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NEWINGTON, CT, May 22, 2003--Cooperation between Canadian and US amateurs has resulted in a $12,000 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) from the FCC to an Ohio amateur. The FCC has alleged that Ronald E. Sauer, WE8E, of Bedford Heights violated Part 97 rules prohibiting deliberate and malicious interference, transmission of music and failure to identify. The case involved daily interference to the Trans Provincial Net, a Canadian net that operates on 7.055 MHz.
"This was no small task and was accomplished with the help of many people from the US and Canada working together," said ARRL Great Lakes Vice Director Dick Mondro, W8FQT, who expressed thanks to all involved. In addition to TPN members, that included Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) officials, Industry Canada, the FCC, ARRL Michigan and Ohio Section officials, ARRL Official Observers and members of the Cuyahoga Amateur Radio Society (CARS).
"This was indeed an example of teamwork in action and proves again that the FCC does care and continues to work with us to stop interference," Mondro added.
TPN Assistant Manager Jim Taylor, VA3KU, said the interference to the net had gone on for several months. Taylor says the first break came when a person believed to be the jammer started sending e-mails to some net members. The Canadian amateurs were able to determine that the e-mails had come from a public library terminal in the Cleveland, Ohio, area. Taylor contacted CARS President Bob Check, W8GC, for assistance in zeroing in on the interference.
Tracking down the apparent signal source involved mobile direction-finding work by three CARS members, who passed along their findings to the FCC's Detroit Office late last January. Already alerted to the situation, the FCC's Detroit Office had called on the Commission's High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) facility in Maryland. The HFDF group monitored jamming and the playing of music and narrowed down the search to an area near the intersection of Interstates 480 and 77 in the Cleveland area.
In the meantime, the FCC received the CARS report, which alleged that the interference was coming from Sauer's residence. The NAL says that on January 31, an FCC agent also used direction-finding techniques to track the source of the interference on 7.055 MHz to Sauer's home and conducted an inspection.
According to the FCC NAL, Sauer "admitted that he had been playing music and deliberately jamming the frequency of 7.055 MHz." Sauer "further admitted to jamming and playing music on this frequency on previous days," the FCC said.
Based on its findings, the FCC concluded that the $12,000 fine was justified. The FCC ordered Sauer to pay the fine within 30 days or to file a written statement seeking a reduction or cancellation of the proposed forfeiture.
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