rescuecomm
Member
Does having the front panel programming turned on void the type approval? I know that some Motorola and Icom handhelds have a way to enable this, but it appears the function was intended for radio techs.
Bob
Bob
FPP was designed for wildland firefighting for federal fire agencies.
And it's amazing how well it works. Give a group who needs interoperability the knowledge to program correctly, and radios capable of it, and they can talk to each other!! Granted, it's usually conventional systems, limited for the most part to one band (VHF-Hi), but it's a very successful model.
Alternatively, you can issue whiz-bang radios with all kinds of capabilities, keep the knowledge of how to really use them away from the end user, and it doesn't matter what fancy interoperability channels you have programmed in, nobody can talk to anybody.
There were FPP mobiles on the market back in the '80's. I had a Wilson that did that. I don't believe the function was created exclusively for one purpose. FPP was originally the only way that some radios could be programmed. It could be disabled with an internal jumper to supposedly prevent the user from programming but giving the techs and easy way to do so. That stuff was pulled off the market pretty quickly when folks learned about the jumper and started programming in frequencies that they should not be using.FPP was designed for wildland firefighting for federal fire agencies.
100% not true. If you buy a radio from Motorola with Q52 FPP it has the same FCC ID. It has no affect at all.
Nowadays I dont see the hype about FPP. Its not like it used to be when part 90 radio was somewhat restricted on what the avearage joe shmo could do as far as programming goes. Today, we have multi band radios on amazon selling for 35 dollars with free programming software. That parents buy for their kids as walkie talkies and just type in any old frequency... Sad, but true.
What? Are you kidding? Its still illegal. In Part 90, and in fact, in any of the parts covered by most off the shelf radios (except MURS and FRS) you MUST have a license to transmit. You CANNOT have an FPP capable radio in any radio service except Part 97 or services covered by NTIA. Fed Gov and Amateur are all that are exempt from the FPP rules. That is the 'hype'. You the operator are responsible for whatever you program or allow to be programmed into a radio you own. If any parent is foolish enough to buy their kids a two way radio and just 'type in any old frequency' then woe be unto them when the guy with the itty bitty badge from the FCC shows up.
There is a very good reason the FCC does not sanction front panel programmable radios. I don't either, it makes me nervous. Its bad enough when I see some fire department guy attempting to program his departments radios 'because the chief told me to', let alone some doofus who just bought one off eBay and wants to talk to the 'po-po'.
There have no changes to what the 'average Joe Schmoe' can do on Part 90 as far as programming is concerned. NOTHING has changed except the amount of the fines has gone up by a factor of 10. The FCC has only changed the focus of responsibility from the programmer/service shop to the licensee. But there still is plenty of precedence where the FCC has held the service shop liable, too.