/ourguy/ Lionel
He uses more words than are necessary, but he is true to the cause.
Hamfag since 1982. Extra hamfag since 1984.
I've been giving this a LOT of thought. Why would Ohr use ham radio to try to evade interceptions? What methods would she use?
We have VHF and UHF frequencies that cover local areas. You'll often see 2m or 2 meter as a common name. With repeaters, this can cover a large city or area. But talking on repeaters increases the likelihood of interception by others because anyone can listen in.
She could be using packet radio to send text over the same areas, but with the same possibility of interception, though I don't know too many hams still using packet now that we have the interwebs.
So, with whom would she be speaking? She has her cronies in DC, but remember, she works for Fusion GPS. This brings up Christopher Steele.
Steele was on the Russian desk at MI6. Nellie speaks Russian.
Suppose they were using HF radio to communicate over longer distances? To obfuscate the conversation, speaking Russian. Even foreign hams tend to speak some English.
Forget about what level of license she has. The FCC does not check us out unless a major violation reported by many.
If she was speaking with someone in England, she'd need a reasonably good setup because we're at the bottom of solar cycle 24 and HF is not skipping like it does at the top of a cycle. The antenna in the attic is marginal to EU.
It is possible to be speaking with others around the country on HF.
I think the question boils down to with whom she would need to have "secret" communications.
This is fascinating.