W3BE'S BE Informed!
Number 1
 

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BE INFORMED No. 1.

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W3BE CHECKLISTS

John B. Johnston, W3BE

Use these checklists duties before causing or allowing a station to transmit on our amateur service frequencies.

Your station licensee duties

   Make certain that your station license grant as shown on the FCC ULS consolidated license database has your correct name and mailing address in the United States.  Section 97.23.   This does not apply to stations authorized for alien reciprocal authorization.  Sections 97.5(c), (d), and (e).

  Maintain physical control of your station.  You do not have to own the station apparatus, but at all times you must supervise access to, and the use of, your station apparatus.  Section 97.5(a).  When your station control is by telecommand, protect it against making, willfully or negligently, unauthorized transmissions.  Section 97.213(c). 

 

  Select your station location.  Section 97.5(a).  It is authorized to transmit from practically anywhere the FCC regulates our amateur service.  You do not have to own or lease the property where your station is located.  Do not locate your station within one mile of an FCC monitoring facility.  Section 97.13(b).  Read BE Informed No. 59.

   In ITU Region 2, the FCC regulates our amateur services within the territorial limits of the 50 United States, District of Columbia, Caribbean Insular areas [Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, United States Virgin Islands (50 islets and cays) and Navassa Island], and Johnston Island (Islets East, Johnston, North and Sand) and Midway Island (Islets Eastern and Sand) in the Pacific Insular areas.  In ITU Region 3, the FCC regulates within the Pacific Insular territorial limits of American Samoa, Baker Island, Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, Guam Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Island and Wake Island.  Your station may operate in ITU Regions 1, 2 and 3 on or over the high seas in areas where the service is not regulated by a foreign government or by an agency of the U.S. Government other than the FCC.  See Appendix 1 to Part 97. 

  Notify the FAA and register with the FCC when your station antenna structure is located near a heliport or public-use airport or exceeds 200 feet above ground level at its site. Follow the notification and registration procedures specified in Part 17. 

   Section 17.7(b) describes an imaginary surface above which notification and registration are required.  It extends outward and upward at one of the following slopes: For a heliport, the slope is 25:1 for a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet from the nearest landing and takeoff area.  For a small airport (longest runway length no more than 3,200 feet), the slope is 50 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 10,000 feet from the nearest point on the nearest runway.  For a large airport (any runway length more than 3,200 feet), the slope is 100 to 1 for a horizontal distance of 20,000 feet from the nearest point on the nearest runway. 

  Provide at least one control point for your station.  Section 97.109(a).

  Designate your station control operator.  Section 97.103(b).  The FCC will presume that you are your station’s control operator, unless there is documentation to the contrary in your station records. 

  Provide a radio or wire line control link from its control point to your station when it is being remotely controlled.  Section 97.213.  Incorporate provisions to limit transmissions to three minutes should your control link fail.  Section 97.213(b).  Post at your station a copy of your station license and a label with information on how you and your station control operator can be reached. Section 97.213(d).

  When your station is capable of being remotely controlled, protect its control link from being misused to make unauthorized transmissions.

  Make certain that your station is being operated in compliance with FCC rules.  Section 97.103(a).  Configure and operate your station depending upon your interests, your resources, your ingenuity and your good judgment.  Your station may transmit in a multi-station system.  The FCC does pre-approve systems in the amateur services. 

  Provide a means for your station to transmit its identification announcements properly.  Section 97.119 and Section 97.115(c) and (d).  Read BE Informed No. 14. 

   Determine the PEP input to your station antenna for each frequency band where your station will transmit.  Where the PEP exceeds that listed in Section 97.12(c)(1), reduce it suitably or perform the routine RF environmental evaluation prescribed by Section 1.1307(b).   Take action to prevent the radiated fields created by your station from exceeding the limits for exposure to humans.   

   Obtain approval from the master of the ship or pilot in command of the aircraft on which you intend to install your station.  Section 97.11(a). Make certain that that your station complies with the interference requirements in Section 97.11(b) and the hazard provisions in Section 97.11(c).

  Maintain your station’s records.  Include a copy of your license grant as shown on the FCC ULS consolidated license database, your license grant document, your control operator designation records, your RF environmental determinations and evaluations, such records as may be required by a FCC representative, instructions from the FCC and other documents relating to your station’s operation.  

□  Make your station and its records available for inspection by a FCC representative. Section 97.103(c).

Your control operator duties

   Your class of operator license grant determines your operating privileges.  Although it is issued together with your primary station license grant, it is a separate authorization.  Sections 97.509(e) and 97.23.

   Before causing of allowing the station to transmit, make certain that YOU: 

  Are designated to be the control operator by the station licensee.  Section 97.103(c).

  Are situated at the station’s control point while it is being locally or remotely controlled.  Section 97.109(b). 

  Select the station’s transmitting channel from those frequency bands authorized to your class of operator license.  Section 97.301.  

□  Cooperate in selecting transmitting channels and in making the most effective use of the amateur service frequencies Section 97.101(b).

  Monitor reception for activity on each channel before causing or allowing the station to transmit thereon.  Read BE Informed No. 30  OTA5 

  Observe all frequency sharing requirements for the band on which the station is transmitting.  Section 97.303. 

   Select the emission type from those authorized for the transmitting channel. Section 97.305. 

□  Make your channel and emission selections such that the transmissions do not cause interference to any radio communication or signal. Section 97.101(d).

   Prevent the station from transmitting on any channel being used by stations engaged in providing emergency communications.  Section 97.101(c).

  Make certain the station identification announcement is performed properly.  Section 97.119.  At the end of an exchange of international third party communications, make certain the station also transmits in the station identification announcement the call sign of the station with which a third party message was exchanged.  Section 97.115(d).  

  Make certain the station makes no prohibited transmission.  Section 97.113.  Read BE Informed No. 3.

□  Make certain the station does not transmit any message on behalf of a third party to any station within the jurisdiction of any foreign government whose administration has not made arrangements with the United States to allow such third party communications.  Section 97.115.  This prohibition does not apply to a message for any third party who is eligible to be the control operator of the station nor when transmitting emergency or disaster relief communications.

  Decide whether or not the third party is eligible to participate in station his or her message.  Section 97.115(b).  If not ineligible, decide whether or not to allow the third party to participate in stating his or her third party message.  Section 97.115(b).  If you decide to allow the third party to participate in stating his or her third party message, be present at the control point and continuously monitor and supervise the third party’s participation.      

  Make certain the station does not intercommunicate with a station in a foreign country whose government has given notice that it objects to such intercommunications.  Section 97.111(a)(1).

  Make certain the station’s transmissions to a station in a foreign country are limited to communications incidental to the purposes of the amateur service and to remarks of a personal character.  Section 97.117.      

  When participating in a message forwarding system, stop your station from forwarding any communications that violate the rules in Part 97, once you become aware of their presence.  Section 97.219. 

   When the station is the first forwarding station in the system, make certain that communications are accepted from only stations whose identity you have authenticated.  Section 97.219. 

  Make certain the station transmits in accordance with and good engineering and good amateur practice.  Section 97.101(a) and BE Informed No. 30.

  Make certain the station uses the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired communications.  Section 97.313(a).

NOTE:  In Section 97.303(h)(1) , it says that in the 60 m band, amateur operators shall ensure that their emissions do not occupy more than 2.8 kHz centered on each center frequency. 

January 1, 2012

Supersedes all prior editions

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