I remember some of the myths that I and a few friends used to perpetrate on unsuspecting CB'ers.
Case and point. We were trying to discourage a rather naive local CB'er from becoming too ambitious and running illegal power (although many of us did) and ultimately getting him off the air altogether. Of the myths were...
1) Exploding capacitors. We instructed him to avoid buying a linear as they come equipped with deadly electrolytic capacitors. As these capacitors age the oils inside build up "Nitro" which will eventually detonate killing the operator and destroying the neighborhood.
2) "GRIP Conditions". Similar to skywave "skip" conditions there was "GRIP"... ground propagation where the signal penetrates the earth and travels the world via the bedrock and mantle of inner earth. We told him that the best way to take advantage of superb, year round GRIP was to dig a very deep hole and bury his antenna as deep underground as he could manage. The deeper the better.
3) "Voltage backup"... Use of a linear amplifier can result in an unstable voltage equlibrium as capacitors build up millions of joules of raw electrical energy. Eventually this energy creates a "super EMF" condition and backs millions of voilts into the power system, blowing out the buildings wiring, blasting into the powerlines and blowing out lines and transformers for miles. WWe also explained that in every case of "Voltage backup" the operator of the amp was sued by the power company and was forced to pay millions of dollars for replacement of the electrical infrastructure.
We had at least a dozen more fibs including a new ultra tough FCC enforcement campaign that rivaled the rise of the Third Reich. We were bad.
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Originally Posted by KJ6BSO
