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From: parnass@ihuxz.ATT.COM (Bob Parnass, AJ9S)
Newsgroups: rec.ham-radio,sci.electronics
Subject: Book review: "ANARC Guide to U.S. Monitoring Laws"
Message-ID: <4481@ihuxz.ATT.COM>
Date: 11 May 89 13:57:59 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois
Lines: 67

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       BOOK REVIEW: ANARC GUIDE	TO U.S.	MONITORING LAWS

		     by	Bob Parnass, AJ9S

   Do you as a monitoring hobbyist have	the right to receive
   whatever  radio  signals  you want in the privacy of	your
   own home?  No -- not	any more.  So say the infamous Elec-
   tronic  Communications  Privacy Act of 1986 and a growing
   number of state laws	which took away	this  freedom.	 You
   can	find  out  about these restrictions in a new 39	page
   paperback, ANARC Guide to U.	S. Monitoring Laws.

   If you are new to the radio hobby, you might	not be fami-
   liar	 with  ANARC.  ANARC is	not a company.	ANARC is the
   Association of North	American Radio Clubs, a	well  inten-
   tioned  umbrella  organization of volunteers	who look out
   for the best	interests of shortwave and scanner listeners
   as  well as TV, FM, and MW DXers.  With the able Bob	Hor-
   vitz	at the helm,  ANARC  led  the  fight  against  ECPA,
   against FCC proposals to let	Part 15	devices	run hog	wild
   over	the spectrum, and other	issues of concern  to  radio
   hobbyists.

   The ANARC guide presents the	text of	 the  ECPA  and	 the
   restrictive anti scanner laws of 14 states.	Author Frank
   Terranella, ANARC's legal counsel and  a  radio  hobbyist
   from	 New  Jersey,  does  a	good  job of translating the
   legalese jargon into	understandable English for the aver-
   age	person.	 He even cites a few real cases	in which the
   laws	were applied.

   The guide sells for $7.50, over 19 cents per	page.	This
   may	seem  expensive, but where else	can you	get all	this
   legal information in	 one  place?   I've  seen  only	 one
   source  which  surveyed  radio  listening  laws.  Several
   years ago, before ECPA, Bearcat's SCAN organization	pub-
   lished  a  small  pamphlet  with  very terse	summaries of
   state scanner laws.

   As the author laments in the	foreword, "it is unfortunate
   that	 a  guide  such	 as this is necessary."	 Do you	need
   this	guide?	I think	you do.	 Before	you bring a  scanner
   along  on vacation, you ought to know the scanner laws in
   the states through which you	drive.	Being  a  ham  radio
   operator  exempts  you from Indiana's mobile	scanner	law,
   but it would	be a good idea to carry	a copy of the law in
   your	car to show police if stopped.	I recall when WA2PVK
   had a 19" whip on his car, and was stopped by a policeman
   in New Jersey to see	if his car contained a scanner.	 New
   Jersey doesn't exempt hams.

   The ECPA stirred up a hornet's net of protest, but hobby-
   ists	 couldn't  compete with	powerful, well funded lobby-
   ists.  It's too late	to argue whether ECPA  is  right  or
   wrong  -- it's law now.  Several radio laws are difficult
   to understand and the hobby needs an	 author	 skilled  in
   the	legal  profession and familiar with radio monitoring
   to explain them.  This book suits the need well.

   ANARC Guide to U.S.	Monitoring  Laws  is  available	 for
   $7.50  from ANARC Publications, P.O.	Box 462, Northfield,
   MN 55057.

-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bob Parnass AJ9S,  AT&T Bell Laboratories  -  att!ihuxz!parnass - (312)979-5414