Click here for Adobe Acrobat version
Click here for Microsoft Word version
********************************************************
NOTICE
********************************************************
This document was converted from Microsoft Word.
Content from the original version of the document such as
headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes, graphics, and page numbers
will not show up in this text version.
All text attributes such as bold, italic, underlining, etc. from the
original document will not show up in this text version.
Features of the original document layout such as
columns, tables, line and letter spacing, pagination, and margins
will not be preserved in the text version.
If you need the complete document, download the
Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat version.
*****************************************************************
Before the
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20554
In the Matter of
)
) File No.: EB-05-NY-297
Bob Paul d.b.a. LP Electronics
)
) Citation No: C20063238002
Holtsville, New York 11742
)
CITATION
Released: November 29, 2005
By the District Director, New York Office, Northeast Region,
Enforcement Bureau:
1. This is an Official Citation issued pursuant to Section
503(b)(5) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended
(``Act''),1 to Mr. Bob Paul d.b.a. LP Electronics for
violation of Section 302(b) of the Act,2 and Section
2.803(a)(1) of the Commission's Rules (``Rules'').3
2. An investigation by agents in the FCC's New York Office
revealed that on October 27, 2005, Mr. Bob Paul d.b.a. LP
Electronics offered for sale at his retail store located at
1031 Waverly Avenue, Holtsville, New York, six (6) models of
non-certified Citizens Band (CB) transceivers, namely:
NAME MODEL PRICE
DESCRIPTION
GALAXY DX 33 HML $159.95
``6 Band Radio''
GALAXY DX 45 MP $279.00
``8 Band Radio''
GALAXY DX 95 T
$479.95 ``100 Watts''
RANGER SS 3900 $289.95
``15 - 20 Watts''
SUPPERSTAR 3900 G $159.00
``6 Band Radio''
COBRA 200 GTL DX $325.00
``100 Watts''
According to the Commission's records, these devices have not
received an FCC equipment authorization, which is required for
Citizens Band transmitters marketed in the United States.
3. Additionally, agents in the New York Office found that LP
Electronics at 1031 Waverly Avenue, Holtsville, NY, is listed
as the contact on the Internet website
www.lpelectronics.safeshopper.com . On October 21, 2005,
agents found that LP Electronics, through the use of Internet
website www.lpelectronics.safeshopper.com, offered for sale
the following fourteen (14) non-certified Citizens Band
Transceivers;
NAME MODEL PRICE
DESCRIPTION
GALAXY DX 33 HML $189.95
``6 Band Radio''
GALAXY DX 55 HML $189.95
``6 Band Radio''
GALAXY DX 66 HML $259.95
``Echo''
GALAXY DX 45 MP $234.95
``Echo''
GALAXY DX 99V $359.95
``8 Band Radio''
GALAXY 95 T $459.95
``100 Watts''
CONNEX 3300 Confederate $219.95
``6 Band Radio''
CONNEX 3300 American $219.95
``6 Band Radio''
CONNEX 3300 HP $214.95
``15 Watts HP''
RANGER RCI 2970DX $419.95
RANGER 6900F150 $424.95
``12 Band Radio''
RANGER RCI 2950DX $294.95
RANGER 6300 FTB $419.95
``12 Band Radio''
COBRA 29 NW LTD $126.95
According to the Commission's records, these devices have not
received an FCC equipment authorization, which is required for
Citizens Band transmitters marketed in the United States.
4. Section 302(b) of the Act provides ``No 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.'' Section 2.803(a)(1) of the Rules provides that
``... no person shall sell or lease, or offer for sale or
lease (including advertising for sale or lease), or import,
ship or distribute for the purpose of selling or leasing or
offering for sale or lease, any radio frequency device unless:
(1) In the case of a device subject to certification, such
device has been authorized by the Commission in accordance
with the rules in this chapter and is properly identified and
labeled ....'' CB transmitters must be pursuant to Section
95.603(c) of the Rules.4 Mr. Bob Paul d.b.a. LP Electronics'
offer for sale of these devices violates both sections.
5. Mr. Bob Paul d.b.a. LP Electronics marketed these devices
as amateur and/or Citizen Band transceivers. The Commission
has evaluated radiofrequency devices similar to those listed
in paragraphs 2 and 3 and concluded that the devices at issue
are not only amateur radios but can easily be altered for use
as CB devices as well. A CB transmitter is a transmitter that
operates or is intended to operate at a station authorized for
the CB service, and it must be certificated by the FCC prior
to marketing or importation.5 The Commission has concluded
that amateur transceivers that "have a built-in capability to
operate on CB frequencies and can easily be altered to
activate that capability, such as by moving or removing a
jumper plug or cutting a single wire'' fall within the
definition of a CB transmitter and cannot legally be imported
or marketed in the United States. See Response from the
Commission's General Counsel to U.S. Customs Service dated May
17, 1999, 14 FCC Rcd 7797 (1999).
6. Additionally, dual use CB and amateur radios of the kind
at issue here may not be certificated under the Commission's
rules. Section 95.655(a) of the Rules states: ``. . .[CB]
Transmitters with frequency capability for the Amateur Radio
Services . . . will not be certificated... .''6 This
clarification was added to explicitly foreclose the
possibility of certification of dual use CB and amateur
radios, see id., and thereby deter use by CB operators of
frequencies allocated for amateur radio use.
7. Furthermore, the Commission has revised Section
2.1204(a)(5) of its Rules7 to prohibit all marketing and/or
offering for sale in the United States of such devices even
when the purchaser(s) had provided assurances that the
transceivers are being bought solely for export. ALL DOMESTIC
MARKETING OF SUCH DEVICES VIOLATES THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF
1934, AS AMENDED, AND THE COMMISSION'S RULES.
8. Violations of the Act and/or of the Commission's Rules
may subject the violator to substantial monetary forfeitures,8
seizure of equipment through in rem forfeiture action, and
criminal sanctions including imprisonment.9
9. Mr. Bob Paul d.b.a. LP Electronics may request an
interview at the closest FCC Office, which is Federal
Communications Commission, New York Office, 201 Varick Street,
Suite 1151, New York, New York 10014.10 You may contact this
office by telephone, (XXX) XXX-XXXX, to schedule this
interview, which must take place within fourteen (14) days of
the date of this Citation. Alternatively, you may submit a
written statement to the above address within fourteen (14)
days of the date of this Citation. Any written statement
should specify what actions have been taken to correct the
violations outlined above. Please reference case number EB-
05-NY-297 when corresponding with the Commission.
10. Any statement or information provided by you may be used
by the Commission to determine if any further enforcement
action is required.11 Any knowingly or willfully false
statement made in reply to this Citation is punishable fine or
imprisonment.12
11. IT IS ORDERED that copies of this Citation shall be sent
First Class U.S. Mail and, Certified Mail, Return Receipt
Requested, to LP Electronics at its address of record.
FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION
Daniel W. Noel
District Director
New York Office
Northeast Region
Enforcement Bureau
_________________________
1 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(5).
2 47 U.S.C. § 302(b).
3 47 C.F.R. § 2.803(a)(1).
4 47 C.F.R. § 95.603(c).
5 See 47 C.F.R. §§ 95.603(c), 2.803.
6 47 C.F.R. § 95.655(a); see also FCC 88-256, 1988 WL488084 (August
17, 1988).
7 47 C.F.R. § 2.1204(a)(5) revised effective February 28, 2000.
8 47 C.F.R. § 1.80(b)(3).
9 See 47 U.S.C. §§ 401, 501, 503, 510.
10 47 U.S.C. § 503(b)(5).
11 See Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a(e)(3).
12 See 18 U.S.C. § 1001 et seq.