[KYHAM] Right To Know?

[Martin Hensley]

At 9:13 -0500 1/11/02, G. S. Glass wrote:
>if they can sell the customers radios, be it to monitor the band or 
>to talk on, then Radio Shack is happy because  they have made a 
>sale.  Honestly, do they care what they are used for as long as the 
>revenue is in the black?

If the customer uses it illegally and gets caught, do you think they 
will frequent Radio Shack again? Or tell all of their friends what a 
wonderful place Radio Shack is? I'm not suggesting that they be 
forbidden to purchase the radio; most of us bought a rig at some 
point before we were licensed to transmit on it. However, most of the 
radios that require a license are usually in the same small display 
area. What is the harm in placing a small sign saying something to 
the effect of "Transceivers on this shelf require a FCC license 
before transmitting. Please ask for more information."? This is 
basically the same blurb that was in the catalog repeated for those 
who didn't look in the catalog.

>The best prospective, which was mentioned the other day, for the 
>local clubs to visit the stores in their community and offer a stack 
>of  information sheets on the local club activities, LICENSE 
>TRAINING CLASSES and contacts for taking the FCC test.

Great! When the customer does ask for more information, the clerks 
can provide them with this and potentially make another sale if they 
stock the license manuals. All you have to do is have someone in the 
club be responsible for keeping a supply of information sheets at the 
store. They could be kept in the cabinet just below the display 
(there usually is one) and handed out as requested.

This is the true "everyone wins" with the addition that no one loses. 
Radio Shack still sells the transceiver AND the license manuals, 
Amateur Radio gets new members and no one is called to task by the 
local Hams or the FCC for unlicensed operation.

73,
Martin, KF4EBC