From: "Jim Sewell" <jims@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 94 06:50:05 PDT
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: The un-BBS
In-Reply-To: <Pine.3.89.9404261926.A10986-0100000@netcom2>
Message-ID: <9404271349.AA04551@Central.KeyWest.MPGN.COM>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


<In mail Evidence Inc. said:>
> 
> No, the FCC interpretation was that Amateurs have an obligation 
> to make sure that all transmissions from their stations conform
> to the requirements of the FCC Part 97 rules.  Broadcasting encrypted
> communcations on amateur radio is itself a violation of the rules.
> That's right!! the government has already banned encryption.... on
> Ham Radio.

Not entirely true...

  The rules governing amateur radio operators says that you can not
  use any secret codes or ciphers whose intent is to obscure meaning.
								  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
  ASCII is a code but it is used in packet and such to convey information
  in an agreed upon format, not to obscure the meaning of the message.

  My contention is that a signature, while encrypted, is not encrypted
  to obscure the meaning.  It says it is a sig, it is a sig, and contains
  no other information that is not readily available (email addresses can
  be included, but it is retrievable with a commonly available program PGP.)

  Oh, and don't let the 2 by 3 format of my callsign mislead you.  It's my
  original callsign... I didn't want to bother with making everyone learn
  a new one.

  [If anyone has specific ham radio questions not relating to crypto,
   please feel free to write email to me.]

-- 
 Tantalus Inc.			Jim Sewell      Amateur Radio: KD4CKQ
 P.O. Box 2310		    Programmer           Internet: jims@mpgn.com
 Key West, FL 33045	    C-Unix-PC          Compu$erve: 71061,1027
 (305)293-8100 						     PGP via email on request. 
 1K-bit Fingerprint: 8E 14 68 90 37 87 EF B3  C4 CF CD 9A 3E F9 4A 73