HR2.0 - FCC Hits Rugged Radios with Citation over Illegal Radios

FCC Hits Rugged Radios with Citation over Illegal Radios - this is an article I found that I thought was relevant to our hobby and what this channel is about. Comments welcome!

Matthew Keys The Desk: https://thedesk.matthewkeys.net/2020/12/rugged-radios-fcc-citation-unauthorized-frequency

FCC Citation Info: https://www.fcc.gov/document/eb-issues-citation-rugged-radios-equipment-marketing-violations

 

From Keys' web site, "After the FCC’s probe, Rugged Radios stopped marketing and selling four of the six models in question, while it chose to modify two other radios so that they couldn’t be programmed by users to receive radio frequencies that were unauthorized, the FCC said"

Since when does reception have to be authorized?

 

Since a legislator was embarrassed by someone hearing his cell phone conversation back in the days when cell phones used analog FM that was trivial to intercept.

Phone technology has changed, but the law prohibiting sales of radios that are capable of receiving those frequencies is still on the books.

 

It's Deja Vu all over again!

https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/fcc-cites-company-for-selling-chinese-radios.736212/

_____________________________________

Links for people who never heard of Yogi Berra:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Berra#"Yogi-isms"

"It's déjà vu all over again." Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hitting back-to-back home runs in the Yankees' seasons in the early 1960s.

Berra, Yogi (1998). The Yogi Book. New York: Workman Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 0-7611-1090-9.

Other examples:


"90 percent of baseball is mental; the other half is physical."
On why he no longer went to Rigazzi's, a St. Louis restaurant: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
"It ain't over 'til it's over." At the time he said this, in July 1973, Berra's Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East.
The Mets rallied to clinch the division title in their second-to-last game of the regular season, and eventually reach the World Series.

If you see the fork in the road... It doesn't matter whether you go left or right, you would wind up in front of Yogi's House. It's at the half way point.
When giving directions to Joe Garagiola Sr. to his New Jersey home, which was accessible by two routes: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
At Yogi Berra Day at Sportsman Park in St. Louis: "Thank you for making this day necessary."
"You can observe a lot by watching."
"Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours."
"I really didn't say everything I said."
"A nickel ain't worth a dime anymore"
"If you can't imitate him, don't copy him."

 

Receivers that operate between 30-960 MHz and are capable of scanning must be FCC Part 15 certified as a scanning receiver.
See 47CFR15.121 and 47CFR15.3(v).

 

I stand by my previous response regarding blocking of cell frequencies, but I finally got around to reading the FCC citation. It complains about ability to "transmit" or "operate" on unauthorized frequencies. I didn't see the FCC complaining about reception of unauthorized frequencies.

 

As you mention in the video, we've heard some bad things about them in the past so it seems those 'rumors' were legit.

 

I was going to reply that the discrepancy is in loose wording by the writer, not illegal reception.

 

This regulation is obsolete and meaningless. It was crafted in the days oaf analog fm cell technology and has no purpose now for decades as all cellphone technologies are digital and encrypted so only the recipient and NSA can read them(the govt. Hates competition). My personal opinion is that it is the sender's responsibility to protect transmissions and anything put into the air is fair game.

 

If it's illegal to receive some frequencies only criminals will have those receivers.

 

Right. I imagine that is a mis-print and that Mr Keys doesn't understand what the law says.

 

If you want to know what is illegal to listen to in the USA then I would recommend reading
Title 18 USC Chapter 119 and Title 47 USC Chapter 9 Sec 605

 

I have heard of Racing Radio Retailers that buy the part 90 license and you lease the use of the license from the seller from buying the radio from them in the document you sign. They are in the SCCA magazines and other sport car rags, mostly selling MOTO TRBO, for Pit Crew Privacy.

However that blue radio does not appear to be Part 90 and appears to be selling to a cheaper market with a radio not certified for part 90. I do see some TYT part 90 radios on their site that if locked to their licensed frequencies would be legal.

Or perhaps it is and why it's higher priced? Need to see the sticker. They also didn't lock it down.

 

It has been decades since I was involved with commercial radio, however, you used to be able to buy frequencies and lease use thereof. If they are branding and pre-programming branded radios they can charge and authorize use of frequencies they have leased from the FCC on their branded radios only. These FCC leases have power restrictions as well as regional restrictions. You can't sell use of these frequencies in say Kentucky if they were sold for used in California for obvious reasons. That said, marketing these radios outside the lease area is where the problem arises.

 

If you download and read the FCC document linked at the bottom of the FCC notice you will see that the investigation was into the lack of certification and the ability for some of the radios to be keypad programmed with frequencies the radios were supposedly certified for. Apparently they were selling radios programmed to Maritime frequencies and others as they were sold. And at least one model was certified as a receiver, then the company marketed a transceiver using the same model number and the FCC ID from the receiver. In other words they knew what they were doing was not legal but they did it anyway. Just like all the GMRS radios you see advertised on Amazon as FRS radios.