[FADCA] FLORIDA HAMS AT RISK OF ARREST FOR INTERFERENCE

Thu Dec 8 07:19:08 EST 2005

NEWS -

FLORIDA HAMS AT RISK OF ARREST FOR INTERFERENCE -

On Feb 25, 2005 the American Radio Relay League ("ARRL") filed with  the
Commission, a Request for Declaratory Ruling asking that the Florida  radio
interference ("RFI") law (Florida Statute 877.27) be made null and void  by
the FCC invoking federal preemption. You can read the ARRL filing at  their
website -
_http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/01/4/?nc=1_ 
(http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/01/4/?nc=1) 

You can help Florida hams strike down this law at the FCC by asking  that
the FCC (WTB) rule quickly and decisively on the above Request  for
Declaratory Ruling, filed by the ARRL, since we hams feel we are in  peril,
due to this ill-conceived and overly broad and vague Florida  law.  The ARRL
filing made it exceedingly clear that States have no  jurisdiction in this
matter, only the federal government (FCC).

With this Florida law receiving more and more publicity, it is just  a
matter of time until someone calls their local police on an  interference
complaint against a ham radio operator.  In the past, such  an interference
complaint could be ably handled by trained FCC personnel,  equipped to
determine if the ham's equipment was clean and operating within  the rules.
Now, under this Florida "RFI" law, someone can merely call their  local
police or sheriff's department, and the ham radio operator would  be
arrested, booked and charged with a third-degree felony, which carries  a
penalty of five-years in jail and up to a $500,000 fine!  "RFI"  matters
simply cannot be left up to a local police department. They  lack
jurisdiction. We all need to tell the FCC that to wait until an  innocent
ham radio operator is arrested, to test the law in court,  is  UNACCEPTABLE
to the ham radio community. Already there is talk of other  states, like New
Jersey, implementing their own similar radio interference  laws. Before
long, every State will have their own radio laws, if this  Florida law is
left to stand.

Here is a recent example of how this Florida law has already gotten out  of
hand and abused an innocent citizen. A Florida used car dealer is  innocent
but yet pled guilty to a lesser crime just "to get it over with",  according
to his attorney.  Today a used car dealer is abused by this  horrible law,
tomorrow it could be a ham radio operator!

This article from the Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper shows what I  
mean.
South Florida Sun - Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Nov 24, 2005.  
pg. 3.B

Eight months after being charged with broadcasting an unauthorized  radio
transmission -- a felony -- a Palm Beach Gardens man pleaded  guilty
Wednesday to a lesser charge.
The Federal Communications Commission  and Lake Worth police began
investigating in February after someone reported  picking up a rogue
broadcast on their radio, according to Assistant State  Attorney Tim
Beckwith. The radio pirate broadcast two underground Haitian  music
stations, according to officials.
Authorities charged the owner of  the tower, Panagiotis Frangiskakis, 46,
but were unable to locate the person  who was pirating the signal. The tower
that was used to transmit the signal  had been erected years before by a cab
company that used it to dispatch  drivers, Beckwith said. Frangiskakis owns
a used car lot in Lake Worth on the  same property where the tower stood
before it was destroyed as part of the  negotiated plea agreement.
The other terms of the plea to a misdemeanor  charge of attempted unlawful
transmission or interference with a radio  station approved by Circuit Judge
Jorge Labarga included a year of probation  and 25 hours of community
service. Frangiskakis also will make two donations  of $1,425 each to the
communications department at the Dreyfoos School of the  Arts and the
nonprofit American Music Conference in Carlsbad, Calif. The  amount equals
what Frangiskakis collected in rent from the person who pirated  the radio
signal.
"[Frangiskakis] is a businessman and someone wanted to  use his tower,"
defense attorney Scott Richardson said. "He leased it to him  and he wasn't
aware they didn't have an FCC license. The person who really  should be
prosecuted is the person operating an illegal radio station.  Mr.
Frangiskakis agreed to plead guilty just to get it behind him."
Though  it has long been illegal to operate a radio station without an FCC
license,  the 2004 law under which Frangiskakis was charged is a broader
statute that  makes it illegal to enable someone to do so, Richardson said.
Had  Frangiskakis been convicted as charged, he faced a five-year prison
term and  a $500,000 fine. The FCC has investigated about 500 similar cases
throughout  South Florida, Beckwith said, though most were in Miami-Dade and
Broward  counties. He said Frangiskakis' is the first known local
prosecution since  the law was enacted last year.
According to Beckwith, the concerns about  pirated signals are three-fold:
the signal could interfere with air traffic  controllers, it could affect
radio signals used by law enforcement during  hostage negotiations and it is
a crime to steal a licensed station's air  space. (End of Article)

You can help Florida hams avoid arrest by sending an email to the  Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau at the FCC and telling them that the ARRL  Request
for Declaratory Ruling to make this Florida law null and void should  be
granted immediately. Send your email to: (WTB) Public Safety &  Critical
Infrastructure Division (PSCID)
Michael Wilhelm/ Division  Chief
His email address is:
_Michael.Wilhelm at fcc.gov_ (mailto:Michael.Wilhelm at fcc.gov) 

Think about it .....
A: Because it messes up the order in which people  normally read text.
Q: Why is top-posting such a bad thing?
A:  Top-posting.
Q: What is the most annoying thing on usenet and in  e-mail?

73, Bill Sinbine
_n4xeo at bellsouth.net_ (mailto:n4xeo at bellsouth.net)  

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Here are some more references to this item:

_http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/press_releases/20050701_Pirate_Radio.html_ 
(http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/press_releases/20050701_Pirate_Radio.html) 

_http://election.dos.state.fl.us/laws/04laws/ch_2004-058.pdf_ 
(http://election.dos.state.fl.us/laws/04laws/ch_2004-058.pdf) 

_http://www.qsl.net/k4brc/main.htm_ (http://www.qsl.net/k4brc/main.htm) 

_http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/01/4/FloridaRFIStatuteDeclaratoryRul
ing.pdf_ 
(http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/03/01/4/FloridaRFIStatuteDeclaratoryRuling.pdf) 