ARRL statement on the Purpose of Amateur Radio

[CCHLLM]

"As long as there wasn't any monetary gain and the U.S. Capitol rioters ID'd every ten minutes,
I think they're good to go!"

But what if they ordered pizza over the phone patch? Wouldn't that be logistical support for a planned community wide event utilizing amateur radio?

 

[bill4long]

"As long as there wasn't any monetary gain and the U.S. Capitol rioters ID'd every ten minutes,
I think they're good to go!"

But what if they ordered pizza over the phone patch? Wouldn't that be logistical support for a planned community wide event utilizing amateur radio?

Interesting question. Do you (or anyone else) have any case law that addresses this?

 

[AK9R]

But what if they ordered pizza over the phone patch?

Ah, yes, the old "use the phone patch to order pizza" red herring. Using amateur radio to contact a business is not prohibited under Part 97 as long as you are not an employee of the business being contacted.

 

[DeoVindice]

I found this old thread from 2016. It documents activities that might have prompted the FCC's friendly reminder to not use radios in crimes.

Militia Radio Frequencies

The militia-patriot movement in America has embraced radio communications in a big way. Within the past decade, the methods and communications gear have evolved from basic CB or FRS radios, to now …

radiofreeq.wordpress.com

After reading that article, it is abundantly clear to me that its author did not grasp the nuances of the P25 report he linked.

 

[CCHLLM]

The pizza ordering subject has been around for decades and has been discussed to death over and over, but nobody here had brought it up yet. Just couldn't resist the urge.

Anyway, the public is so ignorant of amateur radio and the terminology "amateur radio" and "ham radio" that all you can expect from them after more than 10 words is a blank stare and Cheyne-Stokes mouth breathing. I have even been asked if I have HD video when I'm doing my "radio blog thing", and how can they get the app so they can watch it and see if it's any good.

Yep.

One of my neighbors has a son who is a recent college graduate, and the son attended the melee in DC, but wasn't part of the Capitol Bashing. He has seen the antennas on my car and was asking about them last week, so I tried explaining a little about amateur radio. That conversation revealed that Ashton Kutcher was obviously his English professor, that he has absolutely no grasp of the English language, and that he has never heard of ham radio.

I covertly recorded part of it. Couldn't resist that either.

Sample from the recording: "OK, so, like, Dude, what's the, like, point if, like, there's, like, no video?"





.....But he does have a college degree......,Dude....

 

[ChrisABQ]

I think everyone is missing the real point. Since the change of administration on the 20th, you are seeing less national security, less support for the American people, more illegals entering the country, less dedication to national defense, less freedom of speech, more erasing of our national history, more laws restricting the 2nd amendment freedoms, basically an outright attack on America and the weakening of it's people. Of course, they are going to attack amateur radio, it's another freedom to take away and continue to the breakdown of our society. They have NO proof and they DON'T need it. What they say is then the reality, we are all terrorists and bad people that must be stopped.

 

[ladn]

....But he does have a college degree......,Dude....

Probably the same kid who got a "participation trophy" for showing up at Little League or a lollipop for peeing in the toilet without hitting the wall.

 

[AK9R]

Folks, let's leave the politics out of this.

Allow me to summarize where we are with this:

• We have seen photos/videos of various demonstrators, protesters, and/or rioters showing that they are carrying what appear to be handheld radios.
• We generally do not know if any of the people in these photos/videos are licensed amateur radio operators.
• We generally accept that most people in the news media do not know the difference between the various radio services where handheld radios are used. They usually aren't interested in the fine distinctions between these services and are likely to lump us all in one basket.
• We are aware that the FCC issued a reminder that using the various personal radio services, including amateur radio, to facilitate a criminal act is a violation of FCC rules. In the case of amateur radio, it's §97.113(a)(4).
• Given all of the above, it seems that the ARRL saw fit to distance themselves from any real or perceived illegal or non-compliant use of amateur radio by making a general statement about the purpose of amateur radio.

I think that's all this amounts to. The ARRL decided to cover their arses in light of news media suggesting that amateur radio was being used during the U.S. Capitol riots. I doubt that the news media or the general public will care and they will continue with jumping to their own conclusions.

 

[CCHLLM]

See above.

 

[k6cpo]

Folks, let's leave the politics out of this.

Allow me to summarize where we are with this:

• We have seen photos/videos of various demonstrators, protesters, and/or rioters showing that they are carrying what appear to be handheld radios.
• We generally do not know if any of the people in these photos/videos are licensed amateur radio operators.
• We generally accept that most people in the news media do not know the difference between the various radio services where handheld radios are used. They usually aren't interested in the fine distinctions between these services and are likely to lump us all in one basket.
• We are aware that the FCC issued a reminder that using the various personal radio services, including amateur radio, to facilitate a criminal act is a violation of FCC rules. In the case of amateur radio, it's §97.113(a)(4).
• Given all of the above, it seems that the ARRL saw fit to distance themselves from any real or perceived illegal or non-compliant use of amateur radio by making a general statement about the purpose of amateur radio.

I think that's all this amounts to. The ARRL decided to cover their arses in light of news media suggesting that amateur radio was being used during the U.S. Capitol riots. I doubt that the news media or the general public will care and they will continue with jumping to their own conclusions.

This being a succinct evaluation of the reasoning behind the ARRL statement, can we close this thread now?