if crossing the Channel or North sea you will end up in a high profile check area and though you might get away once the next time there is a very strong chance you will be pulled aside.
as an example I was reading the North Norfolk Amateur Radio Club mag – one of the OM’s (old man, a male radio operator is always called that whether he is 21 or 100) who was well into his 70s decided to get a cheap package holiday to a hotel at ES on the outskirts of the Balearics (for the geographically challenged, this is near enough Ibiza).
He certainly wasn’t planning on clubbing or anything like that, and knew his missus would most probably walk along the beach once and then want to sit in the airconditioned hotel room against the heat. But in the medditeranean areas there is much tropo and sporadic E (not the drug, but weather/scientific stuff that makes radio signals go further). So he could pack his compact Japanese hand held two way radio, a few batteries and an improvised variable length antenna for most of VHF frequencies. and unlike doing the same in Kings Lynn he would not need anorak, but probably a loud hawaiian shirt and other typical fashions of the Englishman on holiday.
He had a great deal of fun talking to all manner of countries (as far away as Asia on VHF which really is a big achievement) and his wife enjoyed the holiday, but as soon as they got back to Blighty they got to airport control, and Border Force said “would you two mind stepping aside please”. the old couple had all their luggage searched through, the Ofcom man was summoned to check his radio equipment alongside UKBF, particularly that all the spare batteries were batteries and not stuffed with pills instead, and that the set hadn’t been reprogrammed to marine VHF as well as 2M (which is easy enough to do to on a Japanese / Chinese multibander as in their countries they allow folk to use them for emergency comms because of earthquakes etc)
This might seem harsh to do to these old people but they are still in the profile as dealers as there are folk all across Europe up to age 80 who don’t look like your average sort of dealer being caught bringing in stuff – and if society will judge a harmless old couple like that, what do you think they feel about the 20 somethings?
