QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/arrl/hiram/ltr12n10.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 26KB | 480 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 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.

        * Here are some recent DX operations for which DXCC
approval has been granted: S21ZK (operations beginning 6 March,
1993); T53UN (20 March, 1992); 6O/G3KOX (14 December, 1992);
T5/KF6BL (26 December, 1992); T55FO (6 January, 1993); T5CB (31
January, 1993); T5/K3OQF (21 February, 1993); YI9CW (July, 1992);
5X1A (4 March, 1993); 5X1B (12 March, 1993); 5X1C (29
April,1993); 5X1XT (26 April, 1993); 9G1AA (24 March, 1993);

*eof