But it's not so much the planning commission, as it is the neighbors who all of a sudden claim that the tower's interfering with their TVs. The complaints were brought on after Jim (KB9MMA) and his son Samm (KC9POP) had their community service during severe weather attract unwanted attention by local officials and neighbors. Samm is 10 and has issues with Cerebral Palsy.
Granted, I don't live there, and I'm certainly biased when it comes to ham radio towers and the right to have one (I will NEVER live in an HOA thanks to their micro-plutocracies that base their "laws" on the almighty $$$ at the expense of individuality and the freedom of expression) but when the neighbors call a ten-year old a "media puppet" and are indifferent to the public service he's been awarded, the negative attention given to the neighbors is warranted in my opinion.
However, now that the commission has spoken, it looks to be a lost cause. Jim has said he may sue to keep the tower, but at this point, why bother? Get the hell out of there, and move to a place that has wide open spaces, and welcomes the community service that Samm employs in order to get out of his shell that his disability has encased him.
And if Mt. Pleasant, God forbid, gets hit with a tornado, I would certainly hope they have ample warning. They would, if they'd allow one ham and his son to keep their tower.
Due to the nature of the subject, I've omitted names and callsigns.
Over the last few weeks we've had several individuals causing malicious interference across several repeaters here in East Tennessee. One was caught a few weeks ago, and turned out to be a non-ham. Of the few others that have appeared, one has been very clever in hiding his (or her) signal quite well, but a few have been able to pick them up. While we have a few leads as to who the suspects are, we haven't singled any people out (yet!).
So, last night on my way home, I checked in to the local SKYWARN net and listened in to the gang wrapping up the net as the weather abated. However, as I was checking on some weather approaching from Nashville, we suddenly heard a dear carrier, covering up all signals.
My immediate reaction was that the NWS station had left the mic stuck in the "transmit" position. However, the NWS station chimed in on another repeater that they were not the cause. So the next natural suggestion was that we had a QRMer.
However, something told me it wasn't intentional. The normal interference we had heard was someone scratching a mic, retransmitting signals from HF, or the occasional bodily function. This was just silence. However, a couple of other hams were convinced it was intentional, because they'd been getting QRM recently.
I stepped up my drive home and arrived and put my home station into action. I swung the beams south and immediately got a spike in my signal strength (about S-7) to the southeast, towards Pigeon Forge. We'd had a couple of leads of QRMers from that area, so I started to think we had a bead on the signal from that general direction. However, another ham advised they had a strong signal near McGee-Tyson Airport, directly south of me. I swung my beams due south, and the signal shot to S-9, almost full quieting! Now, all I needed was another ham with a beam to triangulate a general location.
Unfortunately, no one else with a beam was listening, or wasn't hearing the signal.
I got on the repeater's output frequency and sent out a simplex transmission that we were actively searching for the signal. The repeater owner was listening and managed to shut the repeater off through a control link on another band, preventing damage to his repeater.
A DFer with a doppler unit was in the area, so I advised he head towards the airport. While the DFers were doing their manhunt, I got on the repeater's output frequency again and advised that I had the signal to the south and requested input from users who could hear the signal and give a direction or bearing. Unfortunately, no one was giving beam headings or any signal report. I gave out my phone number and a couple of hams called and gave me some signal strength reports, but again, not from a beam, just what they picked up on their HTs.
About 30 minutes into the situation, we new this was not intentional. No one with common sense would risk their equipment just to harass other hams, especially during a SKYWARN net. 3-4 DFers got in on the hunt, and they had bearings near the airport, but further south. As they got closer to the transmitter, I began looking up hams in the QRZ database who might be in the area. I would ask for street names to try and see if there was any hams who lived on particular streets. After they gave information on one street, I called out a ham's callsign and address, and they sped towards that position. Another ham knew they person and called him on the phone. It turned out he was not the QRMer. The DFer's briefly stayed, using the time to get another bearing before continuing on.
Suddenly, the signal developed noise. it had now been transmitting for over an hour and I figured the radio was beginning to overheat. It went from S-9 to S-7 on my radio's signal strength meter. Some thought the drop in signal was an indication it was mobile, but I didn't hear "picket fencing", indicative of a mobile station on the move.
As the DFers moved in closer, the signal suddenly dropped out. Was the radio dead? The hunters made comments that the radio must've died, but suddenly it reappeared, then cut out again! Suspicion arose. Was this intentional, and the guy was messing with us? Was he monitoring us and shutting off the transmitter the closer the hunters were getting?
Suddenly, it came on again. Then off, and on...it appeared to me that the transmitter was shutting itself off due to thermal protection. We knew we had to find it before the radio was permanently damaged, or worse, started a fire!
We were approaching 2 hours, when suddenly one of the DFers picked up a strong signal near the house of a well-known ham. We finally had our culprit.
The ham had gone out to tend to some business and had just plugged in an ICOM radio he had just acquired. His wife was home and allowed one of the DFers in to check the equipment, and the radio was finally turned off. It turned out the mic had a short in the wiring, and was shorted to transmit.
The radio itself was warm, but not terribly hot. The power supply, however, was able to fry an egg, from what I was told.
It was a successful "hunt" and with the terrain and occasional "kerchunk" from hams trying to figure out why the repeater wasn't on, the DFers were able to resolve the situation in good time.
It was a great exercise in direction finding. Hopefully the lessons learned will make the hunters better when it comes time to locate the actual QRMers on the repeaters.
The "Truth Revealed About Ham Radio" by Bert Fisher K1OIK – that gives his humble opinion about what he views is wrong with our hobby and some hams within it.
I'd treat this like I treat other hams who have strong opinions (like, oh, I dunno...me!) and just remember what they say about opinions...
Still, it's a very entertaining 10-minute diatribe. I find truth in much of it. And yeah, I've done several of the things he rails on (HIHI!).
By the way, Google Blogs rolled out this new template, and I decided to give it a try. Give me feedback on it. Like? Dislike? Better or worse than the previous template I used?
Well it seems like ham operators, when they're NOT breaking the law, are apparently threats to national security here in the US. Even when they're not American!
Greg Roberts (ZS1BI) is a ham operator in South Africa. When he's not on the air, he's looking into the air. More specifically, into the night sky, chasing "birds", or satellites.
6 weeks ago NASA launched the super-secret X-37B space plane in cooperation with the Air Force. The launch was not announced ahead of time and the orbit of the space plane was kept quiet.
However, Greg and some other observers were able to determine it's orbit based on a chance encounter by one observer, and then reviewing past launches of top secret spacecraft and theorizing when the plane would pass over his location. Sure enough, he was able to not only confirm it's orbit, but he was able to determine it's altitude and orbital inclination, and published his calculated orbital elements online. Satellite observers around the world were able to confirm these predictions as the space plane circled over their locations.
Within days, publications around the world, from the New York Times and others all were agog over how an "amateur" (Greg is actually a retired professional astronomer) was able to accurately predict NASA's new toy.
Well apparently Sector 7 isn't too thrilled with Greg's "amateurish" antics. An article in the South African Times informs us that Greg is now labeled as a "threat to U.S. National Security".
I find it amazing how the US is so concerned with how an amateur from South Africa found the super-secret X-37B, yet they didn't seem too concerned that perhaps the Chinese, or North Koreans, or even our modern-day ally Russians might have found the satellite using the exact same methods employed by Greg, albeit more sophisticated (expensive).
And yet HE is the problem.
Perhaps the CIA and whatever other national security agencies should focus on real threats to US national security, and not worry about the petty observations of people like Greg who are just providing a service to people who might not get access to such information.
I mean, I am a taxpayer after all, so this is my space plane too, is it not?
Sunday morning, Steve Bozak (WB2IQU/HL9VX) took a drive to Troy. On the way, he talked to his buddies using his ham radio. But he didn't expect to talk to a police officer next.
Bozak said, "He assured me that I was not to be talking on that cell phone. I said this isn't a cell phone. It's an amateur radio. He said it's all the same."
Bozak was issued [a] ticket for talking on a mobile device while driving.
So it appears that law enforcement is targeting ham operators (and possibly CBers) who hold a handheld radio to their ear in order to hear what's being said.
I suppose the lesson here is to use a mobile with a very loud speaker, or whip it over to the curb every time you want to key the mic.
Don't get me wrong, I am not a fan of talking while driving (I can't recall how many times I've nearly been hit by someone distracted on their phone) but I have never had any problems while using a mobile or HT in my vehicle.
Bozak faces a $100 fine and plans to not only contest the ticket but seek an amendment to the state law to exempt ham operators from the statute.
It seems that ham operators' run-ins with the law must come in waves, as yet ANOTHER ham is in trouble with police.
Although not as severe as Irene Levy (KJ6CEY) acted in California, this one is just as much a black eye on ham radio as her case is.
Authorities say that Keith Mutch (KB1RBI, pictured right) of Norwich, CT used a ham radio to report over the nearby Wal-Mart radio frequency that a man with a gun was outside the store threatening to shoot people, sending police into action.
Although there are no specific details, authorities were somehow able to determine that Mutch was responsible after Wal-mart employees advised none of their employees made the transmission.
Besides making a false report, he was also charged with reckless endangerment and breach of peace. He's currently held on $5000 bond awaiting a hearing on Tuesday, June 1.
I get all sorts of interesting emails from the sons of Nigerian royalty (at least one a day), but this one really made me laugh:
The Desk Of, Mr. Samuel Morse Fund Manager, Fidelity International, UK . +44 7045703892
I feel quite safe dealing with you in this important business. Though,
this medium (Internet) has been greatly abused, I choose to reach you
through it because it still remains the fastest medium of communication.
Do accept my sincere apologies if my mail does not meet your personal ethics. I knew that this mail will come to you as a surprise, but please do not be discouraged with my proposal, it was due to how things are moving with me, and then I decided to write to you when I saw your contact information in a directory.
However, this correspondence is unofficial and private, and it should be treated as such. At first I will like to assure you that this transaction is 100% risk and trouble free to both parties.
My name is Mr. Samuel Morse, a Fund Manager with Fidelity Investment, UK. I handle all our Investors Capital Project Funds which enabled me to divert 1.2% of Investors Excess Return Capital Funds to our Magellan Trust Funds Account where anyone can be presented to claim the funds.
Total sum of Fifteen Million, Seven Hundred and Forty Five Thousand British Pounds (15.745.000) GBP has been diverted, representing 1.2% of Excess Return Capital Funds from the Investor Capital Project Funds for 2006/2007 fiscal year.
I need a reliable and trustworthy person with whom I can work this deal out so that we can claim the funds as mentioned above.
There is no risk attached and the funds in question can never be dictated or traced.
Sincerely, Mr. Samuel Morse
I would've thought I'd have received it as follows:
Up until now I thought the funniest one was of the Nigerian astronaut stuck up in space for 14 years (who knew?) but this ranks a close 2nd.
And to think, all this time I thought Morse was a painter and an inventor, not an accountant...I even thought he was dead, but I see it's on the internet so it must be true...
And just to be sure, the letter I received is often referred to as a "419 scam", named because of the Nigerian penal code dealing with such fraud.
Unfortunately the Nigerian government doesn't look at these types of issues with utmost priority, and Nigeria's reputation as a corrupt country is only exacerbated by these rampant emails by organized crime bosses or even corrupt politicians.
What's even more ridiculous is that there are people who actually buy into these scams, thinking they've been chosen by fate out of millions of others out there to help facilitate the laundering of money in exchange for a fee.
There's some who get conned into thinking they've won the Canadian lottery and can get their winnings expedited through customs for "modest fees" of thousands of dollars. How could you have won when you didn't even enter?
It just goes to show that if it's too good to be true...
Hot on the heels of the arrest of K8JSM in Asheville after airport police misinterpreted his communications mobile as a terrorist threat to the public, another ham operator in California is now in trouble with the law, and this one is more deliberate.
This past Monday, San Jacinto, California police arrested Irene Marie Levy, KJ6CEY, after she allegedly was maliciously interfering with Police and Fire officials over 30 hours last weekend. Transmissions included references to officers and firemen killed in the line of duty, interruption of calls to fires and car accidents, and at least one bomb threat.
She allegedly began making the transmissions last Saturday evening, and they continued until moments before law enforcement officers knocked on the door to her mobile home after authorities DF'ed the transmissions and triangulated to her position.
Levy was booked on suspicion of making terrorist threats; false report of a bomb threat; and maliciously interrupting, disrupting, impeding, or interfering with the transmission of a public safety radio frequency. She is held on a $50,000 bond.
Investigators seized 11 radio transmitters, seven radio frequency scanners, radio frequency lists, computer equipment and other miscellaneous radio equipment.
Scanning the message forums on QRZ, she met her husbandMichael (KE6ALV) online through a scanner club where both were active members.
Before her page on QRZ was removed, she mentioned she was a "CBer at heart" and had some derogatory words for some of the local authorities she said she monitored on her scanner. She's only been licensed as a ham since last September.
A couple of questions came to mind about this whole incident. One, where was her husband during this 30-hour marathon of RFI? And two, what medication was she not taking (or worse, WAS taking) in order to go into such a tirade of taunting and harassment?
Unlike Sean McVey in Asheville, her actions were deliberate, intentional, and worse, could have delayed authorities from responding to some of the life-threatening calls she interrupted during the incident.
I'm not sure why she felt the need to vilify law enforcement officials or why she felt she was not going to get caught (she attempted to disguise her voice as a male), but the darker cloud to all this is the fact she is a ham radio operator, and that this fact was very evident in these news articles.
Not one mention of her being involved in CB or scanner monitoring was published, only her amateur radio background. This could lead to a backlash against ham radio operators in California (and nationwide) as these brushes with law enforcement continue making the news.
Fortunately, Field Day is fast approaching, and the wave of publicity articles is already making the rounds in various newspapers across the country. Hopefully this will shed more positive light on ham radio now more than ever, and if I were to get those extra 100 bonus points, I'd be looking to my local newspaper and/or TV outlets ASAP to get the word out on the positives of ham radio.
Last Saturday night, before this whole brouhaha with K8JSM stirred up a hornet's nest, I did something I wasn't sure I'd ever be doing again - participate in a SKYWARN net.
My friend Jason was recently appointed the coordinator for the area and this was to be his first real test in that role. He was used to it, though, since he and I would team up with a couple of others and run the nets years ago. When a new coordinator was named, all he would do is call Jason or another friend of mine, Tom, and get them to run the nets. So they were used to the pressure. I decided to listen in and help, because that's what friends do for one another...
The weather system that moved through had already killed 10 people in Mississippi and was bearing down on East Tennessee.
The National Weather Service (NWS) had been sending out messages warning people about the severity of the system 48 hours beforehand. The last time I recall the NWS being that cautious was when a tornado tore through Mossy Grove several years before. However, by the time it arrived around midnight Saturday night/Sunday morning, it lost most of its energy and was scattered storms.
It still managed to put an E-F2 tornado in Greenback, just southeast of where I live.
As that tornado was touching down, one local TV station was on the air broadcasting the storm's approach to Knoxville.
As I tuned in to the net, several people were checking in and reporting the usual - heavy winds, lotsa lightning, nothing happening, my bunions are killing me...the typical stuff we'd normally get.
But then, one ham who was doing an overnight paper route called in to report he was in contact with another delivery person who "saw a tornado" in Greenback.
In the past, I usually shunned this type of 3rd party reporting. I recall one such net where we spent 15 minutes scrambling to get confirmation because someone heard on a police scanner that the fire department was reporting a tornado down in Anderson County near Oak Ridge, and it set off a panic. That report ended up being discounted, but it tied up our net as we struggled to get some sort of visual confirmation from those listening, many of whom ran to their police scanners to listen for the report from the fire department.
But something was different about this report. I knew the guy reporting it and he wouldn't just throw a report out like this without some sort of credible evidence (he and Jason are close friends and I'm sure Jason lectured him about it a dozen times over). Dwight (the ham reporting) made sure to preface his report and said "I'm getting this '3rd party', but another driver just told me he saw a tornado in the Greenback community."
So, I decided I was going to run upstairs into the living room and see what the meteorologists were reporting on TV.
No sooner than I step out of the radio room do I hear one of the two meteorologists on TV exclaim: "And we've just received CONFIRMATION of a tornado in Greenback, this is by AMATEUR RADIO..."
I about had a heart attack.
My first reaction was "what weather net are they listening to?" and I scrambled back to the radio to start scanning for other nets (none were taking place other than in northern Georgia and middle Tennessee) and I quickly grabbed the mic and told Jason to "call me immediately" so that I could let him know the TV station was listening, and possibly erroneously reporting a touchdown. No sooner did I un-key the mic when another ham piped in that the TV station was listening and reporting the tornado touching down.
Well now that the cat was out of the bag, we (as in all of us on the net) had to spend 5+ minutes doing damage control, stating repeatedly that the report was 3rd party, unconfirmed, and that we were working to get visual sighting of damage or of the tornado.
Suddenly other hams start reporting that they're getting reports of ambulance and fire dispatches to homes damaged by tornados and other emergencies. The hams were using specific addresses, and that was always a big no-no when I was calling the nets.
Eventually, the TV station corrected their report, but did mention reports of emergency dispatches were being sent to the same addresses we were hearing, indicating something happened out in Greenback.
Eventually, it came to pass that there was indeed a tornado in Greenback, but the rule of thumb we always employed was not to confirm what we ourselves didn't see.
Dwight didn't do anything wrong, because he did preface that he was getting the information 3rd-hand. However, the TV station was either rushing to get the story out on the air or was not entirely hearing the report by Dwight, and assumed that the tornado was confirmed.
Technically speaking, we couldn't confirm if a tornado did touchdown (that's the NWS's job when they do damage surveys after the fact) but the last thing I want to see is SKYWARN in East Tennessee getting discredited because we're hollering "TORNADO!" when in fact it's not been confirmed, or just something we hear elsewhere.
It's been a couple years since I was involved in SKYWARN. It's gonna take a little bit of time to get used to things again. Getting things back on track is going to have to be priority one, but getting the media on track with what we do is apparently another priority entirely.
I must admit at first I thought it was a case of some whacker trying to impersonate a police officer with his strobes flashing, brandishing a sidearm, wearing an earpiece and "talking into it", etc.
Then I began to read more and more about this person, and what was developing was more a case of overzealous law enforcement rather than an overzealous ham radio operator trying to impress anyone within sight, showing off that he was in emergency communications.
It also was another flagrant display by the media to quickly demonize and criminalize whomever might threaten President Obama without stepping back and fully assessing the entire situation with some form of objectivity. Even though there was nothing political about the situation, a quick rush has been made by some media to portray McVey as a right-wing extremist lunatic with fantasies of snipers and sadistic thoughts of extremist conservatism coursing through his twisted, sick, feeble mind...
Seriously, both McVey and the authorities at the airport are to blame, in my opinion, and here's why...
First, let's look at Sean. Honor student in school, bright kid, loves music, radios, and target shooting. Is this the profiling of a monster? If anything, he's a nerd. I should know, I was one. Still am.
So NOW it begins with the media. Demonize McVey as a right-wing extremist who probably is a member of some secret militia in the bible belt. More on that later.
So back to Sean. Yes, he can be over-the-top on wanting to help when help is not asked for. As I posted previously, I've dealt with folks like him in the past, wanting to be Dudley Do-right. They have the best of intentions, and their hearts are in the right place. But sometimes, instead of helping, they hinder the situation, or in some cases escalate it because law enforcement may not know what the person's intentions truly are, other than being a nuisance and getting in the way. To some degree, that's what's happened here.
If he had his strobes flashing, sidearm brandished, and was telling people to get back or was directing traffic, yeah, that could be cause for some concern with law enforcement. But if all he did was park his car, get out and watch Air Force One taxi, minding his own business, listening to the radio traffic on his scanner with an earpiece so as not to disturb others, then, other than having the sidearm, there's no serious cause for concern?
Regarding the sidearm, although I support the right to have a gun, and believe strongly in the 2nd amendment, even if it is legal what Sean did, showing up at an area where the President of the United States was (or is) is not what I consider the smartest move to make. That alone is probably what triggered the officers at the airport into action. Bad move on Sean's part.
And speaking of the police, I'll just go on record as saying, again my opinion, the police acted appropriately...to a point.
There was a time years ago when I was the ARES emergency coordinator for Knox County here in Tennessee. Big responsibility. I dealt with overreacting hams and those just waiting ever-so-impatiently for the next big emergency. Not unlike McVey, really. I've also dealt with law enforcement and government officials who didn't care for ham operators. One official whose name I won't mention (because I don't remember his name) thought they were the scourge of communications "experts" everywhere, and despite my reminding him I was a ham and trying to inform him the positives of recent events such as a tornado taking out all other reliable communications in one remote area of East Tennessee except for ham radio, he refused to be swayed otherwise. He let one bad encounter ruin it for the whole hobby in his mind, and I had better things to do than to persuade him otherwise.
The Airport Police stopped McVey and questioned him, but even though he was legally allowed to carry the weapon (both as a sidearm and concealed) they continued to pursue the issue and find some sort of excuse to make an example out of McVey. When they finally pulled said excuse out of some book they probably had to blow the dust off in order to open, that gave them Carte Blanche to rifle through his car under the guise of "probable cause". And lo, what do they find but formulas and calculations for bullet trajectories...clearly they have a dangerous man on their hands. Look again at that mugshot above...
I tend to think the arresting officers probably knew he was a ham and had it in their mind that, just like the county official I referenced, this kid was part of a hobby they detested, and felt they needed to make an example to all hams as to what would happen if any hams got in their way. Yeah, it's probably a bit much for a conspiracy theory, but considering what craziness has come from this whole situation so far, you never know, really.
The airport police claimed they ran his driver's license number through the database and it came back invalid. I find it deliciously odd that only after he was detained, booked, photographed, and charged, that they then magically found that they entered his information into the computer incorrectly...
So this charge of "going armed to the terror of the public", has anyone ever even heard of such a charge? Then, in order to make an example out of McVey, they set bond at $100,000? For a misdemeanor? Then they say that, even if he posted bond he might still remain in jail??? Is that even legal?
The airport police chief even said he did nothing wrong "individually"...
Taken individually, none of things McVey did was against the law, including carrying the gun, Airport Police Chief Jeff Augram said. It was the combination of McVey’s behavior and the things he had that drew the charge, Augram said.
So if I understand correctly, he didn't do anything wrong, but because of his behavior and his ham radios and scanners, he got arrested?
I'm so seriously tempted to head over the mountain 90 miles away to the Asheville Regional Airport/Hair Care/Tire Change & 30-min Lube/Discount Cigarette Outlet/Fireworks Warehouse (tm) and take my handheld Yaesu FT-530, Radio Shack scanner, a listing of frequencies for the airport, a bottle of water over 16oz, and a picket sign that states:
I AM A HAM RADIO OPERATOR, SUPPORTER OF THE 2ND AMENDMENT, AND A SCANNER ENTHUSIAST. THAT MAKES ME A TERROR THREAT TO THE PUBLIC
and just stand there in front of the Airport's Police Station/Mobile Home. Wonder what will happen...hmmm...maybe individually, with the radios, the sign, and the water, I'm in the clear, but put them together...
I myself probably did more research than the media in finding out about who McVey really was. Why was he in North Carolina? His mom lives there. He even posted this fact online last year. Only now is the media catching on. Why did he have all these radios? He's a ham. Looking at his Ohio license plate would have answered that question immediately. Why did he have a gun? He was licensed to.
Almost immediately the media were trying to put this kid in the electric chair without so much as a peep of fact, just innuendo. After all, here was some lunatic from out of town with rifle formulas, police scanners, and carrying a gun wanting to see the President...
Only after the media starts doing their JOB does the truth come to light. He's just a harmless kid with a fascination for radios who wanted to see Air Force One.
In the end, I think that McVey will not serve any more time other than what he served after being arrested. He'll probably get a lecture from the judge but nothing more...
If anything, McVey has a golden opportunity to sell his story to one of the news channels (probably Larry King Live) or a magazine publication. I'd love to talk to him for a TWIAR exclusive, but we can't afford what he'd probably be asking.
Still, I wonder two things: What effect it will have on McVey's civic-minded activities (will he continue to be an overzealous and anxious kid filled with piss and vinegar and wanting to save the world?) and what effect this whole incident will have on ham radio.
God forbid this incident inspires the feds into trying to micromanage ham radio more than they already do, or even worse levy restrictions on civil agencies like RACES, ARES, and SKYWARN. Hopefully the Obama administration won't launch their media dogs into a smear campaign of ham radio, either. The last thing amateur radio needs to be is a foul talking point on the news channels.
A man was arrested on Sunday near the Asheville Regional Airport after he was stopped near the airport's car rental parking lot as President Obama was onboard Air Force One taxiing out to depart. Agents stopped Joseph Sean McVey after noticing he was wearing a sidearm and using a handheld radio and talking into a headset. Agents ran his driver's license number and it came back invalid. When asked why he was there, he stated he wanted to see the President.
Not exactly the best thing to say when you have a gun at your side.
He's detained and possibly facing an array of charges. Currently he's charged with "going armed to the terror of the public" (?) a misdemeanor, yet with a $100,000 bond. I'm pretty sure they'll find others to add.
When I heard he had a light bar, siren, and antennas on his car, I immediately looked on QRZ and found there was a name matching his, callsign K8JSM. His age matches with his description (he says he was born in 1987, and the article states he's 23) and he said he goes by Sean, the middle name in the article.
Unfortunately while it seems like his intentions were not terribly concerning (he said he was interested in seeing the President, and just seems like he was just going out as a Secret Service wannabe) he's going to be in a big boatload of trouble. It's going to make ham radio operators look bad as well, depending on how the media plays this out. The article linked earlier talks about the scanners, antennae, and radios he had. It could lead to a few articles or not-so-subtle references to how some in ham radio think they either represent the law, or worse, are above it.
The folks at Hamsexy are talking about it, (their term for these kind of hams is "whackers") and QRZ is also discussing this person. These forums have even found a YouTube video of him chasing a storm in Coshocton County, Ohio and reporting hail. He's also a member of REACT and apparently they have a strong presence as several REACT members were tending to a downed tree. He even is good enough to post the transcripts of his transmissions. What was more amusing to me was the discussion of the proper sizes of hail.
Face it, there's at least one person like Sean in your area. I can name at least two here in East Tennessee. Hell, when I got my ticket I thought about a light bar, headlight strobes, and magnets all over the truck I drove. Yes, we want to be able to have all the equipment at the ready when something does occur, but parading around the countryside with a few lightbars and magnets on your cars when you don't need them can set a bad example for others to follow.
Ask yourself if it's really necessary to have your vehicle lit up like a Christmas tree or a portable discotheque when you're on the road responding to whatever emergency you need to go to, or when you're doing a public service event (marathon, bike race, etc.).
Now several of my friends have the amber lights on their cars or trucks. The small one or two-light system is fine. Subtle, maybe. But the big ones that span the hood of your car and make people wonder if you're with the local utility or some other public service, that's over the top.
God forbid you get red, blue, and/or green ones, indicating you're government/emergency service...
