The Ham Radio two point zero Audio podcast rip. Thank you for downloading and
listening to this podcast. So basically what I do is I take all the
audio clips out of my videos and upload them to spreaker, and then from
there they're spread out to iTunes and SoundCloud and now Amazon Audible as well.
But I want to welcome you and thank you for joining the audio section of
this series on Ham Radio. I hope you enjoy it, and I would
appreciate you leaving us a comment or a review on whatever podcast service you're listening
from. Thank you in seventy three. I hope you enjoy it. It's
been a long held belief by some people on YouTube, mostly in the comments
section. Actually I'm not really talking about other YouTubers, although I've heard it
on other YouTube channels also that the FCC doesn't care if you violate some arbitrary
a law that you don't agree with. Okay, well, here is a
story today about an actual FCC citation of a GMRS user. This isn't even
about Ham Radio. This is about a GMRS user that got cited for illegal
types of transmissions on GMRS frequencies even though he's a licensed user. Look at
this so over here at nott com magazine dot com okays it says, yes,
the FCC is citing violators. Don't think that general mobile radio service and
fractions are going unnoticed. This is written by Chuck geez And from June of
this year and into Dup. I assume that's his call sign, amateur radio
call sign, So Chuck into Dup. He's the author of the article,
not who the violation is against. There's a common myth the FCC doesn't pay
much attention to gmrs, let alone it's six or radio service frs. But
that's far from the truth. In most services, if there's interference complaint,
FCC agents pounce into action in an effort to remove the problem. There's incentive
too, if you think about it. If the FCC finds interference to be
malicious, a nice hefty fine may be levied, helping to pay for enforcement
costs and then for some FCC coffer for the FCC's coffers, just like a
speeding ticket, just like a fine about whatever you do in any aspect of
life. If they find you to be in violation of something, and they
find you and you have to pay this money, they make more money so
why not. A recent enforcement action taken by the FCC against GMRS AGMRS license
has pretty much gone unnoticed by most media as well as hobbyists and the web.
Continue reading for details. Okay, so this is yeah. I haven't
seen this one, the specific one yet, although I do try to watch
not a rubicon where I can, and it's possible he mentioned this one and
I didn't see it, but he has mentioned other ones in the past even
if he didn't talk about this one. In a notice of violation issued on
June seventh, the FCC sideed GMRS operator from Washington State for transmitting continuous unmodulated
signals on four six two seven two five Mega hurts. The FCC track down
the signal to the Meisner Lookout communication site near Deer Island, Oregon, which
is northwest of Vancouver, Washington and Portland, Oregon. In his letter to
Martin T. Anderson, who holds a GMRS license WQQ P six five three,
the FCC said the agent inspected the side on April twenty six and found
a faulty motoroller radius transmitter sending out continuous signal transmission on GMRS frequency from the
peaks. So continuous transmissions are illegal. The next part of this article shows
this gentleman's picture. I don't want to show his picture. I think it
might be in a little bit bad taste for this article. The show a
picture of the guy, but they say the picture was taken from the MYGMRS
dot com website. So it's a picture that he freely shared on a public
website. So okay, okay, maybe I should show it, but I'm
not gonna I'm not gonna do that, So we're gonna skip through that part
real quick. So the citation is about a continuous signal. So down here
at this last paragraph on this one inciting the violation, FCC knows that GMRS
Rule ninety five one seven three three Alpha ten states GMRS stations must not communicate
continuous or uninterrupted transmissions for except for communications evolving immediate safety of life and property.
So, in other words, if they have like a pirate radio station,
someone just keys up and broadcasts something a talk radio show, music,
whatever, something like that, then that is illegal according to the terms of
the GMRS license. Now you might say, well, how would you know
that, Well, you're supposed to read that big, long, freaking document
when you go and sign up for GMRS license and check all the boxes and
put your name and information in there and your credit card to pay the thirty
five dollar feef. You're supposed to read all that stuff. Nobody does it.
I didn't do it. I didn't read any of that crap. But
I'm like, I know basic radio etiquette, so I'm like, I kind
of know it to do anyway. You have to learn a lot of that
to get your HAM radio license, but you don't have to learn anything to
get your GMRS license. I've always said that the biggest thing is just don't
be a jerk on the air, and you'll probably go unnoticed by most people.
So this continuous transmission that they're talking about here is just it's a side
of this. And they put a notice of the violation right here. Martin
T. Anderson WQPP six five three is his call sign, his GMRS call
sign in Vancouver, So there we go. A letter was sent to Anderson's
address a mail dropping Vancouver. He has held a GMRS license since January of
twenty thirteen and has been a license damage to raidar operators since nineteen ninety five.
In the presentation at the twenty fourteen. Sea Pack. Sea Pack is
a ham fest, a ham radio festival or like a trade show that we
have in Seaside, Oregon once a year. I've never been. I've always
wanted to go. It's probably on my bucket list for next year. I
might company buddy pull up there. We'll see what happens with that. Speaking
of ham Fest, the Huntsville Hamfest in Huntsville, Alabama, which is largely
regarded as the third largest hamfest in the United States, happens this week at
the time of the recording that you're watching this video. It's happening this week.
You can go buy the gigaparts table and get a twenty percent off of
anything from LDG Electronics at that Hamfest. I don't know if they're doing like
rain checks or online orders during that time. Contact gigaparts and let them know
or enquire and I'll inquire. Also, maybe I'll put a comment down below
after the fact, but you can get twenty percent discount off of everything LDG.
LDG and Gigaparts are sponsoring this video, so I thank them for that.
But go buy their table at the Huntsville Hamdfest. I keep wanting to
say Houston. It's not in Houston. It's in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama,
Hamfest. It's a great show. It's a fantastic show. We're gonna
be out there for four or five days during this week. While at the
time you're watching the video, I'll probably already be there and we're gonna go
out there and we're gonna activate a lot of PODA on Montisana website. Monasana
State Park. LDG is going to have this sale going on Saturday and Sunday
during the Hamfest. Go buy the Giga Parts booth, tell them that you
saw this video and ask them about their twenty percent discount on everything LDG.
So thank you to Gigaparts and to LDG for supporting this channel. So apparently
he's been sided at this point in time. It does this article does not
give a number, a dollar amount about let's say it's going to be a
two thousand dollars fine or a ten thousand dollars fine or whatever. It doesn't
really say anything about that at all. A letter did mention that it's giving
him a few days to respond, like I think I think it said ten
days to respond, and then they'll take further action, but he has replied
to it already saying, you know it's it's a faulty transmitter and something's going
on here. He says right here that the Messner lookout side apparently was where
Anderson had a repeater on four six two seven two five. The repeater,
identified as Columbia seven two five on mygmors dot com is described to part of
the system of threepreaters linked to the radio by the cover to cover the Lower
Columbia River Gateway. Listening goes on to say the repeater at the Miser lookout
is undergoing upgrades and has a temporary replacement, so it's already been a continuous
transmission has already been addressed. Enclosing FCC letters states that it will use all
reletant event information received to determine whether any enforcement action is required to ensure compliance
with FCC rules. While gmrs and fractions are few and far between, they
do happen, and the FCC will go after cases of interference. They likely
won't go after you for not using your call sign or using the equipment that
isn't type accepted for gmrs. Okay, so you're reading it here, this
is again, this is the opinion of the author of this article. They
likely won't go after you for not using your call sign or using equipment that
isn't type accepted for GMRS and not words. If you have a part ninety
Motorola radio or you have a Ham radio that you opened up in Mars Maude
and and use it on GMS frequencies, they'll likely not go after you.
Now, I'm not telling you you should do that, and I'm not telling
you you shouldn't do that. I'm just reading the article, So don't come
by and say, well, Jason, you said it was okay. I'm
not saying it's okay. I'm reading that this guy thinks that they likely won't
go after you, and as far as using your call sign goes. I
was talking with a few guys at the Ron day Voo in the Ozarks event
last fall fall of twenty twenty two, and I was given a short presentation
on amateur radio and kind of how it differed from GMRS radio and whatnot.
A lot of those guys were surprised to hear that you're actually supposed to identify
your call sign every ten minutes. Again, if you read that really long
freaking document that you sign your name on and pay your money for. When
you get your GMRS license, you're supposed to identify your call sign on GMRS
frequencies every ten to fifteen minutes. Do people do that? Very rarely,
very rarely do I hear that. When I'm out overlanding with some guys and
we're following everyone in a caravan, nobody IDs. We just talk to each
other. But there's a couple of repeaters here in town that I talk on
GMRIS repeaters I'll talk on sometime, and everyone IDs, well, after talking
to those guys the first two or three times, I find out they're all
Hams anyway, so of course they're going to ID. It's it's common nature,
and it's it's second nature for us to ID on repeater when we're talking,
and even simplex too. But it is a requirement, even though nobody
follows it. Bear that in mind, just say, oh, well,
that's not required on GMRS. Yes it is. That's why they give you
a call sign, So you kind I d yourself so, and it goes
on to say, and I might look this article up. Another recent violation
cited by the FCC involved a business radio license c that had FS frequencies in
their business radios at power levels above those allowed by FIRS rules. FS is
generally restricted about half a watt or one watt on some channels, maybe two
watson I think two watts max on most channels, but that it can go
down to half a watt on a few channels as well. The initial action
in that case was for something entirely different, but they discover the FS channels
while inspecting equipment, so they had commercial equipment with FRS frequencies programmed into them.
Now, you could argue because FRS and GMRS share frequencies, but if
you notice in your GMRS radio there are certain channels that don't go above a
half a watt zero point five watts, and that's four FRS restrictions. Even
though you've got more power capabilities on some GMRS frequencies, it's not that way
on all of them. So if they have an low power frequency in their
commercial band and they're transmitting five or ten watts on it from their mortal role
radio, that's that's a big no no. And apparently there there's an example
of an article where they're doing exactly that. So don't think that you are
exempt or somehow excused from properly using your GMRS license and your GMRS repeater and
your GMRS radio. If they say, oh, they're never going to come
after you, that's just not true. I mean, the likelihood of them
coming after you is small, but it's not zero. So why take the
chance my only come And again, the only thing that I've ever actually said
about any of this is just don't be a jerk on the air. Don't
key down your radio when someone else is trying to talk and cause interference.
Don't play music of the air when you're on a repeater that's trying to get
used, or during a net or something like that. And don't just badmouth
people and use a bunch of foul language on the air. Don't do that.
Just use it for what it's intended use for, and people will leave
you alone for the most part.