Subpart D--Technical Standards

§97.305 Authorized emission types.

(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 bandFrequenciesEmission Types AuthorizedStandards, see §97.307(f), paragraph:
MF:
160 mEntire bandRTTY, data(3)
-do--do-Phone, image(1), (2)
HF:
80 mEntire bandRTTY, data(3), (9)
75 mEntire bandPhone, image(1), (2)
40 m7.000-7.100 MHzRTTY, data (3), (9)
-do-7.075-7.100 MHzPhone, image(1), (2), (9), (11)
-do-7.100-7.150 MHzRTTY, data (3), (9)
-do-7.150-7.300 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
30 mEntire bandRTTY, data (3)
20 m14.00-14.15 MHzRTTY, data (3)
-do-14.15-14.35 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
17 m18.068-18.110 MHzRTTY, data (3)
-do-18.110-18.168 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
15 m21.0-21.2 MHzRTTY, data (3), (9)
-do-21.20-21.45 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
12 m24.89-24.93 MHzRTTY, data (3)
-do-24.93-24.99 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
10 m28.0-28.3 MHzRTTY, data (4)
-do-28.3-28.5 MHzPhone, image(1), (2), (10)
-do-28.5-29.0 MHzPhone, image(1), (2)
-do-29.0-29.7 MHzPhone, image(2)
VHF:
6 m50.1-51.0 MHzRTTY, data(5)
-do--do-MCW, phone, image(2)
-do-51.0-54.0 MHzRTTY, data, test(5), (8)
-do--do-MCW, phone, image(2)
2 m144.1-148.0 MHzRTTY, data, test(5), (8)
-do--do-MCW, phone, image(2)
1.25 m219-220 MHzData(13)
-do-222-225 MHzMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, test(2), (6), (8)
UHF:
70 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test(6), (8)
33 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
23 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test(7), (8), (12)
13 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
SHF:
9 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
5 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
3 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test(7), (8), (12)
1.2 cmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
EHF:
6 mmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
4 mmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
2.5 mmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
2 mmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
1 mmEntire bandMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)
--Above 300 GHzMCW, phone, image, RTTY, data, SS, test, pulse(7), (8), (12)

§97.307 Emission standards.

(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) 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 5 W, 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.

§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:

(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:

§97.311 SS emission types.

(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:

(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 (N0) and co-channel interference (I0). Average transmitter power over 1 W shall be automatically adjusted to maintain an Eb/(N0 + I0) ratio of no more than 23 dB at the intended receiver.

§97.313 Transmitter power standards.

(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:

(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 the FCC Rules, unless expressly authorized by the FCC after mutual agreement, on a case-by-case basis, between the EIC 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.

§97.315 Certification of external RF power amplifiers.

(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:

(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.

§97.317 Standards for certification of external RF power amplifiers.

(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:

(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:

(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: