HAM Toolkit/HAM Toolkit.iso/text/arrl/letter5.25

Text File | 1993-11-17 | 26KB | 984 lines

The ARRL Letter
Vol. 12., No. 10
May 25, 1993



House joins Senate in resolution

Amateurs called to letter-writing campaign

        On May 20 the U.S. House of Representatives joined

the Senate in the introduction of a resolution supporting

Amateur Radio. H.J. Res. 199 was presented by Rep. Mike Kreidler

(D-Wash.) and Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) with 12 initial cosponsors.

        The House resolution is identical in language to the

Senate resolution, S.J. Res. 90, detailed in our last issue.

        The ARRL Board of Directors, at their January, 1993

meeting, prepared the way for the resolutions with a motion

by New England Division Director Bill Burden, WB1BRE:

        "61. "VOTED that our Washington team is authorized

to seek formal recognition by the 103rd Congress of the role

played by the Amateur Radio Service as a national resource

in preparation for and relief from disasters, and for

technical progress in electronics."

        Original co-sponsors of the House resolution were

Reps. Thomas of Wyoming; Murtha of Pennsylvania; Mineta,

Doolittle, and Gallegly of California; Deutsch and Peterson

of Florida; Costello and Evans of Illinois; LaFalce of

New York; Barcia of Michigan; and Frost and Coleman of

Texas.

        Now the task is to line up many more cosponsors for

both S.J. Res. 90 and H.J.Res.199, as quickly as possible.

Mail from home is always important to Senators and

Representatives, but never more so than when one is seeking

passage of a Joint Resolution.  The potential impact of this

type of legislation has been diluted in the minds of some

Members of Congress by a plethora of resolutions seeking

declaration of something like "National Pickle Week."  Any

potential stigma can be erased by good letters from

constituents in support of the resolution; they needn't be

long.  Reasons for support are contained in the bill itself,

perhaps amplified with a personal emergency service episode

or a technical contribution of the writer.

        Your Senators and Representatives are listed in the

US Government section of the phone book; if you aren't sure

which of several Representatives is yours, just call any of

them armed with your zip code.  The mailing address for

Senators is The Hon. ___________, U.S. Senate, Washington,

DC 20510; and for Representatives, the Hon. __________, US

House of Representatives, Washington DC 20515.





Statement of Rep. Mike Kreidler


    Mr. KREIDLER. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing, along

with my colleague, Representative Jim COOPER of Tennessee, a

joint resolution to recognize the achievements of amateur

radio operators and to declare that regulatory support for

these radio operators should be national policy. This

resolution is fully supported by the American Radio Relay

League, the principal representative of amateur radio

operators who provided invaluable assistance in the

development of this joint resolution.

    I am introducing this resolution because I feel that

the amateur radio service must be regognized for the

important role it plays when  disasters strike. Their role

was brought to my attention in January of this year, when a

severe windstorm struck western Washington causing damage to

trees, buildings, and telephone lines, making public safety

and other necessary communications nearly impossible.

Fortunately, a group of radio amateurs stepped in to handle

important messages for the authorities and public until

communications were back to normal. This was not an isolated

incident. In disasters like Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew,

Typhoon Iniki, the Loma Prieta earthquake, and the Mt. St.

Helens eruption, ham operators have been there to help.

    Amateur radio operators have also provided an

important service internationally, in the face of other

types of disasters. I was pleased, although not surprised,

to see that many recent reports from war-torn Bosnia have

been transmitted by amateur radio operators. They have

played a crucial role in keeping the lines of communications

open -- literally -- for citizens of the former Yugoslavia.

    I have recently discovered that the help offered by

amateur radio operators in these emergencies is not the

walkie-talkie communications you may think of when you hear

the term "ham" radio operators. In fact, the technologies

they use are highly sophisticated. For example, they've been

very active in the development and use of low earth orbit

satellite technology.

    It is about time for the Congress to recognize these

achievements. With about 600,000 licensed amateur radio

operators licensed in the United States alone, I'm sure that

every Member of the House has had similarly favorable

experiences with the amateur community and will support this

resolution.



FCC outlines plan for

for clubs, military stations


        The ARRL has written to the FCC's Private Radio

Bureau that it is "ready, willing and able to participate as

the Club and Military Recreation Station Call Sign

Administrator" and has requested that the Commission enter

into an agreement with the League to that end.

         The League further reiterated reasons for its

belief that the magnitude of the task justifies limiting the

service to just one Administrator.

    This comes as the FCC has now amended its amateur

service rules to provide for volunteer organizations to

administer a system designed to provide special call signs

to club and military recreation stations. This action was

authorized by the Telecommunications Authorization Act of

1992 and will take effect July 19, 1993.

    Organizations selected for the new system will be

known as "Club and Military Recreation Station Call Sign

Administrators."

    An administrator must enter into a written agreement

with the FCC and public notices will be issued listing the

administrators. To be an administrator, the organization must

exist for the purpose of furthering the amateur service.

Its membership must include at least one percent of the

amateur operators licensed by the FCC, and it must be

capable of serving as an administrator in all places where

the amateur service is regulated by the FCC.

    An administrator must agree to accept and process

all properly-completed license application forms from the

trustees of club stations and from the custodians of

military recreation stations without regard to race, sex,

religion, national origin or membership (or lack thereof) in

any amateur service organization.

    The organization cannot charge a fee or accept any

form of reimbursement for services provided as an

administrator.

    Within 10 days of receiving an application, an

administrator must provide the FCC's licensing facility at

Gettysburg, Pa., with the actual license document, including

the call sign.  The document must be ready for endorsement

and mailing.

    Each administrator will be assigned initially a

block of call signs having a two-letter prefix from the NA-

NZ "by three" series. An example of a block would be NA1AAA

through NA0ZZZ.  There are 26 possible blocks. The

administrator must issue public announcements detailing the

policies and procedures of its call sign system.

    Dates for accepting applications from potential

administrators will be announced by FCC Public Notice.



Court upholds FCC fines for indecency

    A federal court judge in Washington, D.C., has found

for the Federal Communications Commission in a lawsuit in

which the ARRL supported the FCC.

    The suit, brought by Action for Children's

Television and 20 other broadcasting and public-interest

organizations, challenged the FCC's monetary forfeiture

procedures in indecency cases. The League's interest in the

matter, the ARRL said in a friend-of-the-court brief, was to

protect the interests of radio amateurs in effective FCC

enforcement.

    On May 18, U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth

granted an FCC motion to deny the plaintiffs' request

that all indecency forfeiture proceedings currently before

the FCC be dismissed, and also granted a Commission motion to

dismiss the major complainants in the lawsuit for "lack of

standing."

    In addition, Judge Lamberth granted the FCC's motion

to deny the two other major motions sought by the

plaintiffs:

    1. To find that the review procedures now used by

the FCC cannot constitutionally be used to adjudicate

alleged indecency violations under federal law; and

    2. To enjoin the FCC from initiating or conducting

forfeiture proceedings for alleged violations of federal law

concerning indecency.

        Judge Landreth concluded that while indecent speech

is fully protected by the First Amendment, broadcasters

enjoy only limited First Amendment protection because they

are a scarce public resource that the government requires be

used in the public interest. The FCC definition of indecency

has been upheld in the courts and serves only to channel

such broadcasts to certain times of the day, not to ban them

entirely.

     "This court will not construe the FCC forfeiture scheme

as a system of censorship when that system only operates for

two-thirds of the broadcasting day," Judge Landreth

concluded.


ARRL SUPPORTS CHANGES

IN HF DIGITAL RULES


    The ARRL has filed comments with the Federal

Communications Commission on its petition to change the

amateur rules regarding digital communications below 30 MHz.

That petition, RM-8218, made on February 1, 1993, on

recommendations of the League's Digital Committee, proposed

specific HF subbands for automatically controlled data

communications, including third-party messages.

    The League in its comments, filed May 17, recognized

additional input from interested amateurs since the February

1 petition, but said that those comments went a step further

than RM-8218 proposed. The League asked that its current

petition be considered now, as originally presented, leaving

further changes to be addressed later.

    Meanwhile, the ARRL Digital Committee has submitted

a further report on the subject to the Board of Directors for

consideration at their meeting in July. The committee's

deliberations were reported in *The ARRL Letter* for April 13,

1993.

    The League's current petition was based on the

experience of a group of amateurs using automatic control on

HF under a Special Temporary Authorization originally granted in

1987, as well as on a survey of interested amateurs

published in *QST* which produced more than 500 responses.

    One thing that survey indicated was significant

opposition to allowing automatically controlled data

stations *random* use of frequencies within the HF bands.

    A final extension of the ARRL's STA continues while

RM-8218 is being considered.
                                                                                                                                               SM

'Spectrum auctions' portend little effect on amateurs


    The matter of possible "auctions" of radio spectrum

has been in the news lately, as negotiations for the U.S.

budget for Fiscal Year 1994 (which begins October 1, 1993)

continue. This budget is, according to ARRL Washington Area

Coordinator Perry Williams, W1UED, partially based on income

arising from competitive bidding for spectrum assignments.

To make this budget item work, Congress must approve a

change in the Communications Act.

    "Congress makes the laws (Williams writes), setting

a framework within which the Federal Communications

Commission (and other Governmental agencies) must operate.

Within that framework, the FCC may construct further

regulations, following the scheme set down by the Congress

in the Administrative Procedures Act.  For communications,

the main law is the Communications Act of 1934, as amended.

    "The House Energy and Commerce Committee has among

its tasks the drafting of legislation affecting

telecommunications. In this particular instance, the action

is part of an overall Budget Reconciliation Act, a mammoth

bill (not yet assigned an H.R. number) being worked on by

most Congressional committees within their respective areas

of expertise.

    "At some point, when each of the committees has

completed its part, the reconciliation bill will come to the

floor of the House for vote.

    "The Senate must also approve a reconciliation bill.

If there are differences between House and Senate bills, a

Committee of Conference will work them out. Both houses must

concur in the final result which then goes to the President.

If he signs the bill, it becomes a public law and is binding

on the FCC and on you and me.

    "The 'auction' language does not seem to be a cause

for alarm to the Amateur Radio Service. An important section

of the legislation approved by the Commerce Committee reads:

    "'USES TO WHICH BIDDING MAY APPLY -- A use of the

electromagnetic spectrum is described in this paragraph if

the Commission determines that --

    "'(A) the principal use of such spectrum will

involve, or is reasonably likely to involve, the licensee

receiving compensation from subscribers in return . . .'

    "This section would seem to rule out bidding for

amateur frequencies, police and fire department frequencies,

broadcast frequencies, and even for nationwide internal-use

systems such as the one that the United Parcel Service (UPS)

was contemplating for itself.

    "The proposed new personal communications services

(PCS) and land-mobile systems of either a private or common

carrier nature would apparently be subject to the proposed

bidding process.

    "Another bill of interest is the Emerging

Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1993 (ETTA). Under this

bill, the Government would be required to turn over a total

of 200 MHz of its frequencies below 6 GHz for the FCC to use

in fostering new technology. Since amateurs derive 95% of

their spectrum from sharing with Government stations, there

is some potential danger to the Amateur Radio Service.

    "The Senate version of ETTA, S.335, contains

language protecting the Amateur Radio Service from harm, but

the House version, H.R.707, does not. Like the auction bill,

ETTA has also been incorporated in the Commerce Committee's

piece of the Budget Reconciliation Act.

    "Needless to say, the ARRL Washington team will be

keeping a close watch on the whole process," Williams said.



SM ELECTION RESULTS


    Ballots have been counted in Section Manager

elections for New Hampshire, Northern New Jersey, San

Joaquin Valley and Utah for terms of office beginning July

1, 1993. The results are as follows:

     New Hampshire: Rob Boyd, N1CIR, 257; Alan Shuman,

N1FIK, 279. Shuman was declared elected.

     Northern New Jersey: Richard Moseson, NW2L, 882; Jack

Wilk, N2DXP, 263. Moseson was declared elected.

     San Joaquin Valley: Mike Siegel, KI6PR, 360; James

Wakefield, AH6CO, 223; Siegel was declared elected.

     Utah: Richard Fisher, NS7K, 234; Jerry Wellman, WB7ULH,

145; Fisher was declared elected.

     Four other Sections were not contested and the following

were declared elected: Maryland/DC Section, William Howard,

WB3V; Nevada, Joseph Lambert, W8IXD; Rhode Island, Rick

Fairweather, K1KYI; West Texas, Milly Wise, W5OVH.



FRENCH SATELLITE LAUNCHED

BUT IT SUFFERS PROBLEMS


    The French ARSENE packet radio satellite was

launched May 12 from the Kourou Space Center in French

Guiana and successfully placed in final orbit on May 17, but

is not yet operational. The satellite's 2-meter downlink is

not yet working and at presstime ground technicians continue

efforts to isolate the problem.

    ARSENE's S-band downlink does work, but all amateurs

are asked not to attempt to use the satellite until further

notice. If the 2-meter downlink is not fixed, the satellite

may still be usable in a manner similar to Oscar 13 Mode S

(435 MHz up, 12.4 GHz down).

    ARSENE was designed to function as a packet relay,

similar to a digipeater. More information is in February

1993 *QST*, page 97.


FAKE SOS BRINGS SENTENCE,

LOSS OF LICENSE FOR HAM


    A former Amateur Extra Class licensee has been

sentenced for making fake distress transmissions on 14.313

MHz.

    Fifty-year-old Jorge Mestre, ex-NS3K, of Fairfax,

Virginia, had pled guilty in February to knowingly and

willfully communicating false distress signals on August 7,

1992.  At that time he made a plea agreement to surrender

his FCC amateur license, dispose of his Amateur Radio

equipment within 60 days, and make immediate restitution of

$50,000 to the U.S. Coast Guard.

    At sentencing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria,

Va., Mestre was given one year probation on condition of his

serving 60 days home confinement, ordered to perform 200

hours of community service, and to pay a $50 special

assessment.

    Mestre could have received a fine of up to $250,000

and up to 6 years imprisonment.

    In April the ARRL Executive Committee, after

consultation with local counsel, advised Mestre that the

conduct which had resulted in his pleading guilty was "so

egregious, and so contrary to the purposes of the ARRL, that

it would appear to be in the best interests of the

organization to terminate your membership."  Mestre

subsequently resigned his League membership.

    More information is in April, 1993 *QST*, page 79.


FCC ANNOUNCES RESULTS

OF CABLE SYSTEM TESTS


    The FCC has announced the results of a recent

project to enforce its cable television leakage standards.

In March 1993, the Commission's Enforcement Division

focused on cable systems which could pose a danger to public

service radio communications, such as aeronautical.

    According to the Commission, the March sweep

included monitoring 321 cable TV systems, visiting eight

systems to "discuss operator measurements," and the closing

down of one system for violating the FCC's Cumulative

Leakage Index (CLI) limit.  This project was in addition to

the FCC's ongoing monitoring by its field offices

nationwide.

    In addition, the FCC sent letters to 1,550 cable TV

operators, issued 112 complimentary letters to "clean"

systems, and issued 73 violation letters.  The effort was

directed at all areas of the country, the Commission said.

    The system which was closed was found to have a

small number of significant leaks, according to the FCC's

Jeffrey Young.  Most system violations of the CLI are due to

the additive effect of a large number of small leaks, Young

said.

    The FCC plans another monitoring project later this

year, on a random basis, to gauge the effect of its

enforcement and education efforts, Young said.


ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

MEETING HIGHLIGHTS

        Here are some highlights of the ARRL Executive

Committee's May 8 meeting. The full minutes will appear in

July *QST*.

        (10) Mr. Sumner presented an interim report of an

ARRL Headquarters task force which is analyzing the results

of a survey of radio amateurs in the U.S. conducted for ARRL

late last year. The task force has been working for about

two months, and has formed six working groups and two ad hoc

groups to study various aspects of why radio amateurs do or

do not become, or remain, members of ARRL.

        Several innovations and changes in membership

benefits and services are under consideration.  Once studies

are complete, the task force recommendations that are within

the purview of staff will be implemented and those with

policy or budget implications will be presented to the Board

for its consideration.


        (11.1) An FCC news release announcing action in PR

Docket 92-154, bringing Novice examinations into the VEC

program, was issued just prior to the meeting.  After

discussion, on motion of Mr. Harrison, it was voted that it

shall be the policy of ARRL/VEC to waive examination fees

for Elements 1A and 2.

        (11.3) With regard to PR Docket 93-85, control

operator responsibility, after discussion, on motion of Mr.

Mendelsohn, the Executive Committee directed that comments

be filed supporting the easing of the rules that now hold

each control operator in a message-forwarding system fully

and equally responsible for message content, as well as the

control operator of a repeater.

        The comments will propose that in the case of a

message forwarding system, the responsibility of the "first

forwarder" should be defined as establishing, with

reasonable certainty, the identity of the originating

amateur station; if such cannot be determined, the first

forwarder would assume responsibility for the message

content.  The comments also will propose a modified

definition for "repeater" which is to be developed by an

informal working group consisting of Messrs. Mendelsohn,

Imlay, Rinaldo, and Sumner.

        (11.6) PR Docket 93-61, expansion of automatic

vehicle monitoring at 902-928 MHz, was discussed.  On motion

of Mr. Mendelsohn, the following resolution was adopted:

"Whereas, the 902-928 MHz band represents a unique spectrum

opportunity, and whereas, Amateur Radio continues to be in

the forefront of technology, it is resolved that Counsel

seek a primary allocation in the 902-928 MHz band and

attempt to work out sharing arrangements elsewhere in the

band as may be practicable."

        (11.13) Mr. Rinaldo presented a written report he

had prepared with Senior Engineer Jon Bloom, KE3Z, on

defining digital codes for HF amateur use.  On motion of

Mendelsohn, staff was directed to initiate discussions with

the FCC seeking relief from existing restrictions on digital

codes.


BRIEFS


    * The next SAREX mission, STS-57, is scheduled for

launch June 3 for a 7-day mission. The pilot is SAREX

veteran Brian Duffy, N5WQW. The usual 2-meter voice and

packet operations are planned; interested amateurs should

check W1AW for the latest information.

    At presstime eight schools were scheduled to

participate, in Arkansas, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico,

Texas, South Carolina, and two in California. For more

information contact the ARRL Educational Activities

Department.


    * The Russian newspaper *Patriot* has published a

new list of call sign prefixes for amateurs in countries of

the former USSR. The following appeared in the April 22

column "On the Amateur Bands," by Boris Stepanov, UW3AX, who

attributed the information to UA3AF:

     Armenia -- EK; Azerbaydzhan -- 4J; Belarus -- EU, EV,

EW; Georgia -- 4L; Kazakhstan -- UN, UO, UP, UQ; Moldova --

ER; Kyrgyzstan -- EX; Russia -- R, UA to UI, 4K;

Tadzhikistan -- EY; Turkmeniya -- EZ; Ukraine -- UJ to UM,

UR to UZ, EM, EO.

    Uzbekistan was missing from the list. There was no

indication of implementation dates nor what would be the

status of current call signs that do not conform to this

outline. (Thanks to Dexter Anderson, W4KM).


    * The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

has activated a new HF beacon transmittter, in Sveio,

Norway, as part of a world-wide HF field strength

measurement campaign. The new beacon was provided by the

Norwegian Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and

Norwegian Telecom, and joins a similar beacon station on the

air from Australia since 1990.

    LN2A operates 24 hours a day, 1 kW on CW to a 5-band

trap vertical antenna.

    VK4IPS in Brisbane, Australia, also operates 24 hours

a day, running 1 kW to an omni-directional spiral antenna.

    The schedule of frequencies in kHz for both is as follows:



    Time (min past hr)     VK4IPS      LN2A


    00 20 40               5,470       14,405

    04 24 44               7,870       20,945

    08 28 48              10,407        5,470

    12 32 52              14,405        7,870

    16 36 56              20,945       10,407


    * Clarification: In Letter No. 9 we reported that

Bill Moore, KF5DL, was the only person to die in tornadoes

that struck Tulsa, Oklahoma April 24. He was the only *Tulsa

resident* to die in the storm; several highway commuters

from other areas died on a nearby interstate highway.


    * Congratulations to ARRL Headquarters receptionist

and switchboard operator Penny Harts, N1NAG, who has just

celebrated her 25th anniversary on the staff. Penny's tenure

is second only to Perry Williams, W1UED (who's nearing 40

years of service).


    * W1AW has an opening for a station operator. This

is a great opportunity for a motivated young person to come

to Connecticut to work and live. You need a General class or

(preferably) higher amateur license, good people skills

(W1AW gets *lots* of visitors), and familiarity with IBM

compatible personal computers. Starting pay rate is $17,433-

19,188 per year. If you are interested, contact Station

Manager Jeff Bauer, WA1MBK.


*eof