FCC Report and Order Posted on New Rules

I agree that no rule covers being stupid on the air, but evidently we have different definitions of obscene.

And the CB "handles" are deliberately designed to conceal identity. That is prohibited, as it is deceptive identification, and it is a part of CB "lingo".

 

"Handles" aren't illegal as long as they are not deceptive. If you give your own callsign, you can use any "handle" you want, within reason. A few that I have heard hams use:

Sparky
Doc
Frenchy
Pancho
Slim
Tex
Pepsi

Thats just a few. Everyone has talked to someone that used a "handle" instead of a name. No rule against it. CB lingo is no more obscene than ham lingo, it's just different.

Joe

 

Nope.  The ham term "handle" is just another word for "name".  Which is an identifier.  What you listed are most probably nicknames that those people use all the time, not just on the air.  Like I use "Jim" which is not my name (and you use "Joe" which might not be what is on your birth certificate).  But when asked my handle, on any band, I answer "Jim".  (What else?)

The CB "handle" is a ficticious (and often imaginative) moniker specifically designed to conceal identity.  Therefore by any reasonable reading of the rules, fits under the "deceptive identifier" prohibition of the Part 97 rules.  And therefore is illegal on ham radio, especially if used without a callsign, which is the usual CB lingo.

So if you get on 10m, and someone asks your "handle", use your name or nickname.  Not "skunkstalker".

 

I think you're going overboard on this issue. The ONLY ID that is required of you is your FCC issued callsign. Beyond that, you can go by anything you choose. This "concealing identity" is a farce, since once you give your callsign, your ID is known.

Using your logic, a fat man that is called "Slim" would be illegal to use, as would a bald man called "Curley". I have seen both of these used, and there is nothing wrong with that.

There is no law that precludes your "handle" from being your nickname also. Maybe "Skunkstalker" or "Skunky" IS your nickname.

I am not advocating using CB handles on ham radio, just indicating that there is nothing contrary to the rules about it, as long as you properly ID with your own callsign. The CB handle is not necessarily designed to conceal identity, any more than a person's name. The FCC doesn't care what name I use on the air, it could be Joe or Beth or "Magnum Force", but they do want me to give my callsign when it's needed.

Joe

 

K4JF is right, it's just a name. It really depends on the intent. To help identify? Or to hinder?

This arguement goes back years, with those that 'claim' it is illegal to use a partial call. Hey, what's the difference saying this is 'Mikey' or saying this is 'DVJ' as long as I STILL IDENTIFY PROPERLY at the times I am required to do so.

Mike
N1DVJ

 

Maybe you weren't there, I was. When CB started going to pot in the 70s, the handles WERE invented in order to conceal identity, because the people knew they were illegal and, at that time, feared being caught by the FCC. Prior to that, everybody used their ordinary name, just like hams do. Of course, if you are using CB legally, everybody you talk to already knows your name. So the "lingo" of bizarre names invented to conceal identity is patently illegal on ham frequencies, (and may be on CB, I haven't read the rules lately) as they were and are a means of concealing identity.

Yes, you can use any name as long as there is no intent to deceive. But the CB lingo is for the express intention of deception. THAT was my point. Using a real life nickname is not CB lingo.

Idntify properly, within the rules, and use whatever else you want.

Example: tactical designations are specifically permitted by the rules, as long as the basic identifying rules are followed. Partial callsigns are legal, as long as you follow the identification rules. Etc.

 

Mike, you are exactly right.

 

Anyone who comes on ham frequencies using that ridiculous CB lingo is going to find himself in the same position as you would if you went into your local sailing club and insisted on calling lines "ropes" or insist on saying "left" instead of "port" or "starboard" (whichever it may be - "left" is not definitive,
"port" and "starboard" are).

That shows either ignorance or arrogance. Both of which are frowned upon and will make you no friends. EVERY avocation and vocation has its lingo/language. Learn the correct one.

 

I agree with everything you posted, except this one paragraph. I don't understand how using any name or nickname is an intent to deceive. I don't understand how anything you call yourself can be deceptive, unless you are pretending to be someone else. I can call myself anything I want, and go by that "handle|. The only deception would be if I used someone else's handle, and pretended to be them.

I can call myself Joe, Sam, Curley, Coolio, Jack Master, Paperback Writer, or just about anything else. It is all legal, confusing perhaps if I use the same name as someone else, but there are other ways of differentiating. There are plenty of "Joes" out there, I am just one. If I pretend to be another "Joe", then that is deception. If I use someone else's callsign, that would be deception.

I think you are trying to say that CB'ers are trying to be anonymous, but that is different from deceiving. I can call myself "Question Mark", and that is very anonymous, but not deceptive. It is hard to be anonymous and legal on the ham bands, since anyone can look up your callsign.

Joe

 

I think it's time to turn this around.  CBers who are interested in ham radio should be aware of the fact that there are MANY things you can do on ham radio that are illegal on CB.  Such as

Operate with more than 5 watts
Use FM, PSK, RTTY, CW, 2-way TV, moonbounce and more
Talk more than 150 miles
Talk to someone not in your family or business
Have an antenna higher than 20 feet
Call CQ
Talk to people in other countries
Open up your radio and repair or modify
Build a radio from a kit
Heck, you can even design and build your own if you wish
Use an amplifier
Operate on any frequency within the band (all bands but one, of course)
Operate through satellites

.......and much more.

It really is worth the effort to get a license and learn the lingo and customs as well as the rules.  If you do that, all hams who are worth their own license will welcome you.

 

These are not against the rules.

You can repair but not modify your radio

You can go to 60 ft (or more).

You can communicate with anyone with a CB.

Joe

 

Having watched y'all invade our internet without giving any thought to its jargon, I find statements like this one show ignorance and arrogance.

In model railroading, people who'd rather "do it the right way" than have fun with it are called "rivet counters", because of their obsession with detail that almost no one else will ever notice.

What shall we call them in amateur radio?

Eh, who cares what you call them, so long as they stay out of the way when the rest of us are having fun.

I for one welcome into amateur radio, as I do into any hobby, anyone who makes an effort to participate and enjoy the hobby, even if they happen to spell Old Man "good buddy".

 

"A CB antenna may not be more than 20 feet above the tree or structure on which it is located.  In addition, it may not be more than 60 feet above the ground."  So sometimes you can go to 60 feet (if you have a 40 foot tall building), but not more.

"Each internal repair and each internal adjustment to your FCC type-accepted CB transmitter must be made BY or under the DIRECT SUPERVISION of a person licensed by the FCC as a GENERAL RADIOTELEPHONE OPERATOR."  Not the CBer, unless he is licensed to repair. And NOBODY is allowed to modify one, at all. Any repair work must return it to factory specifications.

So 2 of my 3 are verified from the regs.  There has been a change to the regs on communicating with stations outside your family or business, but the communications must still be limited to conversation about your personal or business activities.  Except for emergency, of course.  (There are no such limitations on ham communications.)  

You cannot "communicate with anyone with a CB".  They must be in the U.S. or Canada, and can't be more than 155.3 miles away.  So you can't, for example, talk to anyone in Mexico on a CB, even if you are in El Paso.

I hadn't looked up CB regs in quite a while.  I've been retired almost 6 years.

Still, if you follow the rules, you are severely limited as compared to ham radio.  THAT was my point.

 

As for the "handles", they are authorized only in conjunction with specific rules for identifying yourself. Not alone, as is commonly done.

{B} You are ENCOURAGED to identify your CB communications by any of the following means:
[1] Previously assigned FCC CB call sign
[2] K prefix followed by operators initials and residence zip code
[3] Your name;
or
[4] Description of your organization including name and any applicable operator unit number

 

§ 95.408 (CB Rule 8) How high may I
put my antenna?
(a) Antenna means the radiating system
(for transmitting, receiving or
both) and the structure holding it up
(tower, pole or mast). It also means everything
else attached to the radiating
system and the structure.
(b) If your antenna is mounted on a
hand-held portable unit, none of the
following limitations apply.
© If your antenna is installed at a
fixed location, it (whether receiving,
transmitting or both) must comply
with either one of the following:
(1) The highest point must not be
more than 6.10 meters (20 feet) higher
than the highest point of the building
or tree on which it is mounted; or
(2) The highest point must not be
more than 18.3 meters (60 feet) above
the ground.

This means that on flat ground you can mount a tower that will position the tip of your CB antenna at 60', and still be legal. It also means that if you have a 100 ft tree or building, that you can position the tip of the antenna 20ft above that. Don't know where you get your info, mine is from the FCC rules 2004. I don't think they've changed.

§ 95.424 (CB Rule 24) How do I have
my CB station transmitter serviced?
(a) You may adjust an antenna to
your CB transmitter and you may
make radio checks. (A radio check
means a one way transmission for a
short time in order to test the transmitter.)
(b) You are responsible for the proper
operation of the station at all times
and are expected to provide for observations,
servicing and maintenance as
often as may be necessary to ensure
proper operation. You must have all internal
repairs or internal adjustments
to your CB transmitter made in accordance
with the Technical Regulations
(see subpart E). The internal repairs
or internal adjustments should be
performed by or under the immediate
supervision and responsibility of a person
certified as technically qualified to
perform transmitter maintenance and
repair duties in the private land mobile
services and fixed services by an organization
or committee representative
of users in those services.

This rule section allows you to choose whatever service people you think are qualified. No mention of a general radiotelephone license is mentioned. You "should" have the repairs done by a "qualified" tech, but it's not required, as long as the repairs and adjustments are done properly. Again, I don't know where you get your info.

Or 0 of 3 have been verified. You must have a very old copy of the rules or something. The regs of communication are pretty open, since the list of prohibited things is pretty much the other stuff you have posted.

You can talk about all kinds of business things on CB that you can't do on ham, but yes, other than that there are limitations. And the "talk with anyone" on CB was in reference to your perceived limitation to your family or business. Yes, they need to be in the CB service, and all the other restrictions you have named, but they could be total strangers to whom you have no connection.

Joe