the beach are
regarded as normal usage, in the parts of Canada I have visited.

Where I live (mouth of the Columbia river), the same is true.  However, about
4-5 years ago, the FCC conducted a sting here and busted several log truck
drivers who were making regular use of *marine* VHF radios while driving
logging roads.  Big fines (in the $5000 range, IIRC), too.  The other night
some bozo radioed in a fake mayday from his car while he was driving along a
highway paralleling the River.  Local ham radio operators with beam antennas
were able to pinpoint his location to within a couple miles, but because he
was moving, they could not identify which car he was in.  Too bad.  These
bogus mayday calls come in about 3 or 4 times a year here.

-- 
Dave Kruger
Astoria, OR
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