Category Archives: Federal Communications Commission

Citizens Band Radio Service, Education, Family Radio Service, Federal Communications Commission, General Mobile Radio Servie, Multi-Use Radio Service, News, Personal Radio Service

The FCC is the law

I keep running into people who tell me so-and-so told them or they read on the Internet such-and-such. I keep seeing sites that say you do not need a GMRS license and that is seeping into forums. I can tell when it is Christmas or when someone has a birthday, because I hear kids on the air. Fortunately they are generally using the FRS channels 8-14 or the shared GMRS/FRS channels 1-7. They do not realize, however, that these are real radios and not toy “walkie-talkies.” During one conversation I heard a kid use the word “emergency” and even gave his location. By his tone I could tell he was goofing around, but it is illegal to call for an emergency when there is not one.

The bottom line is that if the official source on the Internet for the rules should be the Federal Communications Commission. The official rules of all of the radio services are contained in 47 C.F.R..

I call these “rules” because they are not “laws” made by Congress. Congress allows agencies to make up their rules as they go along. Of all of the alphabet bureaucracies, however, I believe the FCC is one of the few that is actually constitutional. Their function is to make sure everyone shares the radio spectrum evenly and fairly. And they are really not Draconian about it.

I will also point out that the FCC makes special provisions for emergencies. Anyone can use any frequency to call for help to prevent the loss of life or property. Just about every radio service states that provision. So if you are camping in the woods and your five-year old wanders off, you can call for help in a search. If your tire pops on the freeway, however, you will need a lot of bars on your cell phone. Unless, of course, there is a medical reason threatening your life.

To get back on topic, 47 C.F.R. is divided into parts. Part 95 covers the personal radio services—citizen band radio (CBRS), general mobile radio service (GMRS), family radio service (FRS) and the multi-use radio service. Part 97 covers amateur radio, also known as Ham radio. We simply refer to them as Part 95 and Part 97.

Part 95 is further divided into Subparts for each radio service. For example, the Subpart covering GMRS is, currently, Subpart A. The GMRS rules in the future will be moved to Subpart E. The rest of the Subparts will remain the same. I will explain this change in a future series of articles on the new rules.

The problem is that people want to twist the language to their advantage. I assure you, however, the FCC is unsympathetic to any statements beginning with, “I saw on the Internet….” Unless you can show it to them on THEIR web site or in 47 C.F.R. Many do not realize that the CBRS, FRS and MURS is “licensed.” There is a legal phrase called licensed by rule. It simply means that you are not required to obtain a hard-copy license and call sign to use these radio services, BUT you must follow the rules. The rules for each of these services are written out, albeit I agree not always clearly, in Part 95.

There are some significant changes concerning all of these services in the upcoming re-write of Part 95. First they have divided the Subparts into clearer sections to assist you in finding information. The information itself may be confusing and that is why the FCC has an email address and phone number. I will do future articles on the changes forthcoming. This article is simply to let you know some important rules concerning licensing and using the radio services.

I want to make it clear that just because you can buy a radio does not mean you can use a radio. I should also note that Part 95 is being totally re-written and there are many changes on the horizon; particularly to GMRS.

Let us start by discussing licensing.
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Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, Federal Communications Commission, News

FCC Dismisses Two Petitions from Radio Amateurs

ARRL News – The FCC has turned down two petitions filed in 2016, each seeking similar changes in the Part 97 Amateur Service rules. James Edwin Whedbee, N0ECN, of Gladstone, Missouri, had asked the Commission to amend the rules to reduce the number of Amateur Radio operator classes to Technician, General, and Amateur Extra by merging remaining Novice class licensees into the Technician class and all Advanced class licensees into the Amateur Extra class. In a somewhat related petition, Jeffrey H. Siegell, WB2YRL, of Burke, Virginia, had requested that the FCC grant Advanced class license holders Morse code operating privileges equivalent to those enjoyed by Amateur Extra class licensees.

“Thus, Mr. Siegell’s proposed rule change is subsumed within the changes Mr. Whedbee requests, so our analysis is the same for both proposals,” the FCC said in dismissing the two petitions on January 5.

The FCC streamlined the Amateur Radio licensing system into three classes – Technician, General, and Amateur Extra – in 1999. While it no longer issues new Novice or Advanced class licenses, existing licenses can be renewed, and Novice and Advanced licensees retained their operating privileges.

“The Commission concluded that the three-class structure would streamline the licensing process, while still providing an incentive for licensees to advance their communication and technical skills,” the FCC recounted in its dismissal letter to Whedbee and Siegell. It specifically rejected suggestions that Novice and Advanced class licensees be automatically upgraded to a higher class, concluding that it would be inappropriate for these licensees to “receive additional privileges without passing the required examination elements.” The FCC cited the same reason in 2005, when it denied requests to automatically upgrade Technician licensees to General
class and Advanced licensees to Amateur Extra class, as part of a wide-ranging proceeding.

The FCC said the two petitions “do not demonstrate, or even suggest, that any relevant circumstances have changed that would merit reconsideration of those decisions.”

Whedbee had argued that automatically upgrading current Novice and Advanced classes would simplify the rules and reduce the Commission’s costs and administrative burden, but the FCC said Whedbee provided no evidence that an administrative problem exists. “Moreover, such benefits would not outweigh the public interest in ensuring that amateur operators have the requisite incentive to advance their skill and technical knowledge in order to contribute to the advancement of the radio art and improvement of the Amateur Radio Service,” the FCC said.

“The Commission has already concluded that it will not automatically grant additional privileges to the discontinued license classes,” the FCC said. “Consequently, we conclude that the above-referenced petitions for rulemaking do not warrant further consideration at this time.”

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, Equipment, Federal Communications Commission, News

FCC Denies Expert Linears’ Request for Waiver of 15 dB Rule, Petition Pending

The FCC has denied a request by Expert Linears America LLC to waive Part 97.317(a)(2) of the Amateur Service rules limiting amplifier gain. Expert, of Magnolia, Texas, distributes linears manufactured by SPE in Italy. Its waiver request, filed in June, would have allowed Expert to import an amplifier capable of exceeding the current 15-dB gain limitation as it awaits FCC action on its April petition (RM-11767) to revise the same Amateur Service rules. That petition remains pending. Expert has asserted that there should be no gain limitation on amplifiers sold or used in the Amateur Service. Most commenters supported Expert’s waiver request, but a couple of commenters—including FlexRadio—demurred.

“In light of the conflicting comments regarding the desirability of eliminating the 15-dB limitation, we conclude that waiving the limitation at this stage of the rulemaking proceeding would prejudice the rulemaking proceeding and prematurely dispose of commenters’ concerns,” the FCC said in denying the waiver. “Moreover, we agree with FlexRadio that granting Expert’s waiver request while the rulemaking petition remains pending would provide an unfair market advantage for one equipment model over other manufacturers’ RF power amplifiers that would still be limited by [the existing rules].”

The FCC said it would rather give full consideration to “the pending issues” and apply the result of the rulemaking proceeding to all Amateur Radio Service equipment. The Commission said rule waivers “generally” are not warranted “merely to accommodate technical parameters that are based solely on harmonization with the manufacturer’s products available abroad.”

The FCC said a minority of those commenting on the waiver request expressed concern that eliminating the 15-dB limitation would lead to an overall increase in power levels, “including transmissions that intentionally or unintentionally exceed the maximum power limit.”

In its April rulemaking petition, Expert maintained that the 15-dB gain limitation is an unneeded holdover from the days when amplifiers were less efficient and the FCC was attempting to rein in the use of Amateur Service amplifiers by Citizens Band operators.

Although the FCC had proposed in 2004 to delete the requirement that amplifiers be designed to use a minimum of 50 W of drive power—and subsequently did so—it did not further discuss the 15-dB limit in the subsequent Report and Order in that proceeding.

Expert has pointed to its Model 1.3K FA amplifier as an example of a linear “inherently capable of considerably more than 15 dB of amplification,” which would make it a suitable match for low-power transceivers now on the market.

The full Report and Order can be found on the web in PDF format at, https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-149A1.pdf.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARRL, Federal Communications Commission, News

FCC Affirms Penalty for Unlicensed Amateur Operation

ARRL NEWS — The FCC has affirmed a $23,000 penalty against Daniel Delise of Astoria, New York, for operating without an Amateur Radio license on 147.96 MHz and for transmitting a false officer-in-distress call on a New York City Police Department (NYPD) radio channel. The FCC’s December 5 Forfeiture Order follows its August 31 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL), which detailed a history of complaints and alleged illegal radio operation by Delise dating to 2012.

“The penalty represents the full amount proposed in the Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture, and is based on the full base forfeiture amount as well as an upward adjustment reflecting Mr. Delise’s decision to continue his misconduct after being warned that his actions violated the Communications Act and the Commission’s rules,” the FCC Forfeiture Order said. The FCC said Delise’s response to the NAL offered “no reason to cancel, withdraw, or reduce the proposed penalty.”

Last summer, ARRL Hudson Division Director Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, credited the intervention of New York Rep. Peter King with getting the case “off the back burner and up to the front of the line.” Lisenco and ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, met with the Republican congressman in January to discuss ongoing interference issues in the Greater New York City/Long Island area. King subsequently wrote FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to urge “timely and visible enforcement.”

The September 15 response to the NAL did not deny that Delise violated the Communications Act and FCC rules but argued that the FCC should reduce or cancel the fine because he is currently incarcerated and has no income or assets. The FCC turned away that argument, saying that Delise did not provide any documentation to substantiate his claim of inability to pay.

Last April, the FCC Enforcement Bureau issued a Notice of Unlicensed Operation, after determining that Delise was transmitting on 147.96 MHz, a repeater input. Not long after, the NYPD informed an FCC field agent that police had taken Delise into custody for “sending out false radio transmissions” over the NYPD radio system and for possessing radios capable of operating on NYPD frequencies, in violation of state law.

Delise, who could have been fined more than $140,000, has 30 days to pay the fine. He’s now in prison as a result of the false police call and guilty pleas to other charges.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Federal Communications Commission, News, Technical

FCC Invites Comments on Petition to Eliminate 15 dB Gain Limit on Amateur Amplifiers

The FCC has put on public notice and invited comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11767), filed on behalf of an amateur amplifier distributor, which seeks to revise the Amateur Service rules regarding maximum permissible amplifier gain. Expert Linears America LLC of Magnolia, Texas, which distributes linears manufactured by SPE in Italy, wants the FCC to eliminate the 15 dB gain limitation on amateur amplifiers, spelled out in §97.317(a)(2). Expert asserts that there should be no gain limitation at all on amplifiers sold or used in the Amateur Service.

“There is no technical or regulatory reason [that] an amplifier capable of being driven to full legal output by even a fraction of a watt should not be available to Amateur Radio operators in the United States,” Expert said in its Petition.

Read more at ARRL