FCC

Hams Are Monitored (FCC/OO/VM)

AF5NP ARRL, FCC, Monitor, Observer, Volunteer

In an older post we mentioned that hams have no expectation of privacy; assume that anything you say over the air is heard (someone is listening). In another post we discussed what can you say as a ham, focusing on what is illegal. Words are not the only problem; there are a number of activities against regulations.

As licensed radio amateurs we are obliged to abide by our governing authority’s rules for ham radio. In the USA that is found in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 47, Part 97 (47 CFR 97) , managed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

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FCC Seal1 As with broadcast transmissions (radio, television) the FCC enforces the rules.  Other countries have similar rules and structure so if you are outside of the USA, study up your applicable regulations.

Years ago the FCC was actively involved in monitoring not only commercial broadcast frequencies, but ham radio bands as well.  There were monitoring stations set up around the country for this purpose.

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They also had mobile vans for locating offenders.  Violators might get a very stern letter or possibly a personal visit.

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It’s one of the reasons we are supposed to keep a copy of our license posted at our station.  A FCC Inspection Fact Sheet gives good information related to home inspection.

Those days are long gone.  The FCC has closed many regional offices and pared back their enforcement staff to a minimum.  However, they are still the ultimate authority for radio in the US and still have teeth.

When the FCC reduced their enforcement resources they partnered with the ARRL to have hams help do much of the monitoring and reporting.  Originally called Official Observers (OOs), they were hams who were qualified and trained by the ARRL as part of the Amateur Auxiliary program.  While there are fewer FCC agents, we are still being monitored for Part 97 violations, primarily by fellow hams.

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The OO scheme was replaced by the Volunteer Monitor (VM) program in January 2020 with a new agreement between the FCC and the ARRL.

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The intent of the VM program is to re-energize enforcement efforts in the Amateur Radio bands.  Its role is to monitor the airwaves and collect evidence that can be used both to correct misconduct or recognize exemplary on-air operation. Cases of flagrant violations will be referred to the FCC by the ARRL for action in accordance with FCC guidelines.

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Note that good behavior is also recognized. Be the ham that gets a favorable postcard from a VM, not for an infraction. 🙂

Bad behavior is what monitors are really trying to weed out.  A cautionary notice may be sent to hams who violate rules.  If the violation continues, the VM system has a streamlined enforcement process with the FCC who can take legal action.

So what are some of the bad practices and violations that VMs are looking for?

While not exhaustive, violations include:

  • Transmitting without a license
  • Operating outside frequencies permitted by license class
  • Operating modes or power outside privileges
  • Willful interference
  • Obscene language
  • Conducting business or making money over the air (for yourself or someone else)
  • Transmitting music
  • Failure to identify properly

An interesting (somewhat dated) list of current FCC enforcement actions is found here.

Finally, the stereotypical monitoring van may still be used.  VMs and federal agents may occasionally have to track down an offending signal using direction finding techniques.

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Change Your Call Sign

AF5NP Call (Call Sign), Change, Extra Class, FCC, General Class, Technician, Vanity Call

So you just passed the Tech license exam and your new call sign just appeared on the FCC ULS database.  Congratulations!

Let’s say you were assigned KG5ZXY, but that’s both hard to remember and hard to pronounce phonetically.  Or maybe you’ve been licensed for years but just don’t like the call sign you have.

Either way you would really like something different; maybe a catchy one or a call that has your initials or something shorter or easier to remember.  Don’t despair!  You can request a specific call sign if it is available, termed a vanity call.

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Vanity call signs typically include alphabetical characters of personal significance (e.g., licensees initials, parts of names, hobbies, etc), or sometimes are simply chosen because they are shorter calls, or sometimes they have double or triple duplicate characters (e.g., W1WWW).

Note: this information is valid for USA hams.  Many other countries have vanity call programs but the details and rules will be different.

Now there are limitations to call signs, of course.  This is a good time to review our call sign variations topic where you can learn about valid prefixes, suffixes, formats, and quantity of characters.

It goes without saying that you cannot request a call that is already issued (for two years Continue reading →

Keep Up With Rules and Knowledge

AF5NP FCC, Technician, Training

I have enjoyed helping teach technician license classes in the past and may help with more in the future.  When you step into the instructor role you realize how much you don’t know about a subject, or have forgotten.  It’s humbling to discover that you forgot something or really didn’t understand a particular topic.  I’m an extra class operator and was surprised at how many things I forgot or couldn’t answer with certainty on the Technician exam.

So now we will discuss keeping up with rules and knowledge regarding amateur radio, and not just resting on our laurels, having passed a license exam one day in the past.  The reason the FCC requires some basic knowledge about ham radio is because we have the most privileges in the radio spectrum around the world, and we can cause a lot of trouble with that freedom.  In ham radio there is an expectation of continuous learning and that also implies that we should not forget what we already know.

There are seven broad categories of questions in exams of all three license levels.  These are:

  • Regulations
  • Operating practices
  • Electronics
  • Propagation
  • Antennas
  • Safety

Of these seven we might say that three are the most important:  Safety (first!), Regulations and Operating Practices.  That doesn’t mean the other categories are unimportant but we should probably place a priority on these three.

To reinforce the premise that we easily forget important details, let me quiz you on some Continue reading →

Change of Address

AF5NP FCC, License, QTH

Have you moved since you got your amateur radio license?  This is a common concern for renters or apartment-dwelling hams and revocation or suspension of your license is the ultimate consequence of failing to notify the FCC.

If you have relocated your QTH from one place to another, or if you have otherwise changed your mailing address, you are obliged to update your postal address with the FCC in the United States.  The FCC needs to know where to reach you by mail for either operator or station license questions or issues.

It’s also common courtesy to other hams who want to send QSL cards or just to know where you are located based on your call sign.

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US Code of Federal Regulations 47 C.F.R Section 97.21 requires you to file timely for an update of the license as necessary to show your correct mailing address, name, club name, license trustee or custodian name. Revocation of your station license or suspension of your operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because you failed to provide the correct mailing address.

In the US you can update your address online (filing electronically) at Continue reading →

EmComm Toolbox

AF5NP ARES, ARRL, Directed Net, Emergency Communications (EmComm), Etiquette, FCC, Ham-Speak, Language, Training

Many new hams get involved in emergency communications (EmComm) and it may even be their primary focus or purpose for getting an amateur radio license.  Emergency communications is the first of five basic principles spelled out by the FCC for the existence of the licensed amateur radio service in Part 97:

Section 97.1(a): Recognition and enhancement of the value of the amateur service to the public as a voluntary noncommercial communication service, particularly with respect to providing emergency communications.

In fact, by accepting an FCC operator/primary station license grant under these rules, USA amateurs are obliged to provide emergency communications as needed.  Not that you’ll get thrown in the slammer if you don’t help, but all licensed hams with the equipment and experience should help out in case of disaster or other EmComm situation, and most do so.

Having said all that, I would encourage all hams to join a local or regional EmComm group (such as ARES or RACES in the USA) and train and drill with them to get some experience.  It’s not enough to know how to talk on a repeater or social net; things get more serious in an EmComm situation.

There are more formal radio operating practices and language used in EmComm which is almost always conducted as a directed net.  You need to learn when and how to communicate and with whom and what to say and why things are done a certain way.  Participating in EmComm drills and public service events is important training, as is listening in on EmComm training nets. Taking EmComm courses such as the ARRL’s Introduction to Emergency Communication Course EC-001 is also of great benefit.

To familiarize you with the Who/What/When/Where/Why/How of EmComm, attached here Continue reading →

Call Sign Variations

AF5NP Call (Call Sign), FCC, Format, Vanity Call

New hams listening in on a repeater are likely to hear a wide variety of call signs.  They may be confused and question some of them.  Repeaters near an international border can get pretty interesting with call sign variations in both countries.   EchoLink and IRLP open many repeaters up to access from anywhere the internet can reach.  Call sign variations are even more evident on HF bands where communication distances can be much greater.  New ham KG5XYZ may wonder why not everybody else is a KG5 like them.

It is important for new hams to be familiar with call sign variations and legal call signs for logging, message handling and just scribbling down a call sign when communicating with another ham.  “Did I just hear KMG365?” Comment if you get this reference. 🙂

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First it is essential to understand that ham radio call signs (AKA call letters or just plain call) have a prefix followed by a numeric digit followed by a suffix.  The prefix is determined by the country in which the license is granted, most always one or two alphabetic letters. The digit following the prefix has significance within individual countries, such as geographic zones.  The alphabetic suffix following the number is generally meaningless other than to distinguish between calls sharing the same prefix and number.

There are variations in prefixes, not only by country but often also in number of alpha characters.  The number in a call sign is almost always a single digit.  The suffix may legally be anywhere from one to five alpha characters, depending on governing authority.

This arrangement of prefix-number-suffix is referred to as its format and is useful for describing a call sign. The format system counts the number of characters in both the prefix and the suffix.  It is usually termed the “p by s” system or pxs in writing where p represents the number of characters in the prefix and s is the number of suffix characters.  Using USA example call signs, W3MRC is a 1×3 call while KF5ZFD is a 2×3.  KL7AA and AF5NP are both 2×2 call signs.  NA6M is a 2×1 and W1AW is a 1×2.  One by three (1×3) and two by three (2×3) are by far the most common call formats in the US, followed by 2×2 and then 1×2 and 2×1.  Because they are relatively uncommon, even seasoned hams sometimes pause at a 2×1 call to register with their brain as legitimate.

1×1 call signs are legal in the US but are assigned only to organizations for special events and only for a limited time.  Details on special event call signs can be found at this FCC site.

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Valid prefixes in the USA are K, N, and W (one letter),  and AA-AL, KA-KZ, NA-NZ, and WA-WZ (two letters).  Complete details can be found here.

Below is a small sample of international prefixes a US ham might run across, mainly on HF bands: Continue reading →

QRZ

AF5NP Brevity, Call (Call Sign), Database, FCC, Q-Codes, QRZ, Reference

Old-timers are already familiar with it but new or prospective hams may not be aware of a wonderful online callsign reference called QRZ.

The ham radio brevity code QRZ means, “who is calling me?” if you’re not sure or didn’t catch their complete callsign.

QRZ is a very powerful and popular callsign database that is located at qrz.com  The QRZ site takes its name from the Q-code question, who is calling me?  It’s particularly useful to look up a fellow ham you’re having a QSO with or have heard about or met in person.

If they have a callsign, you can look up their FCC registered address, license class, license expiration, exact location including the important Maidenhead grid square and a map of their location with exact distance from your station.  It’s also useful for learning their previous callsigns if they have changed from what the FCC originally assigned them.

If the other ham has added info about themselves, you can see photos of them and their equipment, a biography, specific interests or whatever else they choose to share, including  an email address.  Hams can also use QRZ as a contact log if they choose to do so.

The database is updated daily from the FCC main file so it’s up to date and accurate.  You can search by call sign, partial call, name, address or grid locator.  If you look yourself up on the map you can see all the hams in your immediate vicinity; you might be surprised at how many there are.

I like to use QRZ to put a face to the name of people who are on Emcomm nets, the local repeaters, or during my HF QSOs and know a little more about them.

The QRZ database includes international hams so if you want to look up call signs around the world you can do that, too.  I found a distant relative fellow ham in Germany just by searching my family name.

By the way, QRZ is properly pronounced, “Cue Are Zed” as we  learned in the post on how to pronounce the letter Z.

QRZ has at least one major competitor, HamCall, plus a copycat with the confusing name of QRZCQ.

Before personal computers and the internet became common, hams relied on large printed books to look up the name and address associated with a particular callsign.  The main one was the Radio Amateur Callbook with the Pegasus (winged horse) mascot.  It is still available  on CD-ROM and/or USB memory stick.  Old print copies can be found on eBay and Amazon.

So check out QRZ and start using it.  I’m sure it will become a bookmarked browser favorite of yours.

What Will My New Call Sign Be?

AF5NP Amateur Radio, Call (Call Sign), FCC

Of particular interest to prospective hams just finishing their study and preparing for their license exam, there is a great way to get a basic idea of the call letters they will be assigned, at least in the USA.  First they must know the FCC region they reside in based on the address they gave on the license application form.  The FCC divides the US into ten geographic regions with a numeric designation for each one;  a quick reference is found here.  For example, the table shows a numeral 5 for Texas so all New Texas licensees will have a 5 in their call sign as originally assigned.  By the way, this can be changed later but that will be a future topic.

From here you can refer to the Hamdata FCC info website and look for the most recent sequentially assigned call signs in your numeric region.  You can estimate that your assigned prefix (the letters before the number) will likely be the same as the most recent one issued for your region (unless it is at the end of the alphabet already), and your suffix (the letters after the number) will be the next one or two alpha characters subsequent to the most recent one issued for your region. All of this applies, assuming you take your exam in the next two or three weeks. If you test further out, you will need to check the database again to see the current stats.