Section 97.317 Standards for certification of external RF power amplifiers

§97.317 Standards for certification of external RF power amplifiers.

(a) To receive a grant of certification, the amplifier must satisfy the spurious emission standards of §97.307(d) or (e) of this Part, as applicable, when the amplifier is:

(1) Operated at its full output power;

(2) Placed in the "standby" or "off" positions, but still connected to the transmitter; and

(3) Driven with at least 50 W mean RF input power (unless higher drive level is specified).

(b) To receive a grant of certification, the amplifier must not be capable of operation on any frequency or frequencies between 24 MHz and 35 MHz. The amplifier will be deemed incapable of such operation if it:

(1) Exhibits no more than 6 dB gain between 24 MHz and 26 MHz and between 28 MHz and 35 MHz. (This gain will be determined by the ratio of the input RF driving signal (mean power measurement) to the mean RF output power of the amplifier); and

(2) Exhibits no amplification (0 dB gain) between 26 MHz and 28 MHz.

(c) Certification may be denied when denial would prevent the use of these amplifiers in services other than the amateur service. The following features will result in dismissal or denial of an application for certification:

(1) Any accessible wiring which, when altered, would permit operation of the amplifier in a manner contrary to the FCC Rules;

(2) Circuit boards or similar circuitry to facilitate the addition of components to change the amplifier's operating characteristics in a manner contrary to the FCC Rules;

(3) Instructions for operation or modification of the amplifier in a manner contrary to the FCC Rules;

(4) Any internal or external controls or adjustments to facilitate operation of the amplifier in a manner contrary to the FCC Rules;

(5) Any internal RF sensing circuitry or any external switch, the purpose of which is to place the amplifier in the transmit mode;

(6) The incorporation of more gain in the amplifier than is necessary to operate in the amateur service; for purposes of this paragraph, the amplifier must:

 

(i) Not be capable of achieving designed output power when driven with less than 50 W mean RF input power;

(ii) Not be capable of amplifying the input RF driving signal by more than 15 dB, unless the amplifier has a designed transmitter power of less than 1.5 kW (in such a case, gain must be reduced by the same number of dB as the transmitter power relationship to 1.5 kW; This gain limitation is determined by the ratio of the input RF driving signal to the RF output power of the amplifier where both signals are expressed in peak envelope power or mean power);

(iii) Not exhibit more gain than permitted by paragraph (c)(6)(ii) of this Section when driven by an RF input signal of less than 50 W mean power; and

(iv) Be capable of sustained operation at its designed power level.

(7) Any attenuation in the input of the amplifier which, when removed or modified, would permit the amplifier to function at its designed transmitter power when driven by an RF frequency input signal of less than 50 W mean power; or

(8) Any other features designed to facilitate operation in a telecommunication service other than the Amateur Radio Services, such as the Citizens Band (CB) Radio Service.