Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] FCC creates obstacles for Open Source software radio

[John Clark]

David Young schrieb:
> Do you think that the software that concerns the FCC is concerned with
> must reside in the radio?  Sometimes the transmission parameters such
> as modulation, mask, and power are under control of the host computer.
> If the FCC's definition of software-defined radio encompasses software
> running on the host computer, then it seems that they have encumbered
> the development of open-source software for a broad category of devices,
> including most of the 802.11 radios on the market.  I feel certain that
> this was not their intention, but I do not think one can tell by reading
> the law alone, and that is worrisome.  What do you think?

Such 'regulations' could very well be in conjunction with being very 
'sympathetic' to certain business
interests which could have a benefit of forcing any one in the 
competative set, to use a 'commercial'
product at some level for their radio.

Chip manufacturers have often stated they 'can't' publish internal specs 
which would allow developers
to access the chip features to produce custom applications, which are 
within regulation, because of
such rules by the FCC. And of course that ruling is publicly stated as 
to prevent someone, somewhere,
somehow misusing the equipment... as if that was not impossible by the 
closure of the information
at this level.

Obviously this would get more so, when the 'chip' is replaced by a 
software defined radio implementation.

John Clark.