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 Previous: Surfin': Repeater Help Online |  Next: FCC Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending April 16, 2005 |
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 18, 2005--The FCC Enforcement Bureau has referred two Amateur Radio Service applications to the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) for hearings because of enforcement-related issues. If they agree to go forward with the formal proceedings, Yuriy Ryabinin, W3MMM (ex-KC2LLM)/UR5DEM, of Brooklyn, New York, and Thomas A. Lynch Jr, K6COL, of Los Altos, California, would have to appear in separate sessions before an administrative law judge (ALJ) in Washington, DC. The ALJ would rely on hearing testimony in determining how the FCC should dispose of the respective pending applications. Ryabinin has applied to upgrade from Tech Plus to General, while Lynch is seeking to renew his General ticket.
"It is apparent that you either do not have a sufficient understanding of Commission rules or are disregarding Commission rules," FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth told Ryabinin and Lynch in separate letters March 11 and March 16, respectively.
Issues involving Ryabinin's amateur operation in the US attracted the FCC's attention in 2003, when the Commission notified him regarding his alleged operation during contests on frequencies not available to him as a Technician class licensee. The FCC accepted Ryabinin's November 2003 explanation that he was confused about the privileges available to him in the US under his Ukraine licensee. Because Ryabinin is a US citizen and already holds an FCC Amateur Service license, the Commission reminded him in January 2004, he does not enjoy reciprocal operating privileges in the US and must operate under the privileges his US licenses allows.
Ryabinin passed the General examination in March 2004 and submitted an upgrade application. The FCC last June notified him that it was reviewing his application as a result of information that Ryabinin had submitted logs showing he'd operated outside of his Tech Plus privileges five times during the 2003 ARRL 10-Meter Contest.
Responding last July to the FCC inquiry, Ryabinin again pleaded a mistaken understanding of the rules and "fatigue during competition," and said he would not repeat the errors. Hollingsworth said Ryabinin's explanations of the rule violations were "not acceptable," however.
Hollingsworth further noted that the ARRL last October disqualified Ryabinin's single-operator, low-power entry for the ARRL International DX Contest (CW), in which Ryabinin operated as KF0R, then issued to the DX Venture Club of New York City. Whether or not Ryabinin operated under the direction of a qualified control operator, Hollingsworth said, he apparently violated FCC Amateur Service rules. If a qualified control op was present, Hollingsworth pointed out, Ryabinin violated FCC rules by making numerous contacts with countries with which the US does not have a third-party traffic agreement. If Ryabinin claims to have operated solo, then he exceeded the limitations of his Tech Plus license. Ryabinin obtained W3MMM via the vanity call sign program in April 2004.
In Lynch's case, Hollingsworth noted complaints dating back about a year regarding alleged interference, as well as at least one instance of operating outside the his General class privileges. "Your responses have been inadequate," Hollingsworth said, adding that monitoring information "continues to show your apparently deliberate interference" on 40-meter SSB, including complaints as recent as February 2005.
Lynch's license expired March 28, 2005. Since he filed a timely renewal application, he will be permitted to continue operating until the FCC makes a decision on whether to grant his application.
At some point, the WTB is expected to issue a Hearing Designation Order to each licensee. Hollingsworth noted that the burden of proof in such hearings is on the applicant, not the FCC. In the meantime, Hollingsworth warned both licensees, fines for any violations such as out-of-band operation or deliberate interference normally range from $4000 to $7500.
In an unrelated action, Hollingsworth wrote Justin L. Whaley, KC9DCP, that his two-year license forfeiture was over on March 28, 2005. A Technician licensee, Whaley had been accused of interfering with a police department radio system on numerous occasions in early 2003. To resolve the matter, Whaley agreed to relinquish his license for two years. He also agreed not to maintain a ham station and not to use any other amateur station during the forfeiture period.
| Previous: Surfin': Repeater Help Online | Next: FCC Enforcement Letters for the Period Ending April 16, 2005 |
