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Author Topic: FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs  (Read 4286 times)

Offline ByteBORG

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FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs
« on: June 03, 2014, 1222 UTC »
06/02/2014

The FCC Enforcement Bureau has made public several warning notices issued over the past few months to radio amateurs. A couple of the letters from Special Counsel Laura Smith involved alleged infractions on 20 meters. On April 15, the FCC wrote Larry S. King, KI8NGS, of Owosso, Michigan, regarding failure to properly follow station identification rules on March 21. Smith told King that he was monitored by staffers at the FCC High Frequency Direction Finding Center (HFDFC) “operating your Amateur Radio on 14.313 MHz for 20 minutes without identifying in a timely manner.” Smith said the HFDFC used direction-finding equipment to confirm that the transmissions were coming from his location. She said the Center recorded the transmissions.

“This incident constitutes a failure to properly transmit your assigned call sign, in violation of the Comission’s rules,” Smith wrote. “Your operation as described is contrary to the basis and purpose of the Amateur Radio Service, as set out in Section 97.1 and is a violation of Section 97.11(a) of the Commission’s rules.”

On March 31, Smith sent a warning notice to Daniel G.Churovich, N9RSY, of Ripley, Tennessee, alleging that Churovich engaged in an extended communication on 14.313 MHz with a station that may not have been operating in the Amateur Service.

“On Friday, March 28, 2014, you were heard by staff at the Commission's High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) Center communicating repeatedly on 14.313 MHz with an individual who you identify only as ‘cowboy,’” Smith wrote. “This individual failed to provide his call sign during your conversation, a fact that you were aware of as you repeatedly demanded that he provide his name, call sign, and location. Despite being aware of the rule violation on the part of this other individual, you continued communicating with him for an extended period of time.”

Smith told Churovich that the incident constituted “unauthorized transmissions” in violation of Commission rules that permit radio amateur to engage in two-way communications with “other stations in the Amateur Service.”

“There is no evidence that the individual with whom you were communicating with on March 28 was an Amateur Radio operator, as he failed to provide his call sign as required by Commission rules,” Smith pointed out.

Smith also wrote to Amateur Radio licensees in Tennessee, Michigan, and Wisconsin, to note that they all had failed to comply with formal written requests not to use local repeater systems. Smith advised four licensees that the FCC expected them to “abide by the request of the trustee and/or control operator that you stay off [the repeater] — and any other similar requests to cease operations on any other repeaters by any other repeater licensees, control operators or trustees.”

The warnings went out on March 31 to Robert J. Doll, WQ4E, and Todd W. Phillips, N4QWZ, both of Greenbrier, Tennessee; Bryan K. Waddell, W9MUP, of Monroe, Wisconsin, and Stacy Hunt, KB8RNN, of Yale, Michigan.

Smith advised all recipients that any recurrence of the alleged violation after receipt of the warning letter could subject them to “severe penalties, including license revocation, monetary forfeiture (fines), or a modification proceeding to restrict the frequencies upon which you may operate.”

“Fines normally range from $7500 to $10,000,” she concluded.

Taken from arrl.org

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Offline Token

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Re: FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs
« Reply #1 on: June 03, 2014, 2029 UTC »
While 14313 certainly needs some enforcement, the second case mentioned is somewhat concerning.  N9RSY was warned for communicating with a station that “may” not have been operating in the Amateur Service because that station never gave a callsign.  Not because the other stations was not in Amateur service, but because it “may” not have been.  Essentially RSY was warned that because another station refused to identify, and RSY asked them to identify repeatedly, RSY was in potential violation.

Did RSY know this was a US based station?  Are the identification criteria the same for other nations?  If a foreign ham chooses to not ID until the end of a 30 minute conversation, and then never IDs at all, is the US station now potentially in violation?

Yeah, of course we all know what was probably happening.  The other station was probably someone in the US or a close neighbor that RSY recognized the voice of and wanted them to incriminate themselves, so he repeatedly goaded them asking for a name and callsign.  But on the surface of it, as described in that release, if a ham talks to another ham and the second ham refuses to ID, even if asked to, then the first ham is potentially in violation.  How many times do you get to ask for an ID before you are hosed?  What if the second ham is in a nation that has less stringent identification guidelines?  Are hams supposed to be familiar with ALL nations identification guidelines?

Further, if communications with a radio station that only “may” not be in Amateur Service is a violation then how about all those people out there who use callsigns I do not recognize or I have not personally checked out?  I do not know for a “fact” that they are licensed, and so they “may” not be in Amateur Service.  Yeah, I know, stupid argument, but still fits the description as written.

It just seems a slippery slope and a nit to pick.

T!
T!
Mojave Desert, California USA

Offline czar

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Re: FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs
« Reply #2 on: June 04, 2014, 0237 UTC »
Yeah the enforcement is a joke,way too little,way too late ! Listen to 3.840 MHz its as bad if not worse sometimes than 14.313 and a few warning letters will not deter any of these old timers who have been doing this crap for 20 years or more,and some stations are in Canada and just don't care.

Offline BoomboxDX

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Re: FCC Releases Warning Notices to Several Radio Amateurs
« Reply #3 on: June 05, 2014, 1523 UTC »
My take on it is that if you ask the other ham to ID with their callsign, and they refuse to, you are risking breaking FCC regulations if you continue to hold a conversation with them. That's what I get out of reading it.

As for the word "may", that word might have been the one used by the ARRL news writer, but perhaps the FCC didn't actually use that particular word.

The third case, the guys using the repeaters -- I don't get that one. Does that mean they somehow 'hacked' the code needed to call up a certain repeater?


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