Re: [Amps] The FCC & 1ØM Amps

[Paul Christensen]

> "WT 04-140 further proposed to
> essentially do away with FCC rules prohibiting the manufacture and 
> marketing
> to Amateur Radio operators of amplifiers capable of operation on 12 and 10
> meters."

The relevant section to the FCC's NPRM WT 04-140...

"Limitations imposed on manufacturers. Our Rules prohibit commercial 
manufactures from marketing power amplifiers that are capable of 
transmitting on the 12 m and 10 m amateur service bands to amateur radio 
operators. We believe that these rules impose unnecessary restrictions on 
manufacturers of amateur radio equipment, are inconsistent with the 
experimental nature of the amateur service, and may result in amateur 
stations transmitting at higher power levels than necessary. Accordingly, we 
propose to amend Sections 97.315 and 97.317 of our Rules to clarify and 
simplify the exceptions in our Rules. Specifically, to eliminate the 
disparate restrictions imposed on manufacturers as compared to the 
restrictions imposed on amateur service licensees, to allow manufacturers to 
market equipment in the United States that they may market overseas, and to 
eliminate any ambiguity in these rules, we will propose to delete the 
following requirements: (a) a manufacturer must design an amplifier to use a 
minimum of 50 watts drive power, and (b) the amplifier must not be capable 
of operating on any frequency between 24 MHz and 35 MHz. Historically, we 
note that the Commission promulgated Sections 97.315 and 97.317 of our Rules 
at a time when the Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service was the primary service 
that individuals used to satisfy their personal communication needs. The 
Commission adopted these Rules in 1978 to prevent commercial manufacturers 
from marketing to CB Radio Service users RF power amplifiers that had been 
approved for use at amateur stations. We note, however, that Section 95.411 
of our Rules already satisfies the policy objectives sought by Sections 
97.315 and 97.317. Specifically, Section 95.411 of our Rules prohibits, 
under any circumstances, an individual from attaching an external RF power 
amplifier or any device capable of amplifying the signal to a CB 
transmitter. Thus, an individual who uses an amplifier at a CB Radio Service 
station would violate a CB Radio Service rule and not an amateur service 
rule. Therefore, to eliminate redundancy and provide clarity in our rules, 
we propose to amend Sections 97.315 and 97.317 of our Rules. We request 
comment on this proposal.
We also propose to delete Section 97.3(a)(19) of our Rules. This rule 
section defines an external RF power amplifier kit as a number of electronic 
parts which, when assembled, is an external RF power amplifier, even if 
additional parts are required to complete assembly. Because of the broad 
scope of this definition, we are concerned that an amateur radio operator 
would find it difficult to determine if a group of electronic parts he or 
she purchases or possesses will be defined by the Commission as an external 
RF power amplifier kit. In this regard, we note that because many electronic 
parts used in RF power amplifiers are also used in other electronic 
equipment, any group of electronic parts, particularly if supplemented by 
additional parts, could be assembled to make a power amplifier or part of a 
RF power amplifier. Because of the uncertainty created by this rule, we 
propose to eliminate Section 97.3(a)(19) of our Rules. We request comment on 
this proposal."

Paul, W9AC