[Elecraft] [K3] CE Marking, Update Software

[David Woolley]

Julian G4ILO wrote:
> bands permitted in the destination country. There is nothing to stop
> anyone constructing a transmitter that can transmit on any frequency,
> therefore it is illogical to restrict a kit simply because the design
> has the capability to do so.

But, on my reading of admittedly confusing wording [A], that is what the 
UK amateur radio licence does do so for use by Foundation licensees.  It 
doesn't, in itself, restrict possession [B], or construction.

Whilst constructing a transceiver probably isn't illegal for an 
unlicensed user, there are many things that require relatively limited 
technology (firearms, drugs) that are illegal even to produce without a 
licence, that may have very limited issue.

> 
> Such restrictions interfere with the ability of operators who wish to
> take their radios abroad to operate in countries where different

Only full licence holders can do this without getting an independent 
licence from the foreign country.

> limits apply. They also restrict the ability to use radios to generate
> low levels of RF on other frequencies for test purposes, e.g. as a
> stable signal generator.
> 
> Of course, where countries impose import restrictions on built
> equipment that require such restrictions there is nothing that can be
> done about it. But why enforce limitations where they are not

Whilst one would need to consult a lawyer to be sure of the actual legal 
position, which may well have a loop hole, I don't think the amateur 
radio kit exemption to the CE marking rule was ever intended to cover 
the K3 case.  It was intended to cover the case where actual compliance 
is, to a significant extent, dependent on the builder.  One of the K3 
kit's selling points is that this is not the case.  I think it also 
exists because the self training element of amateur radio is considered 
desirable, and learning the ability to create something compliant from 
parts which are not intrinsically compliant is part of that self 
training.  Being able to assemble an Ikea book case doesn't really make 
you a trainee cabinet maker.

If there is a loop hole, it is better that Elecraft not exploit it 
because exploited loopholes generally get closed in the next round of 
legislation after the legislators become aware of them.

> required? Back when I was first licensed, analogue VFOs were not able
> to be strictly confined within the licensed band, and operators were
> expected to use a crystal calibrator to ensure that they stayed within

Back when you were first licensed, there was no Foundation licence.

[A] The current licence restricts kits constructed by Foundation users 
to those which "satisfy" the interface definition for amateur radio 
equipment for CE marking purposes.  As that definition is just a 
schedule of frequencies, etc., like that in the back of the licence, not 
a statement of requirements, one has to try and work out what the, 
presumably junior, drafter actually intended.

Especially if one considers earlier versions of the licence, which don't 
rely on references to external documents, I believe that the intent is 
that the only allowed kits for that class of licence are those which are 
designed to be incapable of operating outside the parameters in the 
interface definition.

The 2003 version of the Foundation Licence 
<http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/ra/publication/ra_info/br68f/br68f.htm>uses 
the following wording, which clearly indicates the kit must be designed 
for amateur bands only use:

  4(1) The Licensee shall only use transmitting equipment conforming
       to EC standards *or commercially available kits transmitting
       inside amateur bands only*.

(I believe there is a legal principle that every word counts, so the 
"inside amateur bands only" must refer to the kits, not the operation, 
as that restriction is imposed on operation elsewhere in the licence 
(2(1)a).)

I believe the "satisfy IR 2028" part of the current licence is an 
attempt by someone at a more formal definition of the amateur bands only 
requirement.

[B] I think the Wireless Telegraphy Act may restrict possession with 
intent to use, but I doubt that many cases are brought - if they are it 
is probably more likely for radar detectors, or when some other 
equipment was proven to be used illegally.  (See 
<http://www.legislation.gov.uk/acts/en2003/03en21-h.htm> for an indirect 
reference.)  One presumes that the intent being to do so only after 
upgrading the licence would be a valid defence.

I am not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice.


-- 
David Woolley
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