There's an awful lot of editing I'd have to do, so I'm just going to say this once:
It's not about "licensed operator vice not" - it's about the FCC coming down
H-A-R-D on violators - whether it's HAM radiomen operating out of band, unlicensed pirate stations, or CB operators with footwarmers. Tweaking radios to higher output is
illegal for anyone - and the FCC is not gentle about issuing fines if you're caught (tweaking a CB can start at around five grand, and you're playing the odds if you're running one. Care to see how long you can hide from the Law of Averages?)
Now, there are probably
legal power amplifiers out there, or you can get a radio with a higher PEP transmit power, but these amplifiers are also designed to reduce interference with other sources, reduce or eliminate TVI, reduce or eliminate intermod,
and usually come with restrictions on use anyhow (since you can't
totally eliminate interference. Even if the transmitter and amplifier are fully shielded against internal emissions, the emitted signal is still likely to cause trouble - and you can usually pick it up with a TV. It's also an old trick for catching tactical radio traffic - just because the traffic is encrypted doesn't mean you can't tell
something is going on. You used to also be able to pick up cellular telephones on old TVs - not because of the transmit power, but because of the way radio works to begin with.)
So, I'll go through and edit this later - but if I see
one more post about boosting transmit power, I'll just shut it down instead. The FCC also goes after places where illegal mods are discussed - and I don't want
to get clobbered (the last discussion board I heard of that got caught for discussing illegal mods - violations of Part 97 on itenerant freqs, as I recall - got nailed to the tune of about $200K. Getting assessed for $200K would
shut us down - which is the idea that the FCC is going after. I don't want that - you don't want that either...)
The face of this thread will change massively, if it stays up.
This is the cutoff - there will be no more discussion of UA radio mods. This can also be considered a warning to everyone - further discussion of illegal radio mods will result in a recommendation for disciplinary action against the poster. We can't afford to take the chance, you know...
Play nice, now.
BTW - "Tuning" a radio is different from "boosting." Anything that is mass-produced has room for improvement in individual units - that's what "tuning" is about. You're not changing any componentry or the signal characteristics, you're just doing a better job of adjusting the internal settings than the factory did - because you're not in anywhere near as much of a hurry as they were. That can result in greater
effective power without actually
increasing the power, because you're improving the signal envelope. Nothing at all illegal there - you're just setting your equipment for peak efficiency. As long as you're not boosting the signal, you're good.
