On Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:00 PM, amfone <amfone20...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I just looked up Apache Labs and their SDR radios. > > > Now on the web page in small print it notes " complies with part 97 of the > FCC rules" which means nothing without receiving FCC certification. Not so fast. What it means is that if you, as a ham, buy one, the manufacturer claims its emitted signal quality meets FCC signal purity requirements. Of course, you are on the hook to ensure emitted signal quality but this suggests that it might be reasonable for you to assume that it does so right out of the box. Of course, Caveat Emptor. YOU are on the hook for the signal quality. OTOH, YOU are on the hook for the quality of your emitted signal anyway. (And looking at the CW signals coming out of some Yaesu rigs, it is clear that not a lot of people actually check the quality of their emitted signal. :-) > Certification allows the device to be sold, imported, listed for sale or > manufactured in the USA. Are you sure about imported? Certainly they can't sell them to HRO or AES to be resold in the US, but what law prevents me from buying a radio outside the US and bringing it in to use on the ham bands? I am on the hook to ensure that the emitted signal meets, "best accepted engineering practices," but that is about it. > You will note when Icom, Kenwood etc. release a new radio a statement will > be issued with the advertisement something to the effect " not for sale > pending FCC Certification", the print is small but its right there on the > page in QST. > > So my question, does anyone know if Apache Labs has met FCC certification? > And perhaps the next real question is, "Does it matter?" As far as I can tell, Apache Labs is not selling their products in the US. They are selling them in India via website and if you choose to buy one and then import it to the US, well, that is your lookout. So the key is the difference between selling and using. There is nothing in the rules that says that hams have to use equipment that has received FCC type certification. If there were, we could not legally home-brew equipment. So, does that mean that you can buy a radio from Apache Labs, have it shipped to you, and then use it freely in the US? I don't know of anything in the law that would prevent you from doing so but I am not well versed with international trade law nor do I play an attorney specializing in international trade law on TV. OTOH, if you buy one, put it on the air, and your signal nets you a pink slip, you can't blame the manufacturer. -- Brian Lloyd, WB6RQN/J79BPL 706 Flightline Drive Spring Branch, TX 78070 br...@lloyd.com +1.916.877.5067 (USA) _______________________________________________ FlexRadio Systems Mailing List FlexRadio@flex-radio.biz http://mail.flex-radio.biz/mailman/listinfo/flexradio_flex-radio.biz Archives: http://www.mail-archive.com/flexradio%40flex-radio.biz/ Knowledge Base: http://kc.flexradio.com/ Homepage: http://www.flexradio.com/
