I'm not in favor of breaking the law, but I think the chances of running
into the FCC today are slim to none. If you don't identify with your
ham callsign while using a ham rig on FRS or CB frequencies, it's
unlikely anyone, even the FCC will know a difference, or even care. The
FCC can't even enforce Part 95 today, except for the occasional bust of
Joe's Radio Shop selling souped up CBs and amps. And if you look at
their recent "creative" interpretation of harmful interference in Part
15 in regards to BPL it would appear that the FCC is taking a more
liberal approach to the rules. Today's FCC is more concerned with Janet
Jackson and figuring out how to maintain telco monopolies, but I digress
:-) I think the only time the FCC would ever know about an occurrence
of a ham using a ham rig out of band during an emergency would be if
another ham reported them to the FCC. One would have to ask what the
true motives are of someone doing this.
I do carry an FRS and CB radio in my communications go kit, but if
either of them don't work for any reason during an event, I won't
hesitate to use one of my ham rigs. If the FCC has lost its last
vestige of common sense and wants to fine me, I'll turn in my license as
it's no longer worth my time and effort to volunteer my services.
I'm disappointed the K3 won't transmit on its entire receive range.
We're amateur radio operators, not toddlers trying to get into the
cabinet under the sink.
Phil Kane wrote:
On Wed, 19 Dec 2007 18:12:05 -0500, Goody K3NG wrote:
Recently our county has been getting its act together in regards
to Emcomm, so we've been doing drills and educational programs at
meetings. As an amateur, you need to be prepared to communicate
on non-ham frequencies, like FRS or CB. Sometimes in a disaster
situation you may need to communicate with non-hams who are only
equipped with FRS or CB. One prime example of this in a drill we
did was a trucker coming in to deliver supplies to a shelter. We
needed to "talk in" the driver to the shelter over CB.
And what excuse are you going to rely on if the FCC declares that
the "out-of-band" communication did not meet the very specific
and narrow "window" permitting "any frequency, any power"?
When I was on the FCC enforcement staff I served on severalv
investigations of such situations, and although you may feel
that given the same facts there was no other choice, none of
the "out-of-band" situations was found to meet the requirements.
The answer to the "CB/FRS" problem? Use the proper radios.
All of our comm centers and EOCs have them - they are very
cheap. Plan ahead.
It's your license on the line, as well as seizure and
forfeiture of your radio equipment.
'Nuff said.
--
Blog: http://thek3ngreport.blogspot.com/
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