By Mike Masterson KF6QNP
The FCC is cracking down on ham radio users in the Bay Area and is threatening to hit other West Coast cities. After nearly 2 decades of limp enforcement, the FCC has gone on the warpath against the unauthorized use of ham radios. They suspended the license of a ham radio operator who was carrying on conversions with unlicensed ham radio users and they denied the applications of 4 ham radio users who had transmitted on ham frequencies prior to applying for their licenses. What this means to us PG and HG pilots who use 2 meter ham radios for communication is that when we talk to an unlicensed person, we run a small risk of getting our license suspended or revoked. The above FCC action occurred from the abuse of a repeater, but the enforcement could eventually spread to non repeater (simplex) conversations.
What I have been doing to reduce my risk is to use my call sign only when communicating with another pilot who has a license and I won't broadcast my callsign when I am communicating with a pilot who doesn't have a callsign. I also transmit using low power , only 1/2 watt so my signal doesn't go very far. If you are using 5 watts with a good antenna your signal goes hundreds of miles if you transmit while flying. The FCC claims that they have directional antennas that can pinpoint the source of a transmission to within a few feet even when they are thousands of miles away.
As pilots, we are generally moving when we transmit so the FCC would have trouble hunting us down, but if we broadcast our callsign and then carry on a conversation with an unlicensed person, we might get a nastygram in the mail from the FCC.
In a further statement, the FCC inspector, Riley Hollingsworth has declared that if they see a continued flagrant abuse of the ham bands, they will sell them to the highest private bidder or maybe even a foreign country. I don't mean to make anybody paranoid about using their 2 meter radios, but it would be wise to use caution and discretion.
Attached is a copy of the article about the bust:
From the ARRL: (Amateur Radio Relay League)
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/99/0226/
The FCC has shut down for 120 days the K7IJ repeater facility on Grizzly Peak in the San Francisco Bay area and told the licensee his ham ticket could be in jeopardy. The FCC took the action by modifying K7IJ's license to prohibit repeater operation starting midnight February 28, 1999. The repeater operates on 145.29, 223.78, 440.175, and 441.175 MHz. The FCC also set aside recent license grants of four individuals accused of unlicensed operation on the repeater prior to obtaining their amateur tickets or of other behavior. These cases, the first major VHF/UHF enforcement actions the FCC has taken in recent months, were brought to the Commission's attention by the Amateur Auxiliary.
The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said that for almost a year, the repeater's control operator, identified as Blake B. Jenkins, N6YSA, of Berkeley, California, "has apparently not only allowed, but encouraged, use of the repeater by unlicensed operators, rebroadcast of cordless telephone calls, playing of music, and profanity and obscenity." He said extended QSOs have taken place between the control operator and unlicensed stations.
Hollingsworth said the situation was brought to the attention of the licensee, Bruce Wachtell of Carson City, Nevada, but nothing was done. "Such operations are not only contrary to the Amateur Radio Service rules and frequency allocations, but degrade the service for legitimate radio licensees as well,"
Hollingsworth said in a certified letter to Wachtell February 25. "The operation of the K7IJ repeater system in this manner may reflect adversely upon your qualifications to hold a Commission license."
Hollingsworth said Jenkins' "actions and omissions" while control operator was under separate FCC review, along with those of the secondary control op, Steven R. Rossi, KE6LNH, of Novato, California. The FCC set aside the recent license grants or upgrades of James C. Walker, KF6VAA; Gordon B. Reese III, KF6QKA; Michael J. Nichols, KF6UAS; and Eric B. Shuler, KF6BMG (ex-KF6UJU) pending further investigation. The FCC has permitted Reese, who just upgraded to Tech Plus, to retain his Technician operating privileges while its investigation continues.
The FCC also warned Mervyn Ehambrave of E Palo Alto, California, about unlicensed operation on the K7IJ repeater, and warned Timmy O Sheen Sr, N6MZA, about behavior including "jamming and rebroadcasts of cordless phones" on the repeater, Hollingsworth said.
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