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ARRL now conducts background checks on ARES volunteers, so the issue is rather moot (in fact ARC and ARRL have an MOU stating that ARRL is responsible for backg

ARRL now conducts background checks on ARES volunteers, so the issue is rather moot (in fact ARC and ARRL have an MOU stating that ARRL is responsible for background checks on their volunteers assisting ARC, which presumably applies to this call as well). There have just been too many incidents of people with e.g. sexual assault on their rap sheets turning up working in shelters where there are all manner of vulnerable people. Terrible optics if nothing else. I suspect the general class requirement is just to cut down the applicants to a pool of more dedicated people. A very real problem with disaster volunteers, if I might be a little harsh especially from the amateur radio side, is "fair-weather responders" who will go through all the training and then not actually deploy. I've also personally found that people with higher class licenses are more likely to be into digital modes which is what they're mostly looking for, but that's getting less true as the equipment gets cheaper (to be honest I've never even seen a packet TNC in person). I happen to be both an ARC disaster worker and amateur radio operator, but I speak for myself.

TallGuyShort 9y ago
Given the negative PR against shelters that threatened to do background checks on all the other people they let into the shelters in the lead up to the recent hurricanes, that's gotta be just a CYA move, no? Isn't there a check that you're not a felon already in the FCC licensing process?
- jcrawfordor 9y ago
  No, felons are absolutely not prohibited from having amateur radio licenses or even being ARRL members. ARC does not conduct background checks on shelter clients and to do so would almost certainly be found to be against the principle of neutrality, however, shelter clients are asked if they are required to register their location with the government (often because they are registered sex criminals) and there are procedures in place if so (although this is not an easy problem and has caused difficulty in the past).
  - VLM 9y ago
    They stopped asking the felon question for only a couple years, was basically an oversight, now its recent news that its coming back again. http://www.arrl.org/news/revised-fcc-form-605-will-ask-applicants-the-felony-question http://www.arrl.org/news/revised-fcc-form-605-will-ask-appli... The most famous felony-ham-license battle I can think of is the Kevin Mitnick incident from the turn of the century... the FCC lost and ended up renewing his license after all. I vaguely remember some 80s guys getting felony convictions for interfering with police radios and then losing their ham radio license. Of course the future does not necessarily rely on past events and policies.
BackPropagate 9y ago
They should restrict it to extras like me. And not the new mail-order no-code ones. I had to go to FCC field office on Varick Street and take code test.
dmoy 9y ago
What do all those acronyms mean?
- jacquesm 9y ago
  http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm
- olympus 9y ago
  ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is an emergency response group of amateur radio operators. Hurricane wipes out all the phones, but radios still work. ARES operators help with emergency communications until the phones and internet get fixed. ARC is American Red Cross. The ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) is the main club of amateur radio operators in the USA. There are lots of facets to amateur radio, not just emergency response. There are contests where people try to make many radio contacts (or long distance contacts, or contacts using a certain range of frequencies, etc.), people that just like to chat (known as rag chewing), and serious researchers that develop new modes of wireless communication that may even make it to commercial products. ARRL supports all licensed amateur radio operators in the USA. MOU is a memorandum of understanding, basically a business agreement. TNC is a terminal node controller, it's the box that interfaces your digital object (computer or phone) with your analog radio. Many new/expensive radios have built in digital capabilities, but most radios need an audio input.
  - hcrisp 9y ago
    ARRL has this site where you can search by license number or name [0]. I checked for mine and it expired a couple years ago. [0] http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search
  - TimTheTinker 9y ago
    Just to add another facet: there are folks from other hobbies (like R/C planes) who obtain an amateur radio license because it lets them legally transmit at higher power levels.
ams6110 9y ago
> There have just been too many incidents of people with e.g. sexual assault on their rap sheets turning up working in shelters where there are all manner of vulnerable people. No chance such a person might be trying to help others as a sort of payback to society for his past transgressions, I guess. Or might have such a record because some girl at his school had a morning-after regret and now he has a record that prevents him from doing almost anything else with his time other than volunteer.
- baddox 9y ago
  There’s certainly a chance of that happening, but that’s a much more acceptable risk than letting an unrepentant criminal claim another victim.
  - dagenleg 9y ago
    Why do you assume that the criminal is 'unrepentant'? If he is released from prison after serving the sentence doesn't it imply a chance for rehabilitation?
    - baddox 9y ago
      I’m talking about a former criminal who commits another crime. Perhaps “unrepentant” isn’t the best word, and “unrehabilitated” is better.
    - freehunter 9y ago
      Why do you assume a criminal is repentant? Past performance does not indicate future results, but the 5-year recidivism rate for former criminals in the US is nearly 80%, so I think some prudence is certainly in order.
      - dagenleg 9y ago
        US is a bad example. The way former convicts are treated in the US - their whole lives being ruined and employment opportunities denied - one could argue they are almost deliberately pushed into the life of crime.

TallGuyShort 9y ago

Given the negative PR against shelters that threatened to do background checks on all the other people they let into the shelters in the lead up to the recent hurricanes, that's gotta be just a CYA move, no? Isn't there a check that you're not a felon already in the FCC licensing process?

jcrawfordor 9y ago
No, felons are absolutely not prohibited from having amateur radio licenses or even being ARRL members. ARC does not conduct background checks on shelter clients and to do so would almost certainly be found to be against the principle of neutrality, however, shelter clients are asked if they are required to register their location with the government (often because they are registered sex criminals) and there are procedures in place if so (although this is not an easy problem and has caused difficulty in the past).
- VLM 9y ago
  They stopped asking the felon question for only a couple years, was basically an oversight, now its recent news that its coming back again. http://www.arrl.org/news/revised-fcc-form-605-will-ask-applicants-the-felony-question http://www.arrl.org/news/revised-fcc-form-605-will-ask-appli... The most famous felony-ham-license battle I can think of is the Kevin Mitnick incident from the turn of the century... the FCC lost and ended up renewing his license after all. I vaguely remember some 80s guys getting felony convictions for interfering with police radios and then losing their ham radio license. Of course the future does not necessarily rely on past events and policies.

BackPropagate 9y ago

They should restrict it to extras like me. And not the new mail-order no-code ones. I had to go to FCC field office on Varick Street and take code test.

dmoy 9y ago

What do all those acronyms mean?

jacquesm 9y ago
http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm http://www.ac6v.com/jargon.htm
olympus 9y ago
ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) is an emergency response group of amateur radio operators. Hurricane wipes out all the phones, but radios still work. ARES operators help with emergency communications until the phones and internet get fixed. ARC is American Red Cross. The ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League) is the main club of amateur radio operators in the USA. There are lots of facets to amateur radio, not just emergency response. There are contests where people try to make many radio contacts (or long distance contacts, or contacts using a certain range of frequencies, etc.), people that just like to chat (known as rag chewing), and serious researchers that develop new modes of wireless communication that may even make it to commercial products. ARRL supports all licensed amateur radio operators in the USA. MOU is a memorandum of understanding, basically a business agreement. TNC is a terminal node controller, it's the box that interfaces your digital object (computer or phone) with your analog radio. Many new/expensive radios have built in digital capabilities, but most radios need an audio input.
- hcrisp 9y ago
  ARRL has this site where you can search by license number or name [0]. I checked for mine and it expired a couple years ago. [0] http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search http://www.arrl.org/advanced-call-sign-search
- TimTheTinker 9y ago
  Just to add another facet: there are folks from other hobbies (like R/C planes) who obtain an amateur radio license because it lets them legally transmit at higher power levels.

ams6110 9y ago

> There have just been too many incidents of people with e.g. sexual assault on their rap sheets turning up working in shelters where there are all manner of vulnerable people. No chance such a person might be trying to help others as a sort of payback to society for his past transgressions, I guess. Or might have such a record because some girl at his school had a morning-after regret and now he has a record that prevents him from doing almost anything else with his time other than volunteer.

baddox 9y ago
There’s certainly a chance of that happening, but that’s a much more acceptable risk than letting an unrepentant criminal claim another victim.
- dagenleg 9y ago
  Why do you assume that the criminal is 'unrepentant'? If he is released from prison after serving the sentence doesn't it imply a chance for rehabilitation?
  - baddox 9y ago
    I’m talking about a former criminal who commits another crime. Perhaps “unrepentant” isn’t the best word, and “unrehabilitated” is better.
  - freehunter 9y ago
    Why do you assume a criminal is repentant? Past performance does not indicate future results, but the 5-year recidivism rate for former criminals in the US is nearly 80%, so I think some prudence is certainly in order.
    - dagenleg 9y ago
      US is a bad example. The way former convicts are treated in the US - their whole lives being ruined and employment opportunities denied - one could argue they are almost deliberately pushed into the life of crime.