KC0GPV Spanked

[W3WN]

Another bad boy... Glen Rubash KC0GPV of Manhattan, KS, has been fined $4000 for operating an unlicensed transmitter on 88.3 MHz

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.txt

According to his story... the pain medication made him do it. Either that, or his (previously unmentioned) students swapped transmitters on him without his knowledge. Alllllllllll righty then.

[kb2vxa]

OK, someone switched the transmitter in his absence and the one field engineers inspected was not certified. Then to make life interesting the antenna was not authorized. So, in December of last year an NAL was issued, we read about it at a later date as I remember. Now another was issued in November of this year, so since I don't remember the amount of the first one does this one reflect a reduction of the fine?

Now here's the question of the ages, did it take him this long to figure out that somebody switched transmitters or is he just trying to weasel out of it?
We are the FCC. You must pay $4,000. Resistance is futile.

[K7SGJ]

Running 100KW is what tipped off the FCC. If he'd have done this on .313 there would be no sanctions.

[NQ6U]

If he'd have done this on .313 there would be no sanctions.

However, if he'd shown a titty via SSTV they'd be all over him like a cheap suit.

[K7SGJ]

However, if he'd shown a titty via SSTV they'd be all over him like a cheap suit.

I thought there were a bunch of stations passing some nekkid wemens pix on SSTV awhile back. Did they get busted? No pun intended.

[KG4NEL]

Were they hot?

[KG4CGC]

Were they hot?

Yeah and if they weren't hot, did they at least have big, you know, vaginas?

[VE7DCW]

Another bad boy... Glen Rubash KC0GPV of Manhattan, KS, has been fined $4000 for operating an unlicensed transmitter on 88.3 MHz

http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.doc
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-13-2235A1.txt

According to his story... the pain medication made him do it. Either that, or his (previously unmentioned) students swapped transmitters on him without his knowledge. Alllllllllll righty then.

Let's see.......pain medication......operating illegally on 88.3....nope I don't see the connection....a great excuse though....it does'nt make much sense,but makes for great copy....:spin:

[N2CHX]

It's stupid anyway. Low power unlicensed radio is like pot IMO. As long as you're not interfering with a licensed station within its city grade contour, why should anyone even care? This is just another way the government sucks money out of people.

[N8YX]

It's stupid anyway. Low power unlicensed radio is like pot IMO. As long as you're not interfering with a licensed station within its city grade contour, why should anyone even care? This is just another way the governmentRIAA sucks money out of people.

Adjusted your station dial slightly for more reality, as the government wouldn't give two shits about this if Hollywood wasn't lobbying the "piracy" issue to death.

[AC8KF WALT]

It's stupid anyway. Low power unlicensed radio is like pot IMO. As long as you're not interfering with a licensed station within its city grade contour, why should anyone even care? This is just another way the government sucks money out of people.

well said.

[kb2vxa]

Sort of, but the "sucks money" comment is said from opinion and isn't said from reality, the other part is spot on. Having eyes and ears for pirate radio since the '60s I have made countless observations and they all have one thing in common, profile. Low profile pirates fly below the radar since the FCC hasn't had the facilities nor the manpower to tune around listening for violations since the network of monitoring stations was dismantled many years ago. High profile pirates, that is those that either make a splash like Al Wiener and his pirate ships or transmit on somebody's frequency within their coverage area thus drawing complaints the FCC must address simply are magnets for attention. Paint a target on yourself, jump up and down yelling HEAR I AM (spelling intentional) and you're going to get just what you're asking for.

Someone I know very well (;->) flew below the radar with pretty high power for the average pirate for 6 years. Then a technical fault and a klutz who didn't do as he was told drew a complaint from the CE of a local radio station and it was all over. This BTW was 20+ years before the RIAA started making a fuss and as far as I can see music piracy and radio piracy are completely unrelated.

[N8YX]

This BTW was 20+ years before the RIAA started making a fuss and as far as I can see music piracy and radio piracy are completely unrelated.

They are completely related insofar that a pirate station playing Association-produced content without permission and/or royalty payments will have the hounds set upon them faster than an indie-oriented or talk-only pirate. This assumes, of course, said pirate isn't interfering with a licensee of the frequency upon which they've decided to set up shop.

Talk and/or indie-music pirates on, say, 6925USB are rarely (if ever) bothered. This ought to tell one something.

[WX7P]

I'd sure like to know what the guy was using.

You can get 7 watt FM transmitters from China for less than $50. I know, I have one.

They are being marketed as stereo extenders for house coverage and to real estate types who want to have a tape loop description of the house running all the time.

Seems pretty stupid to be running a bootleg station at 88.3 in a college town. That section of the band is probably pretty crowded and he was no doubt causing interference to someone.

[W2NAP]

Adjusted your station dial slightly for more reality, as the government wouldn't give two shits about this if Hollywood wasn't lobbying the "piracy" issue to death.problem is, you could play news/talk 24/7 on the pirate station they will still nail you.. if you didnt give major cash to the feds you be going down.

[NQ6U]

As crappy as the RIAA may be, it's unlikely they are the issue in this case. It's more likely that it was one of the local broadcast stations who filed a complaint. NPR affiliates in particular are vigorous about doing that; they feel that their ratings are far more likely to be affected by pirates than one of the Clear Channel clone stations. It probably didn't help the guy's case that he was operating down in NPR's low-end-of-the-FMBC-band spectrum territory.

[kb2vxa]

"Talk and/or indie-music pirates on, say, 6925USB are rarely (if ever) bothered. This ought to tell one something."
It tells me you don't know about the MAJOR change those SW pirates made. They used to make long broadcasts satirizing licensed AM & FM broadcasters with fake commercials and news between records and DJ patter, some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard on radio. It was far more interesting, especially since they used hi-fi AM transmitters that were a pleasure to listen to. Now that the FCC is after them they only make short transmissions, mostly SSB that makes music sound raunchy and in between quip back and forth since their friends are monitoring. Since that's an otherwise dead chunk of spectrum there's nobody to complain, this is entirely the FCC's doing and don't forget being understaffed now more than ever they have bigger fish to fry.

"As crappy as the RIAA may be, it's unlikely they are the issue in this case."
I see someone agrees.

"It's more likely that it was one of the local broadcast stations who filed a complaint."
I also see you've been following background reports on the FCC's activity.

"It probably didn't help the guy's case that he was operating down in NPR's low-end-of-the-FMBC-band spectrum territory."
There's little probably about it BUT one can run into trouble in the commercial band too by taking out a chunk of a broadcaster's coverage area. Sponsors complain too when they're losing money to a pirate, money talks. I've seen it happen more than NPR that is a network, in that case it's the CE of the station itself complaining on their behalf.

[WØTKX]

If i used one of those 7W transmitters ( ;) ), I'd make damn sure the antenna cut down the ERP so it just stayed in my area of interest.

[KG4CGC]

7 watts will go a looooooooooooooong way, even in hilly terrain. What would that be? The 3.5m band?

[WX7P]

Mine does about a 7 mile radius with the supplied little ducky antenna from the second floor of the house.

Haven't hooked it up to my tuned FM band ground plane antenna. That could be scary.

[kb2vxa]

You'd do better with this one fed with RG6U double shield and a balun.

http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.asp?p=fmss&d=antennacraft-by-radioshack-fmss-turnstile-omni-directional-fm-antenna-%28fmss%29&sku=716079001182

[n2ize]

Let's see.......pain medication......operating illegally on 88.3....nope I don't see the connection....a great excuse though....it does'nt make much sense,but makes for great copy....:spin:

Yeah, I felt the same way. I see no correlation between pain medication, his absence, and the operation of an illegal transmitter on 88.3 mc. Bad excuses.

One question I do have. If a person builds a very low power wireless transmitter anat obviousl hasn't been FCC certified, yet operates withing the proper parameters and criteria for a legally unlicensed very ow power transmitter, would that be legal. These days commercial ham gear is certified yet you can legally build and operate your own equipment that is not officially certified. I wonder, does the same thing apply to unlicensed homebrew FM gear ?

[n2ize]

Sort of, but the "sucks money" comment is said from opinion and isn't said from reality, the other part is spot on. Having eyes and ears for pirate radio since the '60s I have made countless observations and they all have one thing in common, profile. Low profile pirates fly below the radar since the FCC hasn't had the facilities nor the manpower to tune around listening for violations since the network of monitoring stations was dismantled many years ago. High profile pirates, that is those that either make a splash like Al Wiener and his pirate ships or transmit on somebody's frequency within their coverage area thus drawing complaints the FCC must address simply are magnets for attention. Paint a target on yourself, jump up and down yelling HEAR I AM (spelling intentional) and you're going to get just what you're asking for.

Someone I know very well (;->) flew below the radar with pretty high power for the average pirate for 6 years. Then a technical fault and a klutz who didn't do as he was told drew a complaint from the CE of a local radio station and it was all over. This BTW was 20+ years before the RIAA started making a fuss and as far as I can see music piracy and radio piracy are completely unrelated.

Or you could do like Baxter does and broadcast anywhere you want for as long as you want and if the FCC fines you you just ignore the fine, claim that what you are doing is perfectly legal, file a felony affidavit against the FCC and any complainers, and just keep on broadcasting.

[KG4NEL]

One question I do have. If a person builds a very low power wireless transmitter anat obviousl hasn't been FCC certified, yet operates withing the proper parameters and criteria for a legally unlicensed very ow power transmitter, would that be legal. These days commercial ham gear is certified yet you can legally build and operate your own equipment that is not officially certified. I wonder, does the same thing apply to unlicensed homebrew FM gear ?

IIRC - as long as it falls under the Part 15 requirements for field strength, you can. Of course, the field strength for "legal" Part 15 transmitters limits their use to in-house or in-car transmitters, just as the FCC intended.

Been a while since I looked at the regs, but I believe that the Part 15 AM requirements were lenient enough to actually have a chance of someone being able to hear the signal in a decently populated area.

[W3WN]

Yeah, I felt the same way. I see no correlation between pain medication, his absence, and the operation of an illegal transmitter on 88.3 mc. Bad excuses.

One question I do have. If a person builds a very low power wireless transmitter that obviously hasn't been FCC certified, yet operates withing the proper parameters and criteria for a legally unlicensed very low power transmitter, would that be legal. These days commercial ham gear is certified yet you can legally build and operate your own equipment that is not officially certified. I wonder, does the same thing apply to unlicensed homebrew FM gear ?As I understand FCC R&R, no.

The Amateur Service has a lot more flexibility than do other radio services, and this is one of those areas where it shows up.

[W3WN]

Or you could do like Baxter does and broadcast anywhere you want for as long as you want and if the FCC fines you you just ignore the fine, claim that what you are doing is perfectly legal, file a felony affidavit against the FCC and any complainers, and just keep on broadcasting.His day is coming. The wheels of justice grind oh so slowly, but they do grind.

[kb2vxa]

Baxter's foolery is unrelated to the topic at hand, his "thing" was challenging the Amateur regulations claiming legal operation (as compared to the ARRL) when the FCC thought otherwise. That came about with his Radio Shack timer controlling recorded transmissions in his absence and interfering with ongoing QSOs. 'Nuff said, we all know what happened, he's off the air tangled up in litigation with an inevitable slam by the FCC. Think of it, when you slam dance expect an 800 pound gorilla in the crowd to do you in.

Unlicensed Part 15 and LPFM are horses of a different color, the latter requires a license and the transmitter must be FCC certified. The comparison with certified ham gear is invalid. One may construct a transmitter and it needs no certification but it must comply with radiation standards, one unit per year may be sold. To sell more than one per year they must be certified which is an expensive tangle of red tape so mom 'n pop factories are unheard of. When you buy a name brand transmitter it's certified, big corporations have the money and lawyers to go through the process because they sell more than enough units to cover all costs and make a profit. Of course you may build and operate a Part 15 transmitter but if you check the specs you'll find range is extremely limited so you'd be broadcasting to your neighborhood but that's all. Hint, there's no restriction on elevation so there's no reason you can't locate the transmitter and antenna on a really big tower.

As an aside, if you want a virtually unlimited audience you can always stream over the internet. I found quite a few "pirate" stations run by kids who also have a chat room on the site. Since I like to yank chains I had fun with them, one in particular that had quite a bit more bandwidth than necessary and streamed uncompressed audio files for super hi-fi. So why do you need such fidelity when the average listener has crappy speakers and ears that in no way compete with bats? They disconnected the chat on me. (;->)

For what it's worth several LPFM licenses have been issued to "minority" broadcasters who planned to set up stations in the north end of this town near the inlet and quite a few more within a few miles of here. So far I haven't heard any on the air, the only new station is a 10W LPAM on 1630KHz run by the city OEM for emergency broadcasts and general announcements. It broadcasts 24/7/365 recorded messages and in between relays the local area VHF NWS transmitter.