Contents
Contents for Subpart B
97.101 General standards.
97.103 Station licensee responsibilities.
97.105 Control operator duties.
97.107 Alien control operator privileges.
97.109 Station control.
97.111 Authorized transmissions.
97.113 Prohibited transmissions.
97.115 Third-party communications.
97.117 International communications.
97.119 Station identification.
97.121 Restricted operation.
Subpart B--Station Operation Standards
(a) In all respects not specifically covered by FCC Rules each amateur
station must be operated in accordance with good engineering and good
amateur practice.
(b) Each station licensee and each control operator must cooperate in
selecting transmitting channels and in making the most effective use of the
amateur service frequencies. No frequency will be assigned for the
exclusive use of any station.
(c) At all times and on all frequencies, each control operator must give
priority to stations providing emergency communications, except to stations
transmitting communications for training drills and tests in RACES.
(d) No amateur operator shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or
cause interference to any radio communication or signal.
(a) The station licensee is responsible for the proper operation of the
station in accordance with the FCC Rules. When the control operator is a
different amateur operator than the station licensee, both persons are
equally responsible for proper operation of the station.
(b) The station licensee must designate the station control operator.
The FCC will presume that the station licensee is also the control
operator, unless documentation to the contrary is in the station records.
(c) The station licensee must make the station and the station records
available for inspection upon request by an FCC representative. When
deemed necessary by an EIC to assure compliance with FCC Rules, the station
licensee must maintain a record of station operations containing such items
of information as the EIC may require in accord with S 0.314(x) of the FCC
Rules.
(a) The control operator must ensure the immediate proper operation of
the station, regardless of the type of control.
(b) A station may only be operated in the manner and to the extent
permitted by the privileges authorized for the class of operator license
held by the control operator.
(a) The privileges available to a control operator holding an amateur
service license issued by the Government of Canada are:
- (1) The terms of the Convention Between the United States and Canada
(TIAS no. 2508) Relating to the Operation by Citizens of Either Country of
Certain Radio Equipment or Stations in the Other Country;
- (2) The operating terms and conditions of the amateur service license
issued by the Government of Canada; and
- (3) The applicable provisions of the FCC Rules, but not to exceed the
control operator privileges of an FCC-issued Amateur Extra Class operator
license.
(b) The privileges available to a control operator holding an FCC-issued
reciprocal permit for alien amateur licensee are:
- (1) The terms of the agreement between the alien's government and the
United States;
- (2) The operating terms and conditions of the amateur service license
issued by the alien's government;
- (3) The applicable provisions of the FCC Rules, but not to exceed the
control operator privileges of an FCC-issued Amateur Extra Class operator
license; and
- (4) None, if the holder of the reciprocal permit has obtained an FCC-
issued operator/primary station license.
(c) At any time the FCC may, in its discretion, modify, suspend, or
cancel the amateur service privileges within or over any area where radio
services are regulated by the FCC of any Canadian amateur service licensee
or alien reciprocal permittee.
(a) Each amateur station must have at least one control point.
(b) When a station is being locally controlled, the control operator
must be at the control point. Any station may be locally controlled.
(c) When a station is being remotely controlled, the control operator
must be at the control point. Any station may be remotely controlled.
(d) When a station is being automatically controlled, the control operator
need not be at the control point. Only stations stations specifically
designated elsewhere in this Part may be automatically controlled.
Automatic control must cease upon notification by an EIC that the station
is transmitting improperly or causing harmful interference to other
stations. Automatic control must not be resumed without prior approval of
the EIC.
(e) No station may be automatically controlled while transmitting
third-party communications, except a station transmitting a RTTY or data
emission. All messages that are retransmitted must originate at a station
that is being locally or remotely controlled.
(a) An amateur station may transmit the following types of two-way
communications:
- (1) Transmissions necessary to exchange messages with other stations
in the amateur service, except those in any country whose administration
has given notice that it objects to such communications. The FCC will
issue public notices of current arrangements for international
communications;
- (2) Transmissions necessary to exchange messages with a station in
another FCC-regulated service while providing emergency communications;
- (3) Transmissions necessary to exchange messages with a United States
government station, necessary to providing communications in RACES; and
- (4) Transmissions necessary to exchange messages with a station in a
service not regulated by the FCC, but authorized by the FCC to communicate
with amateur stations. An amateur station may exchange messages with a
participating United States military station during an Armed Forces Day
Communications Test.
(b) In addition to one-way transmissions specifically authorized
elsewhere in this Part, an amateur station may transmit the following types
of one-way communications:
- (1) Brief transmissions necessary to make adjustments to the station;
- (2) Brief transmissions necessary to establishing two-way
communications with other stations;
- (3) Telecommand;
- (4) Transmissions necessary to providing emergency communications;
- (5) Transmissions necessary to assisting persons learning, or
improving proficiency in, the international Morse code;
- (6) Transmissions necessary to disseminate information bulletins;
- (7) Transmissions of telemetry.
(a) No amateur station shall transmit:
- (1) Communications specifically prohibited elsewhere in this Part;
- (2) Communications for hire or for material compensation, direct or
indirect, paid or promised, except as otherwise provided in these rules;
- (3) Communications in which the station licensee or control operator
has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an
employer. Amateur operators may, however, notify other amateur operators of
the availability for sale or trade of apparatus normally used in an amateur
station, provided that such activity is not conducted on a regular basis;
- (4) Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided
elsewhere in this Section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal
act; messages in codes or ciphers intended to obscure the meaning thereof,
except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language;
or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification;
- (5) Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be
furnished alternatively through other radio services.
(b) An amateur station shall not engage in any form of broadcasting, nor
may an amateur station transmit one-way communications except as
specifically provided in these rules; nor shall an amateur station engage
in any activity related to program production or news gathering for
broadcasting purposes, except that communications directly related to the
immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be
provided by amateur stations to broadcasters for dissemination to the
public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before
or at the time of the event.
(c) A control operator may accept compensation as an incident of a
teaching position during periods of time when an amateur station is used by
that teacher as a part of classroom instruction at an educational
institution.
(d) The control operator of a club station may accept compensation for
the periods of time when the station is transmitting telegraphy practice or
information bulletins, provided that the station transmits such telegraphy
practice and bulletins for at least 40 hours per week; schedules operations
on at least six amateur service MF and HF bands using reasonable measures
to maximize coverage; where the schedule of normal operating times and
frequencies is published at least 30 days in advance of the actual
transmissions; and where the control operator does not accept any direct or
indirect compensation for any other service as a control operator.
(e) No station shall retransmit programs or signals emanating from any
type of radio station other than an amateur station, except propagation and
weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and
originated from United States Government stations and communications,
including incidental music, originating on United States Government
frequencies between a space shuttle and its associated Earth stations.
Prior approval for shuttle retransmissions must be obtained from the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such retransmissions must be
for the exclusive use of amateur operators. Propagation, weather forecasts,
and shuttle retransmissions may not be conducted on a regular basis, but
only occasionally, as an incident of normal amateur radio communications.
(f) No amateur station, except an auxiliary, repeater or space station,
may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations.
(a) An amateur station may transmit messages for a third party to:
- (1) Any station within the jurisdiction of the United States.
- (2) Any station within the jurisdiction of any foreign government
whose administration has made arrangements with the United States to allow
amateur stations to be used for transmitting international communications
on behalf of third parties. No station shall transmit messages for a third
party to any station within the jurisdiction of any foreign government
whose administration has not made such an arrangement. This prohibition
does not apply to a message for any third party who is eligible to be a
control operator of the station.
(b) The third party may participate in stating the message where:
- (1) The control operator is present at the control point and is
continuously monitoring and supervising the third party's participation;
and
- (2) The third party is not a prior amateur service licensee whose
license was revoked; suspended for less than the balance of the license
term and the suspension is still in effect; suspended for the balance of
the license term and relicensing has not taken place; or surrendered for
cancellation following notice of revocation, suspension or monetary
forfeiture proceedings. The third party may not be the subject of a cease
and desist order which relates to amateur service operation and which is
still in effect.
(c) At the end of an exchange of international third party
communications, the station must also transmit in the station
identification procedure the call sign of the station with which a third
party message was exchanged.
Transmissions to a different country, where permitted, shall be made in
plain language and shall be limited to messages of a technical nature
relating to tests, and, to remarks of a personal character for which, by
reason of their unimportance, recourse to the public telecommunications
service is not justified.
(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station,
must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end
of each communication, and at least every ten minutes during a
communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the
transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions.
No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit
as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.
(b) The call sign must be transmitted with an emission authorized for
the transmitting channel in one of the following ways:
- (1) By a CW emission. When keyed by an automatic device used only for
identification, the speed must not exceed 20 words per minute;
- (2) By a phone emission in the English language. Use of a standard
phonetic alphabet as an aid for correct station identification is
encouraged;
- (3) By a RTTY emission using a specified digital code when all or part
of the communications are transmitted by a RTTY or data emission;
- (4) By an image emission conforming to the applicable transmission
standards, either color or monochrome, of S 73.682(a) of the FCC Rules when
all or part of the communications are transmitted in the same image
emission; or
- (5) By a CW or phone emission during SS emission transmission on a
narrow bandwidth frequency segment. Alternatively, by the changing of one
or more parameters of the emission so that a conventional CW or phone
emission receiver can be used to determine the station call sign.
(c) An indicator may be included with the call sign. It must be
separated from the call sign by the slant mark or by any suitable word that
denotes the slant mark. If the indicator is self-assigned it must be
included after the call sign and must not conflict with any other indicator
specified by the FCC Rules or with any prefix assigned to another country.
(d) When the operator license class held by the control operator exceeds
that of the station licensee, an indicator consisting of the call sign
assigned to the control operator's station must be included after the call
sign.
(e) When the control operator who is exercising the rights and
privileges authorized by 97.9(b) of this Part, an indicator must be
included after the call sign as follows:
- (1) For a control operator who has requested a license modification
from Novice to Technician Class: KT;
- (2) For a control operator who has requested a license modification
from Novice or Technician Class to General Class: AG;
- (3) For a control operator who has requested a license modification
from Novice, Technician, or General Class operator to Advanced Class: AA;
or
- (4) For a control operator who has requested a license modification
from Novice, Technician, General, or Advanced Class operator to Amateur
Extra Class: AE.
(f) When the station is transmitting under the authority of a reciprocal
permit for alien amateur licensee, an indicator consisting of the
appropriate letter-numeral designating the station location must be
included before the call sign issued to the station by the licensing
country. When the station is transmitting under the authority of an
amateur service license issued by the Government of Canada, a station
location indicator must be included after the call sign. At least once
during each intercommunication, the identification announcement must
include the geographical location as nearly as possible by city and state,
commonwealth or possession.
(a) If the operation of an amateur station causes general interference
to the reception of transmissions from stations operating in the domestic
broadcast service when receivers of good engineering design, including
adequate selectivity characteristics, are used to receive such
transmissions, and this fact is made known to the amateur station licensee,
the amateur station shall not be operated during the hours from 8 p.m. to
10:30 p.m., local time, and on Sunday for the additional period from 10:30
a.m. until 1 p.m., local time, upon the frequency or frequencies used when
the interference is created.
(b) In general, such steps as may be necessary to minimize interference
to stations operating in other services may be required after investigation
by the FCC.