Way OT: Crazy Brits! ;-) & Amateur TV (was: These darned old computers

From: Roger Merchberger <zmerch_at_30below.com>
Date: Wed Aug 28 00:00:01 2002

At 01:19 08/28/2002 +0100, Tony Duell wrote:
[[ Bewarned: this is a multinational email... I'm responding to a UK post
from the USA while drinking *too much* Canadian beer... bewarned... ;^> ]]
[snip]

>This is where lawyers have fun (and run up big bills...)

Well, at least we have that in common on both sides of the pond... ;-/

>Incidetnally, the licensing authorities have claimed that all VCRs need a
>colour license because all VCRs record in colour. I actually asked them
>what license is needed for a Philips N1500 (very early domestic VCR) with
>the colour killer switch soldered in the 'on' position so that it records
>only in black-and-white. They didn't know....

Weirder & weirder... You mean that if any Brits wish to receive only B&W
broadcasts [and have the hardware to prove it], the tax levy is different
than color??? After almost 40 years of color TV technology, they still
carry a monochrome (more accurately: grayscale ;-) license?

Whoa!!! Just when I thought the only the only thing I learned today was
"Linux RPM's Suck..." ;-)

> > a tuner. AFAIK the situation with broadcast tv over the internet
> > has not been resolved yet. Amateur TV is exempt, even for non-hams
> > - the licence only applies to broadcast TV.
>
>That's odd. They told me that to receive amateur television you either
>needed an amateur license or a broadcast TV license. But that you
>couldn't do so (legally) with no license at all.

I cannot speak for the UK frequency laws [obviously] but as a US-licensed
Amateur Extra (AB8KK) and an ISP owner who uses *unlicensed* 2.4GHz
frequencies to deliver 11Mbit ethernet for Internet connectivity I can say
that to transmit _on the amateur [read: ham] bands_ you need to have the
appropriate license. However, if there are any non-licensed areas of the
spectrum, you wouldn't need a license to broadcast provided you met the
frequency & power requirements of those unlicensed bands. Lemme tell ya,
11Mbit is more than enough bandwidth to xmit TV signals, and at least in
the US, there are also unlicensed 5.2GHz bands which provide even more
bandwidth...

And there, friends, is my off-topic post of the day... at least until I get
*my* 2.4GHz Internet link... because the first thing going on that is my
VAX... ;-)

Laterz,
Roger "Merch" Merchberger

P.S. A few years ago, I moaned when Michigan state tax went from 4% to
6%... altho that's more for the mathematical reasons than monetary... (5%
is much easier on the noggin for a store owner) and I always felt sorry for
my Ontario neighbours with a combined tax of 15%... [ IIRC, which I'm sure
I don't: 8% Ont. Provincial tax & 7% GST...) Now I see even *they* don't
have it quite so bad... :-/
Received on Wed Aug 28 2002 - 00:00:01 BST