Govt daft idea of the day (turning off FM radio)

[CharlesHarris]

A method I use with great success in the mountains, is to set up a cross-band replexer which is powered by a 34ah sealed lead-acid wheelchair battery, which is kept topped off using a Siemens SM20 solar panel. I can use a low power UHF portable radio to control the replexer, which simultaneously transmits my UHF linking signal on the VHF input frequency of a 2-meter repeater which I can readily hear, but cannot get a clear signal into with the hand-held. The remote receiver is mounted in a waterproof Pelican case, placed well up on the mountain top about 5 km away, at about 800m AMSL. Access control to the link repeater is maintained via digital squench, to prevent random "kerchunkers" from bringing it up. The Sheriff's Department, State Police and Mountain Rescue all have the access codes and know of its location. The replexer has all the proper licensing and coordination and cost less than $200 to build. As long as its antenna doesn't get a lightning strike or ground bounce from a nearby hit, it will run 6 months without maintenance.