Category Archives: Rules and Laws

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARRL, News, Rules and Laws

ARRL and FCC Sign Memorandum to Implement New Volunteer Monitor Program

ARRL and the FCC have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that paves the way to implement the new and enhanced Volunteer Monitor program. The memorandum establishes the Volunteer Monitors as a replacement for the Official Observers (OO) program. Current OOs have been encouraged to participate in the new program.

“We are excited by the opportunity to codify our partnership with the FCC and to work together to achieve our mutual interests of protecting the integrity of our Amateur Radio bands,” said ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR. “This Memorandum of Understanding will serve as the foundation for a new level of partnership on this very important issue.”

Rick Hollingsworth – K4ZDH

ARRL has contracted with retired FCC special counsel and former Atlantic Division Vice Director Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, to oversee the ARRL’s role in the development and implementation of the Volunteer Monitor program.

Approved by the ARRL Board of Directors at its July 2018 meeting, the new Volunteer Monitor program is a formal agreement between the FCC and ARRL in which volunteers trained and vetted by the ARRL will monitor the airwaves and collect evidence that can be used both to correct misconduct or recognize exemplary on-air operation. Cases of flagrant violations will be referred to the FCC by the ARRL for action in accordance with FCC guidelines.

The intent of this program is to re-energize enforcement efforts in the Amateur Radio bands. It was proposed by the FCC in the wake of several FCC regional office closures and a reduction in field staff.

“Under this program, the FCC will give enforcement priority to cases developed by the Volunteer Monitor program, without the delay of ARRL having to refer cases through the FCC online complaint process,” Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth has committed to FCC and ARRL officials to ensure the adequacy of training for the new positions, to review the quality and utility of Volunteer Monitor submissions to the FCC for enforcement actions, and to advocate for rapid disposition of cases appropriately submitted to the FCC.

ARRL officials estimate that the first Volunteer Monitors will be in place and ready to begin their duties within 6 to 9 months. Read more.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, Baofeng, Equipment, Federal Communications Commission, News, Rules and Laws

FCC Cites Baofeng Importer for Illegally Marketing Unauthorized RF Devices

ARRL News

The FCC has issued a Citation and Order (Citation) to Amcrest Industries, LLC (formerly Foscam Digital Technologies, LLC), an importer and marketer of popular and inexpensive Baofeng hand-held transceivers, alleging that the company violated FCC rules and the Communications Act by illegally marketing unauthorized RF devices. The FCC asserts that Amcrest marketed Baofeng model UV-5R-series FM hand-held radios capable of transmitting on “restricted frequencies.” The Baofeng models UV-5R and UV-5R V2+ were granted an FCC equipment authorization in 2012 to operate under Part 90 Private Land Mobile Radio Service (Land Mobile) rules.

“Under § 2.803 of the Commission’s rules, an entity may not market a device that is capable of operating outside the scope of its equipment authorization,” the FCC Citation said. “RF devices that have been authorized under Part 90 rules, such as the model as issue, must operate within the technical parameters established in those rules.” The FCC also maintained that the UV-5R 2+ is capable of operating at 1 W or 4 W, while the Part 90 Equipment Authorization limits the power output to 1.78 W.

Amcrest conceded that the units were capable of operating on restricted frequencies but told the FCC that, per discussions with the manufacturer, were “only capable of operating at 1 W, the FCC said. The company instructed the manufacturer to fix the problem and later confirmed with the manufacturer that all Amcrest inventory on order and in the future would operate only on 145 – 155 MHz and 400 – 520 MHz.

While the Citation does not mention Amateur Radio, the UV-5R series radios can be programmed in a channelized configuration to function on 2-meters and 70-centimeters. According to the Citation, Amcrest had added a warning in its user manuals and marketing and sales materials implying that the UV-5R V2+ could operate on unauthorized and restricted frequencies, including Part 87 Aviation Services frequencies, Part 80 Maritime Services frequencies, and frequencies reserved for federal government use. The FCC said Part 90 radios that permit the operator to use external controls to program and transmit on frequencies other than those programmed by the manufacturer are “generally prohibited.”

Amcrest told the FCC that it had ceased marketing four models in the Baofeng UV-5R series “a few years ago,” but it did not remove them from its website until last February. Numerous online retailers continue selling UV-5R series radios for less than $25, with some ads indicating that these are “ham” equipment.

Amcrest Industries, LLC, which owns and operates Baofengradio US, is an import, distribution, and marketing company based in Houston, Texas. It also sells hand-held transceivers under its own label.

“While we recognize Amcrest’s efforts to date to achieve compliance with the Commission’s rules, the company must nonetheless ensure the version of the UV-5R V2+ it is marketing operates only on frequencies specified in its Equipment Authorization,” the FCC said in its Citation. The FCC directed Amcrest “to take immediate steps to come into compliance with the Commission’s equipment authorization rules and cease marketing unauthorized RF devices in the United States.” Amcrest could face fines of nearly $20,000 per day if it fails to comply. 

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARES, Federal Communications Commission, Flagstaff, News, Races, Rules and Laws, Williams

Williams group attempting to form emergency communications group

In the 50s, the national government established the Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES). The current rules for RACES can be found in Title 47, Part 97, Subpart E, of the Code of Federal Regulations. Subpart E is provided in its entirety at the end of this article.

Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations covers all of the rules established by the Federal Communications Commission over the years. It is broken up into parts which cover the various areas for which the FCC has authority. For example, Part 95 covers Citizens Band, Family Service, General Mobile Radio Service and Multi-Use Radio Services among other things. Part 97 is all about Amateur Radio. In Amateur Radio, we simply refer to Part 95 or Part 97. It is understood that we mean 47 C.F.R.

RACES was established as a part of the Civil Defense effort to respond in case of a nuclear attack. The idea was that if telephones and other means of communications were down, we could still pass communications across the country. It was the first Internet. {The effects of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) were not fully understood at the time. It is interesting that it was discovered that vacuum tubes were less susceptible to EMP than the solid-state devises in use today. But I digress.}

Originally you had to have a special license to be a member of RACES. I understand the FCC has since let the program wane and they are not issuing licenses for RACES anymore. Some RACES licenses still exist and the organization is still active, though I am not quite sure what the membership requirements are. The idea is that only RACES licensees could communicate with another RACES licensee. They were only activated in event of Civil Defense war-type activities. This law does provide that any amateur radio operator could communicate to save life or property.

ARES (Pronounced air-ease) is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service established by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). It does not have any regulation specifically outlined in Part 97. The ARRL has worked with the FCC since the FCC was formed in 1934, however. Thus the ARES is recognized by the FCC and other government entities.

It should be noted that REACT is the same. It grew out of the popularity of Citizens Band radio in the 60s and 70s. They monitored channel 9 for emergencies and the FCC eventually regulated channel 9 as the official emergency channel on CB radios. Channel 19 is used for traffic information. Today licenses are not required for CB, but you must still follow FCC regulations or you can be fined heavily.

ARES was developed as an amateur radio group to respond to all types of emergencies. It is designed to respond if an event is pending. This could be any man-made or natural disaster. Locally we have had several incidents over the years which cause ARES to respond.

In February of 2015, a damaged fiber optic cable caused telephone and Internet disruption throughout northern Arizona. This included 911 services. ARES was activated. It was actually this event that inspired me to get an amateur license. In October 2016, a prescribed burn caused visibility problems on Interstate 40 causing an accident and stopping traffic for hours. During our first winter storm over Christmas, a 28-car pile up occurred on I-40 blocking traffic for hours in Williams. A similar incident occurred on I-17 south of Flagstaff.

ARES operators monitored scanners and the repeaters in Flagstaff and Williams during these incidents. If a person in these situations lost cell phone service and ran out of gas, they could have called for help on a radio. That is what emergency communications is about. It is not only about catastrophic disasters such as Katrina. It is also important for minor emergencies such as those listed above. Of course if you are caught in one of these “minor emergencies,” it is not minor to you.

There is an effort afoot to create an emergency communications group in Williams and the surrounding area to extend the emergency communications capability of the ARES group centered in Flagstaff. Cooperation of all radio services is essential. In fact, it is required by the Federal Communications Commission. If emergency communications are started on any repeater or frequency, all normal conversational use MUST CEASE.

The Williams Emergency Communications group (Working title. It may change.) is forming for just this purpose. They intend to set up a “band plan” reserving certain channels of Citizens Band, GMRS/FRS and MURS channels for emergency use. They intend to leave open most channels for general communications between families during an emergency. Anyone is eligible to join. However if you have a felony record, you cannot obtain an FCC amateur radio license. You can have your rights restored, however, under certain conditions. If you cannot get a license, or don’t want to, we can still use help from runners and log keepers.

Anyone from Ash Fork, Valle, Tusayan and the outlying areas are welcome to join. There are ARES groups in all counties and we will interact with all of them

If you opt for an amateur license, there are a lot of fun activities you can join in on. There are contests, field days and simply being able to communicate around the world for fun. Anyone who can pass the amateur radio exam is eligible for a license.

If you decide to get a GMRS license, there are certain advantages, as well. You are allowed to use the higher power on GMRS channels giving you extended range. You can also use open GMRS repeaters to extend range even further, using your FCC issued call sign. If the head of a household gets the license, all of the family members can use the radios using the call sign. No foul language or business use is permitted.

Subpart E—Providing Emergency Communications

§ 97.401 Operation during a disaster.
A station in, or within 92.6 km (50 nautical miles) of, Alaska may transmit emissions J3E and R3E on the channel at 5.1675 MHz (assigned frequency 5.1689 MHz) for emergency communications.
The channel must be shared with stations licensed in the Alaska-Private Fixed Service. The transmitter power must not exceed 150 W PEP. A station in, or within 92.6 km of, Alaska may transmit communications for tests and training drills necessary to ensure the establishment, operation, and maintenance of emergency communication systems.

§ 97.403 Safety of life and protection of property.
No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radio communication at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available.

§ 97.405 Station in distress.
(a) No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station in 47 CFR Ch. I (10–1–09 Edition) distress of any means at its disposal to attract attention, make known its condition and location, and obtain assistance.
(b) No provision of these rules prevents the use by a station, in the exceptional circumstances described in paragraph (a) of this section, of any means of radio communications at its disposal to assist a station in distress.

§ 97.407 Radio amateur civil emergency service.
(a) No station may transmit in RACES unless it is an FCC-licensed primary, club, or military recreation station and it is certified by a civil defense organization as registered with that organization, or it is an FCC-licensed RACES station. No person may be the control operator of a RACES station, or may be the control operator of an amateur station transmitting in RACES unless that person holds a FCC-issued amateur operator license and is certified by a civil defense organization as enrolled in that organization.
(b) The frequency bands and segments and emissions authorized to the control operator are available to stations transmitting communications in RACES on a shared basis with the amateur service. In the event of an emergency which necessitates invoking the President’s War Emergency Powers under the provisions of section 706 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. 606, RACES stations and amateur stations participating in RACES may only transmit on the frequency segments authorized pursuant to part 214 of this chapter.
(c) A RACES station may only communicate with:
(1) Another RACES station;
(2) An amateur station registered with a civil defense organization;
(3) A United States Government station authorized by the responsible agency to communicate with RACES stations;
(4) A station in a service regulated by the FCC whenever such communication is authorized by the FCC.
(d) An amateur station registered with a civil defense organization may only communicate with:
(1) A RACES station licensed to the civil defense organization with which the amateur station is registered;
(2) The following stations upon authorization of the responsible civil defense official for the organization with which the amateur station is registered:
(i) A RACES station licensed to another civil defense organization;
(ii) An amateur station registered with the same or another civil defense organization;
(iii) A United States Government station authorized by the responsible agency to communicate with RACES stations; and
(iv) A station in a service regulated by the FCC whenever such communication is authorized by the FCC.
(e) All communications transmitted in RACES must be specifically authorized by the civil defense organization for the area served. Only civil defense communications of the following types may be transmitted:
(1) Messages concerning impending or actual conditions jeopardizing the public safety, or affecting the national defense or security during periods of local, regional, or national civil emergencies;
(2) Messages directly concerning the immediate safety of life of individuals, the immediate protection of property, maintenance of law and order, alleviation of human suffering and need, and the combating of armed attack or sabotage;
(3) Messages directly concerning the accumulation and dissemination of public information or instructions to the civilian population essential to the activities of the civil defense organization or other authorized governmental or relief agencies; and
(4) Communications for RACES training drills and tests necessary to ensure the establishment and maintenance of orderly and efficient operation of the RACES as ordered by the responsible civil defense organization served. Such drills and tests may not exceed a total time of 1 hour per week.
With the approval of the chief officer for emergency planning in the applicable State, Commonwealth, District or territory, however, such tests and drills may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours no more than twice in any calendar year.

Amateur Radio, Rules and Laws

We pause for this Station Identification requirements for Amateur Radio

I recently obtained my Amateur Radio operator license and am learning much. One of the things I have learned about is nets. Nets, or networks, are times dedicated on some repeaters for specific functions such as testing equipment and reporting practices, education and entertainment.

I am able to listen to some nets, but cannot reach to participate because of limitations in my equipment. On one such net I heard an argument over the station identification requirements of the FCC. Because it was a hot topic, I decided to investigate.

Interestingly even during the nets, they try to remember to pause every ten-minutes to identify with their call sign and at the end of the net as the FCC requires.

THE PROBLEM

Some people seem to key the microphone on the radio briefly to see if their radio is transmitting. Repeaters are the obvious target because they usually give some sort of digital response. This annoys some amateur radio operators and usually repeater operators.

The argument in this case was that a station calling is supposed to identify themselves at the beginning of a contact, every ten minutes and at the end. Someone responded with the fact that the test questions on the examination indicated that the FCC requires that identification be used only every ten minutes and at the end of the transmission.

Another person noted that you could just download Part 97 of 47 CFR which covers Amateur radio operations. The argument came back that it was big and thick, took a long time to download and a ream of paper to print (or words to that effect). In the links below you can see that is just not so. You can download the PDF which prints on 36 pages. You can also go to the Government Printing Office web site and simply read it online.

Since I am interested in helping people obtain a Ham license, I added the questions from each examination that I could find concerning this topic. Hopefully this will help you understand those questions so you can breeze through them and concentrate on the tougher technical questions. I added the questions that I found in the Technician, General and Amateur Extra class license pools. Of course there is the more selfish reason that research, such as this, helps me learn and remember the rules so I can keep out of trouble as much as possible.

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT?

While researching I happened across the FCC Amateur Radio Service Enforcement Actions page on their web site.

In July, David Tolassi (W4BHV) in Georgia was fined $1000 for failing to identify. Daniel R. Hicks (KB8UYZ) in Cincinnati, Ohio was fined $8000 in August for failure to identify and causing interference. Thomas J. Warren agreed to pay a $3500 fine for failure to identify this month. William F. Crowell (W6WBJ) of Diamond Springs, California was fined $25,000 for failing to identify and deliberately causing interference by broadcasting music, noise and voices to interfere with others just a few days ago.

(Here is a bonus answer to the Technician Exam, question T1D04. It is illegal to transmit any music except When incidental to an authorized re-transmission of manned spacecraft communications .)

So how important is station identification? How important is your hard-earned cash.

The FCC does have a soft-spot. This link also shows more letters of warning than fines. They are out to promote the fair use of the amateur radio bands for everyone. Everyone makes a mistake from time-to-time.

So let’s look at the regulations.
Continue reading We pause for this Station Identification requirements for Amateur Radio →

Amateur Radio, News, Rules and Laws

Volunteer Examination Coordinator program

UPDATED: 12/12/15 11:34 a.m.

by Glen Davis KG7YDJ

Too much life story. Had to re-edit this part. This article explains a  little about the Volunteer Examination Coordinator program. Why am I interested in writing an article on this topic? Since I obtained my Amateur Extra license, I found that I could actually get accredited as a volunteer examiner.

This is not a mentor program. There are other volunteer programs for that purpose. Perhaps when I get some real world experience, I can help in that area. This is a good old Navy-type paperwork drill that anyone can learn to do. That is not to say that you cannot console and comfort a candidate who fails the exam. You can encourage them to try again. Even suggest sites with practice exams or exams apps for the cell phones. Your job as a volunteer examiner, however, is simply to administer the examination with integrity.

There are questions about the VEC program in the General Exam and the Amateur Extra exam. The most recent—as of this writing— are included at the end of this article. Yet they do not give you an understanding of the VEC program, as I learned. This article is an overall view of that program. It will not accredit you as an examiner; you will have to study more if you are interested.

At most you will see two in either examination. Maybe three on the Amateur Extra. If you have an overall understanding of the program, it will help you better understand the questions and you can breeze through those and concentrate on the tougher questions. Actually many are common sense. For example an examiner must be eighteen-years of age or older even though anyone who can pass the test can get up to an Amateur Extra license. The reason is pretty clear. You are signing what amounts to government documents so you must be of age to do so.

I am no expert and am even studying this area while I write the article. I am reasonably sure the information is accurate and include links to certain documents and web sites for further study. If I encourage you to become an accredited VE, great. But this article won’t do it for you.
Continue reading Volunteer Examination Coordinator program →

Amateur Radio, Rules and Laws

Are you ready to get an amateur radio license?

RadioCourse-1You might have been thinking about getting an amateur radio license. If you are like me, the dread of Morse code might have been holding you back. Good news. That requirement has been gone since 1987.

When you are ready for the test, you might want to consider a few things. First is to know the answers to the answer pool you want to be testing for. You can download the pool with the answers at the National Volunteer Examiner Coordinator web site. Some are in PDF format and others are in Word. This will give you the pool from which the questions for the examination are drawn and the answers. It will not explain what the answers mean, however. I clue you in on how to do that in another article.

After your study, you will be ready to find an examination site. There are 14 Volunteer Examination Coordinator organizations which give the exam. They coordinate with local Ham clubs, usually, or other groups who have created a number of volunteers to administer the exam.

The FCC maintains a list of the Volunteer Exam Coordinators and the regions they cover here. You can contact one of them for an examination cycle in your area .

On examination day you must remember to bring a few things. This information is for the person seeking the Technician class license. If you have already taken the test, you know this already.

1. Two forms of identification; at least one must be a picture identification
2. Your Social Security number. If you are like me, you probably do not like to hand out your SSN to just anyone; particularly one you do not know. I have not heard of any incident of identity theft or the like. In lieu of a SSN you can get an FCC Registration Number (FRN). You are going to be issued one anyway, so you might as well get one before you go. You have to have an FRN to do business on the FCC web site. For this you will have to go to the FCC Universal licensing system here. I previously applied for a GMRS license so I had an FRN. Your SSN will not appear on your license. Only the FRN. This is convenient when you go to upgrade from the Technician class.
3. A calculator. The testing volunteer examiners can refuse certain types of calculators. The mathematics for the Technician examination is fairly simple, so you will not need anything really fancy. As long as it is not the programmable computer type, it will probably get through. I used one of those cheap, three dollar solar powered types that you get at the dollar stores. In fact I used the same one to pass the General and Amateur Extra examinations.
4. Two (I would recommend four) sharpened pencils. Make sure that you completely fill in the answer circle on the answer sheet. No dimpled chads please.

Of course there is the customary advise to get a good night sleep the night before the test—like that’s going to happen. I managed a couple of hours sleep before each test cycle I took. I did, however, steer away from cramming.

Later on I will try to give you some study techniques that I learned along the way that helped me actually learn some of the stuff along the way.

Amateur Radio, Rules and Laws

Radio operators exempt from Communication Devices ordinance

In April of last year, Coconino County Supervisors passed Ordinance No 2014-03 regulating the use of communications equipment while driving.

The ordinance was aimed mainly at drivers being distracted by texting on a cellphone while driving. Mainly teens. Some of the cities and towns in Coconino County have decided to write their own ordinances or skip enforcement of the ordinance altogether in their jurisdiction.

There was some question about how this applied to amateur radio operators. The ordinance, however, specifically exempts:

A person who holds a valid amateur radio operator license issued by or any license issued by the Federal Communications Commission or the driver uses a two-way radio, such as a CB radio.

Of course some confusion could arise from this. I use Echolink on my cellphone and can contact people throughout the world. The answer is, of course, no. You cannot use a cellphone because it is technically not a radio. You still must manipulate the device in order to make contact and each time you want to talk. It still diverts your eyes from the road.

With a microphone, such as with a citizen’s band or amateur radio, you can still keep your eyes on the road.