[aprssig] N1547C tracker

[Steve Dimse]

On Oct 20, 2005, at 2:01 PM, Christensen, Eric wrote:

> The digipeater I have up has an additional control op that is  
> licensed.  This is a secure site so I made sure that they have  
> written permission to access the site and that they know where the  
> gear is when they get there.  So if I'm out of town or  
> incapacitated for any reason my backup has complete control.  We  
> all monitor the traffic going through that digipeater just like we  
> monitor the local repeater to make sure it isn't being abused  
> because we are responsible for those transmissions.
>

And if he is unavailable, do you have another?

My point is that while this is a sensible and responsible thing to  
do, it is not required by FCC rules. There is nothing that say says  
you need a backup, or two, or three, or a hundred. All the rules say  
is if you are notified by the EIC, you must cease transmissions. How  
you accomplish that is left entirely up to you.

Really, the bottom line here is that APRS has been very well known  
for more than a decade, trackers have been running unattended all  
that time, and despite the heightened FCC enforcement that has  
occurred in amateur radio generally over this time, not a single  
thing about APRS has drawn the attention of the FCC. That alone  
should be enough to end this all-to-frequently recurring discussion.  
If you think some sort of operation is illegal, you shouldn't do it.  
If another ham interprets the rules differently, you should respect  
his rights to read the rules and make up his own mind, it is his own  
license he is putting at risk.

Steve K4HG