Hi all, I think airborne video is a REALLY COOL thing and I don't want this post to be mis-interpreted differently, BUT: The legal use ham radio frequencies in the US requires a technician-class license. It's ok for anybody at all to sell or own the equipment, but it's illegal to operate it. Airborne transmitters are usually small w/ relatively very low power and are not likely to be interfering with other operators on these bands, but we should be aware of other users and behave accordingly. We would all hate it if people started driving rc cars on 72 MHz. We should not be doing the same thing to other groups, especially since they can otherwise be a valuable resource for help, info and maybe even new blood. I expect that air-borne, car-borne, boat-borne etc video transmitters will grow increasingly common and would hate to see us do anything to invite further regulation or disputes with amateur radio clubs / organizations. SoCal in particular has fairly crowded RF spectrum already. There was a fairly involved discussion about this at the Dayton Ham-fest by the SoCal frequency coordinator (which I didn't pay attention to 'cause I live in NY) but it's probably a good idea to be aware of it. The license is ridiculously easy to get and very cheap. Get the Technician Study Book by Gordon West from your local Radio Shack. It's only $6 or so. Read through it once and take the test. The test is mostly common sense, multiple choice and you only need 70% to pass. Tests are given by local volunteers at hamfests and such for $5 or so. I have an ATV (Amateur TeleVsion) page on my website. I'll try to find and a list of local exam dates, manufacturers, and related stuff and link to it in the next few days for anybody who want to get into it. There's already some neat stuff there. To see it go to http://www.nyblimp.com and click the ATV button. Let's do this the right way on our own before somebody makes us do it. Gabe KC2AGV RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
