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G1B07

COMMISSION'S RULES · - Antenna structure limitations; good engineering and good amateur practice; beacon operation; prohibited transmissions; retransmitting radio signals

G1B07§ 97.113(a)(4)G1B →

What are the restrictions on the use of abbreviations or procedural signals in the amateur service?

  1. AOnly "Q" signals are permitted
  2. BThey may be used if they do not obscure the meaning of a message
  3. CThey are not permitted
  4. DThey are limited to those expressly listed in Part 97 of the FCC rules
Why Section 97.113(a)(4) bans transmitting messages in codes or ciphers intended to obscure their meaning. Common ham shorthand like Q signals, CW abbreviations, prosigns and phonetics is fine because the meanings are published and widely understood, so nothing is being hidden. The test is intent: if the abbreviation is standard and the message stays intelligible to other amateurs, it is allowed.
Watch out The choice limiting you to abbreviations expressly listed in Part 97 is tempting, but the FCC publishes no such list; the rule states a principle about obscuring meaning rather than approving specific words.
The FCC bans hidden meaning, not shorthand. If any ham could decode it, you may send it.
HamSandwich explanation, first draft. The question and answers are the NCVEC text.
47 CFR 97.113(a)(4) Prohibited transmissions.

(a) No amateur station shall transmit:

(1) Communications specifically prohibited elsewhere in this part;

(2) Communications for hire or for material compensation, direct or indirect, paid or promised, except as otherwise provided in these rules;

(3) Communications in which the station licensee or control operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf of an employer, with the following exceptions:

(i) A station licensee or station control operator may participate on behalf of an employer in an emergency preparedness or disaster readiness test or drill, limited to the duration and scope of such test or drill, and operational testing immediately prior to such test or drill. Tests or drills that are not government-sponsored are limited to a total time of one hour per week; except that no more than twice in any calendar year, they may be conducted for a period not to exceed 72 hours.

(ii) An amateur operator may notify other amateur operators of the availability for sale or trade of apparatus normally used in an amateur station, provided that such activity is not conducted on a regular basis.

(iii) A control operator may accept compensation as an incident of a teaching position during periods of time when an amateur station is used by that teacher as a part of classroom instruction at an educational institution.

(iv) The control operator of a club station may accept compensation for the periods of time when the station is transmitting telegraphy practice or information bulletins, provided that the station transmits such telegraphy practice and bulletins for at least 40 hours per week; schedules operations on at least six amateur service MF and HF bands using reasonable measures to maximize coverage; where the schedule of normal operating times and frequencies is published at least 30 days in advance of the actual transmissions; and where the control operator does not accept any direct or indirect compensation for any other service as a control operator.

(4) Music using a phone emission except as specifically provided elsewhere in this section; communications intended to facilitate a criminal act; messages encoded for the purpose of obscuring their meaning, except as otherwise provided herein; obscene or indecent words or language; or false or deceptive messages, signals or identification.

(5) Communications, on a regular basis, which could reasonably be furnished alternatively through other radio services.

(b) An amateur station shall not engage in any form of broadcasting, nor may an amateur station transmit one-way communications except as specifically provided in these rules; nor shall an amateur station engage in any activity related to program production or news gathering for broadcasting purposes, except that communications directly related to the immediate safety of human life or the protection of property may be provided by amateur stations to broadcasters for dissemination to the public where no other means of communication is reasonably available before or at the time of the event.

(c) No station shall retransmit programs or signals emanating from any type of radio station other than an amateur station, except propagation and weather forecast information intended for use by the general public and originated from United States Government stations, and communications, including incidental music, originating on United States Government frequencies between a manned spacecraft and its associated Earth stations. Prior approval for manned spacecraft communications retransmissions must be obtained from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Such retransmissions must be for the exclusive use of amateur radio operators. Propagation, weather forecasts, and manned spacecraft communications retransmissions may not be conducted on a regular basis, but only occasionally, as an incident of normal amateur radio communications.

(d) No amateur station, except an auxiliary, repeater, or space station, may automatically retransmit the radio signals of other amateur station.

eCFR text as of 1 Sep 2026 · read on ecfr.gov
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The rest of G1B

  1. G1B01 What is the maximum height above ground for an antenna structure not near a public use airport without requir…
  2. G1B02 With which of the following conditions must beacon stations comply?
  3. G1B03 Which of the following is a purpose of a beacon station as identified in the FCC rules?
  4. G1B04 Which of the following transmissions is permitted for all amateur stations?
  5. G1B05 Which of the following one-way transmissions are permitted?
  6. G1B06 Under what conditions are state and local governments permitted to regulate amateur radio antenna structures?
  7. G1B07 What are the restrictions on the use of abbreviations or procedural signals in the amateur service?
  8. G1B08 When is it permissible to communicate with amateur stations in countries outside the areas administered by th…
  9. G1B09 On what HF frequencies are automatically controlled beacons permitted?
  10. G1B10 What is the power limit for beacon stations?
  11. G1B11 Who or what determines "good engineering and good amateur practice," as applied to the operation of an amateu…
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