QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/arrl/hiram/ltr12n17.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 20KB | 367 lines

The ARRL Letter
Vol. 12, No. 17
September 14, 1993

5-year ARRL effort bears fruit

FCC gives hams new protection against 'scanner laws'

     An FCC decision on August 20, the result of a 5-year ARRL
effort, gives Amateur Radio operators a powerful new tool to use
against ill-conceived local and state laws and ordinances.
     In the past referred to as the "Scanner laws proceeding,"
the Commission's Memorandum Opinion and Order actually goes much
further than simply saying that amateurs have a federal right to
own and operate their radios. The Commission's decision supports
at length the very essence of the purpose of the Amateur Service.
     The story of the proceeding, PR Docket 91-36, actually
begins with the FCC Part 97 Rules Rewrite proceeding in 1988.
ARRL's comments in Docket 88-139 proposed the addition of a new
section to the FCC Rules to clarify that the possession of
amateur equipment, whether or not that amateur equipment is
incidentally capable of receiving communications on frequencies
allocated to other services, is permissible.
     Since that time, state statutes and local ordinances have
continued to be construed and applied to permit confiscation of
Amateur Radio mobile transceivers from licensed amateurs, merely
because those transceivers are capable of receiving certain land
mobile bands as well as amateur frequencies.
     The Commission's ruling will relieve amateurs of the
growing, unreasonable burden established by these laws, which
interfere with the proper functioning of the Amateur Radio
Service and public service communications provided by amateurs.
     In its handling of PR Docket 88-139, the FCC staff decided
to confine the proceeding as much as possible to a restatement of
existing rules, and to not address this and other new issues.
     But, the ARRL Board of Directors ad-hoc Part 97 Rewrite
Committee wanted to keep the issue alive. So, in response to the
committee's recommendation, ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay,
N3AKD, brought to the Executive Committee in the fall of 1989 a
draft request for an FCC declaratory ruling.
     The EC concurred, and the request was filed in November
1989.
     The FCC's lengthy Order will be treated at length in
November *QST*. The essence of their decision, based on the ARRL
motion for a declaratory ruling, is:
     "We hold that state and local laws that preclude the
possession in vehicles or elsewhere of amateur radio service
transceivers by amateur operators merely on the
basis that the transceivers are capable of the reception of
public safety, special emergency, or other radio service
frequencies, the reception of which is not prohibited by federal
law, are inconsistent with the federal objectives of facilitating
and promoting the amateur radio service and, more fundamentally,
with the federal interest in amateur operators' being able to
transmit and receive on authorized amateur service frequencies.
     "We therefore hold that such state and local laws are
preempted by federal law."

Amateur service defended

     The FCC, in the "Discussion" section of its Order, outlines
several reasons for "the strong federal interest in the
preservation and advancement of the amateur service."
     The Order cites as evidence the FCC's comprehensive set of
rules for the amateur service, rules made to ensure that strong
technical standards and operating practices are maintained.
     The Order also notes that FCC Part 97 Rules spell out that
the amateur service exists to "continue and extend the amateur's
proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art"
(the FCC's words).
     Finally, the Order details recognition of Amateur Radio by
the U.S. Congress, in specifically exempting amateurs from
license fees and in a 1988 "Sense of Congress" statement that
says, in part,
     (The Congress) "strongly encourages and supports the Amateur
Radio Service and its emergency communications efforts; and
government agencies shall take into account the valuable
contributions made by amateur radio operators when considering
actions affecting the Amateur Radio Service."
     ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, said "This
result is all the sweeter because we had been discouraged from
getting our hopes up. The tide had been running against
assertions of federal preemption, and there was some feeling that
PRB-1 represented a 'high water mark' unlikely to be achieved
again.
     "In short, the preemption declaration in PR Docket 91-36
represents an excellent job by the FCC and its staff, as well as
by those in the League who recognized the need, prepared the
arguments, and then kept the faith in the face of pessimism about
the likely outcome."

League defends position on club call signs

     The ARRL has responded to complaints filed against it by the
W5YI-VEC Inc. and the National Amateur Radio Association, in the
matter of choosing administrating organizations for a proposed
club and military amateur station call sign program.
     On August 5 the ARRL filed  with the FCC its
opposition to the requests of four other entities to serve as
call sign administrators, citing shortcomings in their
submissions and reminding the Commission that there is no
requirement that more than one administrator be named -- "nor any
advantage to be gained from doing so."
     The ARRL told the Commission that it saw defects in the
applications from the other four groups (W5YI-VEC Inc., the NARA,
the Quarter Century Wireless Association, and the Southeastern
Repeater Association).
     In response, the W5YI-VEC and the NARA filed "Motions to
Strike" the League's filing. The League has responded by telling
the Commission that the Motions to Strike are not the "proper
procedural vehicle" to use in taking issue with the League's
position, and saying in addition that the claim made by W5YI-VEC
and the NARA that the League's opposition was defective is
untrue.
     W5YI-VEC in its Motion suggested that there is no FCC rule
permitting the League's opposition; the League responded that its
pleading was timely filed as opposition to a petition (the
applications of the four other groups to be call sign
administrators).
     The League also said that the Commission could treat the
League's pleading (technically called a "Consolidated
Opposition") as an informal request for Commission action
(allowed under Section 1.41 of FCC Rules).
     The League's Consolidated Opposition calls "startling" an
allegation of W5YI-VEC that the League "lacks standing" to oppose
other groups' being call sign administrators.
     In response, the ARRL again cited the history of the new FCC
regulation permitting the call sign program, e.g., that the
League had the idea in the first place, promoted it within the
FCC and in Congress, and then finally urged the FCC to adopt a
program once it had been enabled by Congress.
      The League further told the FCC that W5YI-VEC objections to
the "tone" of the League's August 5 filing were not a basis for a
Motion to Strike.
     "Suffice it to say," the League said in its Consolidated
Opposition, "that the League continues to oppose the self-
promotional efforts of unqualified or less qualified
organizations to overly complicate and detract from the efficient
private sector administration of club and military recreation
station call signs...
     "Amateur radio clubs and military recreation stations
deserve better," the League said.
     The League responded to a W5YI-VEC contention that it (the
W5YI-VEC) could aggregate groups of people and call them
"members," calling such a plan "the essence of a sham
organization."
     The League said that the argument of the NARA -- that the
League's opposition to the applications of the four other groups
was really a petition to the FCC to reconsider its Order enabling
the entire program -- was simply incorrect.
     The League said that it merely continues to urge the
FCC to decide to appoint only one administrator for the program;
the decision is entirely up to the Chief of the FCC's Private
Radio Bureau, since the enabling legislation has nothing to say
about *how many* administrators should be appointed.
     The League said that the W5YI-VEC and NARA motions to strike
"are no more than an effort to defend (their) defective
applications ... there is absolutely no basis whatsoever for
striking the League's opposition, and those motions should
therefore be promptly dismissed."
     No new club or military recreation station call signs have
been issued since 1977.

FCC DENIES PETITIONS FOR A.R. RESTRUCTURING

     The FCC has denied a petition by Scott Leyshon, WA2EQF, to
eliminate written examinations for amateur operator licenses.  At
the same time the Commission denied a petition by Vincent
Biancomano, WB2EZG, which, although it not advocate a "no written
test" license, did, the FCC said, concur in all other respects
with Leyshon's proposal.
     Leyshon's petition, filed April 19, 1993, argued that
current written examinations place a premium on FCC rules over
technical content.  No comments were received on his petition.
     Biancomano's petition, like Leyshon's, was characterized by
the FCC as proposing that the Commission state a goal of the
amateur service as being either a technical or a non-technical
service.
     The FCC said that of the 170 questions that appear on
examinations for amateur operator licenses, only (their word) 46
concern rules and operating procedures, while 124 concern
"contemporary technical matters." The Commission said it did not
believe that present examinations place an unjustified premium on
rules.
     The FCC said that amateurs have over the years expressed the
view that they agree with the current statement of the purposes
of Amateur Radio, as found in the FCC Rules, and the FCC agreed.
     Biancomano has responded to the FCC, challenging their
decision. "The FCC for the second time," Biancomano said,
"refused to directly address the bulk of the issues brought out
in Mr. Leyshon's petitions (and mine), essentially dismissing
them with a one-page statement that contains little in the way of
information.
     "While it is the purview of the Commission to accept or deny
a given petition," Biancomano said, it is also the constitutional
right of a citizen to petition government and to expect a
specific response to specific questions in that petition. The
Commission has in fact not provided such a suitable response."

FREE EXAMS FOR NOVICES QUESTIONED BY W5YI-VEC

     The W5YI Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) has filed a
complaint with the FCC, asking that the ARRL-VEC be forced to
change its policy and begin charging for administering Novice
class examinations. The W5YI-VEC argues that the issue is one of
"uniformity," claiming that ARRL benefits financially from giving
free exams.
     The League, in a response to the FCC, disagreed, saying that
"VECs have always had the latitude to set their own fees. We see
no compelling federal interest in whether or not a class of nine
year olds ought to be charged for taking an entry-level exam."
     Two matters are at the heart of the W5YI-VEC complaint, made
in a letter to FCC Private Radio Bureau Chief Ralph Haller:
     First, that different accounting methods used by various
VECs may be contrary to FCC rules governing VECs; some charge
examinees on an individual basis, giving (W5YI-VEC told the FCC)
VEs and VECs the option of not recovering out-of-pocket costs
from any particular examinee.
     W5YI-VEC also charged that the ARRL-VEC, by not charging for
Novice examinations, stands to benefit financially. "Free
examinations," W5YI-VEC said, "when all other VECs charge,
attract applicants. These applicants are potential purchasers of
examination preparation materials whose purchasing decisions may
be unduly influenced by their choice of VECs."
     The League's policy also affects codeless Technician
licensees who are not charged by the ARRL-VEC for taking the 5-
wpm code test to upgrade to "Tech-plus" (thus gaining Novice HF
privileges).

ARRL SUPPORTS SHARING OF VE RESPONSIBILITY

     The ARRL has gone on record in opposition to a proposal by
the "Rules Committee of the National Conference of Volunteer
Examiner Coordinators" (NCVEC) that would require a "contact"
volunteer examiner be appointed for each examination session who
would have "overall" responsibility for the session.
     In comments filed August 30, 1993 to the proposal (RM-8301),
the League said that the concept of having three examiners share
liability for exam sessions' integrity has worked well since the
inception of the volunteer examiner program in 1983, and that the
benefits of the three-person team would be diluted by the NCVEC
proposal, if adopted.
     The League said that the FCC's original Notice of Proposed
Rule Making more than ten years ago suggested a three-person team
with a "team chief" who must be an Extra Class licensee. That
idea was abandoned in favor of an ARRL proposal that a Volunteer
Examiner Coordinator system be established (in FCC Report and
Order 83-433, which enabled the VE program).
     The League said that it should be left to individual VE
teams to designate a "team leader" if they wish, "but in no case
should the concept of a joint and several liability of the three-
examiner team members be diluted."
     The NCVEC proposal came out of the Conference's annual
meeting in June, 1993. The ARRL-VEC was represented at the
Conference but was not a party to the decision to make the
proposal to the FCC.

HQ staffers guests at annual JARL Ham Fair.

     ARRL International Programs Manager Nao Akiyama, NX1L, has
been a long-time guest at the annual JARL Ham Fair held every
August in Tokyo. But new ground was broken when the magazine *CQ
Ham Radio* offered to bring over ARRL DXCC Specialist Bill
Kennamer, K5FUV, as guest of honor.
     After many seconds of deliberation, Bill said yes.
     The mission Bill accepted was to speak at the event, held
August 20-22, and to join Nao in the ritual checking of QSL cards
for JA DXers. With an eventual 61,000 attendees it is no surprise
that the pair eyeballed more than 10,000 DX QSLs, eclipsing the
old record of some 8,000 checked (by a larger crew including
field checkers) at the 1993 Dayton HamVention.
     Those 10,000 DXCC credits represented 202 individual
applications, to add to the total arriving in Newington in
September -- the Annual List month and the busiest of the year!
     But this visit was for more than just checking QSLs -- DXing
was the highlight of this year's Ham Fair and hamdom's premier DX
program, DXCC, headed the bill (pardon the pun).
     Bill Kennamer's job was to describe the massive job of
administering DXCC, with special emphasis on ARRL's on-going work
to computerize more than four decades of paper records.
     In advance, Bill and Nao prepared the text for a brochure on
the DXCC program specially tailored to DXers in Japan, DXCC's
biggest "customer" after the U.S. The brochure describes the
mechanics of working smoothly with the DXCC Branch, and suggests
solutions to the special problems of swapping paperwork from
halfway around the world.
     Bill and Nao were guests at the elaborate opening of Ham
Fair, complete with a ribbon cutting ceremony to open the doors.
Shozo Hara, JA1AN, President of JARL, gave opening remarks to the
crowd, and served as Master of Ceremonies for a group of
welcoming speeches that followed, including one by Bill. Kennamer
also spoke at a noon forum, answering the questions that are
common to DXers around the world. "I spent 30 minutes talking and
Nao spent 45 translating," Kennamer said with a grin.
     After that Bill and Nao went back to work; Nao made
appointments for anxious DXers to return to the ARRL booth, so
that no more than a handful of them were waiting on line.
     The trip ended with presentation of a plaque to JARL
commemorating ARRL's 10th attendance at Ham Fair, another plaque
thanking CQ Publishing for making Bill's visit possible, and a
celebration dinner.
     Bill Kennamer also reports finding the best place on earth
to buy watches cheap and that McDonald's gets it right in Tokyo,
but those are stories for another time (or place). -- K1TN.

BRIEFS

     * The third SAREX flight of 1993 is now set for October 7;
STS-58 on Space Shuttle *Columbia* was to have lifted off for a
13 day mission on September 10 but was delayed by recurring
problems with the shuttle *Discovery* (STS-51, not a SAREX
flight). Fifteen schools are scheduled to participate. Flight
information updates will be available on W1AW as the launch date
nears.

     * Philip M. Kane, N6SP, has been named Engineer-in-Charge of
the FCC's San Francisco office. Kane, 56, began his FCC career as
an electronics engineer at the S.F. office in 1967 and has been
acting EIC there since November, 1992. Before joining the FCC he
worked with the Israeli Ministry of Communications and was
licensed as 4X4UQ.
     Kane, 56, was first licensed in 1952 as K2ASP; he's an ARRL
Life Member.

     * The high cost of countries: A newsletter on the scheduled
February, 1994 DXpedition to Peter I Island, the most-needed DXCC
country in *everybody's* poll, reports that $50,000 has been
spent so far. That is a *downpayment*; The newsletter is going to
DX movers and shakers and may be followed in greater detail in
the various DX newsletters.

     * On August 23, 1993, KH6HME and N6CA set a new 902 MHz
terrestrial distance record of 2469 mi (3973 km), according to
N6CA. The contact, with signals just out of the noise, came at
0136 UTC, on CW. For the next four hours the pair tried
unsuccessfully to make contact on 2304 MHz. 144 MHz was used for
liaison. Chip Angle, N6CA, built the gear.

     * Deadline for DXCC submissions to make the 1993 Annual List
is Thursday, September 30 (receipt at HQ). Don't forget that
beginning this year the List will not appear in *QST* but rather
will be published separately and mailed in early 1994 to all
active DXCC program participants.

     * Here are several corrections to the list provided by the
Foundation for Amateur Radio 1993 scholarship winners published
in our August 25 issue: Jeffrey Giesberg, KB2CZB, and Beverlie L.
Hartnett, N3NZK, were winners of QCWA Memorial Scholarships; and
David B. Perrin, KC1TS, won the Ralph Hasslingler Memorial
Scholarship; and Patrick J. KA0ZEQ also was a scholarship winner.

     * Japan has made it easier for amateurs from other countries
to operate there. On June 16 Japan revised its radio laws to
allow foreign nationals who hold Japanese Amateur Radio operator
licenses to establish and operate their own radio stations in
Japan even if they are from countries not having a reciprocal
operating agreement with Japan.
     Amateurs operating under the new arrangement will be issued
"7J" prefixed-call signs, good for five years. Applications are
taken by the International Section of the Japan Amateur Radio
League (JARL). (Thanks *The JARL News*.)

     ARRL HQ staffers K5FUV and NX1L work the ARRL/DXCC booth in
Tokyo. (Photo by Ken Arakawa, JS1DLC).

*eof