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1988-02-26
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167 lines
This report is brought to you courtesy of Scott, W3VS, Roy, AA4RE,
HAMNET (a feature of COMPUSERV) and the Garlic Valley Packet Society,
Gilroy, California.
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:: T H E W 5 Y I R E P O R T ::
:: ::
:: D i t s & B i t s ::
:: ::
:: Vol 10 #2 --- 01/15/88 ::
:: ::
:: HamNet Electronic Edition ::
:: CompuServe's Ham/SWL Forum ::
:: ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Up to the minute news from the worlds of amateur radio, personal computing and
emerging electronics. While no guarantee is made, information is from sources
we believe to be reliable. May be reproduced providing credit is given to The
W5YI Report.
This HamNet Electronic Edition is a limited excerpt from the full published
edition of The W5YI Report. Selected and prepared by Scott, W3VS.
Commercial redistribution of this copy is prohibited.
IMPORTANT Note: Some of the material included in The W5YI Report - Electronic
Edition may not be suitable for transmission via Amateur Radio.
In this issue:
- FCC Denies Instant Novice Operation Petition
- Ham Radio and High Cancer Rates
HamNet thanks Fred Maia, W5YI, for permission to excerpt this Electronic
Edition of his W5YI Report. The full ten-page biweekly newsletter is available
by mail for $21 per year from Fred at Dept. C, PO Box 10101, Dallas, TX 75207.
Samples available for a 2 stamp large SASE.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
W5YI has developed a complete Novice Package that enables an Amateur Radio
operator candidate to learn everything necessary to obtain a ham ticket
without formal classroom training. Kit contains 3 manuals, 2 code tapes,
telegraph key, tone oscillator, battery...and more! Satisfaction guaranteed
or your money back! Same Day Shipping! Price: $21.95+$2.40 postage. W5YI-
VEC, PO Box 10101-N, Dallas, TX 75207.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
Do you have Amateur Radio news to contribute to The W5YI Report? If so,
please call (817) 461-6443 and leave a message on Fred's recorder!
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
o FCC Denites Instant Novice Operation Petition
---------------------------------------------
You can forget about Instant Novice operation. The FCC released an Order on
December 31, 1987, denying the concept. The FCC had denied many requests over
the years for immediate ham band operation by entry level amateurs.
The ruling is in response to a Petition for Rulemaking filed April 27, 1987, by
Frederic G. Hambrecht, KJ4JE (Advanced) of Jamestown, Tennessee, seeking to
authorize immediate operating privileges to new Novice licensees. At present,
applicants must wait until the arrival of their Novice license before they can
get on-the-air. The FCC acknowledged the Petition on May 20th and assigned the
measure rulemaking file No. 5924. Since the FCC accepted the Hambrecht
petition for public comment, many people thought it would be enacted this time.
Hambrecht suggested that the successful examinee's station could be authorized
by a temporary call sign of one of the administering volunteer examiners (VE's)
plus a unique numeral.
In support of his request, Hambrecht stated that the waiting time between the
examination and receipt of the Novice operator license is so long that the
person's recently-acquired skills are diminished. He argued that, because
Novice operators would be identifying their station's transmissions with the
call sign of one of the VE's, the FCC would have a direct means of
accountability for violations without the administrative burden of maintaining
a file of temporary call signs.
Fifteen comments were filed, eleven in support and four in opposition. The
opponents argued that the waiting period was not unreasonable and serves a
useful purpose by giving the new Novice operator time to build a station, erect
antennas and prepare for actual on-the-air operation.
Concern was expressed over the prospect of stations being identified with the
VE's station call sign. William G. Welsh, W6DDB, a well-known, experienced VE,
said he did not want to take the responsibility for the operating mistakes of
unsupervised, inexperienced persons. Also, listeners could be faced with
multiple stations being identified with the same call sign.
Toledo, Ohio amateur, Robert F. Solon, WD8LKI, said that it would be confusing
even with an added identifier. The proposal was supported by those commenters
who resisted any waiting period and wanted immediate operation as a reward for
having successfully passed the Novice operator license examination.
The International Radio Regulations (Geneva, 1976) No. 2735, provide that an
administration shall take such measures as it judges necessary to verify the
operational and technical qualifications of any person who wishes to operate an
amateur radio station.
In denying the Petition, Ralph Haller, N4RH - Chief of the FCC's Private Radio
Bureau, said, "...at the time the petition was filed, our applications
processing facility was experiencing an unusually heavy workload. In March,
1987, Gettysburg received 6,083 applications for Novice operator lcienses,
compared to the average monthly recepti of 1,860 of such applications.
Apparently this anomaly was caused by applicants seeking to avoid new
examination requirements that are associated with the new privileges for Novice
operators. As a result, there was a temporary waiting period during which the
processing time exceeded our goal of 30 days. This situation has returned to
normal. We now usually process amateur license applications in 18 to 21 days."
Haller said, "The present system for issuance of Novice operator licenses is a
great improvement over the "mailback" system that was in effect prior to 1983.
The old system was much more time consuming because it required the telegraphy
examination and the written examination to be administered at different times,
and required multiple mailings between the volunteer examiner and the FCC."
"On balance, it appears that the application processing period is not
unreasonable. In view of the relatively short time that it takes to process an
applications, the marginal benefits to be derived by authorizing successful
Novice operator examinees temporary operating authority are outweighed by the
disadvantages that could occur."
"Additionally, upon analysis, an instant licensing proposal appears contrary to
the requirements of International Law (since Novice operation would begin prior
to FCC verification.of the examinee's qualifications). Therefore, the
initiation of a rulemaking proceeding by the full Commission is not warranted,"
Haller wrote in the December Order. The fact that the proposal lacked support
by the American Radio Relay League also contributed to its defeat.
o Ham Radio and High Cancer Rate Link
-----------------------------------
The state of Washington is still trying to connect electromagnetic field and
the inicidence of cancer. The Associated Press circulated a news story on
January 3rd with a Tacoma, Washington, dateline stating "Amateur radio
operators in Washington and California appear to die at abnormally high rates
from several forms of cancer..."
Dr. Samuel Milham, Jr., of the Washington Department of Social and Health
Services studied the deaths of 2,485 Washington and California ham operators
between 1979 and 1984.
He reported in the American Journal of Epidemiology that the group had a 24.1%
higher incidence of leukemia, 23.6% higher rate of lymphatic and blood-forming
organ cancers ...and 15.4% more prostate cancer.
The study "indicates that amateur radio operator licensees in Washington state
and California have significant excess mortality due to acute myloid leukemia,
multiple, myeloma and perhaps certain types of malignant lymphoma," Milham
reported.
The Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, warned that
studies like Milham's can be misinterpreted. Leonard Sagan, program manager at
the institute said his research has not shown whether electricity causes cancer
...and "if it does, it's rare."
[End this issue]