The FCC fined Richard Mann $7,000 for marketing uncertified AM transmitters.
The Spectrum Enforcement Division of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau responded to a complaint in 2006 that Mann’s Antique Radio Collector was marketing fully assembled, uncertified AM transmitters — specifically, the SSTRAN model AMT3000 AM transmitter.
In a response to the agency, Mann stated he’d bought the transmitters as kits from a third party and assembled them at home. Antique Radio Collector advertised the assembled transmitters for sale online at www.oldtimeradio.com and said it has sold 46 completed units since December 2003.
The FCC said Mann was apparently liable and proposed the fine this March; Mann then argued he hadn’t violated the rules and asked for the penalty to be cancelled or reduced. Antique Radio Collector argued that it “does not possess or offer” fully assembled AMT3000 transmitters but only offers a service, the assembly of transmitter kits from the manufacturer.
The commission didn’t accept this, noting that the response included marketing material that stated, “We [Antique Radio Collector] have your AMT3000 shipped to us from the manufacturer (they do not offer pre-built transmitters), build and test it for you and then ship your AMT3000 ready for use.”
While kits as are not generally subject to equipment authorization requirements, the commission said in its decision it finds the sale and shipment of an unauthorized device assembled from a kit violates FCC rules, regardless of who manufactures it.
Because Antique Radio Collector failed to obtain an authorization for the assembled transmitters before marketing them as fully assembled, the agency said the company had violated its rules.
