FCC reminds licencee that all
amateur frequencies are shared
FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth has reminded
a New Jersey radio amateur that all frequencies in the Amateur Service
are shared. Hollingsworth included the advice in a Warning Notice to Irwin
L. Richardt, W2VJZ, in response to complaints from other 75-meter AM operators.
Hollingsworth in July asked Richardt to respond to a complaint alleging,
among other things, that Richardt would not relinquish the "AM window"
(3885 kHz) or let others use the frequency unless he was included in the
conversation. Hollingsworth called Richardt's response to the complaint
"unacceptable."
"We have reviewed your response as well as tape recordings submitted
with the complaint," Hollingsworth said in the October 22 Warning
Notice. He told Richardt that it was "absolutely irrelevant"
under the Amateur Service rules how long he had been licensed or how many
hours a day he
spent monitoring or using the frequency.
"None of that makes a frequency 'your frequency,'" Hollingsworth
said, adding that all amateur licensees have the same rights to any given
frequency as Richardt does.
The primary complainant has alleged that Richardt exhibits "eccentric"
and "offensive" behavior on the air, occasionally leaving his
AM transmitter keyed while he does other tasks around his house. Another
radio amateur said W2VJZ continues to attempt to contact him even though
he's made it clear he doesn't wish to speak with Richardt.
Referring to his ham station as "my electronic printing press,"
Richardt asserted in his July 28 response to the FCC that he's been "a
victim of vicious radio jamming for well over one quarter of a century."
He also claimed to have once discovered a "jamming transmitter"
hidden in nearby woods. In addition, Richardt accused another station
of transmitting
"filthy lies and language" when he (Richardt) was in QSO with
his friends in July.
Hollingsworth said if incidents "such as those outlined in the complaint"
recur, the FCC will initiate enforcement actions that could include fines,
license revocation or both.
Source: ARRL Letter - courtesy of The
American Radio Relay League
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