While it is generally okay to use Amateur Radio for activities with family, relatives, or friends (as long as those are not commercial activities), the primary intent of the Amateur Radio service is for those who are interested in the hobby itself. Keep in mind that there are no private communications on ham radio.

pecuniary means "of or pertaining to money". You are not allowed to use ham radio for your (or anyone else's) job or to broadcast information to the public.

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Tags: rules and regulations

The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) regulates and enforces the rules for amateur radio as part of its broader mission to manage the U.S. communications infrastructure. The FCC will ensure that all users of the radio frequency spectrum, including amateur radio operators, adhere to rules that prevent interference, promote safety, and encourage the advancement of communication technologies.

In the context of amateur radio, the FCC's regulation ensures that operators use the spectrum responsibly, contributing to public service, especially during emergencies. By setting licensing requirements and operational standards, the FCC maintains order on the airwaves, allowing amateur radio to function effectively and safely within the larger communications landscape.

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If you have trouble memorizing '97', look at the other questions on your test. There are several that have Part 97 as part of the question. For example, "What is the FCC Part 97 definition of a space station?" You may have one of these questions on the test and can use it to answer this one. Or one way to remember this question is that it is closest to 100.

Just remember ninety-seven NS = Nerd Socks

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Harmful interference is exactly what it sounds like; any time you are using a radio and cause problems with another radio that is operating in a legal and correct manner, you are causing harmful interference.

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See the Code of Federal Regulation, Title 47 Chapter I, Subchapter D: Part 97 Subpart A - General Provisions

§ 97.3 Definitions.

47 CFR 97.3(a)(41) Space station. An amateur station located more than 50 km above the Earth's surface.

47 CFR 97.3(a)(16) Earth station. An amateur station located on, or within 50 km of, the Earth's surface intended for communications with space stations or with other Earth stations by means of one or more other objects in space.

Above 50 km, space station; below, 50 km, earth station.

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Tags: part97 space station definitions station types

The prefix "tele" means remote. Examples of telecommand would be sending a radio command to a radio controlled aircraft or even remote control of a repeater.

You could think of telecommand as another word for "remote control"

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Tags: part97 definitions

"tele" means remote, and "metry", from the same root as "metric", indictates "measurement." So, if a remote device sends measurements, such as temperature, it is transmitting telemetry data.

Thus, telemetry is essentially "Remote Measurement."

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Tags: part97 definitions

47 CFR 97.3(a)(22):

Frequency coordinator. An entity, recognized in a local or regional area by amateur operators whose stations are eligible to be auxiliary or repeater stations, that recommends transmit/receive channels and associated operating and technical parameters for such stations in order to avoid or minimize potential interference.

Frequency Coordinators are regular amateur radio operators who are selected by repeater operators to coordinate the use of the radio frequencies for a given geographical area. This is important to keep repeaters from interfering with each other and to ensure that enough frequencies remain usable for simplex operation.

Some people may think that any frequencies can be used for simplex operation, but if you are uninformed as to the band plan selected by the Frequency Coordinator in your area, you may find yourself operating on or close to the input frequency of a repeater, thus causing harmful interference to others in the area. Click here for more information.

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Tags: band plan

47 CFR 97.3(a)(22):

Frequency coordinator. An entity, recognized in a local or regional area by amateur operators whose stations are eligible to be auxiliary or repeater stations, that recommends transmit/receive channels and associated operating and technical parameters for such stations in order to avoid or minimize potential interference.

Frequency Coordinators are regular amateur radio operators who are selected by repeater operators to coordinate the use of the radio frequencies for a given geographical area. This is important to keep repeaters from interfering with each other and to ensure that enough frequencies remain usable for simplex operation.

Some people may think that any frequencies can be used for simplex operation, but if you are uninformed as to the band plan selected by the Frequency Coordinator in your area, you may find yourself operating on or close to the input frequency of a repeater, thus causing harmful interference to others in the area. Click here for more information.

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Part 97 defines an Amateur Station as: (5) Amateur station. A station in an amateur radio service consisting of the apparatus necessary for carrying on radio communications.

A station may be mobile, fixed, or handheld, and the definition makes no description of the person operating the equipment. In other words, no matter where the radio is being used from (Vehicle, House, Handheld) the Radio is the station.

Don't let the upper case letters used in the term "Amateur Radio Service" distract you.

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An auxiliary station could be thought of as a short range repeater; it is not intended to serve a large area, and is usually used to provide a link to a repeater for amateur radio operators in a specific area from which it is difficult to hit the repeater.

Common types of auxiliary stations include Remote Base Stations, Cross-band repeaters, and Echolink or IRLP (Internet Radio Linking Project) nodes.

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