[App_rpt-users] allstar control

[Scott Zimmerman]

On 10/16/2013 4:44 PM, DougH wrote:
 > I have no control over the guy next door ---do you?
<-- No, but as amateur repeater control operators, the FCC expects US stations to be able to make an 
effort to keep their stations in compliance. I HATE to quote FCC regulations, but I feel obliged to 
do so here.

[97.213(c)]:
An amateur station on or within 50 km of the Earth's surface may be under telecommand where:
(c) The station is protected against making, willfully or negligently, unauthorized transmissions.
----------------

Using your logic: as a control operator of a large link system I should merely sit back and let 
unlawfully operated nodes (jammers, music players, etc.) connect and clog the rest of our link 
system with absolutely no recourse? This is not in compliance with the above FCC rule for legal 
operation.

I'm not trying to incite a riot here, but the idea of "complete openness" of connectivity is a great 
one if EVERY repeater owner has control operators that police their nodes as they (lawfully) should. 
Unfortunately, this is simply NOT the case.

We recently had a node on the WAN System that was jamming, playing noise over other stations, etc. 
As a control operator for the system, my only recourse was to disconnect and/or block that node from 
connecting until which time as THEY can bring themselves into compliance with the above FCC rule. 
The block was put into effect ONLY AFTER sending multiple unanswered e-mail warnings to the node's 
owner. As a control operator it is MY responsibility to make sure the nodes in our system are being 
lawfully operated and I take that responsibility seriously.

I realize you can't ALWAYS be in control of who keys a mic into your system, but according to the 
above, as control operators, we are bound to do our best to be sure our repeaters are being operated 
within the law. The knowledge of how to block nodes is an important tool toward doing so.

Scott

Scott Zimmerman
Amateur Radio Call N3XCC
474 Barnett Road
Boswell, PA 15531

On 10/16/2013 4:44 PM, DougH wrote:
 > Indeed - it is about keeping idiots out of the system - there are those out
 > there who are only too keen to point fingers at / complain to other node
 > owners who have absolutely no way of stopping unauthorised / malicious
 > access causing interference. That said, some, on other systems,will block a
 > node immediately without thinking about the issue.
 > Having to go cap in hand to another node owner for reinstatement is not the
 > spirit or something anyonne here should need to be reduced to....education
 > is...or making the effort to eliminate the problem(s).
 >
 > I have no control over the guy next door ---do you?
 >
 > Doug - GM7SVK
 >