> Secondly, you certainly do have the right to decode PactorIII if you > wish, but there is no godgiven right for you to get a free modem. > What makes you think you have the "right" to get something for nothing > (albeit many hams have been acustomed to it with many soundcard digis)?
It is my view that proprietary modes that disallow free decoding should never be allowed on spectrum designated for Ham use. A proprietary mode that disallows free decoding renders the FCC requirement for self-policing functionally improbable for financial reasons -- unless the proprietors of the proprietary mode provides free decoding hardware to all of the OO's -- and even that would fall well short of the self-regulatory expectations of the FCC. I would be happy to sign-on to proposed FCC action that would make proprietary modes that cannot be freely decoded via commonly available sound card technology illegal on Ham spectrum. This would not limit experimentation -- special restricted and temporary permits are available through a FCC process for that. When a proprietary mode gets into "the wild", as they say in computer virus terms, then control is lost. The probability of abuse and/or misuse is inversely proportional to the likelihood of transmissions being monitored. If someone wants to add a mode to those legally available to Hams they should be required to make *decoding* (not transmission) freely available. They may still profit from the sale of proprietary *coding* technology. This is the same as Adobe giving away their PDF reader but charging for their coder. -- Thanks! & 73, doc kd4e http://bibleseven.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/ELTolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Need a Digital mode QSO? Connect to Telnet://cluster.dynalias.org Other areas of interest: The MixW Reflector : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/themixwgroup/ DigiPol: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Digipol (band plan policy discussion) Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/digitalradio/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
