Thursday, October 22, 2009

Can we retransmit an HF QSO?

Retransmitting Signals of Other Stations

Q: May my station retransmit the signals emanating from other amateur stations?

Yes, generally. Section 97.113, however, requires that the control operator of your station manually cause the retransmission because the radio signals of other amateur stations must not be automatically retransmitted.

Q: What do the words "manually" and "automatically" imply?

"Manually" means the retransmission is caused by some immediate physical action, e.g.,activating a push-to-talk key, voice-actuated-switch or similar action, by the control operator. "Automatically" means the retransmission is accomplished by some other means, such as a device which determines that a specific reaction is called for and then causes it to occur.

Q: Are there exceptions where my amateur station may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur stations?

Yes. The Rules provide such accommodation for three types of operation. Section 97.201 accommodates auxiliary stations, Section 97.205 accommodates repeater stations and Section 97.207 accommodates space stations.

Q: May my station retransmit the programs or signals emanating from any other type of radio station?

Section 97.113 provides two exceptions for retransmissions that are for the exclusive use of amateur operators. Your amateur station may retransmit occasionally as an incident of normal amateur radio communications, but not on a regular basis:

Propagation and weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and originated from United States Government stations; and

Communications, including incidental music, originating on United States Government frequencies between a space shuttle and its associated Earth stations. You must, however, obtain prior approval for shuttle retransmissions from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

See FCC site.

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