Here is a response I got from Dan Henderson, N1ND, ARRL Regulatory Information Manager about the legality of ROS here in the states. My question was very simple. Is ROS a legal mode under FCC rules and if not, what would it take to make it so. Here is what Dan had to say.
From: dhender...@arrl.org To: n...@hotmail.com Keith ROS is a spread spectrum technique. FCC rules allow Spread Spectrum above 50 MHz. It is not currently legal on the HF bands in the US. There has been quite a controversy about ROS since it was introduced. The original documentation from the developer clearly stated it was SS which was confirmed by the FCC. When the developer was notified SS was not legal in the US below 30 MHz, he changed his documentation then posted a forged email claiming it was from the FCC and that they had changed their opinion. Long story short, it uses a frequency hopping SS technique, regardless of what the author later claimed when the controversy erupted. This was verified by FCC engineers in their labs. Yes, it is a narrow bandwidth SS technique but it is still SS. The FCC would have to change Part 97 in order for it to be allowed on the HF bands in the US. They would either have to amend the rules to allow SS on all amateur bands (something that would probably be strongly opposed because many SS techniques are far wider than this mode and would create major problems on the relatively small HF band allocations) or they would have to specifically approve it for use. That is something that they have not been inclined to do because they do not wish to be constantly adding individual modes as they are developed. They provide a broad framework in the rules for what is allowed or prohibited and the mode either meets those criteria or it doesn't. 73 Dan Henderson, N1ND ARRL Regulatory Information Manager So it is what it is and I wouldn't look forward to being able to use it on HF any time soon here in the good old USA. But it might be a great weak signal mode on 6 meters in this very late E season. Anyone up to beaconing on 50.295 or 144.160 MHz, the frequencies suggested within the program? I'll be on 6 myself... Keith N4ZQ
