[Discuss-gnuradio] amateur "exemption"

[ed]

unfortunately, an amateur radio license is no talisman...in fact, it would 
be no barrier whatsoever to a federal prosecutor.  bill cheek was a 
licensed amateur, as is john ramsey.  no doubt many gnuradio list members 
are (or should be.)

the bottom line is a ham license really changes nothing unless you're cited 
by the FCC with a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) for transmitting on an 
allocated amateur frequency without a license.  under literal 
interpretations of more than one existing federal law, simple possession of 
gnuradio software (and even simple gnuradio hardware, depending on its 
capabilities) can be a federal felony--like it or not.

these laws--like most laws--are selectively enforced.  whether they will be 
enforced against people who possess or use gnuradio hardware or software 
is, unfortunately, only a matter of time and circumstance.  thank your 
senators and members of congress.

as Dickens wrote, "If that is the law, then the law is an ass."

-ed, N3KOW



At 01:35 PM 12/18/02 -0800, Frank Brickle wrote:

> > ...at the risk of sounding alarmist, don't underestimate what the FCC can 
> > enforce...
>
> While it doesn't solve all the potential problems by any means, having an 
> amateur radio license puts you on the right side of the law in a number of 
> respects. An entry-level license requires a technical exam only -- no 
> morse -- which would present no obstacle whatsoever to anybody competent 
> to be fooling with gnuradio.
>
> Beyond regulation of spurious emissions and power, there are essentially 
> no constraints on amateurs as far as designing and building their own 
> equipment are concerned.
>
> The entry-level license restricts users to 50 MHz and above, but that's 
> where most of the innovation is happening anyway, and where the frequency 
> allocations for wideband signals are  found. The 902 MHz and the 1.24, 
> 2.4, 3.3, 5.6, 10, and 24 GHz bands are pretty wide and wide-open, and 
> their express purpose is to provide places for amateur experimenters to do 
> their thing.
>
> Frank Brickle, AB2KT