Re: [amsat-bb] serious S-band Interference problem

[Bruce Bostwick <lihan161051@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

IANAL, but as far as I recall with every cordless phone I've bought, 
there are disclaimers in the manual that explicitly state users should 
not expect privacy.

I also recall that somebody tried this in a criminal case when they 
made incriminating statements on a cordless phone and then their highly 
paid defense attorney tried to get the phone transcripts ruled 
inadmissible because they were obtained without a warrant, and the 
court ruled against them and admitted the evidence because there could 
be no legitimate expectation of privacy.  As I understand it, this has 
long since become black letter law, so if you're after someone with a 
cordless phone, don't worry about getting sued -- they'll most likely 
be laughed out of court.

As far as I know, the only exception to this is for *analog* cellphone 
service in the 820/860 MHz band, which is protected by special FCC 
regulations explicitly tailored to that service.  The GSM and GMRS 
phones use encryption strong enough that you won't accidentally 
eavesdrop on communications, so as long as you're listening only on 
analog modes and not decrypting anything you're safe in 2.4 GHz .. and 
that's all you're doing because you're just looking for the 
transmitter, not explicitly trying to intercept communications.  And as 
a primary user of the band I believe you're fully entitled to do that 
.. again, IANAL, and consulting a lawyer may still be advisable, but 
that's my understanding of the regs as they stand ..

On Monday, Jan 13, 2003, at 11:41 US/Central, Steve wrote:

>  I agree with you that transmissions inside an amateur band should
> be considered public but I'm going to make sure before I pursue it
> any further. If I have an FCC decision in hand, I may be able to avoid
> having to protect my rights in court because some cordless phone
> user has a lawyer in the family.

           --... ...-- -.. . -. ..... ...- -...
                   Bruce Bostwick N5VB

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