Thread

1. mesh · 1790010932 · focus · HN ↗

   This is a cool project, but fyi, in the US, this would require a license to broadcast (not receive), and I am pretty sure encryption, even with a license, is not legal (again, when broadcasting from US).

   And then only on certain bands:

   <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.arrl.org&#x2F;files&#x2F;file&#x2F;Regulatory&#x2F;Band%20Chart&#x2F;Hambands4_Color_17x11.pdf" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.arrl.org&#x2F;files&#x2F;file&#x2F;Regulatory&#x2F;Band%20Chart&#x2F;Hamb...

   1. bityard · 1790014013 · focus · HN ↗

      Correct. Encryption (or more specifically, obscuring the meaning of a message) is generally not allowed for amateur radio stations except in very narrow circumstances. So any hams using this would have to turn the encryption off.

      However, it looks like this stack has encryption available as an option for stations who are transmitting sensitive data and are NOT operating under an amateur license. (Probably government-sanctioned communications or emergency humanitarian efforts.)

      1. nowittyusername · 1790016853 · focus · HN ↗

         what would happen if you were to break that law? like im talking enforcement here not whats on the books.. for example torrenting and uploding copyrighted files is illegal but most people dont give a shit as enforecement is almost non existant. i know radio is taken more seriously then torrenting but this must also be very low on priority for the government unless you are jamming people or somehow stand out enough for anyone to care or notice....

         1. wmchen · 1790018218 · focus · HN ↗

            You&#x27;re right that most amateur radio regulations are self-policed by other amateur radio operators, and true enforcement is probably rarer than folks like to imagine.

            But depending on the environment (and noting that this project is specifically targeted towards communities seeking last-resort communication), there&#x27;s definitely still risk, even if there isn&#x27;t a spectrum authority with any real policing powers.

            For example (and I say this speculatively), if you&#x27;re broadcasting encrypted radio traffic in a conflict zone, it could be hard to differentiate between civilian traffic and military traffic happening on civilian bands, so you might be wrongly targeted by a drone strike.

            If you already have a target on your back, radio laws can still be arbitrarily applied upon oneself, as in the case of Aung San Suu Kyi, who was once detained on the pretense of illegally importing handheld radios. [1]

            [1]: <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;apnews.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmar-asia-ap-news-alert-government-and-politics-de86b98d2698ecdee1d17a84efa33808" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;apnews.com&#x2F;article&#x2F;aung-san-suu-kyi-myanmar-asia-ap-...

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