HAM call license plates.....

[WX2MIG]

Through the years I've seen many HAM's here in New Jersey, and even a few visitors from other states with their amateur call on their license plates. Then a local HAM buddy showed me that New Jersey actually now has official amateur radio vehicle license plates available, so I looked into it.

They're not as easy to get as many other special plates offered by this state, you can't just walk into a DMV office and order them, you have to call the DMV, ask for the special / vanity plate department, and request they send you an application. Once you receive said application, you fill out the form, send them a photo copy of you vehicle registration, your current amateur license, and drivers license. Now here's the unique part, it only costs $15.00, were all other vanity, special event, or organizational plates cost you $50.00 in this state.

I also talked to the traffic control officer here in the town I work as a fireman, and found out that by the letter of the law, anyone not officially and currently associated with a legitimate emergency responder organization is not allowed to have any radio equipment in their vehicle that can intercept emergeny traffic. Licensed amateur radio operators are excempt from that law. This law (obviously) does not include CB, or VHF Marine, but was intended to keep criminals from having police monitors in their vehicles as a tool in alluding police while committing a crime. Some over zelous officers were also busting amateurs when they discovered their 2 meter and 70 cm radios could receive police frequencies. So the state redefined the excemption for amateurs, and offered special amateur radio call sign plates as a tool to help identify one's self to over zelous LEO's as someone allowed by state law to have any type of radio they desire mounted and operational in their vehicle, so long as they are licensed by the FCC to do so....(and that's why they make you jump through the hoops to get them)

Anyway, I applied, and sent off my application to the state yesterday, it'll probably take 6 weeks before I see my new tags, but the proccess is in motion......

 

[Cat Driver]

Just remember not to cuss anybody out or giv'em the finger when yer out driving around.
Your call letters will be on display for everybody to see......+ they will know you have expensive equipment in your car/house.
Your name addy an a lot of other things can be looked up on the net in a few seconds with that call sign. Thats why I don't want those type of plates on my car...



Ron
ol'fart

 

[WX2MIG]

Just remember not to cuss anybody out or giv'em the finger when yer out driving around.
Your call letters will be on display for everybody to see......+ they will know you have expensive equipment in your car/house.
Your name addy an a lot of other things can be looked up on the net in a few seconds with that call sign. Thats why I don't want those type of plates on my car...



Ron
ol'fart

Well Ron, I'm not too worried about any of that based on the following.....

I never curse or holler at anyone on the road unless they absolutely deserve to be cursed or hollered at.....

The stickers on my back window already identify me as a person owning guns, expensive surfboards, fishing tackle, and just about every vehicle on the road these days already has an FM stereo CD player inside worth just as much or more than the 2 meter radio I have in there, besides the antenna is a dead give-a-way to the fact that I have something other than your run of the mill AM/FM stereo CD player under the dash.....

If someone wants to find out who I'am, they don't need my HAM call to do it, a Google search of the license plate I have on there now will easily identify me by name and home address.....

So going on that, I'm not in the least concerned that call sign vanity license plates are going to bring me anymore unwanted attention than any other type of plates would......

But to each his own......

 

[Beetle]

I've had ham plates in Nevada and Washington for over 40 years and never had a problem.

 

[airplane1]

that is cool.

 

[Wire Weasel]

In my state ham tags are in a group of special interest plates that are free. No yearly tag fees where everyone else is paying $20 yearly fee. Reason given for our exemption is that hams provide a public service by providing emergency communications when needed. Sweet deal.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Up here we have to apply for callsign plates but they cost us nothing more than regular plates and registration.Vanity plates are $70 however and a few people were POed when thay found out I got "personalised" plates for no extra cost. I just wish they actually said something about amateur radio on the plates instead of simply having a callsign. One thing to note here is that we only have one plate on the vehicles here and it is to be mounted on the rear.There are three exceptions to that. Volunteer firefighters with special plates, members of a ground search and rescue team with S&R plates and amateur radio operators MUST display two plates,one on the front as well as one on the rear. This is to give better identification to a vehicle that may be parked at a scene or attempting to gain access to a scene restricted by police.It helps identify the vehicle as being able to provide emergency communications. Now, if we could just better educate the local police as to just exactly what VE1??? means. :headbang

 

[WX2MIG]

Here in Jeresy, all other vanity, personalized or organizational license plates come with a one time fee of $50.00 over and above the annual registration fee. After that you only pay the normal annual registration fee.
The Amateur Radio tags come with an initial fee of $15.00 because of the public service nature Wire Weasel mentioned, after that I only pay the normal annual fee. The tags are transferable to any other vehicle I purchase as long as they are not going on a commercially registered vehicle.
Our plates also identify themselves as "Amateur Radio" call plates, they take the "New Jersey" off these plates, and substitute "Amateur Radio" on them.
All vehicles in NJ have two plates, front and back, and there is a fine if your vehicle is missing one, and you haven't filed a lost or stolen plate report with any law enforcement authority.

I believe the benefits out weigh any possible perceived risks. They identify you as someone who is actively involved in volunteer public service on a communications level, it also identifies you to any law enforcement officer as someone who is federally licensed to have and operate the equipment in your vehicle, with many states putting "no cellphone use" laws on their books, this could very well be a "get out of jail free" card. Most of these laws are based more on income generating for the state than they are about vehicle safety, the fines here range from $100.00 to $135.00 if you are nailed for rag chewing on the cell while driving, but the law does not cover having the microphone from a HAM radio in your hands while driving, if they passed a law not allowing the use of radio equipment, then every LEO would be required to pull over every time they made a radio call, just like they are "SUPPOSED" to pull over to made cell phone calls, although few of them ever do because many think they are above the law.

As of now being an actively employed professional fire fighter / EMT, there are few LEO's that would issue me a traffic ticket for any minor infractions, that privilege is coming to an end in the next few years as I approach retirement, having these "Amateur Radio" plates on my vehicle may (or may not) help in that area. I don't normally speed, run red lights, or stop signs, but I'am human, and like any human I will make the occasional mistake. If I can avoid having to help fix the state's debt from committing some minor infraction, I will do it, just as anyone else would try to avoid a traffic ticket and it's associated costs.....

 

[HiDef]

Just remember not to cuss anybody out or giv'em the finger when yer out driving around.



Ron
ol'fart

Ever driven in New Jersey???

 

[Cat Driver]

Ever driven in New Jersey???

Nope....Never been to the northeastern part of the country, But I have heard from my daughter in Maryland that there are some angry drivers around those parts.



Ron

 

[WX2MIG]

Nope....Never been to the northeastern part of the country, But I have heard from my daughter in Maryland that there are some angry drivers around those parts.



Ron

Maryland is a lot like New Jersey when you compare driving in and around Baltimore, and Washington D.C. to driving anywhere's in North Jersey that's even remotely close to New York City.
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is much like the South Jersey shore area, not too bad in the winter months, but insane durring the tourist season. For us it's the heavy influx of cars and their rude city drivers that vacation here from Washington D.C., Baltimore, Mostly Philly, and some from New York that makes this area a living hell from May to October.
At least when I'm working, I don't need to curse or flip anyone the finger, I have a set of double trumpet air horns, and a Federal Q siren that does the work for me.......

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

At least when I'm working, I don't need to curse or flip anyone the finger, I have a set of double trumpet air horns, and a Federal Q siren that does the work for me.......

And if they don't do the job that big chrome bumper will!

 

[WX2MIG]

And if they don't do the job that big chrome bumper will!

The 500 horse power Detroit Series 60 Diesel helps in that area too......

It is in my own personal opinion that since the years immediately following WWII, the level of selfish ignorance, and appathy towards others has grown expotentionally through out our society, this measure seems to increase 20 fold when people go on vacation. I've seem it in people at Disney World in Florida, I've seen it in people that vacation in Mertle Beach, and I live it here at the South Jersey seashore every year of my life.
Many of these people come here with the attitude that since they are paying large sums of money to visit our island for a week, everyone else should bend over and kiss their ass, they treat the place like a garbage dump, they tend to be extremely rude and very demanding. The worst part is, in order to survive life with them, you have to become one of them to a certain level. Then they have the nerve to claim "we" are the rude one's.
The sad part is, you know these tourists would never act that way, or treat their home soil the way they do when they come to my home town, they view their vacation as an excuse to act like a total asshole for one week out of the year, and we have to deal with them, their rude, reckless, and ignorant driving, and the mess they leave behind....every single year....but that's life when you live at a seashore resort......:glare:

OK...rant over....I'll get down off my soap box now.....:blush:

 

[hookedon6]

... I've seem it in people at Disney World in Florida,... I've seen it in people that vacation in... come here with the attitude that since they are paying large sums of money to visit...they treat the place like a garbage dump, they tend to be extremely rude and very demanding. /quote]

welcome to the "club" we have the very same (if not more) issues here in sw fl. the SNOWBIRDS can be quite rude.
i have a bumper sticker that states:
IF ITS' SNOWBIRD SEASON,..... CAN WE SHOOT 'EM?

they don't like it at all when us residents (aka: taxpayers) tell them "we don't care how you do it up north"

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

Hookedon6 you can take out all the ones with Quebec license plates that you want but give the ones from Nova Scotia a second chance. We just aren't used to life in the big city.