SB QST @ ARL $ARLB003
ARLB003 Illegal Drone Transmitters Could Interfere with Air Traffic Control,
ARRL Complaint Asserts

ZCZC AG03
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 3  ARLB003
> From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT  January 12, 2017
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB003
ARLB003 Illegal Drone Transmitters Could Interfere with Air Traffic Control,
ARRL Complaint Asserts

In what it calls an "extremely urgent complaint" to the FCC, ARRL has targeted
the interference potential of a series of audio/video transmitters used on
unmanned aircraft and marketed as Amateur Radio equipment. In a January 10
letter to the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division, ARRL General Counsel Chris
Imlay, W3KD, said the transmitters use frequencies intended for navigational
aids, air
traffic control radar, air route surveillance radars, and global positioning
systems.

"This is, in ARRL's view, a potentially very serious interference problem, and
it is respectfully requested that the products referenced...be investigated and
 removed from the marketplace immediately and that the importers be subjected
to normal sanctions," ARRL's letter said. Some of the transmitters operate on
frequencies between 1010 and 1280 MHz. "These video transmitters are being
marketed ostensibly as Amateur Radio equipment," the League said, "but of the
listed frequencies on which the devices operate, only one, 1280 MHz, would be
within the Amateur Radio allocation at 1240-1300 MHz." Even then, ARRL said,
operation there would conflict with a channel used for radio location.

ARRL said the use of 1040 and 1080 MHz, which would directly conflict with air
traffic control transponder frequencies, represented the greatest threat to the
 safety of flight. The use of 1010 MHz, employed for aeronautical guidance,
could also be problematic.

ARRL cited the Lawmate transmitter and companion 6 W amplifier as examples of
problematic devices being marketed in the US. Each costs less than $100 via the
 Internet. The device carries no FCC identification number.

"[T]he target market for these devices is the drone hobbyist, not licensed
radio amateurs. The device, due to the channel configuration, has no valid
Amateur Radio application," ARRL told the FCC. "While these transmitters are
marked as appropriate for amateur use, they cannot be used legally for Amateur
Radio communications." In the hands of unlicensed individuals, the transmitters
 could also cause interference to Amateur Radio communication in the 1.2 GHz
band, ARRL contended.

The League said it's obvious that the devices at issue lack proper FCC
equipment authorization under FCC Part 15 rules, which require such low-power
intentional radiators to be certified.

"Of most concern is the capability of the devices to cripple the operation of
the [air traffic control] secondary target/transponder systems," ARRL said.
"These illegal transmitters represent a significant hazard to public safety in
general and the safety of flight specifically."

The surge in sales of drones has been dramatic. The FAA has predicted that
combined commercial and hobby sales will increase from 2.5 million in 2016 to 7
 million by 2020.

In Exhibit A of the January 10 letter, "Illegal Drones Threaten Public Safety,"
 the League noted that some of the drones and associated equipment it has come
across "are blatantly illegal at multiple levels," with some drone TV
transmitters described as "particularly alarming."

"Rated at 6 times over the legal power limit, and on critical air navigation
transponder frequencies, these devices represent a real and dangerous threat to
 the safety of flight, especially when operated from a drone platform that can
be hundreds of feet in the air," the exhibit narrative asserted.

NNNN
/EX

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