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The ARRL Letter

Vol. 12, No. 1

January 11, 1993


The 1992 Amateur Radio Year in Review


JANUARY


     * The ARRL Board of Directors meets and elects Larry

Price, W4RA, International Affairs Vice President; elected

to replace Price as League president is George Wilson III,

W4OYI. Rodney Stafford, KB6ZV, is elected first vice

president; and Jay Holladay, W6EJJ, and Tom Frenaye, K1KI,

are elected vice presidents.

    The board creates the new position of chief

financial officer, to which current business manager Barry

J. Shelley is elected.


     * L. Phil Wicker, W4ACY, a former Roanoke Division

director, dies January 3 at age 83. He served as director

from 1974 to 1980 and was an ARRL Charter Life Member.


     * The FCC extends -- for the last time, it says -- the

ARRL Special Temporary Authority for unattended HF digital

operation by a limited number of specified amateur stations,

to January 3, 1993.


    * In reply comments to the FCC the League continues

to support a weak-signal segment on the 222 MHz band, a

request made in 1991 in its Petition for Rule Making, RM-

7869, saying that such a subband cannot be voluntarily

enforced.

    In late December the FCC issues a Notice of Proposed

Rule Making (in PR Docket 92-289). The FCC agrees that the

ARRL proposal for a "weak signal" subband at 222.0 to 222.15

has merit and includes it in the NPRM.    The Commission also

agrees with the ARRL that allowing Novices privileges on the

entire 222 MHz band is a good idea.

    In addition, the FCC looks favorably on a petition

by Novice Class licensee Michael C. Trahos, who seeks

authorization for Novices to be licensees and control

operators of repeaters on both the 222 and 1240 MHz bands,

and the NPRM proposes such (an idea on which the ARRL has

yet to take a position).


      * The FCC assigns RM numbers to two proposals for

changes in Part 97.113 of its rules concerning so-called

business communications, in response to an ARRL proposal to

allow amateurs to legally perform public service work that

is a gray area in current FCC regulations. On June 18 the

FCC formalizes the proposed changes, assigning the proposal

PR Docket 92-136.

    FCC Personal Radio Branch (PRB) staffer William

Cross tells the Commissioners that the pecuniary interest

constraints in the current rules often prohibit public

service communications by amateurs. Cross says that out of a

number of petitions for changes in the rules, the Private

Radio Bureau chose the League's version for presentation.

    Chairman Alfred Sikes praises the League for its

initiative in suggesting the rules changes, and agrees with

Commissioner James Quello that nothing in the rules changes

should be allowed to damage the integrity of the Amateur

Service or the fundamental self-policing aspect of it.

    In June the FCC releases its NPRM in PR Docket 92-

136, to effect these changes. In December the ARRL files

reply comments, addressing concerns of others about the

proposal. The League labels proposals by broadcasters to

allow more use of Amateur Radio in ordinary newsgathering

"self-serving."

    The League requests that the FCC finalize its

proposed restated rule as soon as possible.


FEBRUARY

     * The ITU World Administrative Conference opens in

Torremolinos, Spain, climaxing two years of intensive

preparations. During the month-long conference the IARU

observer team works with members of national delegations to

fend off threats to the amateur 40-meter band as well as to

amateurs' microwave allocations. The conference adopts no

changes in the 40-meter band but sets the stage for

eliminating regional differences in allocations at a future

conference.

     * The FCC says that budget considerations will preclude

the Commission's Field Operations Bureau from handling many

RFI complaints and problems. Other cutbacks likely will

include FCC involvement in ham-to-ham interference

complaints and interference to amateurs from noise sources

such as arc welders, other industrial equipment, and the

like, and amateurs themselves will have to shoulder

additional responsibility in dealing with these matters, the

FCC says.


     * The ARRL and W5YI-VECs file separate petitions with

the FCC for all Novice class Amateur Radio license

examinations to be administered under the current volunteer

examiner (VEC) program. The Novice class currently is the

only examination that may be taken outside the VE program

(i.e., under the supervision of two General class or higher

class amateurs) as well as taken through the VE program.

    In July, the FCC issues a Notice of Proposed Rule

Making in PR Docket 92-154, essentially as proposed by the

ARRL and W5YI VECs.

    In November, the ARRL files reply comments, hoping

to address concerns about the availabilty of examination

opportunities in sparsely populated areas and to clarify

that General class licensees would be eligible to administer

Novice exams within the VE system.

    The League concludes that there is no longer

justification for having a different system for Novice

examinations because the Novice class is now one of two

entry-level license classes (the Technician class already is

VEC-administered) and that the Novice class includes many

more operating privileges than it did when the subject was

last considered, in 1983.


     * The FCC denies requests that it reconsider the

establishment of a code free Technician class license (which

went into effect in February, 1991). Objections to the Commission's

order of December 13, 1990, had sought special call signs

for such licensees and privileges different from those

granted by the order.


    * Kuwait honors Amateur Radio operators on the first

anniversary of that country's liberation from Iraqi

occupation forces. Guests of the Kuwait government February

22-29 include amateurs from the United States, Guatemala,

Sweden, Germany, Egypt, and the Netherlands, as well as

Kuwaiti amateurs, all of whom were involved in

communications from Kuwait during the occupation.

    In the spring, television station WANE TV in Ft.

Wayne, Indiana, wins a national Headliner Award in the

category of outstanding television documentary or editorial

from the press club of Atlantic City, for its film, "Last

Voice from Kuwait," produced by WANE president and general

manager Frank Moore, WA1URA.

    At its meeting in July the ARRL Board of

Directors gives Abdul Jabbar Marafi, 9K2DZ, its 1992

International Humanitarian award.

       In late 1992 John Troost, TG9VT, the "Guatemalan

connection" in the Kuwait saga, dies after a long illness.

MARCH


    * SAREX Space Shuttle STS-45 carries four licensed

amateurs among its four-person crew. Pilot Brian Duffy,

N5WQW, an astronaut since 1985, tells the Associated Press

that he "recently earned his ham radio operator's license so

he could use the amateur radio aboard *Atlantis* to chat with

school children and other folks."


    * The FCC allocates 218-219 MHz to interactive video

data services (IVDS) effective April 8, 1992. The ARRL had

sought a secondary, non-interference allocation for the

Amateur Radio Service at 216-220 MHz, in a petition for

access to spectrum in the 216-220 MHz range; that petition

remains unchanged by the IVDS ruling.


     * US Senator Wendell Ford (D-KY) enters into the

Congressional Record a statement honoring ARRL President

Wilson. Ford, a neighbor and long-time acquaintance of

Wilson in Owensboro, Kentucky, noted Wilson's election as

League president, calling ARRL "the Nation's leading

organization of amateur radio operators," and commending

"Mr. Wilson's public service to the people of Kentucky."


    * New ARRL President Wilson meets for the first time

with FCC officials to discuss matters of interest to

amateurs.


APRIL


     * The Dayton Hamvention names Richard L. Baldwin, W1RU,

its 1992 Amateur of the Year. Baldwin has been president of

the International Amateur Radio Union since retiring from

the ARRL Headquarters staff in 1982.

    Also honored by the HamVention are Gerald Cromer,

K4NHN, for technical excellence and Ned Raub, W1RAN, for

special achievement.

    Angela Fischer, KB0HXY, is named the Westlink Young

Ham of the Year for 1992. Angela, 13, is credited with

introducing a number of other youngsters to Amateur Radio.


     * The FCC on April 15 is authorized to increase fines

in all services, including Amateur, and steps up its

issuance of Notices of Apparent Liability against commercial

users and others. Included in the latter are three people: a

Technician Class amateur in Maine is fined $10,000 for a

violation in the Citizen's Band; a non-amateur in Florida

gets an $8,000 NAL for transmitting in the Amateur 40-meter

band; and an Amateur Extra Class licensee in Colorado gets a

$10,000 NAL for transmitting from a mobile installation on

frequencies near 7420 and 15050 kHz.

    In June, the FCC denies petitions to reconsider the

new, stiffer monetary fines structure.


    * The FCC's Private Radio Bureau issues its first

Order to Show Cause and Suspension Order to amateurs in

several years; Charles P. Pascal, WB6CIY, and Sandra V.

Crane, N6TFO, both Amateur Extra Class licensees, are

ordered to show cause why their Amateur operator licenses

should not be suspended and their station licenses revoked

for what the FCC alleges are volunteer examination

irregularities.

    In October, the two reach a settlement that includes

agreeing to temporary license suspensions before an

administrative law judge in Washington, D.C., who issues a

consent order "resolving all issues in the proceeding,"

according to the FCC.

    "The settlement and its terms do not constitute an

admission by either respondent of any violation of law,

rules, or policy," the FCC says.

    Crane and Pascal call the plea bargain a "stunning

reversal" for the FCC.


     * Dick Rutan, KB6LQS, co-pilot of the December, 1986

record setting around-the-world flight of his aircraft

*Voyager* and the 1992 ARRL National Convention banquet

speaker, announces a bid for the U.S. Congress from

California's 42nd District.

    In June Rutan wins the Republican Party primary but

is defeated in November by 14-term Rep. George E. Brown for

the seat from the newly-redistricted 42nd.


MAY


     * Ralph V. "Andy" Anderson, K0NL, dies May 4, at age

82. He was a former ARRL Midwest Division vice-director and

director, a prolific Amateur Radio writer and editor, and a

co-founder of the Amateur Radio News Service.


     * U.S. Representative Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.), the sponsor

of H.R. 73, the "Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act,"

responds to concerns that the bill might encroach on the

FCC's authority to assign spectrum by saying that "the

American people don't elect the FCC to set

telecommunications policy. They elect the Congress to do

that."

    In November Cooper is reelected to Congress, and

sponsor of the companion Senate bill Al Gore, also of

Tennessee, is elected US Vice President.


     * The FCC changes the call sign of the Voice of America

Amateur Radio Club station in Washington, D.C. to from K3EKA

to K3VOA, in honor of the VOA's 50th anniversary.


     * The League tallies responses to a questionaire sent

to a thousand young hams about their operating and listening

habits. The FCC later cites the results of the survey as

support for enforcement actions against amateurs for their

on-the-air behavior and language.


     * The Heath Company officially announces that it is out

of the kit business, a fact known to Heath fans for some

time. Heath's president, Bill Johnson, says that "folks just

aren't buying and building very many kits anymore."


JUNE


     * An article in *USA Today* about a new rf-powered

lightbulb concerns amateurs. It turns out that the bulb is

not yet in production, although the manufacturer,

Intersource Technologies Inc. of Sunnyvale, California, says

the bulbs are expected to meet FCC Part 15 rules regarding

incidental interference. A few weeks later the designer and

patent holder of the device, Diablo Research Corporation,

tells ARRL that "We are very sensitive to interference on

our ham frequencies and take pride in designing high quality

products with this in mind. The E-Lamp has no harmonics

within any amateur band below 420 MHz." Diablo says.


     * The ARRL Foundation's major scholarship award for

1992 goes to a 32-year-old videographer from Greensboro,

North Carolina. Harry L. "Chip" Litaker, Jr., AC4BO, picks

up the $5,000 ARRL Scholarship Honoring Barry Goldwater.


    * The League expands its Washington presence with

the move there from Newington of ARRL Technical Relations

Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, who will be responsible for day-

to-day contact with federal agencies. ARRL Publications

Manager Mark Wilson, AA2Z, replaces Rinaldo as editor of

*QST*.



    * The FCC fines James Winstead Jr, KK6SM, $15,000

for allegedly using a mobile dual band transceiver to

interfere with communications on commercial UHF channels in

northern California. Winsted is identified through the

efforts of local amateurs.


    * The FCC at an open meeting discusses changes in

its Part 15 rules to enable so-called "smart houses," but

does not consider the potential for EMI in such situations.

The FCC says that EMI is outside the scope of the NPRM (in

ET Docket 91-269), which the League had commented on.


    * Several FCC officials attending the National

Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators held June 11

and 12 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, praise the VEC program

and participate in meetings with volunteer examiners on

topics including VEC guidelines; VEC self enforcement;

Novice testing under the VEC program; possible exclusion of

certain age groups from test fees as well as uniformity in

test fees among the different VECs; and General Class

volunteer examiners (in addition to the current Extra and

Advanced class volunteers).


    * On June 3 the FCC fines Advanced class licensee

James L. Brantley, K6KPS, $8,000 for malicious interference

and "broadcasting" on 20 meters.

    Technician class Russell D. Hutchings, N0QMZ, is

accused of submitting an altered Certificate of Successful

Completion of Examination (CSCE) to volunteer examiners and

fined $1,500, but in August the FCC cancels Hutchings's NAL

after the staff of his US Senator, John C. Danforth (R-MO),

asks the FCC to reconsider in light of the amateur's

"medical depression."


    * Congressman Ralph M. Hall of Texas, a member of

the House Telecommunications and Finance Subcommittee and

also a co-sponsor of House Bill HR-73, writes to the FCC,

"on behalf of several amateur radio operators who are

interested in the establishment of an FCC system for

allotting distinctive call signs." Hall is joined by Rep.

Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts, chairman of the

subcommittee, in support for a return to special call sign

requests by amateurs. Shortly thereafter ARRL President

Wilson writes to FCC Chairman Alfred Sikes, reiterating the

League's support in the matter.

    "We would be pleased to work with FCC staff in

developing a fair, workable system for assigning specific,

unassigned Amateur Radio call signs," Wilson says.


    * Robert Hertzberg, K4JBI, dies June 30 at age 87.

He was a technical writer and editor best remembered for his

book "So You Want to be a Ham," first published in 1956 by

Howard W. Sams and updated throughout the 1960s.


JULY

    * At its July meeting the ARRL Board says it will

not entertain the idea of changing the name of the

organization until members have had an opportunity to voice

their opinion on the matter. The board also encourages

promotion of ARRL family memberships and creates an ARRL

Industry Advisory Council, and adopts a position on HF

digital autoforwarding after a recommendation by the Digital

Committee. Packet enthusiasts, fearing a loss of service,

rally in opposition.


    * Members of the two Canadian national Amateur Radio

organizations, the Canadian Radio Relay League (CRRL) and

the Canadian Amateur Radio Federation (CARF) vote to

dissolve their respective organizations and then merge into

a single entity, to be called Radio Amateurs of Canada. At

year's end lawyers and accountants are still hammering out

details of the merger, which is predicted to be completed by

mid-1993.


AUGUST


    * The FCC proposes a new method of licensing

foreign amateurs visiting in the U.S. The NPRM, in PR

Docket 92-167, would include amateurs from countries with

which the U.S. has no reciprocal operating agreement and

would have volunteer examiners handle the mechanics of the

applications.

    The League comments that the proposal could lead to

other countries tightening their rules, would put an undue

burden on volunteer examiners, and as an alternative

proposes the adoption of a "common international license

endorsement" scheme.

    In November the League adds reply comments

continuing to support the goal of the proposal while

encouraging alternate means of achieving it.


    * Gino A. Turrella, of Kent, Washington, a non-

amateur and the target of what the FCC calls "numerous

complaints" for transmitting profane language and making

threats "on various amateur radio repeater stations

throughout Western Washington," is cited for "willful"

violations of Section 301 of the Communications Act, and

issued an NAL for $10,000.


    * William J. Halligan, W9AC, founder of the

Hallicrafters Company, dies July 14 at age 93.    He founded

the company in 1933 and ran it until retiring in 1975.

    * The W5YI Report publishes a report on the work

backlog in the ARRL's DXCC Branch, questioning the amount of

resources being devoted to DXCC. The ARRL Letter interviews

DXCC managers Tom Hogerty, KC1J, and Bill Kennamer, K5FUV,

to get another side of the story. Later in the year the ARRL

Administration and Finance Committee approves funds for a

DXCC "night shift" and for new computer equipment for the

Branch. At year's end the backlog still stands at about six

months but the plan to eliminate it is in place and

functioning.


    * Thomas H. Haynie, WB4PVK, convicted in September,

1990, of causing intentional interference to a

communications satellite (a felony) is ordered by the FCC to

show cause why his amateur station and operators licenses

should not be terminated. Haynie appeals but the FCC finds

his arguments unconvincing and late in the year suspends his

amateur operator license and revokes his station license.

        * The ARRL Executive Committee, meeting during the

National Convention in Los Angeles, asks the Digital

Committee to meet with representatives of the specially

authorized packet autoforwarding group to seek a solution to

the HF autoforwarding controversy.

    * Hurricane Andrew strikes the Bahamas, south

Florida, and the Gulf Coast, and a Florida amateur, Herbert

Engelman, KD4OZY, is killed while working in the relief

effort that follows. A report on amateurs' activities in the

Hurricane is published in December *QST*.

    Florida Governor Lawton Chiles sends a letter to

ARRL to ... "thank the many amateur radio operators who

assisted in the Hurricane Andrew relief effort.    The amateur

radio service can be proud of its members, who time and time

again serve the country unselfishly. The state of Florida

owes them a debt of gratitude and thanks," Chiles says.

SEPTEMBER

    * Voluntary HF band-planning for packet radio and

other digital modes is a mjor topic when the General

Assembly IARU Region 2 meets in the Netherlands Antilles.

Recommended HF digital segments are agreed upon; recommended

HF band segments for CW and for radiotelephone (including

SSTV and FAX) are unchanged. The Assembly agrees to hold its

1995 meeting in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

    * SAREX Space Shuttle STS-47 makes several thousand

voice and packet contacts with earthbound amateurs, with

astronaut hams Dr. Jay Apt, N5QWL, and Dr. Mamoru Mohri,

7L2NJY, aboard.


    * General Class licensee Allen Burton, KA4URC,

receives an FCC fine of $1,500 for "indecent speech" on 20

meters. The Notice of Apparent Liability says that one of

the Commission's goals is to "protect children from exposure

to sexually explicit communications over the airwaves."

    In late November the FCC reduces Burton's fine to

$200 when he says he cannot afford to pay the higher levy.

The Commission warns Burton not to let it happen again.


SEPTEMBER


    * Hurricane Iniki pummels the Hawaiian island of

Kauai and amateurs from the other islands as well as the

mainland do yeoman service as communicators. They receive a

commendation from the mayor of Kauai and a feature article

in February, 1993 *QST*.


    * The ARRL Digital Committee recommends that the

part of the IARU Region 2 band plan adopted at its recent

conference to provide for digital forwarding be incorporated

into United States radio regulations. The committee also

formulates a tentative voluntary band plan for the digital

parts of the MF and HF bands and invites comment from

interested parties.



OCTOBER


    * ARRL Associate Technical Editor Jerry Hall, K1TD,

retires from the Headquarters staff after 23 years of

service, with many ARRL *Handbooks*, *Antenna Books*,

*Antenna Compendiums*, and *QST* articles under his belt.

Jerry stops back in the first time there's free food -- at

the Christmas party.


    * Extra Class licensee Richard C. Bortner, KG5WS, is

ordered by the FCC to show cause why his license should not

be revoked for not responding to earlier letters from the

Commission. In mid-November, the Commission withdraws its

Order to Show Cause "in view of on-going proceedings in the

case."


    * Three broadcast radio stations receive FCC fines

for airing "indecent" language during "times of day when

there was a reasonable risk that children might be in the

audience." The stations are in New York City, Philadelphia,

and Manassas, Virginia, and aired segments of the Howard

Stern radio show.


    * Former ARRL Hudson Division Director George V.

Cooke, W4LEP, dies October 18 at the age of 91. He served

three terms as a director, from January 1953 to January

1959.


    *The League sends a draft letter of intent to the

FCC proposing the resumption of issuing distinctive call

signs to amateur clubs and military recreation stations; at

year's end it still awaits a reply. The letter is in

response to a law passed in early October that would enable

such a resumption. The League offers to provide

uncompensated and unreimbursed volunteer service to the

Commission as the exclusive administrator of club and

military recreation call signs.


NOVEMBER


    * Michael E. Whatley, WA4D, receives an NAL for

$1,500 for deliberate interference to other amateur

stations, stemming from transmissions on 40 meters made in

November, 1991 and monitored by the FCC.    Whatley gets

the usual 30 days in which to respond or pay.


    * Hiram Hamilton Maxim, son of ARRL founder Hiram

Percy Maxim, W1AW, dies November 2. He was 92. He took over

his father's company, Maxim Silencer, when HPM died in 1936.


    * And on November 11 famed DXer Al Slater, G3FXB,

dies of a heart attack at his home in England. He had

recently been elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame and was

an official of the First Class CW Operators Club (FOC).


    * A Notice of Inquiry from the US Department of

Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information

Administration asks for public comment on current and future

requirements for the radio spectrum, and the League responds

with a Christmas wish list. The ARRL notes the recent

explosion of the amateur ranks to the current level of more

than 580,000, as well as amateurs' needs for a number of

relatively small frequency allocations scattered throughout

the spectrum.

    The League suggests amateurs could need all their

current frequency allocations, as well as a number of new

ones.


    * In November the ARRL Executive Committee defers

until at least the January Board meeting whether or not to

pursue H.R. 73 in the new year.


    * 22-year-old Roy L. Eyman, KC6TYR, a Technician

Class licensee, is sentenced to three years supervised

probation and 250 hours of community service for

transmitting on a tactical operations radio channel of the

San Diego police department, and is ordered to deprogram his

Amateur Radio equipment of all public safety frequencies.

The sentence is handed down by a U.S. magistrate in an out-

of-court settlement, according to the FCC.


    * Annual elections result in ARRL Board of

Directors members being returned to office. Ballots counted

November 20 return directors in the Hudson and Northwestern

Divisions, as well as vice-directors in the Central,

Hudson, and Rocky Mountain Divisions. In the Roanoke

Division Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, is elected over the incumbent

and two other challengers.

        Art Goddard, W6XD, is unopposed in a bid for vice

director in the Southwestern Division, a seat vacated by

Wayne Overbeck, N6NB.


    * ARRL Director Emeritus Robert Thurston, W7PGY,

dies November 14 at the age of 89. He was Northwestern

Division Director from 1965 to 1980.


DECEMBER

        * The ARRL finishes the year with 3.5 percent

membership growth.

        * FCC Chairman Alfred E. Sikes announces that he

will resign in January, 1993, clearing the way for a Clinton

appointee.

    * The FCC orders the re-testing of 20 amateurs who

received licenses or upgrades as a result of volunteer

examinations given in early 1992 at examinations conducted

in Waterville, New York, at two sessions coordinated by ARRL-

VEC. The FCC said the action was "due to apparent

irregularities in the examination papers of certain

applicants indicating that applicants may have had advance

access to the examination materials."

    The ARRL-VEC turned the materials over to the FCC

when the possible irregularities came to light. At year's

end no wrongdoing had been alleged but the investigation was

continuing.

*eof