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FCC Regulations - Part 97 Amateur Radio Service
[Effective May 3, 2006.]
Subpart D Technical Standards
- (a) An amateur station may transmit a CW emission on any frequency authorized to the
control operator.
- (b) A station may transmit a test emission on any frequency authorized to the control
operator for brief periods for experimental purposes, except that no pulse modulation
emission may be transmitted on any frequency where pulse is not specifically
authorized and no SS modulation emission may be transmitted on any frequency where
SS is not specifically authorized.
(c) A station may transmit the following emission types on the frequencies indicated, as
authorized to the control operator, subject to the standards specified in §97.307(f) of
this part.
Wavelength
band | Frequencies
Authorized | Emission Types | Standards
See §97.307(f),
paragraph:
|
| MF: | | | |
| 160 m | Entire band | RTTY, data | (3) |
| -do- | -do- | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| HF: | | | |
| 80 m | Entire band | RTTY, data | (3), (9) |
| 75 m | Entire band | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 40 m | 7.000-7.100 MHz | RTTY, data | (3), (9) |
| -do- | 7.075-7.100 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2), (9), (11) |
| -do- | 7.100-7.150 MHz | RTTY, data | (3), (9) |
| -do- | 7.150-7.300 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 30 m | Entire band | RTTY, data | (3) |
| 20 m | 14.00-14.15 MHz | RTTY, data | (3) |
| -do- | 14.15-14.35 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 17 m | 18.068-18.110 MHz | RTTY, data | (3) |
| -do- | 18.110-18.168 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 15 m | 21.0-21.2 MHz | RTTY, data | (3), (9) |
| -do- | 21.20-21.45 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 12 m | 24.89-24.93 MHz | RTTY, data | (3) |
| -do- | 24.93-24.99 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| 10 m | 28.0-28.3 MHz | RTTY, data | (4) |
| -do- | 28.3-28.5 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2), (10) |
| -do- | 28.5-29.0 MHz | Phone, image | (1), (2) |
| -do- | 29.0-29.7MHz | Phone, image | (2) |
| VHF: | | | |
| 6 m | 50.1-51.0 MHz | RTTY, data | (5) |
| -do- | -do- | MCW, phone, image | (2) |
| -do- | 51.0-54.0 MHz | RTTY, data, test | (5), (8) |
| -do- | -do- | MCW, phone, image | (2) |
| 2 m | 144.1-148.0 MHz | RTTY, data, test | (5), (8) |
| -do- | -do- | MCW, phone, image | (2) |
| 1.25 m | 219-220 MHz | Data | (13) |
| -do- | 222-225 MHz | MCW, phone, image
RTTY, data, test | (2), (6), (8) |
| UHF: | | | |
| 70 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS, test | (6), (8) |
| 33 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS, test,
pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 23 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS, test | (7), (8), (12) |
| 13 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| SHF: | | | |
| 9 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 5 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 3 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS, test | (7), (8), (12) |
| 1.2 cm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| EHF: | | | |
| 6 mm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 4 mm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 2.5 mm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 2 mm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| 1 mm | Entire band | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
| Above 300 GHz | MCW, phone, image,
RTTY, data, SS,
test, pulse | (7), (8), (12) |
- (a) No amateur station transmission shall occupy more bandwidth than necessary for
the information rate and emission type being transmitted, in accordance with good
amateur practice.
- (b) Emissions resulting from modulation must be confined to the band or segment
available to the control operator. Emissions outside the necessary bandwidth must
not cause splatter or keyclick interference to operations on adjacent frequencies.
- (c) All spurious emissions from a station transmitter must be reduced to the greatest
extent practicable. If any spurious emission, including chassis or power line
radiation, causes harmful interference to the reception of another radio station, the
licensee of the interfering amateur station is required to take steps to eliminate the
interference, in accordance with good engineering practice.
- (d) For transmitters installed after January 1, 2003, the mean power of any spurious emission
from a station transmitter or external RF amplifier transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz
must be at least 43 dB below the mean power of the fundamental emission. For transmissions
installed on or before January 1, 2003, the mean power of any spurious emission from a station
transmitter or external RF power amplifier transmitting on a frequency below 30 MHz must
not exceed 50 mW and must be at least 40 dB below the mean power of the fundamental
emission. For a transmitter of mean power less than 5W installed on or before January 1,
2003, the attenuation must be at least 30 dB. A transmitter built before April 15, 1977, or first
marketed before January 1, 1978, is exempt from this requirement.
- (e) The mean power of any spurious emission from a station transmitter or external RF
power amplifier transmitting on a frequency between 30-225 MHz must be at least
60 dB below the mean power of the fundamental. For a transmitter having a mean
power of 25 W or less, the mean power of any spurious emission supplied to the
antenna transmission line must not exceed 25 µW and must be at least 40 dB below
the mean power of the fundamental emission, but need not be reduced below the
power of 10 µW. A transmitter built before April 15, 1977, or first marketed before
January 1, 1978, is exempt from this requirement.
- (f) The following standards and limitations apply to transmissions on the frequencies specified in
§97.305(c) of this Part.
- (1) No angle-modulated emission may have a modulation index greater than 1 at the
highest modulation frequency.
- (2) No non-phone emission shall exceed the bandwidth of a communications quality phone
emission of the same modulation type. The total bandwidth of an independent sideband
emission (having B as the first symbol), or a multiplexed image and phone emission, shall not
exceed that of a communications quality A3E emission.
- (3) Only a RTTY or data emission using a specified digital code listed in §97.309(a) of this Part
may be transmitted. The symbol rate must not exceed 300 bauds, or for frequency-shift keying,
the frequency shift between mark and space must not exceed 1 kHz.
- (4) Only a RTTY or data emission using a specified digital code listed in
§97.309(a) of this Part may be transmitted. The symbol rate must not exceed
1200 bauds. For frequency-shift keying, the frequency shift between mark and
space must not exceed 1 kHz.
- (5) A RTTY, data or multiplexed emission using a specified digital code listed in
§97.309(a) of this Part may be transmitted. The symbol rate must not exceed 19.6
kilobauds. A RTTY, data or multiplexed emission using an unspecified digital code under the
limitations listed in §97.309(b) of this Part also may be transmitted. The authorized bandwidth
is 20 kHz.
- (6) A RTTY, data or multiplexed emission using a specified digital code listed in §97.309(a) of this
Part may be transmitted. The symbol
rate must not exceed 56 kilobauds. A RTTY, data or multiplexed emission using an unspecified
digital code under the limitations listed in §97.309(b) of this Part also may be transmitted. The
authorized bandwidth is 100 kHz.
- (7) A RTTY, data or multiplexed emission using a specified digital code listed in §97.309(a) of this
Part or an unspecified digital code under the limitations listed in §97.309(b) of this Part may be
transmitted.
- (8) A RTTY or data emission having designators with A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J or R as the first
symbol; 1, 2, 7 or 9 as the second symbol; and D or W as the third symbol is also authorized.
- (9) A station having a control operator holding a Novice or Technician Class operator license may
only transmit a CW emission using the international Morse code.
- (10) A station having a control operator holding a Novice Class operator license or a
Technician Class operator license and who has received credit for proficiency in
telegraphy in accordance with the international requirements may only transmit
a CW emission using the international Morse code or phone emissions J3E and
R3E.
- (11) Phone and image emissions may be transmitted only by stations located in ITU
Regions 1 and 3, and by stations located within ITU Region 2 that are west of
130° West longitude or south of 20° North latitude.
- (12) Emission F8E may be transmitted.
- (13) A data emission using an unspecified digital code under the limitations listed in §
97.309(b) of this Part also may be transmitted. The authorized bandwidth is 100 kHz.
§97.309 RTTY and data emission codes.
- (a) Where authorized by §97.305(c) and 97.307(f) of this Part, an amateur station may
transmit a RTTY or data emission using the following specified digital codes:
- (1) The 5-unit, start-stop, International Telegraph Alphabet No. 2, code defined in ITU-T
Recommendation F.1, Division C (commonly known as "Baudot").
- (2) The 7-unit code specified in ITU-R Recommendations M.476-5 and M.625-3
(commonly known as "AMTOR").
- (3) The 7-unit, International Alphabet No. 5, code defined in ITU-T
Recommendation T.50 (commonly known as "ASCII").
- (4) An amateur station transmitting a RTTY or data emission using a digital code
specified in this paragraph may use any technique whose technical
characteristics have been documented publicly, such as CLOVER, G-TOR, or
PacTOR, for the purpose of facilitating communications.
- (b) Where authorized by §§97.305(c) and 97.307(f) of this Part, a station may transmit
a RTTY or data emission using an unspecified digital code, except to a station in a
country with which the United States does not have an agreement permitting the
code to be used. RTTY and data emissions using unspecified digital codes must not
be transmitted for the purpose of obscuring the meaning of any communication.
When deemed necessary by an EIC to assure compliance with the FCC Rules, a
station must:
- (1) Cease the transmission using the unspecified digital code;
- (2) Restrict transmissions of any digital code to the extent instructed;
- (3) Maintain a record, convertible to the original information, of all digital communications
transmitted.
- (a) SS emission transmissions by an amateur station are authorized only for
communications between points within areas where the amateur service is regulated
by the FCC and between an area where the amateur service is regulated by the FCC
and an amateur station in another country that permits such communications. SS
emission transmissions must not be used for the purpose of obscuring the meaning
of any communication.
- (b) A station transmitting SS emissions must not cause harmful interference to stations
employing other authorized emissions, and must accept all interference caused by
stations employing other authorized emissions.
- (c) When deemed necessary by a District Director to assure compliance with this Part,
a station licensee must:
- (1) Cease SS emission transmissions;
- (2) Restrict SS emission transmissions to the extent instructed; and
- (3) Maintain a record, convertible to the original information (voice, text, image,
etc.) of all spread spectrum communications transmitted.
- (d) The transmitter power must not exceed 100 W under any circumstances. If more than 1 W is used,
automatic transmitter control shall limit output power to that which is required for the
communication. This shall be determined by the use of the ratio, measured at the receiver, of the
received energy per user data bit (Eb) to the sum of the received power spectral densities of noise
adjusted to maintain an Eb/(N0 + I0) ratio of no more than 23 dB at the intended receiver.
- (a) An amateur station must use the minimum transmitter power necessary to carry out the desired
communications.
- (b) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 1.5 kW PEP.
- (c) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 200 W PEP on:
- (1) The 3.675-3.725 MHz, 7.10-7.15 MHz, 10.10-10.15 MHz and 21.1-21.2 MHz
segments;
- (2) The 28.1-28.5 MHz segment when the control operator is
a Novice Class operator or a Technician Class operator
who has received credit for proficiency in telegraphy in accordance with the
international requirements; or
- (3) The 7.050-7.075 MHz segment when the station is within ITU Regions 1 or 3.
- (d) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 25 W PEP on the VHF 1.25 m band
when the control operator is a Novice operator.
- (e) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 5 W PEP on the UHF 23 cm band when
the control operator is a Novice operator.
- (f) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 50 W PEP on the UHF 70 cm
band from an area specified in footnote US7 to § 2.106 of Part 2, unless expressly authorized
by the FCC after mutual agreement, on a case-by-case basis, between the District Director of
the applicable field facility and the military area frequency coordinator at the applicable
military base. An Earth station or telecommand station, however, may transmit on the 435-
438 MHz segment with a maximum of 611 W effective radiated power (1 kW equivalent
isotropically radiated power) without the authorization otherwise required. The transmitting
antenna elevation angle between the lower half-power (–3 dB relative to the peak or antenna
bore sight) point and the horizon must always be greater than 10°.
- (g) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 50 W PEP on the 33 cm band from
within 241 km of the boundaries of the White Sands Missile Range. Its boundaries are those
portions of Texas and New Mexico bounded on the south by latitude 31° 41' North, on the east by
longitude 104° 11' West, on the north by latitude 34° 30' North, and on the west by longitude 107°
30' West.
- (h) No station may transmit with a transmitter power exceeding 50 W PEP on the 219-220 MHz
segment of the 1.25 m band.
- (a) No more than 1 unit of 1 model of an external RF power amplifier capable of
operation below 144 MHz may be constructed or modified during any calendar year
by an amateur operator for use at a station without a grant of certification. No
amplifier capable of operation below 144 MHz may be constructed or modified by a
non-amateur operator without a grant of certification from the FCC.
- (b) Any external RF power amplifier or external RF power amplifier kit (see §2.815 of
the FCC Rules), manufactured, imported or modified for use in a station or attached
at any station must be certificated for use in the amateur service in accordance with
Subpart J of Part 2 of the FCC Rules. This requirement does not apply if one or
more of the following conditions are met:
- (1) The amplifier is not capable of operation on frequencies below 144 MHz. For the purpose of
this part, an amplifier will be deemed to be incapable of operation below 144 MHz if it is not
capable of being easily modified to increase its amplification characteristics below 120
MHz and either:
- (i) The mean output power of the amplifier decreases, as frequency decreases
from 144 MHz, to a point where 0 dB or less gain is exhibited at 120 MHz;
or
- (ii) The amplifier is not capable of amplifying signals below 120 MHz even for
brief periods without sustaining permanent damage to its amplification
circuitry.
- (2) The amplifier was manufactured before April 28, 1978, and has been issued a
marketing waiver by the FCC, or the amplifier was purchased before April 28,
1978, by an amateur operator for use at that amateur operator’s station.
- (3) The amplifier was:
- (i) Constructed by the licensee, not from an external RF power amplifier kit, for
use at the licensee’s station; or
- (ii) Modified by the licensee for use at the licensee’s station.
- (4) The amplifier is sold by an amateur operator to another amateur operator or to a dealer.
- (5) The amplifier is purchased in used condition by an equipment dealer from an amateur operator
and the amplifier is further sold to another amateur operator for use at that
operator’s station.
- (c) Any external RF power amplifier appearing in the Commission’s database as
certificated for use in the amateur service may be marketed for use in the amateur
service.
- (a) To receive a grant of certification, the amplifier must satisfy the spurious emission
standards of §97.307(d) or (e) of this Part, as applicable, when the amplifier is:
- (1) Operated at its full output power;
- (2) Placed in the “standby” or “off” positions, but still connected to the transmitter;
and
- (3) Driven with at least 50 W mean RF input power (unless higher drive level is
specified).
- (b) To receive a grant of certification, the amplifier must not be capable of operation
on any frequency or frequencies between 24 MHz and
35 MHz. The amplifier will be deemed incapable of such
operation if it:
- (1) Exhibits no more than 6 dB gain between 24 MHz and 26 MHz and between 28
MHz and 35 MHz. (This gain will be determined by the ratio of the input RF
driving signal (mean power measurement) to the mean RF output power of the
amplifier); and
- (2) Exhibits no amplification (0 dB gain) between 26 MHz and
28 MHz.
- (c) Certification may be denied when denial would prevent the use of these amplifiers
in services other than the amateur service. The following features will result in
dismissal or denial of an application for certification:
- (1) Any accessible wiring which, when altered, would permit operation of the amplifier in a
manner contrary to the FCC Rules;
- (2) Circuit boards or similar circuitry to facilitate the addition of components to
change the amplifier’s operating characteristics in a manner contrary to the FCC
Rules;
- (3) Instructions for operation or modification of the amplifier in a manner contrary
to the FCC Rules;
- (4) Any internal or external controls or adjustments to facilitate operation of the
amplifier in a manner contrary to the FCC Rules;
- (5) Any internal RF sensing circuitry or any external switch, the purpose of which
is to place the amplifier in the transmit mode;
- (6) The incorporation of more gain in the amplifier than is necessary to operate in
the amateur service; for purposes of this paragraph, the amplifier must:
- (i) Not be capable of achieving designed output power when driven with less
than 50 W mean RF input power;
- (ii) Not be capable of amplifying the input RF driving signal by more than 15
dB, unless the amplifier has a designed transmitter power of less than 1.5 kW
- (in such a case, gain must be reduced by the same number of dB as the
transmitter power relationship to 1.5 kW; This gain limitation is determined
by the ratio of the input RF driving signal to the RF output power of the
amplifier where both signals are expressed in peak envelope power or mean
power);
- (iii) Not exhibit more gain than permitted by paragraph (c)(6)(ii) of this Section
when driven by an RF input signal of less than 50 W mean power; and
- (iv) Be capable of sustained operation at its designed power level.
- (7) Any attenuation in the input of the amplifier which, when removed or modified,
would permit the amplifier to function at its designed transmitter power when
driven by an RF frequency input signal of less than 50 W mean power; or
- (8) Any other features designed to facilitate operation in a telecommunication
service other than the Amateur Radio Services, such as the Citizens Band (CB)
Radio Service.
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