[HCDX]: FCC cracks enforcement whip

["Bill Harms" <wharms@xxxxxxxxx>]

This was received by Bill Harms from RAFMAN on the SWL IRC room.  
Special thanks to RAFMAN.

 SB QST ARL ARLB091
ARLB091 FCC cracks enforcement whip

 The FCC has begun to crack its amateur enforcement whip. A New Jersey
 ham has been ordered off 40 meters until further FCC notice after
 allegedly causing interference to the ANARC Net on 7.240 MHz October
 18. The FCC also issued an Official Notice of Violation October 21
 against James C. Thompson, KA2YBP, of Waretown, New Jersey.

 Thompson, 58, was accused by FCC inspectors of illegally
 retransmitting programs from a Standard Broadcast (AM  wilfully
 interfering with the amateur net. The FCC also charged Thompson with
 failing to properly identify. It's the Commission's first amateur
 enforcement action since the FCC announced it would consolidate
 amateur enforcement within the Compliance and Information Bureau
 under the coordination of Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, the CIB's legal
 advisor for enforcement. Hollingsworth said the FCC acted in the
 Thompson case on complaints from amateurs, but FCC inspectors did all
 the legwork. The Notice of Violation says FCC representatives
 conducted an inspection of  Thompson's station on the morning of
 October 18. ''From approximately  9:39 to 10:00 AM EDT, the licensee
 of station KA2YBP retransmitted  programs from a Standard Broadcast
 station, broadcasting on 1450  kHz, to Amateur Radio Service
 frequency 7.240 MHz,'' the Notice said. FCC officials found an AM
 receiver ''positioned adjacent to the  Amateur station's microphone
 and tuned to 1450 kHz,'' the FCC said.  Hollingsworth said two FCC
 officials found an AM receiver ''positioned adjacent to the  Amateur
 station's microphone and tuned to 1450 kHz,'' the FCC said. 
 Hollingsworth said two FCC inspectors caught Thompson red-handed and 
 that he admitted being the culprit. Hollingsworth said FCC personnel 
 used a combination of long-range and local monitoring and tracking 
 to zero in on Thompson's QTH as the source of the interfering 
 signal. Thompson has 10 days to respond to the notice and provide
 ''specific  action taken to correct the conditions observed above.''

 Hollingsworth said he expects to have some additional amateur 
 enforcement cases develop as a result of calls to the Amateur 
 Enforcement Line, 202-418-1184.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a message from "Bill Harms" <wharms@xxxxxxxxx>
to hard-core-dx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx list. To unsubscribe the list, send
"unsubscribe hard-core-dx" in mail body to majordomo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
For more information, please check http://www.iki.fi/rko/hard-core-dx/
or email Risto Kotalampi, risto@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
------------------------------------------------------------------------