Wayne Paul wrote:
"Mike the Strike" wrote in message
oups.com...

I know of at least one non-ham who carries a 2-meter radio for
emergency use also.
snip
Don't most
repeaters today require a specific sub-audio tone to key the repeater? Isn't
the reason for the tones to eliminate unlicensed operators?

No, I think it's mostly for filtering the brainless twits that are
operating simplex in the duplex region of the bandplan. Maybe
licensed, maybe not.

snip

In the US, most of the barriers to get a Amateur Radio license have been
removed. Go to Radio Shack get a current license guide read it and take the
test for the "no-code" license class. Any glider pilot should be able to
pass the test with one weekend worth of study.

Wayne
W7ADK - a Ham for the past 50 years

Yep, it's 55 questions spread across two tests -- you can even get the
test questions on the web. My wife started studying on a Wednesday
night, Friday we went out to dinner, Saturday we both passed the test.
It's very technical, covering such difficult material as "don't stick
your head in a microwave oven when it's on", "don't poke a fork in the
electrical outlet", and so forth. There's volunteer examining
committees almost everywhere -- you don't need to go to an FCC office.
I don't know what the test fee is now. A few years ago it was a little
over five bucks. A bargain.

Tim Ward
Tim Ward