Doug and Rich shadow-boxed a little about the "Plywood box" --
Aww, I won't quote anybody. Jamming is bad, stepping on people who jam is
bad, "using only the amount of power necessary to establish and maintain
communications" is good.
Except for my general distaste for avoidable and/or wanton waste, I have no
problem with people using an amp capable of way more than "legal limit" if
the device is operated legally. Using a device that could deliver 10 KW
PEP, and throttling it back to a legal limit gives a lot of headroom for
signal peaks -- a cleaner sound. People listening to the "Plywood box"
remarked on how quiet the band got when Rich ... uhh.. put down the maul,
as the CBers say.
It's up to the station operator to be legal. And I know it took the wind
out of a lot of self-important and self-inflated sails when Rich stopped
"playing fair" by using a chunk of wood to conk some idiots over the head.
I can't begin to count the radios I have here that COULD be operated
illegally -- the number is "all of them" if bad language is used, or an
unlicensed frequency is used. Don't even think about asking about the
stack of sawn-off low-band Mitreks. Practically everything I've got can be
used out of band as well, and it's my responsibility to be legal.
Oh yeah, I got a new toy today, one that came with a built-in hernia.
Regulated variable power supply, 0 - 500V, 0 - 500 mA. If nothing else, I
have all the parts I need for a dandy new quad 6L6 QRP amp.
Or a mooring for an aircraft carrier.
Jim N6OTQ
PS -- the world as we know it is about to come to a cataclysmic end -- an
ex-CBer missed passing his Extra exam by one question this morning. Next
time I'll study. You have less than two weeks to prepare.
--
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