It's been reported that a company in Sarasota, Florida (familiar? yes it's GETFPV), has been penalized $180,000 for selling noncompliant video transmitters (VTX).



Source:
http://qrznow.com/fcc-penalizes-marketer...nsmitters/

Makes me wonder first... which VTX are they talking about? It obviously must be one of those "80 channel" ones or something because all of the basic 40-48 band VTXs that I know of are all in the 5.8 spectrum.

Then second, I try to picture the person making the complaint... buying from one of the best (or at least my favorite) US domestic shops around, probably happily receiving parts with good quality and cheap shipping... and all the sudden they realize "OMG! RULE BREAKER!!!! I MUST GO TO FCC NAO!!!11!1!"...

I can't imagine that it was someone outside of the hobby who just happened to wonder onto a "drone" parts shop and noticed specs of a device with capabilities outside of allowed frequencies. I mean it's possible but it seems more likely that it was someone in the hobby.

Hopefully they at least tried to warn GetFPV about the legal issues. If they did and those guys ignored it then they deserve what they get, but so often people get excited about being tattletales that respect for a company that provides good service is thrown out the window.

Also, if the FCC is going to do consent decrees they shouldn't also be fining companies along with those decrees. Let the company try to get into compliance first, which is expensive enough, then if they repeat the problem fine them

(Post liked because I like that Oscar shared it, not because I like that GetFPV was fined. I like that shop darnit!)

(20-Dec-2017, 01:06 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I can't imagine that it was someone outside of the hobby who just happened to wonder onto a "drone" parts shop and noticed specs of a device with capabilities outside of allowed frequencies. 

I wouldn't be surprised if it was Tommy trying to back back in the good graces of Federal Government!

(20-Dec-2017, 01:42 PM)Tom BD Bad Wrote: I wouldn't be surprised if it was Tommy trying to back back in the good graces of Federal Government!

 
     LMAO soooooooooo much!     
        

wow many violations there
"those transmitters used frequencies intended for navigational aids, air traffic control radar, air route surveillance radars, and global positioning systems."

operating on non sanctioned frequency's ; nick him for that
how much power do these units have? over 200mw ,nick him again
to be legal you have to submit your equipment to the FCC
they will give you a' type certified' or 'type approved' certificate; no cert, nick him again
oh yeah knowingly importing illegal equipment for sale or profit; thats one to the lower gut,
hes hurting for sure.

(20-Dec-2017, 06:41 PM)buzzjob Wrote: wow many violations there
"those transmitters used frequencies intended for navigational aids, air traffic control radar, air route surveillance radars, and global positioning systems."

operating on non sanctioned frequency's ; nick him for that
how much power do these units have? over 200mw ,nick him again
to be legal you have to submit your equipment to the FCC
they will give you a' type certified'  or 'type approved' certificate; no cert, nick him again
oh yeah knowingly importing illegal equipment for sale or profit; thats one to the lower gut,
hes hurting for sure.

I don't know... if the VTXs were actually capable of broadcasting on all those bizarre channels, who the heck would even use them? I doubt that anyone makes a fatshark module that is a "air traffic control edition"... 

Also, I doubt that these folks were like "this thing is illegal, let's sell it to people so that they can use illegal frequencies!"... I could see a smaller shop doing that but GetFPV is one of the more substantial providers in this country. What's much more likely is it's some part from china that uses extra frequencies just because an idiot thought that "80 channels" would be more marketable than "48 channels" and GetFPV said "oh well, nobody is going to use that BS, but this VTX has good features for a good price let's sell it". 

Once you're operating at multi- million dollar revenue business the risks of doing something illegal on purpose just don't make sense. If you're only bringing in a couple hundred K then you could probably take a risk on some shady products, but with something like this if they knew it was illegal I doubt they'd have been selling it.

(21-Dec-2017, 12:10 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I don't know... if the VTXs were actually capable of broadcasting on all those bizarre channels, who the heck would even use them? I doubt that anyone makes a fatshark module that is a "air traffic control edition"... 

Also, I doubt that these folks were like "this thing is illegal, let's sell it to people so that they can use illegal frequencies!"... I could see a smaller shop doing that but GetFPV is one of the more substantial providers in this country. What's much more likely is it's some part from china that uses extra frequencies just because an idiot thought that "80 channels" would be more marketable than "48 channels" and GetFPV said "oh well, nobody is going to use that BS, but this VTX has good features for a good price let's sell it". 

Once you're operating at multi- million dollar revenue business the risks of doing something illegal on purpose just don't make sense. If you're only bringing in a couple hundred K then you could probably take a risk on some shady products, but with something like this if they knew it was illegal I doubt they'd have been selling it.

some of the highlights
(i happen to have this link bookmarked from setting up a FCC sanctioned LPFM)
https://www.fcc.gov/enforcement
https://www.fcc.gov/document/lumenier-pa...estigation

7
  Specifically,
Section 302(b) of the Act provides that “[n]o person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or ship
devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or use devices, which fail to comply with regulations
promulgated pursuant to this section.”

14.
47 CFR §§ 2.803, 15.201.  Various models of the AV transmitters marketed by Lumenier could operate on
frequencies 1010, 1040, 1080, 1120, 1160, 1200, 1320, 1360, 2370, 2470, 2490, 2510, 5645, and/or 5945 MHz, all
of which are outside of the authorized amateur radio service bands.  See Second LOI Response attachment; see also
47 CFR § 97.301(a) (listing amateur frequencies). 
14
Additionally, some of the AV transmitters exceeded the
authorized power limit for amateur operation of model craft.
15
Id. § 97.215(c) (limiting transmitter power to 1 W).

17. Civil Penalty.  Lumenier will pay a civil penalty to the United States Treasury in the
amount of one hundred and eighty thousand dollars ($180,000).  Such payment shall be made in three
installments (each an Installment Payment).  The first Installment Payment in the amount of sixty
thousand dollars ($60,000) is due within thirty (30) calendar days of the Effective Date.  The second
Installment Payment in the amount of sixty thousand dollars ($60,000) shall be paid within six (6) months
of the Effective Date. The third and final Installment Payment in the amount of sixty thousand dollars
($60,000) shall be paid within twelve (12) months of the Effective Date.  Lumenier acknowledges and
agrees that upon execution of this Consent Decree, the civil penalty and each Installment Payment shall
become a “Claim” or “Debt” as defined in 31 U.S.C. § 3701(b)(1).
20

like i said a punch to the lower stomach ....$10k a month

You're missing a distinction here buzzjob.

There are two classes of equipment:

1. FCC approved consumer electronics.
2. Compliant electronics designed to be used by people who have a HAM licence.

(20-Dec-2017, 06:41 PM)buzzjob Wrote: operating on non sanctioned frequency's ; nick him for that

A problem in both cases. (For reference, the plural of frequency is frequencies.)

(20-Dec-2017, 06:41 PM)buzzjob Wrote: how much power do these units have? over 200mw ,nick him again

Not a problem for a HAM device.

(20-Dec-2017, 06:41 PM)buzzjob Wrote: to be legal you have to submit your equipment to the FCC
they will give you a' type certified'  or 'type approved' certificate; no cert, nick him again

This only applies to consumer devices.

(20-Dec-2017, 06:41 PM)buzzjob Wrote: oh yeah knowingly importing illegal equipment for sale or profit; thats one to the lower gut,
hes hurting for sure.

You almost appear to be enjoying their trouble. Hopefully, that's just me reading your words the wrong way.

Obviously, the management of GetFPV have failed to take the required care to ensure that what they are selling is legal and to that extent, they really only have themselves to blame. However, if you look around the US web shops for multirotor parts, they are not the only vendors who are guilty of this. I guess the FCC have seen how widespread the disregard for the rules is in this business, so they decided to make an example by hitting one of the big boys with significant but payable fines.

About a year ago, they did the same thing to HobbyKing. Now, HobbyKing are much more careful, not just in the USA but in Europe as well. For example, HobbyKing won't ship me a non EU-compliant transmitter or receiver, which is more than the law requires as only the transmitter is subject to the EU's Listen Before Talk requirements.

Operating frequency restrictions are a bit silly to be honest unless they are framed in terms of the effective radiated power of a transmission. For example, I have a signal generator which I use with my spectrum analyser for RF testing of antennas and equipment. My signal generator is capable of generating a carrier wave at any arbitrary frequency from 24MHz to 6GHz. As it's not a consumer device, it's not subject to CE or FCC approval to be sold. However, if I was to connect the signal generator to a suitable antenna and start transmitting a signal on a frequency allocated to a specific service that I'm not licensed for and at a level that anyone else noticed, I would be in trouble and would be breaking the law.

Saying that one device that can transmit a signal on an unlicensed channel is illegal while another is not when both devices are designed for HAM use is regulatory hair splitting. In the USA, the power generated by an FCC approved video transmitter that doesn't need a HAM license is so ridiculously low that the end result is actually not fit for purpose. So, there are large numbers of FPV flyers in the USA who don't have HAM licenses and are breaking the law, even with a 25mW VTX.

A better solution would have been to restrict consumer approved video transmitters to a useful output power and allowed far more people to enjoy the FPV hobby without (in many cases) inadvertently criminalising themselves.

Sadly, the regulator likes the income from all the licensing charges and it gives them a good excuse to get more money from the government and justify their existence. As long as publicly funded regulators function in the corrupt and wasteful ways that they currently do, I really don't see much chance of spectrum management showing any particular sense any time soon.

When regulation fails to track with the development of technology, it's a sure sign that the way things are regulated is inappropriate, or cumbersome, or behind the times. Whatever the cause, regulators are publicly financed and should be responsible and accountable to the taxpayer. When that isn't the case, the government is guilty of being corrupt and controlling regulation for political reasons. Often political goals differ from what would be best for society in general. For that very reason, the legislation that governs public regulators should be written so that it ensures the regulator's independence from political control but at the same time, makes the regulator's actions and decisions transparent, public, and open to legal challenge.


As with many things, GetFPV's troubles with the FCC are actually a symptom of a much larger problem. The fact that they got to be the company that the regulator decided to make an example of this time is just bad luck that will hurt their business. The elephant in the room is why can't the FCC see the need to adapt the regulations to match up sensibly with the needs of a new industry? The dinosaur needs to wake up and learn how the world works today.

really,  you think i revel in someones misery?

and your calling me out  for a spelling error?

from the fcc complaint
14
Additionally, some of the AV transmitters exceeded the
authorized power limit for amateur operation of model craft.

(23-Dec-2017, 11:24 PM)buzzjob Wrote: really,  you think i revel in someones misery?

No, but what you wrote sounded a bit that way.

Just a side note, for some european countries, certain channels of the so-called "raceband" also stretch beyond the legal bands afaik...

(23-Dec-2017, 11:24 PM)buzzjob Wrote: and your calling me out  for a spelling error?

Calling you out?

Hardly.

I just prefer when people actually make the effort to write English that is easy to read and understand.

Many of the forum members do not have English as their first language and I'd expect those who do have English as their mother tongue to have enough respect for the other members that what they post is as well written and understandable as possible.

Just to rub it in a little more, "and your calling me out" should be "and you're calling me out".

(21-Dec-2017, 12:10 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I doubt that anyone makes a fatshark module that is a "air traffic control edition"... 

I dunno man, it would be a pretty sweet view though!! LOL!

On another note, if they knowingly did that, it's pretty ballsy. But more likely they did not notice it. Or so I hope..

(27-Dec-2017, 07:32 AM)s3npai Wrote: I dunno man, it would be a pretty sweet view though!! LOL!

On another note, if they knowingly did that, it's pretty ballsy. But more likely they did not notice it. Or so I hope..

That's what I am thinking too.