• You can now help support WorldwideDX when you shop on Amazon at no additional cost to you! Simply follow this Shop on Amazon link first and a portion of any purchase is sent to WorldwideDX to help with site costs.

$17,000.00 NAL issued to NY amateur for interfering with repeaters


I read about that over the weekend.

I've seen similar situations ( Operator gets warned, then warned again, and even warned later, a 3rd or 4th time before the fine) over the years. Seems like most folks, when the FCC is-a-knocking - straighten up pronto, but the few who ignore the warnings over a period of years are able to make other locals miserable until something finally gets done.

Back in the 90's we had someone here in Houston who was able to disrupt repeaters as well as 10 and 11 meter communications. I forget how many chances the FCC gave him before taking his equipment, but this went on for 3 or 4 years before it was resolved.

When I say "resolved", it wasn't by the FCC.
 
  • Like
Reactions: RF_Exorcist
When I say "resolved", it wasn't by the FCC.

One wonders whether this was a case of the FCC doing it's job the way it's supposed to, or them being forced into action they otherwise wouldn't have bothered with because someone associated with the group he was allegedly "jamming" knowing someone in a position of power.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AudioShockwav
One wonders whether this was a case of the FCC doing it's job the way it's supposed to, or them being forced into action they otherwise wouldn't have bothered with because someone associated with the group he was allegedly "jamming" knowing someone in a position of power.

It was a matter of the FCC half-assing their job.
 
I have seen FCC "actions" go on for years and years and years.......

73
Jeff

Jeff,

That's because Federal statute [I can't remember off the top of my head which one] gives agencies of the US Government four years from the effective date of a matter [in this case, the date of a violation as determined by the Commission] to bring said matter to court for collection. The FCC has no collection powers and sufficient time has to be there for the Administrative process to run its course.

They have to allow the violator so much time to respond to the NAL, time for the Commission to review/affirm the NAL, issue a Forfeiture Order, give the violator a period of time to respond to the Forfeiture Order, review/rule on any response. That process can last up to a year and a half. Generally, they issue a final demand letter - which, in so many words, states that we intend to take this to US District Court to collect if you don't pay. That can happen anywhere from six months to a year later which, by that time, takes you to two years/a year and a half left to move forward. It seems like a lot of time, but remember that the same people who handle the FCC's real business - regulation of commercial/broadcast interests - have to handle all the other services as well.

If the ARRL truly cared about being a lobby for the amateur community - they don't; they're most interested in selling advertising to primarily the Big Three equipment manufacturers - they'd be lobbying for changes in the rules governing amateur radio, separating it from the remunerative services and calling for more common-sense regulations that are easier to enforce. It should be a lot easier for the Commission to simply revoke a non-remunerative radio service license without having to go through process of issuing a monetary forfeiture.

Instead they're wasting their time with an already doomed Bubba-enforcement regime that relies on amateur radio operators making their own recordings and targeting people they dislike, headed up by a guy who seriously didn't know what Simplex frequencies were Simplex frequencies, and actually believed that IDing using phonetics was somehow a violation.

We needn't talk about his disgraceful retest nonsense - which, let's be honest, he had no actual authority to engage in, at least the way he did.

By the way, how many actual investigations were conducted into "rogue" VE programs, hm? How much evidence of "rouge" VE activity was ever actually discovered? How many VEs were disciplined? And all those people who were forced to retest - one or two out of hundreds, if not thousands of people who took tests from those suspect VEs - were they ever given an apology for the inconvenience of being forced to retest with no violations proven to have occurred?

Those were all rhetorical questions, if it wasn't clear.

73!
 
Holy smokes... I didn't realize it when I read the NAL, but a few years ago I actually came across a story about this guy! I didn't connect the dots until I read it on another site, but he had a whole bunch of trouble with his neighbors and township for having his plane parked in his driveway!

It turns out I not only sent him some repair work a few years prior, but I also bought a fantastic rig off of him!

I'm not sure if this is the original story I read, but here's a link to a story about the plane issue: http://www.liherald.com/stories/Oceanside-man-who-had-plane-in-driveway-arrested,79165
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shadetree Mechanic
Read this thread.
https://www.worldwidedx.com/threads/some-one-has-been-a-bad-boy.95986/

Almost 20 years later Ira Jones is Still on the air.
Still has never allowed the FCC to inspect his station.
Still has not paid 1 cent on his NAL.
Last time I was down there he was on 27.165 just like he always has Been.
The interference to the fire department was solved by upgrading the equipment at the station.
Once the interference went away it seems everything else did as well.
73
Jeff
 
Holy smokes... I didn't realize it when I read the NAL, but a few years ago I actually came across a story about this guy! I didn't connect the dots until I read it on another site, but he had a whole bunch of trouble with his neighbors and township for having his plane parked in his driveway!

It turns out I not only sent him some repair work a few years prior, but I also bought a fantastic rig off of him!

I'm not sure if this is the original story I read, but here's a link to a story about the plane issue: http://www.liherald.com/stories/Oceanside-man-who-had-plane-in-driveway-arrested,79165
My town has never said a word about my tower but I wonder what they would say if I parked a cessna in my driveway lol
 

dxChat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
  • dxBot:
    Tucker442 has left the room.
  • @ BJ radionut:
    LIVE 10:00 AM EST :cool:
  • @ Charles Edwards:
    I'm looking for factory settings 1 through 59 for a AT 5555 n2 or AT500 M2 I only wrote down half the values feel like a idiot I need help will be appreciated