Hi Gene and all,
I am not a rover nor do I comment on the rules. Today a well known rover,
W1RT, visited and showed me his amazing computer controlled rover setup.
Kinda like taking my entire base station, adding a few above freqs and
putting it in a van; OMG. After a nice visit John left but forgot to take
his hand crank out of his telescoping mast. He lost it a few miles down the
road so he parked and called me and both of us walked the distance and
looked for it with no luck. When we got back to our cars, there was a
Wallingford, CT off duty cop waiting for us with a few polite questions.
Once we explained who we were he was interested in what John did with the
rover. He also explained why he waited for us and said that they are
concerned about people stealing wifi info (War drivers) and also people who
steal ID's at ATM's. They know just enough about this to challenge and as
Gene said, they are just doing their job. I guess you rovers who have spent
a lot of time and money can easily become targets. I just want to work all
of you....Gl
Steve
K1IIG
Hi Jeff
This thread has gone on longer than it should but you have hit the nail on
the head.
>>2. Put yourself in the cop's shoes. He's approaching you most likely
thinking "what in the heck is this guy doing" (I'm using G rated >>>language
here). Put simply, there's nothing normal looking about the average rover's
vehicle, you are going to attract attention.
Absolutely. Police officers are trained to look for the unusual. And what is
more unusual than the average rover. While a few officers are hams or know
hams, I have to disagree with you on this point, Jeff: you may get an
introduction to ham radio in your training but most do not. So putting
flourescent stripes all over your rover vehicle and wearing a bright colored
rain slicker when there is no rain and the temperature is 100F outside is
SURE to attract his attention. Can you blame him for being wary? He is going
to treat you as a nut case until proven otherwise. And nut cases are very
dangerous. They can kill you.
The rest of what you say is right on target. Until that officer is
absolutely sure you are not a whacko, you'd best tread very lighty AND keep
your hands in sight. His life is on the line so who can blame him
Now for the rest of you - for about the 30th time in the past few years
there is a long thread on rover rules. Beat that one to death. But remember
there will never be a consensus and so without a consensus with no
opposition the VUAC is NOT going to recommend any useful changes in the
rover rules and if they do, the PSAC at the ARRL which has the final say
will make absolutely sure it never sees the light of day because there is
always one dissenter. Go to it!!!!
73 Gene W3ZZ
-----Original Message-----
From: Jeff Thomas [mailto:wa4zko@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 4:52 PM
To: vhfcontesting@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [VHFcontesting] Rovers and the Authorites
While I'm sure every state is different, here in Kentucky "ham radio" comes
up from time to time during the training law enforcement and the Fire/EMS
service folks go through. It's usually just a mention of us and how we can
come to play during a major disaster when communications are disrupted.
Often "ham radio" comes up during ICS (Incident Command System) training and
large scale disaster response is being covered. Not that this makes the
average beat cop an expert on ham radio, but it would not be their first
encounter with the term "ham radio."
My approach has always been:
1. Be nice and open with them. Keep your hands in sight and don't be
reaching for stuff in your vehicle as they approach. Cops are trained to
watch your hands and body language as they approach you initially. How
things go during this initial approach can set the tone of what is to follow
;-)
2. Put yourself in the cop's shoes. He's approaching you most likely
thinking "what in the heck is this guy doing" (I'm using G rated language
here). Put simply, there's nothing normal looking about the average rover's
vehicle, you are going to attract attention.
3. Show them your ham license and explain what you're doing in general
terms they can relate to. Explain that these efforts help us test our
equipment, it's range, and that such "tests" can help us help our
communities when a communications emergency arises. They can relate to this.
Treat it as a goodwill and "teachable moment" for ham radio rather than a
disruption. You may very well be the cop's first encounter with an actually
ham radio operator and you know what they say about first impressions ;-)
4. Obviously realize that you could be watched (from afar) even if you're
not approached, act accordingly, clean up before leaving the site/stop,
don't create a safety/traffic issue, and be careful of accidentally
trespassing..
5. In our post 9/11 world, if you're on or near a bridge, tunnel, or other
potential terrorist target...you should expect to attract EXTRA "attention"
from the folks in blue ;-) You may even be asked to move along, don't argue
(doesn't ever help).. just politely move on. If you feel you were treated
wrongly, there's a better time and place to deal with it.
73
Jeff
WA4ZKO
http://twitter.com/wa4zko
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