[CQ-Contest] More FCC - 10 meters

[Jamie Dupree]

This from the ARRL site - it gives a bit more info about the FCC efforts.
It seems that they are going after both the truckers using the 10 meter
band and some of the on-line sellers of non-certified CB radios that use 28
MHz.
--
FCC Goes After Alleged 10-Meter Scofflaws
NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 2, 2004--The FCC is working on at least two fronts to
eliminate unlicensed operation from the 10-meter band. Earlier this month,
FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth sent warning notices to two shipping
companies regarding reports to the Commission that some of the companies'
vehicles may be the source of illegal radio transmissions on the amateur
band. One of the companies, UPS, has offered its full cooperation.

"Many truckers use CB radio, which does not require a license,"
Hollingsworth pointed out in letters earlier this month to UPS offices in
Ohio and Indiana and to R&L Transfer Inc of Ohio. "However, any person using
a radio transmitter on the Amateur Radio bands must possess a station and
operator license." Hollingsworth asked the over-the-road shippers to advise
their drivers that such radio operation could subject them to heavy fines
and seizure of their radio equipment.

UPS Attorney Daniel N. Tenfelde last week assured Hollingsworth that his
company was taking its Warning Notice seriously and has launched a full
investigation.

"We discovered that some employees had obtained CB radios that contained a
mechanism allowing them to switch frequencies into the 10-meter Amateur
Radio band," he said in a January 28 letter. "It is not UPS policy to allow
equipment such as this to be used in our vehicles." He said UPS' contract
with the Teamsters Union allows only for CB radios. Tenfelde said UPS is
working with its transportation and labor groups to let drivers know that
such unlicensed operation violates both UPS policy and FCC regulations.

In a parallel development, the FCC issued a Citation to Jonathan Edward
Stone, doing business as Omnitronics/Pacetronics for alleged violation of
§302(b) of the Communications Act and §2.803(a)(1) of the Commission's
rules.

An investigation by the FCC's Dallas field office led the Commission to
allege that Omnitronics/Pacetronics was offering more than two dozen
uncertificated "Citizens Band" transceivers via its Web site. The FCC says
Omnitronics/Pacetronics was marketing the units as Amateur Radio equipment,
which does not require FCC certification (formerly known as "type
acceptance"), and a check of the company's Web site generally confirmed that
assertion.

"The Commission has evaluated radio frequency devices similar to those
listed and concluded that the devices at issue are not only amateur radios
but can easily be altered for use as Citizens Band devices as well," said
the FCC Citation from FCC Dallas District Director James D. Wells. The FCC
said it concluded that the devices fall within the definition of CB
transmitters and therefore "cannot legally be imported or marketed in the
United States." That would include so-called "export" models, the Citation
said, pointing to a 2000 revision of §2.1204(a)(5) of its rules.

Citing §95.655(a) of the FCC's rules, Wells noted that "dual-use CB and
Amateur Radio of the kind at issue here may not be certificated under the
Commission's rules." He said the clarification was added to Part 95--which
governs the Citizens Band--"to explicitly foreclose the possibility of
certification of dual-use CB and amateur radios and thereby deter use by CB
operators of frequencies allocated for Amateur Radio use."

The FCC Citation also warned Unitronics/Pacetronics regarding the
requirement of FCC certification of external RF amplifiers or amplifier kits
capable of operating below 144 MHz as well as the prohibition against
marketing RF amplifiers or amplifier kits capable of operating between 24
and 35 MHz.

Most of the transceivers in question carry brand names unfamiliar within the
amateur community--such as Connex, Galaxy, General and Superstar. Radios
being marketed as amateur gear are shown on the Unitronics/Pacetronics Web
site displaying 27.185 MHz on the dial--CB channel 19. Some of the purported
amateur transceivers have only a channel readout display, not a frequency
display, and only operate on AM or FM modes. For an additional charge,
Omnitronics/Pacetronics offers such accessories as roger beeps, "turbo echo"
and what it calls "basic" and "professional" alignment.