[scotteric]

How would one distinguish legal traffic from illegal? If encrypted communications were to be allowed, what is stopping people using the amateur bands for commercial use? This is the main concern of hams, not that it's good that you can't have privacy.

[edrxty]

You can still have an In-The-Clear ID requirement, ie frame packets as:

AB0CDE--*UI93.8u[3u9,8husoa...

[Crunchified]

Sure you can. This still does not ensure that the communications embedded within the encrypted portion of the data does not violate amateur rules. Encryption of communications effectively removes the ability of hams (and government regulators) to monitor their service for rule breakers. It would invite commercial users to exploit hams' valuable bandwidth.

I would go so far as to say encryption is not needed in the amateur radio domain, outside of limiting access to the control and configuration of remote devices. The established goals of the amateur radio service can be achieved without encrypted communications.

[apple4ever]

Why does that matter? I don't think it does.

[deepsun]

I think because any commerce is visible (e.g. they register with Secretary of State, pay taxes etc).

If it's a tiny commerce, no-one would notice. Probably. Neither ham community.

But no one seriously would invest time and money in a business that's, well, illegal.

[wiml]

> But no one seriously would invest time and money in a business that's, well, illegal.

I ... what? That really doesn't jibe with my observations of the world.