In the past month, two of our clients have received verbal warnings from the FCC regarding offering for sale Connex and Galaxy 10 meter Amateur radios. Some CB users buy Amateur equipment and modify it to work on CB frequencies. One reason they do this is because CB users may transmit up to about 150 miles within the rules, but even using the maximum power allowed under the rules, CB radios, even under ideal conditions, will not transmit more than about 10 miles. In some areas, you might not be able to transmit more than 3 miles. Amateur radios have much more powerful transmitters, and when modified, can allow users to transmit on CB up to the 150 mile limit or even more.
Using a modified Amateur radio to transmit on CB is a violation of the rules. However, rather than going after those who transmit on CB in violation of the rules, the FCC, back in 1996, decided it was easier just to declare, through the use of a Public Notice, that an Amateur radio which is "easy to modify" to work out of band is illegal. The problem is that all Amateur radios can be modified to work out of band. The FCC initiated this major change of the rules without going through the rulemaking process required under the Administrative Procedures Act. If one reads the FCC's actual rules, you will not find one rule prohibiting the manufacturing or sale of Amateur radios which are easy to modify to work out of band. Further, you will not find a rule defining what "easy to modify" means. The FCC has, through an letter from its counsel, subsequently defined the terms as meaning "moving a jumper, throwing a switch or cutting a single wire." However, the FCC has never incorporated the terms into a formal rule.
Why do I accuse the FCC of bullying these two CB shops? Because the FCC knows that after the Public Notice was issued, the Connex and Galaxy radios were re-designed so that they are no longer "easy to modify" as defined by the FCC. Not only that, the FCC knows that it lost litigation over the legality of the Connex radio in the Florida federal courts and it was forced to admit that the Galaxy radio was legal in proceedings brought in Texas. Indeed, the court in Florida scolded the FCC for bringing the case in the first place, declaring that there was no reasonable justification for the lawsuit.
Instead of stopping with the false accusations of illegality, however, the FCC lower level employees continue to harass CB retail shops. If the FCC is concerned with Amateur radios being used by non-licensed persons on CB, the remedy is simple. Amend the rules to require an Amateur license to buy an Amateur radio. Don't, however, harass dealers who are complying with the law and selling legal equipment.
Using a modified Amateur radio to transmit on CB is a violation of the rules. However, rather than going after those who transmit on CB in violation of the rules, the FCC, back in 1996, decided it was easier just to declare, through the use of a Public Notice, that an Amateur radio which is "easy to modify" to work out of band is illegal. The problem is that all Amateur radios can be modified to work out of band. The FCC initiated this major change of the rules without going through the rulemaking process required under the Administrative Procedures Act. If one reads the FCC's actual rules, you will not find one rule prohibiting the manufacturing or sale of Amateur radios which are easy to modify to work out of band. Further, you will not find a rule defining what "easy to modify" means. The FCC has, through an letter from its counsel, subsequently defined the terms as meaning "moving a jumper, throwing a switch or cutting a single wire." However, the FCC has never incorporated the terms into a formal rule.
Why do I accuse the FCC of bullying these two CB shops? Because the FCC knows that after the Public Notice was issued, the Connex and Galaxy radios were re-designed so that they are no longer "easy to modify" as defined by the FCC. Not only that, the FCC knows that it lost litigation over the legality of the Connex radio in the Florida federal courts and it was forced to admit that the Galaxy radio was legal in proceedings brought in Texas. Indeed, the court in Florida scolded the FCC for bringing the case in the first place, declaring that there was no reasonable justification for the lawsuit.
Instead of stopping with the false accusations of illegality, however, the FCC lower level employees continue to harass CB retail shops. If the FCC is concerned with Amateur radios being used by non-licensed persons on CB, the remedy is simple. Amend the rules to require an Amateur license to buy an Amateur radio. Don't, however, harass dealers who are complying with the law and selling legal equipment.
No comments:
Post a Comment