Legal 10 meter amateur radios

[Carl]

its not a problem of being accepeted or not. the bottom line is you cannot own one in the usa. they can be considered legal to use but YOU CANNOT OWN ONE!

if you cannot have one in your possession how can you use it.

they are classified as cb's, therefor they are required to follow the same rules.

dual use CB and amateur radios of the kind
at issue here may not be certificated under the Commission's
rules. Section 95.655(a) of the Rules5 states: ``. . . .
([CB] Transmitters with frequency capability for the Amateur
Radio Services . . . . will not be certificated.)'' See
also FCC 88-256, 1988 WL 488084 (August 17, 1988). This
clarification was added to explicitly foreclose the
possibility of certification of dual use CB and amateur
radios, see id., and thereby deter use by CB operators of
frequencies allocated for amateur radio use.

this is exactly why they are illegal to have in the us.
SUCH DEVICES VIOLATES THE
COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED, AND THE COMMISSION'S RULES.

 

[W5LZ]

Carl,
You can't sell one here commercially, and you can't buy one here. But that does not mean that you can't own one and legally use it.
- 'Doc

 

[Carl]

they are classified as duel use cb's. these radios do not meet current criteria to qualify for use in the citizens band.

these radios are easily moddified for illegal use in the citizens band, if one of these radios is in your possession or on your premises it is considered in use. as long as the radio is known to have cabilities of transmitting in the cb band (you dont have to do it) it will be considered as operating in the cb band.

these exact same rules and situations have taken place with amplifiers threwout the years. as you know this is why there has been no legal amps pruduced sence the 70's for 10m usage.

even with my general ticket if i get cought with a boomer or xforce garbage amp i will be fined.

 

[W5LZ]

I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. By the your logic, a Kenwood TS-2000 can be modified for use in the CB band, so can an Ameritron amplifier. Neither are illegal to own in the USA.
A 'Boomer', 'X-Force', 'Texas Star', and who knows how many other 'CB' amplifiers can be used legally in the amateur bands (might have to clean them up some, but same for the usual home-brew amplifiers). You can't legally buy them here, but that doesn't mean you can't use them ligitimately in the right bands with the right license.
- 'Doc

 

[cbshack]

A few years ago I believe the ARRL tested a Ranger 2950 and 2970 and found it to be acceptable as far as spectral purity. Heck, HRO used to sell them.

It is my understanding that part 97 states that an fcc type acceptance is not required for ham radios.

I admit the big name amateur radio companies have type acceptance for the amateur bands but because most of them are easily modifiable wouldn't they be considered as dual band cb/amateur radios as well and therefore illegal.

Also what about taking an older Cobra 148 or a Uniden Grant XL or Lt and mod it for amateur frequencies. Is it than illegal or not?

Why does the FCC let 10 meter export radios in the country if all of them are illigal to own or operate? I understand about an underground market but most of the radios I mentioned are readily available.

In the end I am looking for a compact 10 meter radio only for mobile use. Do I have to purchase an icom 706 or a kenwood ts-50 or the likes to stay legal?

Go to any hamfest and you see cbs, ham equipment, amps of all kinds.

What about the realistic htx-100 or htx-10 that I see at hamfests? These radios are not type accepted. Can I use them legally on 10 meters?

I just found an ARRL test in the February 1992 issue of QST on the Ranger 2950 and the Realistic HTX-100. The HTX-100 did better in the tests but both seemed acceptable as far as purity.

 

[cbshack]

Another article in the Feruary 2001 issue of QST reviewed the Ranger 2970dx and had some positive things to say about the radio.

 

[Sonwatcher]

they are illegal to operate

I have yet to see anyone post were in Part 97 it says that.
Not Part 95.
Remember we are talking about Ten Meters, NOT CB.
Were in any FCC regulation does it say A Lic Amateur can not own a export?
They can not be offered for Sale as a CB.
You can not use it to talk on the CB Band.
CB Radios must be Type Accepted.
Modfied Cb`s have been used on Ten Meters for years, as soon as you Convert the Cb to operate on Ten meters, it is no longer a "type accepted" Radio! And it is Legal to do so.
It all goes out the window when you have a Lic, and use it on ten meters, and stay within the rules.
You can use Old Military Radios to Talk on Ten meters.
You can convert Comerical Radios to Talk on the Ham Bands
This is why Home Brew Radios are allowed, you can modify your toaster to talk on ten if you want, and it meets the standards when you get done.
If you have to put A low pass filter on your toaster to make it meet the Standards, thats fine.
If you build a Ten Meter radio, you sure do not need to send it to the FCC for Approval before you use it.
If you are operating a spark-gap transmiter, splatering all over hell, you might get a letter telling you to do what ever it takes to clean it up.

Good radio pratice mandates running a clean station.

Remember This Question is about Ten Meter Radio operation, Not CB`s


73
Jeff

Jeff, I did bring this up once because "usage" is mentioned in the Amended Communications Act of 1934 in section 302 which is quoted by the FCC in enforcement letters -

3. Section 302(b) of the Act provides "{n}o person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or ship devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or use devices, which fail to comply with regulations promulgated pursuant to this section."

Sort of the electronic Cuban Cigar. The problem is that they not only fall under FCC regulations they also violate US Custom Laws. So with the above Law mentioning "no person" I really don't know where that puts the Amateur legally as far as "use" and they themselves buying and selling these radios. I don't have the answer.

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I gotta agree with Doc on this one. An amateur can use ANYTHING on the ham bands as long as it meets spectral purity requirements. Yes that means a Texas Star or Dave Made amp if it is clean.If the whole "dual use" thing was so cut and dried then every Yeasu FT -101 that had the old amateur 11m band in it would be illegal.I believe the whole sale and use thing was,is, and will continue to be such a gray area that the debate will go on for years.Maybe these "10m radio" manufacturers should stop putting channel selectors and band switches on the radios and start putting regular VFO's in them and restricting them to 28.0-29.7 MHz and then offer a MARS/CAP mod for full coverage.That should pretty much solve the dual use problem.Truckers might have to tape a cheat sheet freq chart to the top of the radio however.

 

[W5LZ]

QRN,
I don't know... Suprized somebody hasn't gone 'Bluetooth' with them yet. Mount the radio under the bunk somewhere. All that mess.
- 'Doc

 

[AudioShockwav]

I believe the whole sale and use thing was,is, and will continue to be such a gray area that the debate will go on for years

This confusion is the cause of The U.S. Deputy DA (and the FCC) getting the case against Ranger (Jim Peng) tossed out of court. They withheld Emails from Ranger that showed the confusion by FCC personal about what was considered Legal radios.
Anyway, There are many Texas Star amps on the Ham band, they work fine with a few tweaks, and A LP filter behind them.
The one in my Truck works great on Ten Meters
With My Hr2510, if I can hear them I can almost allways work them.
I bought My first 2510 New from AES, they had them on sale for $229.00
I will continue to Run this rig on ten, as I allways have and will not think twice about it.
For years Hams Have used Converted CB`s on Ten with No problems.
It is all the Hoop-la about using these radios on Cb that has everyone doing back-flips.
This is Amateur Radio, It is the Responsibility of the Operator to ensure that the radios they run meet emission spec.
Regardless of who built it or were it was built.
I would not think twice About running A 2510 OR A 2950 OR A 2970 Or a Converted Cobra on Ten Meters.
Or a Toaster, If I could get it to Key on 28 Mhz!
Enjoy the Hobby.

73
Jeff

 

[NorthStar]

Real Amateur Operators are using a Yaesu or Kenwood etc. Maybe even better a TenTec.

 

[CDX8412]

Real Amateur Operators are using a Yaesu or Kenwood etc. Maybe even better a TenTec.

I think you meant to say "real appliance operators use a Yaesu or Kenwood..."

The price of the rig you run has nothing to do with your ability and desire to be a ham. But you are correct in pointing out that this is where ham radio has gone. People think the expensive shiny boxes are what makes a good ham.

What drew me to ham radio was the technical skills of making things work on the ham bands, like re-crystalling CB radios, interfacing a radio to a Commodore 64 or Vic 20 computer, etc. To me, thats a real amateur radio operator. How many hams today can figure out how to put a tone board on a rig without detailed instructions? ("what's deviation? how do I find it on the board?"). How many can hex edit software & retune a 900 mhz LMR radio so it can work on 902 (33cm) ham band?

Once again, I say the 2950/2510/257 type radios are fine on 10 meters. All mode, fairly clean (without the CB-type limiter hack jobs-crank the AMC & ALC wide open-etc) and cheap enough for the working class ham.

I am with Jeff on this discussion. You can use a modified cordless phone and use it on amateur radio, if you can figure out how to make it work...and if you can...you are a "real amateur operator".

 

[rfoverlord]

i'm still running a 2510 with a chipswitch in my mobile hell there are a couple of 2600's for sale at the local club. cheap too if it wasn't for the new ic-7k i just bought i would continue to run the 2510, which i will until the weather warms up enough so that i can get bonding straps and a new screwdriver antenna installed.

BTW if it's an old cordless telephone they make excellent propagation monitors for 6 mtrs.

 

[AudioShockwav]

Real Amateur Operators are using a Yaesu or Kenwood etc. Maybe even better a TenTec.

N/S
Real Operators run what ever gets them on the Band!
Be it A Yaesu, or a homebrewTuna Can CW rig!
There was a time when most of the radios on the air were home brew,modded comerical stuff or home built rigs.

73
Jeff

 

[NorthStar]

If you want a rig from the old days Get a Drake...
American Built Radio.