As most of you know, there has been some question as to the legality
of Roger Beeps on CB radio. Some have claimed that they are legal,
while others have had some doubts. There are no FCC rules which
specifically allow them, and very few radios come equipped with them.

The banter back and forth has not resolved the issue as it was based
purely on speculation and lacked any real facts. So, I decided to got
straight to the authority on the subject, and wrote to the FCC for a
clarification.

I have finally received a response to the question, and with my hat in
my hand, I must now admit that I was wrong about Roger beep use. It
would seem that the FCC is ok with roger beeps as long as the radio
was not modified to install it (External units only) and that when
using them, they are used in accordance with their intended function
(As an ETS signal). Deliberately keying just to make the beep noise
would be considered an unauthorized use.

The text of the actual response from the FCC follows:

From: FCCInfo
To:
Sent: Friday, February 18, 2005 3:26 PM
Subject: PROBLEM01089854 - Rule Clarification


You are receiving this email in response to your inquiry to the FCC.

Thanks for contacting the FCC Consumer Center in Gettysburg PA.

In the technical (equipment) aspect, proper and reasonable use of the
roger-beep feature does not violate FCC rules, when such feature is in
compliance with CB Rule 9 as in the following excerpt:

s 95.409 (CB Rule 9) What equipment may I use at my CB station?

(a) You must use an FCC certificated CB transmitter at your CB station.
You can identify an FCC certificated transmitter by the certification label
placed on it by the manufacturer . . .

(b) You must not make, or have made, any internal modification to a
certificated CB transmitter . . . Any internal modification to a
certificated CB transmitter cancels the certification, and use of such a
transmitter voids your authority to operate the station.


In the operational aspect, improper and unreasonable practices such as
keying the mike solely for the purpose of activating the roger-beep,
particularly repeated keying, would likely meet the prohibited communication
sited in the subparagraphs (6) and/or (7) excerpts below:

s 95.413 (CB Rule 13) What communications are prohibited?

(a) You must not use a CB station--

(6) To transmit music, whistling, sound effects or any material to amuse
or entertain;

(7) To transmit any sound effect solely to attract attention;

Thank You
TSR43
888-225-5322



Rep Number : TSR43



Dave
"Sandbagger"