CB operator gets a violation notice for illegal equipment

Before the

Federal Communications Commission

Washington, D.C. 20554

In the Matter of )

)

Sammy Zeigler ) File No. EB-07-AT-176

)

Coosada, Alabama ) NOV No. V20073248010

)

)

NOTICE OF VIOLATION

Released: September 28, 2007

By the District Director, Atlanta Office, South Central Region,
Enforcement Bureau:

1. This is a Notice of Violation ("Notice") issued pursuant to Section
1.89 of the Commission's Rules to Sammy Zeigler, operator of a
Citizen's Band ("CB") radio station in Coosada, Alabama.

2. On August 29, 2007, agents of the Commission's Atlanta Office of the
Enforcement Bureau inspected the CB radio station located in your
residence in Coosada, Alabama. The FCC agents observed the following
violation(s):

47 C.F.R. S: 95.409: You must use an FCC certificated CB transmitter at
your CB station. The agents observed two non-certificated Amateur Radio
Service transmitters that had been modified to operate on CB frequencies
and were capable of operating with 90 watts carrier power installed in
your CB radio station.

3. Pursuant to Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended,3 and Section 1.89 of the Commission's Rules, you must submit
a written statement concerning this matter within twenty (20) days of
release of this Notice. The response must fully explain each
violation, must contain a statement of the specific action(s) taken to
correct each violation and preclude recurrence, and should include a
time line for completion of pending corrective action(s). The response
must be complete in itself and signed by you. All replies and
documentation sent in response to this Notice should be marked with
the File No. and NOV No. specified above, and mailed to the following
address:

Federal Communications Commission

Atlanta Office

3575 Koger Blvd, Suite 320

Duluth, GA 30096

4. This Notice shall be sent to your address of record.

5. The Privacy Act of 19744 requires that we advise you that the
Commission will use all relevant material information before it,
including any information disclosed in your reply, to determine what,
if any, enforcement action is required to ensure compliance. Any false
statement made knowingly and willfully in reply to this Notice is
punishable by fine or imprisonment under Title 18 of the U.S. Code.5

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION

Douglas G. Miller

District Director

Atlanta District Office

South Central Region

Enforcement Bureau

47 C.F.R. S: 1.89.

Section 95.410 of the Commission's Rules states that CB station
transmitter output power must not exceed 4 watts carrier power. 47 C.F.R.
S: 95.410.

3 47 U.S.C. S: 308(b).

4 P.L. 93-579, 5 U.S.C. S: 552a(e)(3).

5 18 U.S.C. S: 1001 et seq.

Federal Communications Commission

2

Federal Communications Commission

 

I checked to see if the gentleman had a callsign. None came up on QRZ. It is pretty common to find CBers operating illegal equipment. That is a lot of FCC's own fault due the the lack of proper enforcement in past years. The numbers of hams who violate the rules of their service are FAR fewer than that of CB because they are better regulated. Their locations, addresses and other data is recorded. CBers don't have to provide this infomation on a regular basis like the hams do. Sure, there are a FEW people who violate the rules, but, then, there are more than one kind of violation. There are technical violations such as equipment that malfunctions, accidental operations, and disputes that FCC sometimes gets involved in, and there are intentional rule violations of which the operator likely knows he is doing. Remember: don't think they can't FIND you just because you don't have to give them information or because you are mobile! This is the computer age, folks, and the equipment these FCC fellas have is simply awesome!

So what is going on NOW? Why is FCC going after people, and why CBers when, a few years ago, somebody practically had to smack FCC's faces to get a "ticket"? Time was, the public had a genuine FEAR of FCC and followed the rules. Then, attitudes changed. People became more willing to test the waters. As the FCC began to retreat due to funding reductions and some mistaken philosophies, CB operators began to expand their operations and their willingness to break the law. Each time they got away with it, the more they expanded their illegal acts. "Freebanding,"
so-called "extra channels" and more and more power--all combined to make CB less and less useful. The less useful it became, the more the users increased their power, the less useful it became.......and so on. It was treated like an appliance because the people weren't actually qualified, didn't really know what they were doing, and it just got worse and worse! Finally, the "export" radio came along and the outlaws made a mistake! They strayed up into the Amateur bands, 10 Meters being the most frequently violated band. This band IS active, contrary to the "freeband" mentality, and when the licensed operators began to hear the unlicensed people up there, they went ballistic! FCC responded to their pressure and appointed a Special Counsel for Amateur Enforcement whose job it was to clean up the internal ham violations AND go after the CB operators that were filching the bands. He went after the rogue ham operators, and they deserved the attention, btw, removing licenses, fining some, then went after the unlicensed operators who were operating on those frequencies illegally. These people even LAUGHED; after all, FCC hadn't bothered them before, and they weren't worried! Then........
companies started getting warning letters about their drivers operating on the 10 Meter band. Suddenly, it wasn't funny anymore!

Then 9/11 happened. All government agencies got more funding--including FCC. Their job is to protect all radio spectrum, and in this time, they discovered just how bad the problem had become! If they didn't act against the illegal operators and the dealers of the illegal radios, they'd find their operations moving ever farther afield. Additionally, the Dallas Field Office, FCC, was tasked with the job of going after the dealers and regular CBers who violate the rules.

Some CBers still are defiant, denying that FCC will ever come after THEM! But more and more, people are finding out that they CAN get hit with warnings and fines. Imagine the surprise they have when the agent shows up!

The only 'safe' course is to use a legal CB setup and STAY inside the legal 40 channels. There is NO such thing as a "freeband" and no "extra" channels!



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