FCC Enforcement Advisory – Baofeng Update
APRS Digipeaters and Wide1-1 path: 01:03
Buying Used Ham Radio Gear: 05:04
Update to the Illegal Baofeng Radio Saga: 08:31
Links referenced: FCC Enforcement Advisory DA-18-980A1:
From: ARRL
ARRL has taken a minor exception to the wording of a September 24 FCC Enforcement Advisory pertaining to the importation, marketing and sale of VHF and UHF transceivers and is in discussion with FCC personnel to resolve the matter. The Enforcement Advisory was in response to the importation into the US of certain radio products that are not FCC certified for use in any radio service, but identified as Amateur Radio equipment.
“While much of this equipment is actually usable on Amateur bands, the radios are also capable of operation on non-amateur frequencies allocated to radio services that require the use of equipment that has been FCC-certified,” ARRL said. “Such equipment is being marketed principally to the general public via mass e-marketers and not to Amateur Radio licensees.”
ARRL said the upshot is that the general public has been purchasing these radios in large quantities, and they are being used on the air by unlicensed individuals. “
“Radio amateurs have complained of increased, unlicensed use of amateur allocations by people who are clearly unlicensed and unfamiliar with Amateur radio operating protocols,” ARRL said. But while it supports the general tenor and intent of the Enforcement Advisory, ARRL said it disagrees with the FCC on one point.
“In several places, the Enforcement Advisory makes the point that ‘anyone importing, advertising or selling such noncompliant devices should stop immediately, and anyone owning such devices should not use them,’” ARRL pointed out. “The Advisory broadly prohibits the ‘use’ of such radios, but our view is that there is no such prohibition relative to licensed Amateur Radio use — entirely within amateur allocations — of a radio that may be capable of operation in non-amateur spectrum, as long as it is not actually used to transmit in non-amateur spectrum.
ARRL has had extensive discussions about this issue with FCC Wireless Bureau and Enforcement Bureau staff, and those discussions are ongoing.
“It is important to protect the flexibility of the Amateur Service as essentially an experimental radio service, but it is also very important to stop the unlawful importation and marketing of illegal radios in the United States and the use of those radios by unlicensed persons,” ARRL maintained. “We will keep our members informed as our discussions with FCC on this subject continue.”
Source:ARRL
Antenna
Engineering the Doublet Antenna
“I made this doublet connector from a piece of 6mm Nylon 66 I had knocking about. Seems easy enough. I just hope the 450 ohm behaves itself and... Read more
Sea Water Antenna
The US Navy has created a device which turns a jet of sea water into an impromptu liquid antenna, creating a powerful, high frequency broadcast... Read more
CompacTenna VHF/UHF Stealth But EFFECTIVE antenna, Review and On-Air Test
Check out this CompacTenna dual band ham antenna, only 7.5″ tall and can be used for mobile OR base applications. I also have the CompacTenna Sc... Read more
Do I need to Aim a Dipole?
Danny, K5STY, wants to know if he should aim his dipole in a particular direction for the best signal and coverage. Read more
New AAS-300 3-way antenna splitter
AAS-300 3-way Antennasplitter up to 300 MHz The AAS-300 antenna splitter can distribute the signal of a receiving antenna to up to 3 recipients. About... Read more
Review
The Difference Between Yaesu WiresX And Hotspots
“In the world of Yaesu System Fusion and C4FM there seems to be a lot of confusion over access to the WiresX system from a hotspot. This time, I... Read more
Getting the Sidebands Mixed Up Creates Audio Garbage
Roger Nielsen, K7PUG, is having trouble with his Elecraft K3 after a factory reset. Everything sounds garbled and won’t tune in. Let’s tro... Read more
Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network
The article “Ham Radio Forms a Planet-Sized Space Weather Sensor Network,” appeared on February 9 in Eos, Earth & Space Science News — an American... Read more
Digital Modes
The Ultimate Portable Ham Radio Computer
Hello Operators. In this episode of the OH8STN ham radio, we are discussing replacing the raspberry pi field computer build, with the Microsoft Surfac... Read more
Get Started with FT8 – An Introduction for Beginners
FT8 is a mode in the WSJT-X software developed by Dr Joe Taylor K1JT. In this video I show how to get started and make contacts with FT8, introduction... Read more
WSJT-X Version 2.5.1 has been Released
The WSJT-X development team has announced the general availability release of WSJT-X version 2.5.1. This release mainly contains i... Read more
WSJT-X Errors? Try This Simple Fix
Does WSJT-X display errors when you transmit with your radio? Try this simple fix which has helped me get rid of those frustrating errors. Read more
WSJT-X version 2.5.1 released
WSJT-X version 2.5.1 releasedThe development team have announced the General Availability (GA) release of WSJT-X version 2.5.1. This release mainly co... Read more
Equipment
THE NEW HEIL HAM RADIO!
“First, we would like to thank you for your continued support of our company and products. As Heil Sound Communications continues to grow we wan... Read more
Introducing SDRconnect – SDRplay Hamvention 2022 demo
This video shows the demo we are showing this weekend (May 20-22) at Hamvention in Dayton, Ohio. This demonstrates the core underlying technology behi... Read more
ACOM 2020S | Solid-State 1.8-54 MHz Linear Amplifier
ACOM 2020S | Solid-State 1.8-54 MHz Linear Amplifier Easy to operateThe overall operation of ACOM 2020S is extremely simplified: the touch screen menu... Read more
MKU PA 23CM-1200W A – Power Amplifier
High power linear amplifier for the 23 cm Amateur Radio band Our high-performance amplifier for the 23 cm amateur radio band achieves great performanc... Read more
Antenna Genius
Did you know that Antenna Genius can be combined into a super switch matrix, expanding on the number of either antenna ports or the number of radios?... Read more