[Spooks] [Fwd: Potentially Damaging News to Radio Hobbyists]

[Dave Emery]

On Wed, Jul 17, 2002 at 06:33:57PM -0400, Vince Werber, North Star Productions RR 2 Box 283 Pittston. Maine 04345-9414 wrote:
> Well to be honest the 'rules' dealing with non-broadcast and non-amateur
> transmission have been in place for years... never enforced but there...
> 
> Here in the States listening or divulging the content of any non-broadcast
> non-amateur transmission is 'illegal'... period.  You're not even suppose
> to indicate that they even exist...
> 

	NOT TRUE... read the ECPA (18 USC 2511).  It is quite legal
to listen to aircraft, ships, unencrypted public safety (police,
fire, EMS, CD etc), governmental radio systems, and in fact any
signal defined as "readily accessible to the general public".  Also
it is specifically legal to listen to CB and GMRS as well as ham
transmissions.

	But it is not legal to listen to cellphones, pagers, wireless
email or any other common carrier provided transmission.  And it is not
legal to listen to cordless phones or private microwave links or certain
studio to transmitter links or remote pickup links for broadcast stations.
And it is not legal to listen to SCA subcarriers or any signal that
is scrambled or encrypted or transmitted in proprietary formats for
privacy purposes.  

	Section 605 of the communications act of 1934 did at one time
forbid interception AND divulgance or use for benefit of radio traffic
except ham and broadcast and CB and GMRS and distress signals, but the
ECPA added language cross referencing 605 to the ECPA so the ECPA list
of signals are perfectly legal under 605 as well and have been since
the ECPA was passed in 1985.
	
	Note that the ECPA bans mere interception - nothing else needed
provided you obtain the contents of the communication, whilst section 605
has never banned mere interception - just interception AND divulgance or
use for benefit.   Thus in the good ole days before the ECPA listening
to any signal at all was legal provided you did not divulge what you
heard or use the information for benefit.  And yes, divulging the existance,
purport or intent of a communication other than ham or broadcast was
illegal - now it is probably illegal only if the communication is 
one of the forbidden ones under the ECPA.


-- 
	Dave Emery N1PRE,  die@die.com  DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass. 
PGP fingerprint = 2047/4D7B08D1 DE 6E E1 CC 1F 1D 96 E2  5D 27 BD B0 24 88 C3 18