Bunny Hunting
Not just for professionals anymore.
Last couple of days my private comms have lit up with various folks informing me that protestors have apparently decided that since their Signal chats have been infiltrated, they should switch to ham radios.
The fact that the folks informing me of this were giggling as they did so should be indicative of how good an idea this is.
Lord. Where to start?
First off, if you want to see a pack of folks what put the “‘tism” in “weaponized autism”, may I introduce you to the amateur radio underworld? Ham radio operators lovingly build their own kit, get certifications and licenses, and build entire social communities. Bunch of loud weirdos crashing their frequencies, ignoring their mores,1, violating their courtesies, and trampling their protocols is likely going to get a whole bunch of feathers ruffled.
How bad could that be? Well, the title of this essay comes from a sport that ham radio folks like to play — “Bunny hunting”. Not only do amateur radio enthusiasts have fun chasing down radio transmitters — like the Baofeng in the X video above — but they’ll even do it on foot.
Let me restate that: A bunch of radio nerds find a great deal of pleasure in discovering which of them can locate a transmitter the fastest — and will venture out from their lairs to do so. Not the military. Not the police. Not the government. Private citizens doing “speed radio direction finding” for bragging rights, the fun of it, and minor prizes.
And remember: no matter how good the government is at something, a pack of enthusiastic amateurs will leave the government in the dust.
Yeah, I can see the eyes opening from here.
On top of that, ham radios generally — especially the Chinese model she is showing — aren’t encrypted. Everybody on the frequency can hear everything y’all are talking about.
“But, Ian,” I hear you say, “They’re going to be using coded speech!”
Did … did … did you miss the part about “weaponized autism” up above? Annoying them, disrespecting their turf AND challenging their smarts at the same time is the perfect ‘tism engine.
I mean, far be it for me to rain on her parade, but protestors moving to ham radio has the potential to go so very bad in so very many directions.
Ah, well.
Ian
Pronounced “morays”, like the eels.
*giggles* I might even think about renewing my long-lapsed license and setting up a home station again just to listen in on these shenanigans!
And how many of them are properly licensed?
Because getting more federal agencies (FCC) mad at you is going to make things SO much better.