parnass@ihuxz.ATT.COM (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) (05/11/89)
x
BOOK REVIEW: ANARC GUIDE TO U.S. MONITORING LAWS
by Bob Parnass, AJ9S
Do you as a monitoring hobbyist have the right to receive
whatever radio signals you want in the privacy of your
own home? No -- not any more. So say the infamous Elec-
tronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and a growing
number of state laws which took away this freedom. You
can find out about these restrictions in a new 39 page
paperback, ANARC Guide to U. S. Monitoring Laws.
If you are new to the radio hobby, you might not be fami-
liar with ANARC. ANARC is not a company. ANARC is the
Association of North American Radio Clubs, a well inten-
tioned umbrella organization of volunteers who look out
for the best interests of shortwave and scanner listeners
as well as TV, FM, and MW DXers. With the able Bob Hor-
vitz at the helm, ANARC led the fight against ECPA,
against FCC proposals to let Part 15 devices run hog wild
over the spectrum, and other issues of concern to radio
hobbyists.
The ANARC guide presents the text of the ECPA and the
restrictive anti scanner laws of 14 states. Author Frank
Terranella, ANARC's legal counsel and a radio hobbyist
from New Jersey, does a good job of translating the
legalese jargon into understandable English for the aver-
age person. He even cites a few real cases in which the
laws were applied.
The guide sells for $7.50, over 19 cents per page. This
may seem expensive, but where else can you get all this
legal information in one place? I've seen only one
source which surveyed radio listening laws. Several
years ago, before ECPA, Bearcat's SCAN organization pub-
lished a small pamphlet with very terse summaries of
state scanner laws.
As the author laments in the foreword, "it is unfortunate
that a guide such as this is necessary." Do you need
this guide? I think you do. Before you bring a scanner
along on vacation, you ought to know the scanner laws in
the states through which you drive. Being a ham radio
operator exempts you from Indiana's mobile scanner law,
but it would be a good idea to carry a copy of the law in
your car to show police if stopped. I recall when WA2PVK
had a 19" whip on his car, and was stopped by a policeman
in New Jersey to see if his car contained a scanner. New
Jersey doesn't exempt hams.
The ECPA stirred up a hornet's net of protest, but hobby-
ists couldn't compete with powerful, well funded lobby-
ists. It's too late to argue whether ECPA is right or
wrong -- it's law now. Several radio laws are difficult
to understand and the hobby needs an author skilled in
the legal profession and familiar with radio monitoring
to explain them. This book suits the need well.
ANARC Guide to U.S. Monitoring Laws is available for
$7.50 from ANARC Publications, P.O. Box 462, Northfield,
MN 55057.
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Bob Parnass AJ9S, AT&T Bell Laboratories - att!ihuxz!parnass - (312)979-5414sparks@corpane.UUCP (John Sparks) (05/13/89)
In article <4481@ihuxz.ATT.COM> parnass@ihuxz.ATT.COM (Bob Parnass, AJ9S) writes: >x > BOOK REVIEW: ANARC GUIDE TO U.S. MONITORING LAWS > > by Bob Parnass, AJ9S > > Do you as a monitoring hobbyist have the right to receive > whatever radio signals you want in the privacy of your > own home? No -- not any more. So say the infamous Elec- > tronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 and a growing > number of state laws which took away this freedom. I suspect the biggest culprit in ECPA-1986 is cellular phones. By limiting our rights to listen to the airwaves, they make it illegal to listen in on cellular phone calls. Once all the lawyers and politians (who LOVE cellular phones - nice status symbol) got wind of the fact that cellular phones were actually radio, and that it is legal to listen in on any radio broadcast, I bet they hurredly rushed ECPA through. And they had the clout to do it too. That's my theory anyway. Any facts out there? How close am I to the truth? Should I have posted this to talk.rumors? Am I asking to many questions? oops! Here come the scanner police... gotta go. bye. -- John Sparks | {rutgers|uunet}!ukma!corpane!sparks | D.I.S.K. 24hrs 1200bps [not for RHF] | sparks@corpane.UUCP | 502/968-5401 thru -5406 If a town has one lawyer, he starves; if it has two lawyers, they both get rich