Renegade Operators Foul Up Radio Rescues

This letter concerns your article “Radio Renegades” (Oct. 2).

The glamorization of the illegal and irresponsible activities of a tiny minority of radio operators is an insult to the legitimate participants in the Amateur Radio Service.

The legitimate hams provide a unique and valuable service to our community and nation by maintaining, at their own expense, a sophisticated communications system that is often the only reliable means of communication when disaster strikes.

The illegal activities of the “renegades” are not harmless pranks. They have cost people their lives and property. Many repeater operators, who are responsible to the FCC for the messages retransmitted by their repeaters, have been forced to close their repeaters to the public due to illegal interference and misuse by “renegades.”

These repeaters become unavailable for emergency communications unless the operator knows the proper codes to turn them on. If a traveler comes across an accident, for example, he will be unable to call for medical aid since he will not know the codes for the local repeater.

The only solution to this problem is strict enforcement of FCC regulations to eliminate these irresponsible operators from the air. An amateur radio license is a privilege that should be taken away if the licensee cannot abide by FCC regulations.

G.S. LYLE

Canyon Country