FCC Upholds $17,000 Forfeiture Order to Tennessee Ham

Ham radio is one of the more diverse groups in any hobby. From janitors to jockeys, most anyone and everyone can be a ham operator. Among the ranks you will often find the most courteous and polite and respectful operators around.

And then, there's this guy...

In March 2009, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) in the amount of $17,000 to David Edward Perka, KA3PRB, of Lewisburg, Tennessee. The FCC alleges that Perka "willfully and repeatedly violat[ed] section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, by operating without a license in the Maritime Radio Service and willfully violat[ed] Section 333 of the Act by maliciously interfering with the United States Coast Guard on the International Distress, Safety and Calling Channel in Annapolis, Maryland" Perka, who admitted to the findings, requested a reduction in the forfeiture amount, based on his inability to pay, but in a Forfeiture Order released by the FCC on September 21, 2011, the Commission refused to lower the amount.