On Fri, 07 Oct 2005 01:25:38 +0000, Shortwave Sportfishing wrote:


The real issue is removing the gate from the system that used to keep the
riff raff out. Not that you or others are automatically riff raff - there
are plenty of competent ops who learned the code, got their licenses and
never used the code again - I don't have issue with that.

Actually, I think I can understand your feelings. Ham has always seemed
like a pretty tight knit, more than a little geeky, community. Pretty
interesting hobby. I've never gotten the bug, but I think I can
understand the attraction.

But here's where I'm coming from, it's my understanding that to have a SSB
on a boat, legally, I would need a general license. Correct me if I'm
wrong. I'm not really interested in ham as a hobby, but as a tool. It's
an important safety issue. I would expect to be listening, not talking,
and with off the shelf equipment. From my perspective, CW and electronic
knowledge is extraneous. I just want to be legal. What say you?