What are the penalties for operating an fpv system above 200mW?

[robschonk]

I sit for the exam in a few weeks. I am actually kinda nervous.

Just read thru the study guides. Piece of cake!

http://www.qrz.com/hamtest/

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Hambands_color.pdf

Find a local ham and ask for help. You'll likely be swamped with assistance.

It's a great hobby itself. A few months ago I was busy handling emergency communications on Hatteras Island when Hurricane Sandy took out communications, and i'm a NOAA certified Weather Spotter, reporting severe weather, etc. Gotta do something when its too windy to fly!

 

[bicyclemonkey]

I was reading a thread on RCGroups on this very issue last year or early 2012. Given the ease of getting a technicians license, you should probably just get one, then you're safe. Aside from that the consensus in the RCG thread was that local authorities don't have the equipment to monitor and triangulate the location of a toy airplane/ground station. Also the local authorities aren't looking for lack of a better word, radio wave violations. So unless there's a complaint called in, you'll be fine. As an example, my town of 75,000 people only has eight cop cars on patrol at any given time. If someone called in a complaint, it would be to the police dept. and a cop would show up and wouldn't know the rules anyhow and would at most make you pack up and go home (in my neck of the woods anyhow).

 

[bicyclemonkey]

I'm still trying to understand the transmission stuff...

So, if I transmit on a frequency that ham radio operators use, will it interfere with them? And, more importantly, can their signal obliterate my video signal?

I'm just trying to come to terms with all of this.

Look at the area you plan to fly. If you don't see a huge HAM antenna on the side of any houses then it's safe to say there are no HAM operators in the area.

 

[Tritium]

With the proliferation of RF emitting devices the FCC is overrun and simply doesn't have the manpower for policing all but the most severe violations (I worked for the local telephone company a few years ago and this information comes from experience there). A guy across the street was running a high power linear on his home based CB rig and coming over the phone lines across the street and not even that brought out the FCC. By the way it was a community of less than 1000 persons. Small in America gets mostly ignored .

Thurmond

 

[earthsciteach]

I've spent most of my life in "small America" and like it! Now, living in the NorthEast Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York corridor, I have to pay a bit more attention to silly things like building permits/inspections for a deck, fence, or anything I would have been able to build without anyone giving a second glance. So, it looks like a HAM operators license is in my near future. Maybe, like robschonk, I could be useful to someone in an emergency situation.

 

[robschonk]

Since we don't broadcast IDs, i doubt they could tell my clean legal signal from your clean "pirate" signal, as long as it isn't splattering and causing interference. Of course, I can legally run 1000000mw, 1 kw, on the amateur frequencies, but I'd need a full scale B-52 to lift it.... Also on 433 mhz control for long range FPV.

Don't forget, any "fox hunter" trying to track you has only to feed your video signal into a receiver, and he can see where you're flying, and prolly your face when you pick your model up.

We need to "fly under the radar" with FPV, so no point in making unnecessary enemies.

Rob

 

[Barn-E-Stormer]

I got the Ham license before I started FPV. The test is a breeze for anyone who can read and memorize a few facts. If you have a little electronics knowledge the test will be even simpler. I got a book that came with a CD of practice test.

As far as someone finding you. Keep in mind the RF side of things is their passion. They have the equipment to find you, record what you are doing, the time of day, etc. Mostly because it's a bunch of retired folks with nothing better to do. Did I mention this is their hobby??

I have my call sign on all my FPV rigs. KK4GST this satisfies the identification requirement. If your OSD allows any custom text you can put it there also.

 

[Tritium]

Last count there was 1 Ham in my county and he is a good friend. We are talking 900 square miles with possibly 3000 population maximum (and that is overly optimistic) .

Thurmond

 

[IamNabil]

Last count there was 1 Ham in my county and he is a good friend. We are talking 900 square miles with possibly 3000 population maximum (and that is overly optimistic) .

Thurmond

That is actually really surprising. There are at least two fully independent groups of hams just in my corner of Vermont. The two counties, Chittenden and Franklin, have a total area of about 1200 square miles. Sure, Vermont is a strange little state, but those numbers seem a bit lopsided.

 

[earthsciteach]

Its a Texas thing. There are some incredibly sparsely populated corners of America. If you've lived on the East or West Coast all of your life you haven't experienced it. But, its there. And I hope it will always be there!

 

[Tritium]

Yes but Vermont never looked like we did last Wednesday in it's worst nightmares:



Visibility at ground level was 50'. wind speed was 50 to 70+mph. This was the worst I have ever seen in my 54 years but we frequently have them nearly as bad (count that as once to thrice a week). Without water and only mesquite trees (not even bush size in your part of the USA) most people would not want to live here.

Thurmond

 

[earthsciteach]

Holy Dust Bowl!

 

[robschonk]

Last count there was 1 Ham in my county and he is a good friend. We are talking 900 square miles with possibly 3000 population maximum (and that is overly optimistic) .

Thurmond

Here's a site that will let US hams list all licensed hams by zipcode:

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/ham/

Rob

 

[earthsciteach]

Holy Crap - I have 30 in my tiny little town, alone!

 

[Tritium]

Here's a site that will let US hams list all licensed hams by zipcode:

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/ham/

Rob

Oops, I was wrong, there are 2 in the county ignoring the Public Safety licenses.

I only know N5TOL

Thurmond

 

[MrClean]

Just think, you'll be able to use those 10 75 mhz frequencies that only Ham pilots can use, if you can find crystals to use them with.

Ok, so it's not all positive. Many of those 20 in your little burb probably just got the easy general as an upgrade from CB. There are a bunch out in farm country where cell towers aren't everywhere but line of site in kansas is quite a ways.

 

[robschonk]

Holy Crap - I have 30 in my tiny little town, alone!

Many on the list won't be "radio active". Sometimes I go for a year or more without picking up a mike.

 

[ueadian]

I highly Highly doubt anyone would ever find / care that you are transmitting without a ham license at under a watt. People might get 8 miles 1000 feet in the air LOS, but on the ground the signal will attenuate in wayyyy less then that. HAM operators typically stay on low frequency anyways since they have much better propagation long range thanks to bouncing off the ionosphere. Unless you live within a few blocks of some hard core HAM licensee I doubt anyone would notice let alone spend hours tracking you down as paranoid people in this thread seem to think. If your using a 5 watt transmitter (which I haven't even seen for video purpose) there's just no way anyone will notice, government or private citizen. If you really are that paranoid just get the HAM license, my 82 year old grandpa got it after studying for a few days. BTW he nevvvvver uses high frequencies and he has a 5watt transmitter to communicate across state lines.

Remember that people use these frequencies for home security and baby monitoring at wattages way above what is allowed by law. I've never seen or heard of a story of someone getting "hunted down" and turned in for having a home security system that is a watt.

I have however seen a police helicopter chase down a FPVer for being in restricted air space.

 

[Nonamerc]

You should get a new keyboard

 

[IamNabil]

I do not understand why people are so cavalier about breaking the law. It is a couple of weeks of study, and less than twenty bucks to get your license.