Alert for bitcoin folk: ban on purchase, sale of some mobile equipment in USA

Recently I was browsing the internet looking for a bit of random information and discovered something relating to my favorite topic: bitcoin!

But it wasn't initially about bitcoin, it was about something the FCC (USA Federal Communications Commission) has (already) done that will affect USA persons and what mobile radio equipment they can buy after September 30, 2019.

As one Hackaday blogger suggested, this may have begun with a request from Paris-based multinational defense contractor, Thales. Here is the story on it: https://hackaday.com/2019/07/01/the-backbone-of-vhf-amateur-radio-may-be-under-threat/

Make no mistake, though, if the French are busy trying to censor people, and they are, other countries certainly are trying hard also, and thus we have our anti-censorship tools..

Continuing below: This has bearing for bitcoin users, because some bitcoin users are actually interested in transmitting bitcoin data over mobile radio (or might want to in the event of an emergency whether short-term or longer-term).

Here it is also assumed you would be interested in broadcasting bitcoin around the world (moving it quickly from place to place or through points of censorship). Rather than go on and on about all this and why it is / why the limits exist that I've encountered here on sales of equipment, I'll just let you see the information below, then get on to either figure out why they've done this on your own or just get on to decide whether or not you want to purchase a radio (of the kind recommended below) if you don't already have one.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Not all handheld radio systems, specifically, unlicensed systems in particular, can transmit data! So this post will try to focus on those that can do that in terms of recommendations.

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Quoting from each source so you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't have the time (but please do DYOR / find additional sources):

1) "..., ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2019, COURTESY OF THE FCC, IT WILL BECOME ILLEGAL TO SELL RADIOS SUCH AS THIS ONE THAT OPERATE IN THE FRS RADIO BAND. (...) TO BE CLEAR, ANY THAT ARE LEGALLY OWNED ON OR BEFORE SEPTEMBER 30TH WILL EFFECTIVELY BECOME “GRANDFATHERED” IN. BUT GOING FORWARD, THE FCC DOESN’T WANT NON-LICENSED INDIVIDUALS TO OWN RADIOS THAT CAN TRANSMIT IN BOTH LICENSED BANDS AND UNLICENSED BANDS."

What radios are being referred to here? Unlicensed radios - those transmitting on MURS and FRS.

http://preparedgunowners.com/2019/07/29/why-you-want-to-buy-this-survival-radio-before-september-30-2019/

However, the above (PreparedGunOwners) post was designed to favor / promote a BaoFeng, so moving along to another source below.

2) Source for the above other than what was found in the above post? It is suggested here to look at a few sources, such as but not limited to:

http://survivaldispatch.com/new-fcc-rules-that-impact-preppers-and-new-hams/

(I suggest a thorough reading of the SurvivalDispatch post above, if for no other reason than that SurvivalDispatch covered the subject in depth and because it provided detailed links to the actual regulations in question.)

Note that for MURS (the unlicensed band data-capable handheld transmitter), Subpart J 95.276 - FCC has (in part) ensured that "As with the other subparts this addresses transmitter certification and the wording in subpart (c) states; “certification shall not be issued if capable of operating under this subpart and any other subparts," and Sept. 30, 2019 limits date by what you can buy based on new FCC rules. 3) For Section 95.391 as described by SurvivalD (SurvivalDispatch) in the blog post above: "This is probably the most significant subsection. It prohibits the manufacture, import, sell or offer for sale non-certified equipment for the Personal Radio Services. No effective date is specified in this subpart, but the September 30th date is specified in other subsections. Subpart (c) of this section prohibits voice obscuring radios, effective September 30th."

There you have it, you can also read directly into the rules as changed linked in the blog post above, which made me wonder why this had occurred.

Now, for those of you who have monitored the FCC closely, you will say, "But the FCC already has been upset by, and has had an advisory out prohibiting the import or sale of devices that don't comply with their rules (with respect to imported radios such as BaoFengs...) since a year ago and in fact before then" and you'd be right. But, there does appear to be a deadline here now apparent. with the more recent FCC item pertaining to the rule change "by when" you can no longer acquire certain equipment.

---- Why is this important?

Well, a number of reasons. For one, even if your communication concerns are independent completely of bitcoin, don't you want a good radio that performs totally independent of your cell phone? (Communication backup / alternative.)

For example, when you look at California's fire map at any moment, you might consider a handheld radio a good investment: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents?page=5 In like manner, it's a good idea to have a mesh app of some sort on your cell phone, but to have a cheap radio with diverse functionality (which can also help you with both emergency issues and potentially with bitcoin broadcast) is not a bad investment - considering how cheap the radios are right now. (Normally I wouldn't be shilling radios here, but here I am concerned, since the FCC is making handhelds of certain types unavailable after September 30, 2019...)

How this relates to bitcoin

So I remembered this old post from betteroffbitcoin (a blog that is no longer on the internet). Fortunately the internet never forgets, so I found it through the Wayback Machine. Here you go:

http://web.archive.org/web/20170603151719/http://betteroffbitcoin.com/a-protocol-for-offline-bitcoin-over-radio-transactions/

As you can see, here's a bitcoin friend describing, years ago, how to do offline bitcoin over radio transactions! And MURS radio just happens to be the way he identified as a simple way to do this. As he notes, the FRS unlicensed doesn't work for bitcoiner purposes, since only the MURS unlicensed items are going to be able to transmit data. And here is the quote from the above article (as part of the hardware list you will need - keep in mind this hardware as a MURS transceiver (for your use as unlicensed purposes) will not be available after to buy if you are in the USA after September 30, 2019 based on current regulation / law): "A radio transceiver. Any band that you have privileges to use data on will work. For the sake of anonymity, simplicity, and cost, the unlicensed Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS) (151.82, 151.88, 151.94, 154.57, and 154.60 MHz) is a good option (other unlicensed services such as FRS or CB do not allow data: FCC Part 95.631). New radios certified specifically for MURS (FCC Part 95) are still somewhat obscure and expensive, but old radios that were certified for business band (FCC Part 90) and grandfathered into MURS service are everywhere and cheap. A grandfathered MURS transceiver must be certified before 2002, have a max output of 2 watts, have no way to easily switch to an output higher than 2 watts, and not allow wide-band operation on 151MHz frequencies (FCC Part 95.603g, 95.632, 95.639h). The frequencies where wide-band operation is allowed (154MHz) were marketed as “green dot” and “blue dot” channels to business band users, which makes them easy to pick out." Wait, wait, you are saying. What the heck is a MURS radio? Fair enough. Here is a wiki on MURS:

https://www.hfunderground.com/wiki/MURS (see channels / frequencies on the above link including references to "red dot" and "blue dot" which And, here is a rough cost assessment on how much it might take to get a MURS right now: (as of Sept. 10, 2019, between 65 and 100 dollars for the cheaper versions, for red dot and blue dot MURS on Amazon) Notice that in order for you to be able to transmit this data over the radio in the USA without having to obtain permission - in an unlicensed way - you would need the MURS transmitter in the USA. I have some other suggestions at the end of the article which I think also would work but which might not have the advantages of the MURS. In a truly bad scenario such as Venezuela 2.0, well then permission would be the last thing you would worry about. But when the government is still fully functional and you are trying to transmit bitcoin data (or just have a transceiver without worrying about the licensing element) then perhaps this is what you would want.

--- What about other bitcoin things? Could this affect other bitcoin related hardware? I'm still trying to figure this one out, but I think the answer is probably yes, if it's sold in the USA and relies on MURS. If you had an older version of goTenna, then the original version you now have might not be able to be resold, for example, under the new rules (though I could be wrong about this - but it does seem as though the US government is indeed looking to very soon strictly limit any product sale that would involve the unlicensed FRS or MURS). Example: The goTenna was originally released so as to operate on the MURS band, designed to pair with smartphones to enable users to send texts and share locations on a peer-to-peer basis. It was approved by the FCC. Will goTenna and other mesh network device makers end up having to make changes to devices due to these various FCC changes? I don't know, I would be interested to see what comes of this. What else?

What other tools exist to address this issue?

Fortunately, there a lot of tools out there to address potential censorship by governments, natural emergencies, massive power outages from conflicts, wars, riots, shutoffs of power due to BART, so on and so forth. Here are some (ideas, in progress): https://github.com/MuleTools/MuleTools Or, for those who want to explore additional possibilities, it is possible to connect to Blockstream's satellite today and use resources that do not rely on the internet (admittedly this takes a lot of work to set up): https://github.com/Blockstream/satellite and https://hackernoon.com/building-your-own-bitcoin-satellite-node-6061d3c93e7

Additional resources: How some people are using Licensed Radio for Transmitting Bitcoin - Feb. 19, 2019 https://news.bitcoin.com/no-internet-no-problem-how-to-send-bitcoin-by-amateur-radio/ Bitcoin over television, by Finnish entrepreneurs, because why not? It did not require internet. https://www.ccn.com/kryptoradio-successfully-broadcasts-bitcoin-over-finnish-television-network/ (This was in 2014.) Bitcoin without internet discussion and txtennna launch May 2019, magicalcryptoconference https://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/magicalcryptoconference/2019/bitcoin-without-internet/