[BC] BC] "Taxing Radio Receivers"

[Broadcast List USER]

John:

I believe they stopped the radio license several decades ago.

As far as it being called a license, it is a tax.  It is just a matter  
of word choice.

I was broadcasting our morning show from London for a week.  It was  
fun, I got to spend five weeks there in total.

One day, we were across the street from Buckingham Palace, in an OB  
(Outside Broadcast) van, full of RPU, IFB and wireless mic gear.  It  
was a typical London small van too.  It had a forty foot PUSH UP  
mast.  We would mount the antennas on the mast, and push it up.  Since  
I was the Yank, I got that job.  By the time I got to the last  
section, the assembly and the earlier sections were quite heavy.  The  
platform on the van roof was one of my favorite places to be.

Anyway, as we were parked across from Buckingham Palace for the  
Trooping the Colour, a local popped in and asked if the Queen had  
failed to pay her Telly Tax.  The locals call it a tax.

Soon after that, a tow truck brought a car over that had been parked  
next to the Palace, on a triple yellow line.  One yellow line means No  
Parking.  Two mean, REALLY, NO PARKING.  Three yellow lines means, WE  
ARE SERIOUS, DON'T PARK A CAR HERE, EVER!  Well, this couple did it,  
and a tow truck picked it up right away and pulled it into the park,  
behind a will, right in front of us.  I was on the platform on the  
van.  The tow truck dropped the car and some uniformed Bobbies went to  
work on it.  In the matter of about two minutes, It was sitting on  
stands, wheels off, tires off the wheels.  The seats were out.  The  
carpet was out.  Basically, it was in pieces.  The couple went back to  
where they parked the car, and were met by Bobbies.  They brought the  
couple to the car.  They were very unhappy, and asked how long it was  
going to take for the Bobbies to get the car back together.  They said  
they didn't do that, and the woman lost it.  She was nearly hauled  
away.  I'll bet they never park illegally now!

--chip

On Sep 30, 2009, at 8:07 PM, broadcast-request at radiolists.net wrote:

> Message: 8
> From: "JOHN H BATTISON" <batcom at verizon.net>
>
> Ed, England doesn't t"Tax" receivers----it "Licenses 'receivers,  
> both Radio and TV. There is a difference!
> John Battison PE
> Consulting Communications Engineer