The 60 m Channel and the Unlicensed Neighbor
You hold an Extra class license and operate on 60 m. A neighbor, who holds a Technician license, asks to use your station while you are away for the weekend. You agree and leave written instructions: 'Use 5.332 MHz USB, 100 W, and call CQ.' On Monday you review the log and see he transmitted on 5.332 MHz at 100 W PEP for two hours, and also made a 10-minute contact on 3.850 MHz LSB at 100 W. He tells you he 'read that 60 m is channelized' but did not check the rules. Your station's transmitter is commercial gear; you have the manual and the Part 97 text on the shelf.
1. Evaluate the legality of each transmission and identify who bears responsibility.
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5.332 MHz USB at 100 W PEP: This is a permitted 60 m channel for General/Extra (and Technician) licensees, and 100 W PEP is the maximum permitted on 60 m. USB is the required mode. This transmission is legal (assuming the channel is correct and the station is properly identified). 3.850 MHz LSB at 100 W: 3.850 MHz is in the 75/80 m band. Technician class has no phone privileges on 80/75 m (Technician phone is limited to 10 m and above, plus limited 80 m CW/data sub-bands). A Technician transmitting LSB phone at 3.850 MHz is operating outside his privileges - an illegal transmission. Responsibility: The control operator is responsible for the station's proper operation. When you leave the station under a less-privileged licensee's control, you must ensure he operates within his privileges, not yours. You are the station licensee and the control operator of record; you share responsibility for the illegal 3.850 MHz transmission. Leaving written instructions that permit an out-of-privilege contact is a violation on your part as well.
2. What should you have done differently before leaving the station, and what should you do now?
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Before: 1) Verify the guest's license class and the exact privileges he may exercise (frequency, mode, power). A Technician may use 60 m channels and 10 m phone, but not 75/80 m phone. 2) Provide a written frequency/mode/power card limited to his privileges, not yours. 3) Ensure a control operator is designated and that the station can be disabled remotely if needed. 4) Confirm he knows identification requirements and the 60 m channel rules. Now: 1) Document the incident in the station log. 2) Advise the neighbor of the violation and that he must not repeat it. 3) Do not conceal it - the station licensee is responsible for the station's operation. 4) Review Part 97 §97.103/§97.105 (station licensee and control operator duties) and §97.301 (privileges by class). The corrective lesson: guest operating privileges are bounded by the guest's license, and the host must enforce that boundary.