[BC] RE: People asking questions....

[Linc]

In about 1975 I was running radials on WHDH in order to support an 
application for 850 in Goshen, NY.

I was only a few miles from the transmitter in Framingham across from a 
General Motors plant. Without asking me what I was doing GM security called 
the Framingham police who promptly tried to arrest me, was I some 
environmentalist trying to gather data?  Pretty soon a second cruiser showed 
up, and as I tried to explain one officer seemed a bit more informed.  I 
handed him the headset, he listened for a moment then asked me if I was a 
ham. I said yes, W2HIE.  He told me his call, which I wish I could remember, 
and that was the end of the incident.

Believe it or not, we all went from there to Dunkin Donuts and had a good 
laugh.

A few year later, at about 5:00 AM as I was leaving my then girlfriend's, 
now wife's, apartment.  I was only on the road a few minutes when I was 
pulled over.  It turned out it was a Monticello, NY cop who I often talked 
to on the Finchville, NY repeater.  He said he thought it was me and wanted 
to meet me, unfortunately I had to get to work, WDNH (Honesdale, PA) signed 
on at 6, so there was no time for coffee.

OTOH, twice in the last 30 years I spotted someone with an FIM in hand and 
stopped to chat, last time was WDOV in Dover, DE, circa 1992 in the days 
before Cheap Channel and others ruined radio.

Bring back 7, 7 and 6, or at least the duopoly rule.

Linc.