[aprssig] PSKMail Live CD

[Steve Dimse]

On Dec 20, 2006, at 12:16 PM, Rick Green wrote:

>   Openness isn't just in the spirit of Ham radio, it's the law.  On  
> some level, using the Amateur frequencies to make transmissions in  
> proprietary protocols could be seen as proscribed under the 'Codes  
> and Ciphers' rule.  If the protocols that Winlink uses are indeed  
> closed, then its use on the ham bands is illegal, pure and simple.
>
That is not the case in the US. What is illegal is transmitting in  
codes or ciphers intended to obscure the meaning of the  
communication. That is not the same thing as a closed protocol.  
WinLink transmissions are in PACTOR III, which, although a  
proprietary protocol, is completely legal on the amateur bands. There  
is even a section of Part 97 that says that you can use unspecified  
digital codes on the air, there is no requirement to report the code  
to the FCC, much less to make it open!

Steve K4HG