Volunteer Monitor program
| Volunteer Monitor program | |
|---|---|
| Run by | ARRL, under an agreement with the FCC |
| Agreement | Memorandum of understanding signed in 2019 |
| Replaced | The ARRL Official Observer program, closed September 30, 2019 |
| Volunteers | Licensed amateurs trained and vetted by the ARRL |
| Role | |
| What monitors do | Listen on the bands, document problems, send advisory notices |
| Also recognize | Good operating practice |
| Enforcement | By the FCC Enforcement Bureau only |
| Activity reports | Published periodically by the ARRL |
The Volunteer Monitor program is a cooperative program of the ARRL and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in which trained amateur volunteers listen on the amateur bands, document rule violations, and send advisory notices to the operators involved. Serious and repeated cases are passed to the FCC with the evidence already gathered. The volunteers, called Volunteer Monitors (VMs), have no enforcement power. Their job is to encourage operators to fix problems themselves and, when that fails, to give the FCC a well-documented case.
Background
For most of the 20th century, the FCC enforced the amateur rules with its own field staff, helped by ARRL volunteers. The league's Official Observer (OO) program served for more than 85 years, with volunteers sending friendly notices to hams whose signals had technical or operating problems. As the FCC closed several regional field offices and reduced its field staff, the commission proposed a new, more formal arrangement.
The ARRL Board approved the plan in July 2018, and the ARRL and FCC signed a memorandum of understanding in 2019, which the ARRL announced in April of that year. It replaced the earlier agreement under which the Official Observers had worked, and the OO program closed on September 30, 2019. The first Volunteer Monitors began work in the months that followed. The ARRL engaged Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, a retired FCC enforcement official well known to hams, to run its side of the program.
How it works
Applicants are licensed amateurs who apply to the ARRL. The league screens candidates and trains those it accepts in the rules, in what to listen for and in how to document what they hear. Positions are limited, and the ARRL accepts new applications only when openings arise.
Volunteer Monitors listen on the bands for clear violations of Part 97. Typical problems include:
- deliberate or malicious interference;
- operation outside the privileges of the operator's license class;
- failure to identify, or false identification;
- unlicensed operation;
- prohibited content, such as obscene language or commercial traffic.
When a monitor finds a problem, the usual first step is an advisory notice to the operator. The notices follow a standard format and are sent through the ARRL rather than by the individual monitor, whose identity is kept confidential. Many operators simply did not realize something was wrong, and an advisory notice is often enough.
Monitors also send notices recognizing good operating, such as a well-run net or an operator who handled a difficult situation well. The program's purpose is better operating on the bands, not only catching rule breakers.
Referral to the FCC
If an operator who has received an advisory notice keeps repeating the violation, ARRL staff review the evidence and may send a report to the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. The FCC has agreed to give enforcement priority to cases developed through the program. What happens next is entirely the FCC's decision: it may send a warning letter, propose a fine, or take other action under its rules. The ARRL publishes periodic activity reports, generally one per month, summarizing advisory notices, good operator notices and cases referred to the FCC.
What it is not
Volunteer Monitors are not FCC agents. They cannot issue fines, suspend licenses or order anyone off the air. Any ham who receives an advisory notice is free to correct the problem, ask questions or ignore it, although ignoring a valid notice can lead to a referral.
Hams who hear a serious, ongoing problem can report it to the ARRL's Volunteer Monitor program. A useful report gives the frequency, the date and time in UTC, the call signs involved, the repeater if one is involved, a clear description of what was heard, and the reporter's own name, call sign and contact details. Reports about personal disputes or a single rude remark are not what the program is for; it concentrates on clear rule violations.