The ARRL Letter Vol. 13, No. 7 April 13, 1994 FCC to change message forwarding rules The FCC on March 30 said it will relax its rules to re- define the responsibility for messages relayed by amateur high speed networks. At press time, the official FCC Report and Order was not yet available and the effective date of the new rules had not been set. The action was in PR Docket 93-85, in response to a number of petitions for rule making, to establish "a compliance policy for amateur stations participating in automatic message- forwarding systems, to hold the licensee of the station originating a message and the licensee of the first forwarding station primarily accountable for violative communications." At the present time, all licensees in a chain of forwarding stations are responsible for message content. The FCC proposal was in response to petitions for rule making from the ARRL and others. In July 1993, the ARRL filed comments with the FCC on their proposal, generally supporting it. The League did call for clarification of "the nature of the obligation of the first forwarder" in a message-forwarding system, and in addition sought a clearer definition of "repeater" and "first forwarder." The ARRL also said that the following issues were not subject to "significant debate": * It can be difficult to identify the originator of a "violative message" within a message forwarding system, stifling amateurs' ability to police themselves. * Data messages tend to take on a life of their own as they propagate through a system, continuing a violation, and that although station licensees beyond the originator might still be held accountable, that the methods used to do so must be fair. * The League said that the first forwarder should be responsible for message content only if the originator cannot be identified, and that it should be the first upstream store and forward system in the message-forwarding network (and not, for example, a digipeater located between the message originator and the first BBS-type station). * Finally, the ARRL called for a definition of "repeater" that would distinguish between traditional repeaters, which receive and transmit simultaneously on separate receive and transmit frequencies, and automatic message-forwarding systems. In announcing its impending rules changes the FCC said that "there [is] currently no central supervisory authority in an ad hoc amateur service digital network, making these unsupervised systems easy targets for misuse by uncooperative operators and nonlicensees. "Moreover," the FCC said, "it could be difficult to establish after the fact that a particular VHF station originated a fleeting high speed digital transmission. "There must be on-going oversight of the system and the control operators of the first forwarding stations are in the best position to provide such oversight." The Commission said it would now hold accountable only the licensee(s) of the station originating a message and the licensee of the first station forwarding a message in a high speed message-forwarding system. "The licensee of the first forwarding station must either authenticate the identity of the station from which it accepts communications on behalf of the system, or accept accountability for the content of the message," the FCC said. The Commission also defined "first forwarding station" as "the station that receives a communication directly from the originating station and introduces it into the message forwarding system." The FCC agreed to adopt an ARRL proposal to substitute the word "simultaneously" for "instantaneously" in the redefinition of a repeater (to differentiate between traditional repeaters and digital forwarding systems). The FCC said it believes "that these rule changes will enable contemporary high speed message-forwarding systems to operate as their designers intended, while retaining the minimum safeguards necessary to prevent misuse." League sets stand on preferred call signs The ARRL Executive Committee at its meeting April 9 approved the recommendations of its ad hoc committee on the FCC's "vanity" call sign proposal (PR Docket 93-305). The League's comments to the FCC on the proposal will be filed by the April 21 deadline and will in general reflect the views of hundreds of ARRL members who shared their views with the ad hoc committee. Here is a capsule summary of the recommendations adopted by the executive committee: * After an initial phase-in period, all amateurs should be eligible for participation in the program. * A one-time processing fee is preferable to the $7 per year proposed by the FCC. * Any call sign held before the start of the program should be exempt from any administrative fee associated with the "vanity" program. * A phase-in period be used to avoid overburdening the FCC with applications, in the following order: (1) Previous holders of call signs, those wishing to request the call sign of a direct family member, and clubs with lapsed club licenses or call signs; (2) Extra Class licensees, and clubs wishing to obtain the call sign of a deceased member; (3) Advanced class licensees; (4) Everyone. * "Vacated" call signs (given up for a call sign of choice) should not be available for re-issue for two years (the FCC proposal would make the call sign available immediately). * The list of call sign choices should be increased from the FCC's proposed 10, to 25. * The FCC should continue to issue call signs with appropriate numeric identifiers (0 to 9), including preferred call signs. * Applicants for call signs outside the continental 48 states should be required to furnish proof of permanent residency there. The League also will urge that frequent updates of the FCC's database be made available for distribution (on the ARRL BBS, for example), so amateurs can know what their "pool" is. And the League will ask that 1X1 call signs be made available for special events of "national significance." CQ names four to Halls of Fame CQ magazine will induct four amateurs into its halls of fame at the Dayton HamVention. Joining the CQ Contest Hall of Fame will be John Thompson, W1BIH/PJ9JT; Atilano de Oms, PY5EG; and the late Herb Becker, W6QD. The single addition to the CQ DX Hall of Fame will be Charlie Mellen, W1FH. Thompson, 78 and licensed since the early 1930s, is well- known as both a DXer and contester. For more than 20 years he has operated from his winter villa on Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles. De Oms is credited with encouraging contest operations all over South America, is an active contester, and has one of the most potent stations on the continent. He also is at the top of both the Mixed and Phone DXCC Honor Rolls. Herb Becker, W6QD, was one of the handful of DX and contest operators who conceived, in the late 1940s, the idea of the CQ Worldwide DX Contests. The basic rules he helped write more than 40 years ago have remained essentially unchanged. Charlie Mellen, W1FH, joins the CQ DX Hall of Fame. A DXCC member before World War II, he started over in 1945, climbed to the top of the DXCC ladder, and stayed there throughout his career. SHUTTLE REPORTS EARLY SUCCESS WITH SCHOOL QSOs Space shuttle SAREX flight STS-59 was launched April 9 at 1105 UTC, with seasoned ham-astronauts Jay Apt, N5QWL, and Linda Godwin, N5RAX, on board. They began operating the orbiting ham station just a few hours after launch. According to Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, of the ARRL SAREX Working Group, the station was activated approximately three hours after liftoff with "an excellent radio check pass through California." Kerry Banke, N6IZW, and Ron Earl, W6TXK, in San Diego, used a phone link to connect N5QWL on the shuttle Endeavour with Lew McFadin, W5DID, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. During the contact, Apt said he really enjoyed the magnificent ride into space. At two days into the mission, the crew already had completed two-way contacts with eight of the nine schools chosen to participate in this flight, said Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, assistant to the ARRL Educational Activities Manager. Dozens of amateurs also reported making random FM voice and packet contacts with the crew. The SAREX Working Group reported that the high rate of success with the school contacts might allow for more general voice operations over the western US and northern Europe. The Shuttle was scheduled to land on Monday, April 18, at 1612 UTC. AMATEUR RADIO RESOLUTION GAINS MAJORITY IN HOUSE The Amateur Radio Service Joint Resolution, H.J. Res. 199, now has a majority of the US House of Representatives as cosponsors. On April 11, four additions to the list of cosponsors brought the total to 220 (of which three are nonvoting delegates). The four are: Rep. James Talent (R-MO), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Rep. Thomas Ridge (R-PA), and Rep. Don Young (R- AK). The Resolution seeks formal recognition of the value of Amateur Radio to the country, would support Amateur Radio as "national policy," and would encourage rules and regulations to facilitate Amateur Radio as a public benefit by encouraging new technologies. Including Resolution sponsor Jim Cooper (D-TN), the total number of voting sponsors is now 218. There are currently 434 Representatives in the House. More on the Resolution and the League's efforts in Washington were in April QST, pages 47 to 50. KATASHI NOSE, KH6IJ, A SILENT KEY AT AGE 79 Katashi Nose, KH6IJ, died April 7, 1994 in Honolulu. He was 79 years old. Nose (pronounced "no-see"), as he was known on the radio, suffered a stroke on March 27, according to his wife, Matsuyo, almost exactly 15 years after he suffered an initial stroke. In recent years Nose, one of the all-time great operators, had remained active on the air, despite the disabling stroke, through computerized operating and logging. Matsuyo provided the following biographical information: Nose was born in Honolulu on July 27, 1915, the second son of Jusaku and Tokino Nose, who had emigrated to Hawaii from Fukuoka, Japan. He was first licensed in 1932, as K6CGK. He received his Extra Class ticket in 1952, one of the very first. In 1937 he became the first amateur outside the continental US to earn the ARRL's Worked All States award, (Matsuyo said). In 1948, he became the first Hawaiian ham to earn postwar DXCC. He was an active contest operator for decades, on both phone and CW, and was well known for his machine-gun sending. He was the second person to be inducted into the CQ Contest Hall of Fame. Nose wrote an Amateur Radio column for the Honolulu Star Bulletin for 56 years and also authored many articles for amateur magazines, including QST. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaii in 1937, a master's degree from Harvard in 1960, and a certificate of advanced studies from Harvard in 1969. He was a physicist by trade. In addition to his wife, Katashi Nose leaves two daughters and a son-in-law. The funeral was scheduled for April 13, 1994. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE SETS REQUESTS FOR 2300-MHZ ACTION In addition to decisions relating to the proposed "vanity" call sign program, the ARRL Executive Committee at its meeting on April 9 reviewed the status of the proposed transfer of the bands at 2300 to 2310 MHz, 2390 to 2400 MHz, and 2402 to 2417 MHz from government to nongovernment use, as well as the implications for the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Service secondary allocations in those bands. The committee voted to have the ARRL general counsel prepare to file a petition with the FCC seeking, first, elevation of the status of the Amateur Service to primary in the following segments: 2303.5 to 2304.5 MHz, and 2390 to 2450 MHz; and, To seek the elevation of the status of the Amateur-Satellite Service to primary in the band 2400 to 2402 MHz. The petition should stress, the committee said, the "continuing need for a terrestrial weak-signal segment in the 2300 to 2400 MHz band, preferably adjacent to the Amateur- Satellite segment, and for continued access to the remainder of the presently allocated band." The committee also said that if the weak-signal community indicates that a primary segment near 2400 MHz is preferred over one at the presently used frequency of 2304 MHz, the request for primary status at 2303.5 to 2304.5 MHz might be dropped. FCC ORDERS RE-TESTS OF 59 AMATEUR LICENSEES The FCC has ordered 59 amateur licensees to be re-examined on examination elements passed at examination sessions coordinated by the ARRL-VEC in southern California between late 1992 and mid-1993. The FCC told all 59 that apparent irregularities indicated that the exam sessions were compromised. "Specifically," the FCC said, "the irregularities on your examination papers indicate that you were apparently given access to the exact (answer) key used by the volunteer examiners." The FCC gave the 59 amateurs 60 days in which to re-take the exams, at any session coordinated by the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group, and said that no VE present at the suspect sessions was allowed to administer a re-examination. Failure to pass the re-exams will result in license class change, loss of call sign, or loss of license entirely, as appropriate, the FCC said. In the course of cooperating with the FCC's Private Radio Bureau in its investigation, the ARRL-VEC suspended the accreditation of 16 volunteer examiners. Washington gets law on towers and antennas Washington State has new legislation to protect amateurs. On March 23, the governor signed Senate Bill 5697, a bill that will, according to its backers, limit the ability of municipalities to enact antenna and tower regulations, by pointing out the federal pre-emptions of the FCC's PRB-1. Credited with promoting this legislation were Dr. Ralph Shumaker, WX7T, and members of the Mike and Key Club of Seattle, according to ARRL State Government Liaison Frank Price, KD7AC. Price said that members of the Senate initially were sympathetic to the bill, which is worded in general terms, but they also realized that municipalities have an obligation to consider issues concerning health, safety, and other factors concerning general welfare. "Tests of the provisions of this bill will come, I am sure," Price said, "in the near future." The bill reads: No [city or town, code city, or county] shall enact or enforce an ordinance or regulation that fails to conform to the limited pre-emption entitled "Amateur Radio Preemption, 101 FCC 2nd 952 (1985)" issued by the federal communications commission [sic]. An ordinance or regulation adopted by a city or town with respect to amateur radio antennas shall conform to the limited federal preemption, that states local regulations that involve placement, screening, or height of antennas based on health, safety, or aesthetic considerations must be crafted to reasonably accommodate amateur communications, and to represent the minimal practicable regulation to accomplish the local authority's legitimate purpose." The bill's backers told the senators, as background, that "amateur radio operators seeking to erect antenna and support systems are often frustrated or delayed by restrictive local zoning ordinances. While local government actions have been partially preempted by the Federal Communications Commission, amateur radio operators seek to avoid time, expense, and delay challenging local actions that fail to conform to FCC policy." Southern nets act in tornadoes' wake Members of the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Service were very active and visible during and following tornadoes that struck several southeastern states on Sunday, March 27. In Alabama, more than 70 amateurs in 10 counties participated in the state's 2-meter weather spotting net, as well as in damage assessment following the storms, according to Herb Griffin, N4ZOV, president of the Calhoun County Amateur Radio Association, an ARRL Special Services Club. The National Weather Service in Birmingham received the reports via W4CUE, repeater station of the Birmingham Amateur Radio Club. Carol Boothe, KE4HJU, was cited by Griffin and others for "yeoman" service as net control on the 2-meter net, conducted through the WB4GNA repeater, with wide coverage from Mt. Cheaha, the highest point in Alabama. In Georgia, where the state's ARES net was activated Sunday afternoon following reports of tornadoes in Alabama, amateurs manned ARES nets in 12 counties in the storm's expected path. Local 2-meter net reports were funneled to the Georgia ARES Net on 3975, with liaisons to both Alabama and South Carolina. From there, spotting reports were relayed to state Red Cross Headquarters in Atlanta. Georgia ARRL Section Emergency Coordinator Dot Fennell, KA4HHE, told an interviewer for WJCL-TV in Savannah about Amateur Radio's role in storm communications. "Doppler radar is wonderful," she said, "but the human eye is the best weather instrument." The ARRL welcomes reports and photos from amateurs involved in these operations. BRIEFS * The annual ARRL Headquarters Open House will be Sunday, June 5, from 10 AM to 3 PM. As usual, it's on the same day as the Newington Amateur Radio League's flea market (which runs from 9 AM to 1 PM). W1AW will be open, too. * Again this year the new edition of the ARRL Repeater Directory will debut at the Dayton HamVention. The 1994-95 edition has been reorganized for easier use "on the run," and has more than 20,000 listings of FM repeaters, packet systems, and propagation beacons. * The Radio Society of Great Britain has scheduled its 1994 International HF and Islands on the Air Convention for October 7 to 9, 1994. Included this year is a 30th birthday party for IOTA. The convention will be held at the Beaumont Conference Centre in Old Windsor, Berkshire, the same location as last year. More than a dozen speakers already have signed on. For more information, contact E. N. Cheadle, G3NUG, Further Felden, Longcroft Lane, Felden, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP3 0BN. (Telephone/fax: +44 442 62929). * Check those DXCC application forms; the current form is MSD-505(194) for all new and endorsement applications. Please do not use older forms, as they lack spaces for critical information needed for processing at HQ. And business is up again in the ARRL DXCC Branch. In March, 1127 applications for new awards and endorsements were received, and for the first three months of 1994 applications are up by 18%, QSLs by 48%, over 1993. Turnaround time is about three and a half weeks. * ARRL affiliated clubs are asked to please advise HQ when your club officers or their addresses change, so we can effectively support your efforts. We can't help you if we can't find you! Speaking of club officers, watch your mailbox in early May for a mailing concerning ARRL-sponsored club liability insurance -- there's plenty of time to acquire this broad, inexpensive coverage, before Field Day! * The US amateur population held steady in January, as the first of a large number of license expirations began. The FCC added 2398 licensees and deleted 2282, leaving 631,726 licensed amateurs at the end of the first month of the year. And the amateur license application backlog is on the rise again at the FCC: on February 1, 8543 were pending, and on February 28 there were 12,868 awaiting action, according to ARRL- VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, KB9NM, who also says turnaround time in Gettysburg is hovering around the FCC's self-imposed maximum of 90 days. * The FCC has reaffirmed a $17,500 fine against a Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, man, Andrew R. Yoder, who the Commission says "willfully and repeatedly" operated an unlicensed broadcast station on 7415 kHz in 1990 and 1991. Yoder had filed an application for review of the May 1992 FCC forfeiture order; in March the FCC denied the application and gave Yoder 30 days to pay the fine. In Florida, the FCC issued Notices of Apparent Liability to three citizen's band operators, for violations including using illegal power amplifiers. The fines were for $1000, $1500, and $4000. The FCC also released a list of eight individuals cited recently for violations including "operating radio stations without proper authorization and operating on unauthorized frequencies." The fines ranged from $250 to $6400. No other details were given. * Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, ARRL's Manager of Legislative and Public Affairs, reports that more than 400 people signed the ARRL guest register at this year's convention of the National Association of Broadcasters, held in Las Vegas last month. Television professionals took all 50 copies of the League's Amateur Radio promotional spots, and 25 more were back-ordered. "Even if a small number of these tapes are aired on a regular basis," Mansfield said, "the advertising equivalency potential is phenomenal." * May QST, in your hands shortly, is the biggest May issue ever, at 240 pages. The current joke among QST editors and production staff is "we did two issues in one month" (April went to the printer March 2 and May went out March 30). 10 years ago in The ARRL Letter The ARRL files comments on an FCC proposal that would make 2310 to 2390 MHz available for flight test telemetry stations, supporting continued amateur access to the band on a secondary basis. The League also petitions for early access to new bands at 24.89 to 24.99 MHz and 902 to 928 MHz. The 18 MHz band awaits relocation of some government services before amateurs could have access to it. And several amateurs holding experimental licenses for the new 18 and 24 MHz bands petition the FCC for operation on those bands on an interim, non-interference basis. The ARRL Foundation says that contributions in memory of ARRL President Vic Clark, W4KFC, who died in November 1983, were "pouring in." The League said that some Volunteer Examiner Coordinators were indicating they planned to operate only temporarily, until the ARRL-VEC began, at which time they hoped to merge with it. The FCC expected that the last amateur examinations it would conduct would be in November. And two commercial operators of maritime (Loran) systems in the 1900 to 2000 KHz range express, to the FCC, reservations about the League's petition for added amateur privileges on 160 meters. The League continued its opposition to a Connecticut House bill to regulate RF exposure that, although watered down from its original form, still was unacceptable to amateurs. And Wayne Green, W2NSD, editor and publisher of 73 magazine, was rebuffed by the FCC in his petition that would have required amateurs to re-take their Morse code test every two years. *eof