In article ,
Richard Clark wrote:

It is not illegal if it is done on an amateur frequency by a licensed
amateur.

You forgot the words "in the US".

Is using WiFi equipment for ham radio legal?

Hi Geoff,

If it is done by a Ham radio operator. Ham radio operators (in the
US) are the ONLY class of radio operation that do NOT have a type
acceptance requirement.

There are, of course, certain restrictions.

The 13 cm band privileges for hams in the U.S. are not an exact
overlap for the license-free 802.11b/g frequencies. You can't assert
the use of your ham privileges if you're transmitting on channels not
covered by the ham authorizations.

You must ID properly (often done by setting the ESSID to the ham
callsign).

You may not encrypt the transmission for the purpose of obscuring its
meaning. [Some feel that encryption is permitted for the purpose of
ensuring that the link is used only by licensed hams, or for
"privacy". Some feel that encryption is OK if you make the actual
encryption key publicly available e.g. on a web site.]

If you have a valid U.S. ham license, and respect all of these (and
other) Part 97 ham restrictions, then you can legally use commercial
WiFi gear to transmit on these frequencies. Under those conditions,
you can use as much power as Part 97 will allow... the Part 15 rules
do not apply.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Friends of Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
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