Background music

[wa2dtw]

Something I've wondered about for years:  We all know that it is illegal for a ham to transmit music over the air.  But- if there is a radio on in the background, and some of the music is picked up by the mic during a QSO, is THAT illegal?
73
Steve

[Rick K5IAR]

My understanding is it would be illegal. 

Rick/K5IAR

[KF1Z]

97.113 Prohibited transmissions.
(a) No amateur station shall transmit:

...

(4) Music using a phone emission except
as specifically provided elsewhere
in this section; communications intended
to facilitate a criminal act;
messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring
their meaning, except as otherwise
provided herein; obscene or indecent
words or language; or false or deceptive
messages, signals or identification.

...............


(e) No station shall retransmit programs
or signals emanating from any
type of radio station other than an
amateur station, except propagation
and weather forecast information intended
for use by the general public
and originated from United States Government
stations and communications,
including incidental music, originating
on United States Government frequencies
between a space shuttle and
its associated Earth stations. Prior approval
for shuttle retransmissions
must be obtained from the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Such retransmissions must be for the
exclusive use of amateur operators.
Propagation, weather forecasts, and
shuttle retransmissions may not be
conducted on a regular basis, but only
occasionally, as an incident of normal
amateur radio communications.
======

[Pete, WA2CWA]

If you're in a QSO and discussing the vocals of Wilson Pickett, and, in the heat of the moment, grab the mike and break into a chorus of Mustang Sally, is that considered illegal

[Carl WA1KPD]

If you're in a QSO and discussing the vocals of Wilson Pickett, and, in the heat of the moment, grab the mike and break into a chorus of Mustang Sally, is that considered illegal

At least in my case, no one would ever consider it to be music

[KF1Z]

Yes....
Let's not forget the "obscenity" clause.... 

[k4kyv]

And what about singing, with no instrumental accompaniment?  Is that music, or just speech with exaggerated intonation?  As far as I know there is no rule against reading poetry over the air.

And what do you do if the music is unavoidable, for example, someone nearby, but off your property, is playing loud music, or a car playing loud music drives by?  Are you legally required to sign off the air just because some jerk next door won't turn his stereo down?

What are you supposed to do if there is a street brawl in front of your shack and they start shouting profanity before the cops arrive?

More than once I have heard background profanity broadcast on radio and TV news, and I never heard anything about the station getting a citation.

My take is that there is a distinction between background noise and the intended audio program content.

[Pete, WA2CWA]

Definitions of music on the Web:
* an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner
Almost sounds like "normal" conversation to me; bulletin service is done in a structured and continuous manner; I guess rapping to Riders On the Storm is probably out

* any agreeable (pleasing and harmonious) sounds
I guess bird chirping is out ; wind chimes

* musical activity (singing or whistling etc.)
I guess no whistle tests into the mike; I'll have to go back to counting them

* (music) the sounds produced by singers or musical instruments (or reproductions of such sounds)

[N3DRB The Derb]

wind chimes

* musical activity (singing or whistling etc.)

Irb musta violated those rules 100,000 times. 

[Ed KB1HVS]

And the ever famous Hawaiian Nose Harp

[Bacon, WA3WDR]

Back around 1970, the FCC cited somebody for having music audible in the background.  The music was from a party, and the FCC said that if music was audible at all on the signal, it was a violation.

This was one of the 'Icedale' parties, and the FCC at that time was very much looking to bust the Icedale crew for anything it could find.  I can tell you that music was often very audible on the signal.

It seems unlikely that a ham would be busted for an unexpected outburst, such as someone outside the window hit his thumb with a hammer and suddenly started screaming obscenities, especially if the station quickly unkeyed.  That would show intent to avoid such a transmission.

But if a regular pattern of background music is heard, and nothing is done to stop it, or if a ham continued to transmit an outburst of obscenities and made no effort to prevent it from being heard, or maybe even turned up the gain so it would be more audible, then the FCC might send a notice of violation, because it would show no intent to avoid such a transmission.

[kb1jcy]

Regarding obscenities: If I'm having an mobile QSO and someone cuts me off on the highway which causes me to cuss in an ongoing QSO, would I get busted something fierce by the FCC for that? Mind you that I dropped the mic to swerve into the next lane to avoid the asshat.

Regarding music:
Does rapping count? Cuz I'm da KB1 to da JCY. Werd.

[W1ATR]

What a bunch of girls. You guys ain't doin' it right. If your going to accidentally break the rules, you might as well break as many as possible all at once. That's like robbing a bank, and only taking the change.

This is how I roll:

My slopbucket station consists of a 200W Yaesu ricebox with a ART Pro Channel(eq, comp, and pre all in one box), running into the balanced modulator, fed with a hot condenser mic up on a boom. The amp is(was) a pair of 4-1000's with 4800 on the plates from a tranny capable of 3 amps.(read: plenty of reserve.) Metering is a plain old Bird 43 with a peak kit installed and a 2500W slug.

Now add the variable: 3ft tall Ruby Macaw with a bad attitude less than 10 feet away in the next room, doors open.

Now I like to run the mic gain up a bit so I don't have to eat the mic, and let the radio drive the amp to legal limit, and everything is cool. Have a qso going, house is quiet, cold 807, a roll of Ritz and couple pieces of cheese. Life is good, no rules broken yet. (Few more of those 807's and it'll be a different story.) Now with this bird, something in her bird type brain gets riled up if she can hear someone talking, but can't see them. All of a sudden, out of the blue like the crack of a close lightning strike, a blood curdling  110dB "SSQUUUAAWWWWKKKKK" screeches thru the house like tires squealing from inside your head and you can't block them out. The poor cat, who's already nervous like it's his job, jumps 8 feet in the air with his tail fluffed out 3" in diameter like one of those dusters, and goes and stuffs himself in the 2" space between the fridge and the counter.(He'll be there for the night now.)

Let's count the rules.(just the broken ones)

1. The intermod has to be off the scale, that squawk is between 4-6kHz, right where the EQ is pushed up quite a bit. It makes the needle on the radio bounce off the other end of the scale.

2. The actual sound itself. It's not music, but it IS extremely annoying interference and incredibly loud over the air.  Downright painful if you have headphones on. It escalated into and argument once.

3. The bird 43 shows the amps' output going to full scale (remember the slug) and staying there for a second. 

4. Last, but not least, all this is followed up with me yelling "Shut that f'n bird up before I kill it!!" on an open mic.

I think everyone bends the rules once and a while. My opinion, Sh!t happens, live with it.

SK

 

[KB2WIG]

                   " Does rapping count? Cuz I'm da KB1 to da JCY. Werd. "


No, rap comes under " malicious interference "  .... ..        klc

[WA3VJB]

What a bunch of girls.

WATCH IT, Bub !!

Women's voices on AM are music to my ears.