RadioBanter - FCC levies $10,000 fine for unlicensed operation

Mike Terry wrote:
Jan 19, 2005

The FCC has fined a Jacksonville, Florida, CBer $10,000 for transmitting
without Commission authorization. The Commission released the Forfeiture
Order (NOF) to Tommie Salter on December 27. The FCC says that in March 2004
its Tampa Field Office, responding to interference complaints, restricted
Salter's hours of operation.

The FCC lifted the quiet hours two months later, providing Salter "operated
in full compliance with the Commission's rules." When interference
complaints resumed, the FCC last July 15 again notified Salter it was
restricting his hours of operation. The FCC NOF said a family member signed
for the notice but that Salter told Commission officials he had not read it.
As a result he transmitted while his operation was prohibited--between 6 AM
and 11:59 PM.

An August 2004 station inspection of Salter's CB station revealed that he
was operating a non FCC-certificated transmitter, in violation of Part 95
rules. A Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) proposing the $10,000 fine
followed in October. The FCC's NOF upholds the fine, despite Salter's
protests that his violation was not willful because he did not understand
that use of non-certificated transmitters violated the rules and did not
know about the reinstated quiet hours. Salter also claimed he couldn't pay
the fine, but the FCC says he failed to provide tax returns or other
necessary documentation to back up that claim. The FCC authorizes CB
operation "by rule"--essentially a blanket license.

http://www.arrl.org/

Think thats a big fine? Well a guy out here in "La La Land" who held a
ham ticket only a few days before it was "set aside" has him beat by
$42,000 -- so far. The latest $21,000 proposed forfeiture factors in an
"upward adjustment" from the $7000 base fine for causing interference to
licensed stations -- in this case the United States Coast Guard during a
declared emergency. The FCC already had affirmed a $10,000 fine levied
against Gerritsen last year for interfering with Amateur Radio
communications. In December, the Commission proposed another $21,000
fine, citing additional instances of alleged interference on amateur
frequencies.

It goes as follows from the latest ARNewsline:

ENFORCEMENT: ALLEGED COAST GUARD JAMMER FINED $21,000

A former ham who the FCC says jammed other communications during a
declared Coast Guard emergency has been issued a rather hefty fine. And
its not his first. Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the latest on the saga of
Jack Gerritsen, the ex-KG6IRO..

--

The FCC has fined Jack Gerritsen, the ex-KG6IRO, another $21,000 for
what the agency calls his willfull and malicious interfering with the
radio communications of a Coast Guard Auxiliary Officer. This, while
the officer attempted to use amateur frequencies to contact a sailing
vessel in distress.

As previosly reported here on Newsline, the episode took place back last
October. Thats when Al Geiger, KG6FB, was sailing solo to Guadalupe
Island on his 36 ft. sloop, following another boat which was about 20
miles ahead of him. On Tuesday night, October 26th they were caught in
a bad storm. Al turned back when he lost his Jib sail in the high
winds. Both his VHF marine radio and his 2 meter ham radio amplifier
had failed. Without his radio, Geiger lost contact with the other boat.

The jamming incident happened on the Catalina repeater on Friday
morning, October 29th. The Coast Guard group in Los Angeles was
interested in obtaining any information that KG6FB had about the other
boat. So it had Bill Scholz, W1HIJ, who is the District Communications
Officer for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, try to contact Geiger on the
Catalina Repeater.

The QSO between KG6FB and W1HIJ started at 10:02 AM and continued off
and on through about 11:40. The person alleged to be Jack Gerritsen
showed up after the traffic began and refused to clear the frequency.
Luckily, a tape recorder was going and here is a small part of what
happened. The first voice you hear is that of Bill Scholz, W1HIJ
followed by that alleged to be former ham Jack Gerritsen. This was
recorded using VOX, so any dead air is missing.

--

W1HIJ: Wiskey One Hotel India Juliet, Coast Guard Auxiliary Upland
Radio 1. This frequency is in use for emergency communications. This
frequency in use for emergency communications. Please remain off he
frequency. This is W1HIJ, Upland Radio 1 out.”

Unidentified Transmission: “Yeah whats your phone number. Ive never
heard any emergencies on this damn frequency. You ever heard of 911 stupid?”

--

As the jamming was going on the Los Angeles FCC office was notified.
Los Angeles Office agents located the source of a signal on 147.690 MHz,
the input frequency to the Catalina repeater and traced it to
Gerritsen’s home. At approximately 11:35 AM, the agents approached
Gerritsen’s residence. After several failed attempts to gain the
attention of anyone inside failed, one of the agents called Gerritsen’s
residential telephone using his cellular telephone. The call was
answered by someone who would not speak. The Los Angeles agent then
requested a face to face interview with Gerritsen. Shortly thereafter
the phone line went dead. Subsequent attempts to reach Gerritsen over
the phone resulted in busy signals.

At approximately 4:38 PM the agents returned to Gerritsen’s residence.
As they approached the front door they heard a male voice coming from
inside which synchronized with the voice heard on the agents’ handheld
scanner tuned to 147.810 MHz. The voice was familiar to the agents as
Gerritsen’s.

No one answered the door. The agents requested information concerning
Gerritsen’s involvement in a Coast Guard rescue earlier that day, and
requested an inspection and an interview. There was no response to the
requests.

On November 3, 2004, the Commission’s Los Angeles Office received
information from the President of the Catalina Amateur Radio
Association. He reported that he had monitored and recorded the
communications between Gerritsen and the Coast Guard Auxiliary Officer
on October 29th, The recording reveals that for approximately 40
minutes, Gerritsen is speaking and playing a recorded message while the
Officer asks him to cease transmissions and vacate the frequency because
of the emergency.

In its order issuing the proposed fine to Gerritsen, the FCC indicates
that there is no doubt that he was the source of the interference, It
says that on October 29, 2004, Gerritsen, clearly identifying himself by
his cancelled callsign of “KG6IRO,” began transmitting on the Catalina
repeater input frequency even though it had been cleared for emergency
communications. It says that Gerritsen refused to clear the channel,
and refused to cease transmitting while obstructing the communications
of the authorized users during the emergency. This says the FCC wannants
at least the base forfeiture amount of $7000.

But says the FCC, Gerritsen’s refusal to clear the frequency, and his
continual use of the frequency during the emergency, and his
interference with a Coast Guard Auxiliary Officer’s ability to hear
radio communications from the ship in distress makes this a far more
egregous offense. As such, and considering the entire record in the
case, the FCC concludes that Jack Gerritsen is apparently liable for a
forfeiture in the amount of $21,000.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I’m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles.

--

Gerritsen already has a confirmed $10,000 fine and a Notice of Apparent
Liability for another $21,000 pending against him. Adding in the latest
N-A-L, that’s a total of $52,000 so far. As is normal when a Notice of
Apparent Liability is issued, Gerritsen was given the customary time to
pay or to file an appeal. (FCC)