Bob Humbert writes:
>Does anyone know for sure about any ham who has ever bin fined or jailed
>by the FCC?  I said before that I think that the FCC is a toothless
>paper tiger and no one commented on my remark.  What goes on here in
>southern California is truly a joke and I'm wondering if the same is
>true around the country.

        Read the "happenings" column in "QST" each month.  There are
usually 1 or more paragraphs under the heading of "Enforcement Actions."

        They don't pounce on nearly enough of these jammers and other
miscreants, but basically, if you screw up badly enough and often
enough, they will come knocking on your door.

        I heard a CB'er in Oklahoma City several years ago telling
another CB'er about the FCC coming to his house and how he wouldn't
let them in, etc.  I am sure that the investigators just went to a
Federal judge, got a warrant plus a few US marshals and came back
later.  I really don't know, but it was an interesting conversation I
heard.  Not only was this guy bragging about how he didn't let the FCC
in, but he was doing it on a frequency below CB channel 1.  I think
that is what got him in trouble in the first place.  This fellow was
probably not the brightest bulb on the tree.

        The answer to your question, then, is yes.  The FCC really
does enforce the regulations, but they simply don't have the staff or
funds to be everywhere at once.  There are a lot of little fish that
get away for a long time while people who jam emergency communications
or are unlicensed and cause interference to licensed services get
first priority.

Martin McCormick WB5AGZ  Stillwater, OK
OSU Information Technology Division Network Operations Group