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I thought to myself: "This looks like a good time to stock up on SDR equipment, in case this ever goes through." And then I realized this is exactly the same t

by Vexs 11y ago

I thought to myself: "This looks like a good time to stock up on SDR equipment, in case this ever goes through." And then I realized this is exactly the same thing gun enthusiasts thought when they though Obama would limit their guns/bullets, and stocked up on them, and I thought it was silly. I guess we're a lot more similar than I would have thought, made me think a little bit more about it. I'm reminded a bit of that "first they came for me" poem/story.

aylons 11y ago
Specifically, SDR kits are usually rated as professional and test equipment, which are not certified by the FCC. The OP is about consumer products and other FCC-certified products.
- fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
  >SDR kits are usually rated as professional and test equipment The cheap ones aren't even that. They're repurposed/upcycled television DTV receivers.
  - kuschku 11y ago
    Often by people manually modifying ones they bought themselves. And, interestingly, many satellite receivers allow users to just enter a frequency in the supported range and they will happily load and display the data on that frequency.
  - csirac2 11y ago
    FWIW I haven't seen anything in the new rules (admittedly I have focused on SDR and U-NII regs) which pretends to cover anything but intentional radiators (i.e. transmitters).
- csirac2 11y ago
  I think they're not rated as anything. They simply have no manufacturer-supplied licensing/approvals whatsoever. So it is up to the user to gain an appropriate license and operate them to the conditions stipulated by that license.
jMyles 11y ago
FWIW, I don't think there's a lot of regret among gun enthusiasts who stocked up. They like guns, they like ammo, and they found a reason to buy in bulk. The people I know are happy they did. I can imagine being pretty happy in a year or two having stocked up on SDR gear. :-)
- tbyehl 11y ago
  As a gun enthusiast who didn't stock up, I really hate those guys. I basically couldn't go to the range for over a year because Walmart was always out of the Winchester White Box and whatever other cheap FMJ they carried, and everyone else who could keep inventory had jacked their prices to unreasonable levels. I finally had to start going to Walmart every morning before work to figure out which day the shelves got stocked. A couple of Tuesday morning visits later I had made my own little contribution to the problem by building my own hoard of bullets that I didn't really want just because I wanted to be able to go to the range once in a while without paying range prices for ammo... Hoarders suck.
- guelo 11y ago
  And I bet those people would never concede that their favorite political commentators that whipped up a frenzy without any evidence were 100% completely wrong about what Obama was going to do. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people think that Obama actually did ban bullets. And they still listen to their favorite loud mouths and take them seriously. The FCC thing is based on actual information, not the fevered mind of deranged anti-Obama conspiracy theorists.
  - jMyles 11y ago
    Your mileage may of course vary, but as I said, in my circles it wasn't so much a knee-jerk reaction as a decision to take the occasion to buy in bulk. I haven't yet met any of the stereotypical deranged gun owners that I keep hearing about. Although I'm not a gun owner myself, I have visited ranges and gun shops throughout the US and all the "gun people" I've met have been peaceful, helpful, open-minded, and friendly. And FWIW, you don't need to subscribe to a "deranged anti-Obama conspiracy theory"; the market mostly moved (quite rationally) after the Obama administration announced support for the so-called UN Treaty on Trade in Small Arms. The conference concluded without adoption of a treaty, but US support has made it more likely, and passage may well mean decreased availability of small arms and ammunition.
d23 11y ago
Just a nitpick, but the poem wouldn't make much sense if the first line was "first they came for me" :-)
userbinator 11y ago
I'm reminded of another similar saying (paraphrased): "If you outlaw free operating systems, only outlaws will have free operating systems." Also, http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html
csirac2 11y ago
Do you have any FCC certified SDR kit currently? This only impacts an OEM/importer's ability to gain FCC approval/certification for new devices. If you're not slapping FCC stickers on things, or are using something that never had an FCC sticker on it in the first place, this doesn't impact such apparatus (you always needed a separate license to operate HackRF & friends).

by Vexs 11y ago

aylons 11y ago

Specifically, SDR kits are usually rated as professional and test equipment, which are not certified by the FCC. The OP is about consumer products and other FCC-certified products.

fnordfnordfnord 11y ago
>SDR kits are usually rated as professional and test equipment The cheap ones aren't even that. They're repurposed/upcycled television DTV receivers.
- kuschku 11y ago
  Often by people manually modifying ones they bought themselves. And, interestingly, many satellite receivers allow users to just enter a frequency in the supported range and they will happily load and display the data on that frequency.
- csirac2 11y ago
  FWIW I haven't seen anything in the new rules (admittedly I have focused on SDR and U-NII regs) which pretends to cover anything but intentional radiators (i.e. transmitters).
csirac2 11y ago
I think they're not rated as anything. They simply have no manufacturer-supplied licensing/approvals whatsoever. So it is up to the user to gain an appropriate license and operate them to the conditions stipulated by that license.

jMyles 11y ago

FWIW, I don't think there's a lot of regret among gun enthusiasts who stocked up. They like guns, they like ammo, and they found a reason to buy in bulk. The people I know are happy they did. I can imagine being pretty happy in a year or two having stocked up on SDR gear. :-)

tbyehl 11y ago
As a gun enthusiast who didn't stock up, I really hate those guys. I basically couldn't go to the range for over a year because Walmart was always out of the Winchester White Box and whatever other cheap FMJ they carried, and everyone else who could keep inventory had jacked their prices to unreasonable levels. I finally had to start going to Walmart every morning before work to figure out which day the shelves got stocked. A couple of Tuesday morning visits later I had made my own little contribution to the problem by building my own hoard of bullets that I didn't really want just because I wanted to be able to go to the range once in a while without paying range prices for ammo... Hoarders suck.
guelo 11y ago
And I bet those people would never concede that their favorite political commentators that whipped up a frenzy without any evidence were 100% completely wrong about what Obama was going to do. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those people think that Obama actually did ban bullets. And they still listen to their favorite loud mouths and take them seriously. The FCC thing is based on actual information, not the fevered mind of deranged anti-Obama conspiracy theorists.
- jMyles 11y ago
  Your mileage may of course vary, but as I said, in my circles it wasn't so much a knee-jerk reaction as a decision to take the occasion to buy in bulk. I haven't yet met any of the stereotypical deranged gun owners that I keep hearing about. Although I'm not a gun owner myself, I have visited ranges and gun shops throughout the US and all the "gun people" I've met have been peaceful, helpful, open-minded, and friendly. And FWIW, you don't need to subscribe to a "deranged anti-Obama conspiracy theory"; the market mostly moved (quite rationally) after the Obama administration announced support for the so-called UN Treaty on Trade in Small Arms. The conference concluded without adoption of a treaty, but US support has made it more likely, and passage may well mean decreased availability of small arms and ammunition.

d23 11y ago

Just a nitpick, but the poem wouldn't make much sense if the first line was "first they came for me" :-)

userbinator 11y ago

I'm reminded of another similar saying (paraphrased): "If you outlaw free operating systems, only outlaws will have free operating systems." Also, http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html

csirac2 11y ago

Do you have any FCC certified SDR kit currently? This only impacts an OEM/importer's ability to gain FCC approval/certification for new devices. If you're not slapping FCC stickers on things, or are using something that never had an FCC sticker on it in the first place, this doesn't impact such apparatus (you always needed a separate license to operate HackRF & friends).