Saturday, April 16, 2011 — Having met with a group of Amateur Radio operators recently, I was told during a discussion of on-air procedures that the FCC was soon going to place some severe limitations on the Amateur Radio community.
I try to stay informed of the FCC proposals that affect Amateur Radio; apparently I missed a doozy!
This ham went on to explain that the FCC was seriously considering a plan that would limit hams to operation of their equipment on every other day; the days would be determined by the number in your callsign. He seemed somewhat pleased that I had not heard of this as he told me the details.
This HAD to be a joke, I thought to myself. I thought initially this individual — a retired engineer and a very learned fellow — might be pulling my leg. No, no, he was quite sincere. I let it go, making a note to check this out once I arrived home.
It took some time to find it, as there were few reference to it; I finally stumbled across a posting on a message board that referred to some sort of proposed restrictions, and the writer’s deep concern over its impact on the hobby. The post’s author did ask if the proposal was real; the replies pointed him to the April issue of CQ magazine.
And its there that Professor Emil Heisseluft’s article graces page 28, detailing the grave consequences. I don’t have CQ, and was unable to read the article; apparently the article looks real enough to convince the ham I talked to today and others around the country!
I was surprised today by a second April Fool’s joke that was taken seriously: I had written an April Fool’s Day article about excessive dihydrogen monoxide (DHMO) in our local water supply and published it on my website two weeks ago. During some chit-chat with another fellow, he asked me what we were going to do about the water pollution problem. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about.
He explained — with an air of annoyance — that it was the story I had written! You know, the pollution that might be connected with the Japanese earthquake? I had to tell him straight to his face that it was an April Fool’s Day joke; the look on his face told the story. Apparently this guy had spread the story having believed it as fact. I had worried about someone taking the story seriously; in fact, I had faxed the local radio station and warned them if they received inquiries to remind them what day it is (April 1). How many others didn’t get the joke? Perhaps April Fool’s jokes are better left alone!