[Ares-races] VHF Marine Band question

[Jerry]

I would not want to stand before an administrative judge with my only 
defense being what was written in an ARRL license study guide.

The first radio law in the U.S. was the Wireless Act of 1912.  The 
oldest reference on this specific topic that I found was from the 1920s. 
 As most of us should know, during WW1, all amateur radio transmitters 
and receivers were off the air for the war's duration.  Amateur 
operating privileges were restored on September 26, 1919, under the 
control of the Bureau of Navigation of the Department of Commerce.

Paraphrased from "Fifty Years of ARRL," page 24:
As a result of the work of amateurs in providing emergency 
communications, in 1924 the Commissioner of Navigation announced that 
henceforth, amateur stations would be permitted to use their own 
discretion during times of emergency regarding strict observance of the 
regulations.  This was the beginning of our present understanding to do 
what is necessary in an emergency, worry about the regulations afterward.

Court decisions in 1926 resulted in the Radio Act of 1927, which, for 
the first time in any statute, used the word "amateur."  Control was 
assigned to the newly created Federal Radio Commission, a part of the 
Department of Commerce.  A complete revision of the regulations were 
released on October 1, 1933, and June 1934 saw the creation of the 
Federal Communications Commission, by the Communications Act of 1934.  

I cite this brief history only as background for where we are today with 
Part 97, and general emergency communications provisions, and two 
specific exceptions contained therein.

�97.401 Operation during a disaster.
(a) When normal communication systems are overloaded, damaged or 
disrupted because a disaster has occurred, or is likely to occur, in an 
area where the amateur service is regulated by the FCC, an amateur 
station may make transmissions necessary to meet essential communication 
needs and facilitate relief actions.

�97.403 Safety of life and protection of property.  
No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of 
any means of radiocommunication at its disposal to provide essential 
communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human 
life and immediate protection of property when normal communication 
systems are not available.

�97.405 Station in distress.  
(a) No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station 
in distress of any means at its disposal to attract attention, make 
known its condition and location, and obtain assistance.  
(b) No provision of these rules prevents the use by a station, in the 
exceptional circumstances described in paragraph (a), of any means of 
radiocommunications at its disposal to assist a station in distress.

The specific authorization of amateurs in �97.403 (no provision of the 
rules prevents the use of any means of radiocommunication...) should 
cover any bona fide immediate threat to life or property.  This is 
consistent with the Commissioner of Navagation's 1924 announcement. 
 Under the specific circumstances of these Part 97 sections, if no other 
means were available, I would not hesitate to use any available radio 
communications means at my disposal.

Jerry Reimer
KK5CA




David W. Sexton wrote:

>  I'm not looking to start another firestorm on the subject, but when the
>use of any frequency in a life or property emergency was discussed, I simply
>mentioned that I had read the same thing in my original "Now You're Talking"
>book from ARRL while studying for my original license.
>  On page 4.6 of Chapter 4, the topic of Distress Calls is presented and the
>following statement goes along with what I remember from my previous reading
>of an earlier edition, "In a life or property-threatening emergency, you may
>send a distress call on any frequency, even outside the amateur bands, if
>you think doing so will bring help faster."
>  
>  
>73,
>David AE4YM
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "N4AOF" <n4aof@arrl.net>
>To: "Rick Abbott" <wx9m@charter.net>; <ares-races@mailman.qth.net>
>Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 9:46 AM
>Subject: Re: [Ares-races] VHF Marine Band question
>
>
>>This reply is going to start a firestorm but let me point out that there
>>is NO SUCH THING as "any frequency anywhere is ok in emergency" anywhere
>>in the FCC Rules and Regulations.
>>
>>Each service has its own provisions for emergency operation and most of
>>them do NOT authorize unlicensed operation even in an emergency.
>>
>>There is also a general provision for emergency operations in Part 2,
>>Section 2.405  which covers all licensed services "except amateur,
>>standard broadcast, FM broadcast, noncommercial educational FM
>>broadcast, or television broadcast".  For those services covered by
>>2.405, the authorization is specifically limited to "the licensee..."
>>
>>The idea of "Any frequency anywhere is ok in emergency" is a common ham
>>operator misreading of the emergency operations provision in Part 97 -- 
>>a more accurate reading would be "Any Ham Frequency, by Any Licensed Ham
>>Operator of Any Class, Anywhere Regulated by the FCC" -- NOTHING in Part
>>97 applies to any non-ham frequency.
>>
>>Section 80.47 says "A station may be used for emergency communications
>>when normal communication facilities are disrupted. The Commission may
>>order the discontinuance of any such emergency communication service."
>>
>>73 de N4AOF
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>From: "Rick Abbott" <wx9m@charter.net>
>>To: "Ares-Races@Mailman. Qth. Net (E-mail)" <ares-races@mailman.qth.net>
>>Sent: Monday, November 10, 2003 09:01
>>Subject: [Ares-races] VHF Marine Band question
>>
>>
>>>Hello,
>>>
>>>Our group just picked up a used VHF Marine Radio. I was going to get this up
>>>
>>>and running in our club station which is our backup EOC. The intent
>>>
>>was that we could possibly assist in any emergency that happens on the water.
>>