I would prefer the FCC be more transparent about what he transmitted and use that to justify the fine.
34k is a powerful enough deterrent that it could cost a life. What if a neighbor runs over and says someone is seriously injured a half mile down the road and the phone+cell towers are out. Do you risk the $34k and transmit? What if it's a stranger instead of a neighbor?
I have a ham radio license at ARRL. If your equipment can transmit at specific emergency service frequencies, 99.999% of the time you can also transmit on the wide band of ham frequencies, and there will be people on those frequencies ready to make phone calls to whatever services you need, if you can’t do so yourself. You don’t know what you’re talking about.
This dude transmitted eight fucking times and someone had to drive there to stop him.
That’s a pretty ridiculous scenario - there are plenty of emergency frequencies he could have used. He used active ones being used in an emergency because he wanted the attention and to feel important, not because it was actually helpful or necessary to save any lives.
Which is why he got fined so heavily. If it was a real life and death emergency, that isn’t what happens.
Everyone with a license to operate some kind of maritime, aviation or other radio also knows which frequencies are designated for emergencies. Those frequencies are monitored 24x7 all over the world by for example the coast guard, ATC and nearly every airplane in cruise flight (and I guess also ships, not sure how it works there).
Jumping in on a non-open frequency that is used for firefighting coordination, with a callsign that is specifically chosen to sound as "part of the team", it just a stupid stunt that deserves to be prosecuted.
> I would prefer the FCC be more transparent about what he transmitted and use that to justify the fine.
If you're really curious, go and do the research then - if it's not public record, you can file a Freedom of Information request.
But why do you care so much?
In your hypothetical scenario, you can transmit just fine - just use the proper emergency / SOS channels, not the ones reserved for e.g. the fire department, you're more likely to get help then. I don't see why so many people seem to struggle with this basic concept.
34k is a powerful enough deterrent that it could cost a life. What if a neighbor runs over and says someone is seriously injured a half mile down the road and the phone+cell towers are out. Do you risk the $34k and transmit? What if it's a stranger instead of a neighbor?