In article ,
Rick Frazier wrote:

Odd... For some reason, this amplifier is available in kit form only, and only
to Hams outside of the US of A..... They are located in Surfside Beach, South
Carolina... Perhaps the Amplifier Kit does not meet FCC regulations (works for
11/10 Meters without Ham License verification)

That does seem to be the case. As I understand it, it is not
currently legal to manufacture or sell an external power amplifier (or
sell one as a kit) which can operate between 24 and 35 MHz. Such amps
cannot be certificated, under current FCC rules, and external power
amps are the only sort of amateur-radio gear which does require
certification. I don't believe that ham-license verification comes
into it at all, in this particular portion of the rules - commercial
amps simply can't be manufactured, or kitted, or sold in new condition
to anyone, if they can amplify between 24 and 35 MHz.

The FCC has proposed (on their own initiative) that this restriction
be dropped. It was never popular with hams and manufacturers, for
obvious reasons, and it doesn't seem to have been effective at keeping
CB "linear" amps from being churned out and sold in quantity... the
original goal of the rule.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

Dave Platt wrote:
In article ,
Rick Frazier wrote:


Odd... For some reason, this amplifier is available in kit form only, and only
to Hams outside of the US of A..... They are located in Surfside Beach, South
Carolina... Perhaps the Amplifier Kit does not meet FCC regulations (works for
11/10 Meters without Ham License verification)


That does seem to be the case. As I understand it, it is not
currently legal to manufacture or sell an external power amplifier (or
sell one as a kit) which can operate between 24 and 35 MHz. Such amps
cannot be certificated, under current FCC rules, and external power
amps are the only sort of amateur-radio gear which does require
certification. I don't believe that ham-license verification comes
into it at all, in this particular portion of the rules - commercial
amps simply can't be manufactured, or kitted, or sold in new condition
to anyone, if they can amplify between 24 and 35 MHz.

The FCC has proposed (on their own initiative) that this restriction
be dropped. It was never popular with hams and manufacturers, for
obvious reasons, and it doesn't seem to have been effective at keeping
CB "linear" amps from being churned out and sold in quantity... the
original goal of the rule.

License verification is not part of the FCC rules. However most
manufacturers of amps will supply instructions on how to modify them for
12/10 meter operation upon proof of license.
John

In article ,
John wrote:

License verification is not part of the FCC rules. However most
manufacturers of amps will supply instructions on how to modify them for
12/10 meter operation upon proof of license.

Yup. It's legal for a licensed amateur to perform such a modification
(no more than one amp per year or one per model per year, I can't
remember which), and it's also legal for an amateur to sell an amp
once modified to another amateur for amateur use.

License verification isn't required by the FCC, but I imagine it's a
good way for a manufacturer to show a good-faith defense against
charges that they're selling amps intended to be modified for CB use,
and for amateurs to make sure that they're selling used amps in a
legal way.

--
Dave Platt AE6EO
Hosting the Jade Warrior home page: http://www.radagast.org/jade-warrior
I do _not_ wish to receive unsolicited commercial email, and I will
boycott any company which has the gall to send me such ads!

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:23:23 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:

In article ,
John wrote:

License verification is not part of the FCC rules. However most
manufacturers of amps will supply instructions on how to modify them for
12/10 meter operation upon proof of license.

Yup. It's legal for a licensed amateur to perform such a modification
(no more than one amp per year or one per model per year, I can't
remember which), and it's also legal for an amateur to sell an amp
once modified to another amateur for amateur use.

The wording is no more than one unit of one model. Interesting that
you can build one from scratch, or modify a commercially built amp,
but you cannot build one from a kit capable of operation below 144

Dick wrote:
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:23:23 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:


In article ,
John wrote:


License verification is not part of the FCC rules. However most
manufacturers of amps will supply instructions on how to modify them for
12/10 meter operation upon proof of license.

Yup. It's legal for a licensed amateur to perform such a modification
(no more than one amp per year or one per model per year, I can't
remember which), and it's also legal for an amateur to sell an amp
once modified to another amateur for amateur use.


The wording is no more than one unit of one model. Interesting that
you can build one from scratch, or modify a commercially built amp,
but you cannot build one from a kit capable of operation below 144
But you can build a kit and modify that. I used to use a Heath SB1000
amp. I enabled 10m from the start - just did not install the wire that
prevented it from working. That's about as simple as a mod can get and
still not cause a problem with the FCC about not readily modifiable to
operate on 27MHz.
John

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 20:09:33 GMT, John
wrote:



Dick wrote:
On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 16:23:23 -0000, (Dave Platt)
wrote:


In article ,
John wrote:


License verification is not part of the FCC rules. However most
manufacturers of amps will supply instructions on how to modify them for
12/10 meter operation upon proof of license.

Yup. It's legal for a licensed amateur to perform such a modification
(no more than one amp per year or one per model per year, I can't
remember which), and it's also legal for an amateur to sell an amp
once modified to another amateur for amateur use.


The wording is no more than one unit of one model. Interesting that
you can build one from scratch, or modify a commercially built amp,
but you cannot build one from a kit capable of operation below 144
But you can build a kit and modify that. I used to use a Heath SB1000
amp. I enabled 10m from the start - just did not install the wire that
prevented it from working. That's about as simple as a mod can get and
still not cause a problem with the FCC about not readily modifiable to
operate on 27MHz.
John

I'm not sure about that John. 97.315 is pretty specific about kits.
97.315 (b) says that any amplifier kit has to be Certified by the FCC.
I would think the chances of getting the FCC to certify a kit of parts
capable of building a 10-meter amplifier would be slim to less than
zero.

Heath doesn't make kits anymore, and these rules were written after
Heath went out of the ham radio business. What you stated was true
many years ago. The only way to satisfy the requirements now is to
modify a factory built, certified amplifier, or build one on your own
from scratch without using a kit (unless of course you can find a
certified kit. Good luck on that.)

Dick

On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 17:54:44 -0700, Dick LeadWinger wrote:

The only way to satisfy the requirements now is to
modify a factory built, certified amplifier, or build one on your own
from scratch without using a kit (unless of course you can find a
certified kit. Good luck on that.)

Dick

And of course you can always buy one from another amateur that is
already modified or buy one purchased new prior to April 28, 1978. My
comments above were related to buying something new.

Dick