[drats_users] Non-Hams On D-RATS

[Kirk Talbott]

Using the D-RATS automatic E-mail forwarding feature with a manned or
unmanned D-RATS RF station appears to violate FCC Part 97.219d listed
below.  Since D-RATS cannot accommodate paragraph (1) because non-hams
ARE getting on D-RATS,  most D-RATS users won’t want to live by paragraph
(2).   In fact most D-RATS users probably don’t know this problem exists
and are experimenting with D-RATS RF at will not realizing that non-hams
doing an E-mail forward through their stations might be illegal.  So would
a file transfer with a non-ham station I should think.  D-RATS does have
a provision to handle the problem however and that is to disable 
automatic E-mail forwarding and disable file transfers.  But that’s a big
part of D-RATS function lost.   

FCC Part 97.219d

For stations participating in a
message forwarding system, the control
operator of the first forwarding
station must:
(1) Authenticate the identity of the
station from which it accepts communications
on behalf of the system; or
(2) Accept accountability for any violation
of the rules in this part contained
in messages it retransmits to
the system.

What we or any D-RATS user would need is the ability, by the
“first forwarding station,” to be able to callsign authenticate the
station initiating the E-mail forwarding.  As D-RATS stands now,
ANY station with ANY text in the callsign field of the D-RATS config
file could initiate an E-mail forward through ANY manned or unmanned
D-RATS RF station and have it be automatically forwarded on to
destination.   I think this would be illegal if the callsign of the forwarding
initiating station isn’t a valid amateur radio callsign.    The term
control operator throws me a bit here because an unmanned
D-RATS RF station has no control operator.   I’m not even certain
an unmanned D-RATS RF station can exist under Part 97.      

As for what could be done and where, I would have no clue.  I’ll make a stab
at it: 

Have a verification routine on the callsign field of the D-RATS config file
such that an invalid callsign would be difficult to enter?

In the config file for Enable Automatic E-mail Forwarding have a user enterable
“Exclude These Callsigns” list, then before incoming mail can reside in an 
D-RATS user outbox compare the callsign in the header of incoming E-mail against 
the callsigns in the list and flag it somehow such that it can’t reside in the
outbox or anywhere else on the first forwarding station? 

Put call sign verification on the web site for downloading D-RATS software?

To accommodate paragraph (1) of Part 97.219d make an unmanned D-RATS
station be able to be remotely monitored and the outbox remotely accessible
by station control operators such that manual authentication could take
place in the event non-hams are attempting E-mail forwarding?     

Fanciful indeed these fixes and no doubt not even possible.  

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