QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/arrl/hiram/ltr12n3.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 19KB | 345 lines

The ARRL Letter
Vol. 12, No. 3
February 10, 1993

League Asks for New HF Digital Rules

     The ARRL, acting on recommendations of its volunteer Digital
Committee, has petitioned the Federal Communications Commission
for changes in the amateur rules regarding digital communications
below 30 MHz.
     On February 1, 1993, the League filed a petition for rule
making with the FCC to permit, under certain conditions,
automatic control of RTTY and data communications in certain
portions of the amateur bands below 30 MHz (to permit
automatically controlled data communications, including third-
party messages, in specific subbands).
     In conjunction with the filing, the League also was granted
a further extension of its Special Temporary Authorization for
such communications by designated stations (which was scheduled
to expire February 3) for the duration of the rule making
proceedings.
     In its filing of more than 30 pages the League recounted the
history of amateur digital communications, saying that despite
problems with implementing automatic digital forwarding in the HF
bands there are "good and sufficient reasons why automatically
controlled data communications at HF should be authorized.
     "Development of new software and hardware to refine the
technology and further new types of data communications and data
networks requires that at least some amateur stations in a
network be permitted to operate under automatic control in the HF
amteur bands," the League said.
     Its goal in submitting the petition, the League said, is "to
encourage experimentation and the development and refinement of
(RTTY and data communications); to adapt complex digital
technologies to practical use; and to permit the implementation
in the Amateur Radio service of more efficient emergency and
public service communications technologies."
     The League said the FCC has been a "partner" in an ongoing
process of improving digital communications modes and protocols.
"The results of these efforts have often flowed to licensees in
other radio services," the League said, "which have used amateur-
developed equipment and communications protocols commercially."
     Noting that automatic control of data communications above
50 MHz had been authorized since 1985 -- at the League's request
-- and that the limited STA for such below 30 MHz had been in
existence since 1987, the League said that legitimate concerns
about HF data autoforwarding (notably interference to amateurs on
other modes) had resulted in the limitations inherent in the STA,
which nevertheless had fostered real-world experience leading to
improvements in digital modes.
     The FCC agreed with the League in 1987 that the best
approach to developing the new modes was through allowing special
authorization for a small group of enthusiasts to exercise
automatic control.
     The STA "has revealed both the strengths and shortcomings of
data protocols, modes, and utility of certain data communications
at HF," the League said in its February 1 petition.
     In late 1989, after two years of experience with the STA,
the League filed a petition for rulemaking (RM-7248) that would
have limited automatically controlled data stations to certain HF
subbands, based on an IARU Region 2 HF band plan in effect at
that time. The petition was withdrawn when it became apparent
that those IARU subbands were unacceptable to many American
amateurs.
     Following the withdrawal of RM-7248, the League continued to
study the matter, through committees of interested amateurs, by
drawing on the experience of the STA participants, and through a
survey published in *QST*, which produced more than 500
responses. The survey indicated, in particular, significant
opposition to allowing automatically controlled data stations
*random* use of frequencies within the HF bands.
     By decade's end it also was becoming clear that no consensus
existed on exactly what kind of automatic control was
appropriate.
     In the summer of 1992 a plan to allow automatically
controlled digital stations to communicate *not between
themselves* but rather only with stations under local or remote
control was aired in the amateur community. This plan was
criticized as unworkable and found unacceptable by some already
participating in HF packet networks.
     Then, in September of 1992, the member societies of IARU
Region 2 agreed on a new band plan to include segments for
automatically controlled HF data communications, specifying
subbands significantly different from the Region 2 plan in effect
when the League announced its earlier RM-7248 plan.
     This new IARU band plan recognized the particular situation
on the HF bands that required an approach different from that on
the bands above 50 MHz. In particular, the need for users of
other modes to be accommodated was recognized.
     In order for the various modes to co-exist, the League now
has said in its petition, "If messages are to be passed between
amateur stations without any operator intervention and no
operator present at either station, it will have to be done on
frequencies where amateurs expect such operation."
     While the amateur service has greatly benefitted from the
automatic control STA, it is apparent that the amateur community
favors the use of automatically controlled data stations on HF
*only under certain circumstances*, the League said. That is,
within recognized, mandatory subbands.
     As a result, the League is recommending a dual plan,
one part to apply to automatically controlled stations, the other
to data stations under local or remote control:
     (1) Consistent with the frequency privileges and other
operating limitations applicable to the license class of the
operator, any amateur station may be operated under automatic
control using any accepted protocol for data transmissions within
the frequency segments specified. Such stations should be
equipped with means to limit transmissions to no more than five
minutes in the event of an equipment malfunction or interruption
of contact with another station. Third party communications may
be transmitted under automatic control using any authorized
emission code set forth in part 97.309(a), provided that the
retransmitted messages must originate at a station that is being
locally or remotely controlled.
     (2) HF data operation should be permitted outside those
specified subbands as per current rules, but only under local (or
remote) control.
     This arrangement would require that a licensee confine
automatically controlled station functions to the specified
subband, where there is less likelihood of unexpected
interference with other amateur communications using incompatible
modes.
     Data communications under local control, where the operator
would ascertain that no interference is likely to ongoing
communications before transmitting, and would monitor the
progress of communications, could be conducted, consistent with
voluntary bandplans, anywhere the present rules permit such
emissions. Within the subbands, an automatically controlled
station would be required to have an appropriate provision or
mechanism to discontinue operation quickly in the event of
malfunction or loss of contact with another station, as current
rules for automatic control now require.
     "Cooperative use of frequencies and the exercise of station
control demand no less," the League said.
     As for the proposed HF subbands themselves, the League said
that since they would be consistent worldwide and are small
enough to minimize displacement of other established modes, it is
unlikely that they would become obsolete in the near future.
     On the other hand, having established subbands for
automatically controlled HF data communications would encourage
continued devevelopment of systems and spur more amateurs to
utilize digital modes of operation, the League said.
      As for enforcement issues, one of the objections to the
1987 proposal in RM-7248 was the potential for abuses related to
third-party traffic. The League said there appears to have been
no pattern of such abuses, and they are no more likely when a
station is under automatic control than when two stations are
operating under local control. There also has been no pattern of
such abuses resulting from the HF STA operations or from
automatic operations already being conducted above 50 MHz.

     Here is the League's proposed wording of the new rules:

     Section 97.109  Station Control.

(d) When a station is being automatically controlled, the control
operator need not be at the control point. Only stations
transmitting RTTY or data emissions, and stations specifically
designated elsewhere in this Part, may be automatically
controlled. Automatic control must cease upon notification by an
EIC that the station is transmitting improperly or causing
harmful interference to other stations. Automatic control must
not be resumed without prior approval of the EIC. RTTY and data
stations operating under automatic control on frequencies below
50 MHz must use a digital code permitted in 97.309(a) of these
Rules, and must incorporate provisions for discontinuing
transmitter operation in the event of malfunction, or
interruption of communications with another station.

     (1) Stations transmitting RTTY or data may be operated under
automatic control in the 6 meter and shorter wavelength bands,
and in the following segments of the 10 meter and longer
wavelength bands: 28.120-28.189 MHz; 24.925-24.930 MHz; 21.090-
21.100 MHz; 18.105-18.110 MHz; 14.095-14.0995 MHz; 14.1005-14.112
MHz; 10.140-10.150 MHz; 7.100-7.105 MHz; or 3.620-3.635 MHz.

     (e) Stations authorized by these rules to transmit RTTY or
data communications under automatic control may transmit third
party communications. Any retransmitted messages on behalf of any
third party must originate at a station that is under local or
remote control.

Senate Bill Includes Protections for Amateurs *Hams Would be Part
of Spectrum Use Advisory Panel*

     A telecommunications bill to free up government spectrum for
commercial use, introduced into the new U.S. Congress, contains
important protections for radio amateurs. The bill, S. 335, is a
revised version of S. 218, which was not acted upon in the last
Congress.
     During the last, 102nd, Congress, the ARRL suggested six
possible amendments to S. 218 to mitigate the effect of releasing
for private use government frequencies, some of which radio
amateurs occupy on a shared, secondary, non-interference basis.
Five of these six proposed amendments were incorporated into S.
335.
     Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) introduced S. 335, "The
Emerging Telecommunications Technologies Act of 1993," on
February 4, saying:
     "Mr. President, I rise today to join with Senator Stevens
[R-AK] in introducing the 'Emerging Telecommunications
Technologies Act of 1993.' This legislation is essential to the
promotion of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure. It is my
hope that this legislation can be passed quickly this year.
     "This bill will transfer 200 megahertz of spectrum from the
control of the federal government to the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC) to make available for new technologies.  The
bill requires the National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) to consult with the Department of Defense,
other government users, and the private sector to determine which
frequencies are most suitable to be transferred.
     "Senator Stevens and I have incorporated some changes to
accommodate concerns of the amateur radio industry.  I am happy
to include these changes in order to protect the rights of
amateur radio users to their spectrum."
     The changes made as a result of the ARRL initiative are as
follows:
     1. The bill makes a "finding" that "a reassignment of
federal government frequencies can be accomplished without
adverse impact on Amateur Radio licensees that currently share
allocations with federal government stations."
     2. In determining whether a frequency reallocation is
feasible, the Secretary of Commerce shall "seek to avoid
excessive disruption of existing use of Federal Government
frequencies by amateur radio licensees."
     3. One basis to be used in determining whether commercial
use of a frequency is feasible is to be "the extent to which
commercial users can share the frequency with amateur radio
licensees."
     4. The advisory committee convened to review and advise upon
the Secretary's report shall include representatives of "other
users of the electromagnetic spectrum, including radio and
television broadcast licensees, State and local public safety
agencies, *amateur radio licensees*, and the aviation industry."
     5. The President may, on certain grounds, substitute
alternative frequencies or bands for those chosen.  Among the
grounds on which he may act is "The reassignment will disrupt the
existing use of a Federal Government band of frequencies by
amateur radio licensees."
     6. Competitive bidding authority given the FCC under this
Act "shall not extend to ... amateur operator services...."
     "These changes go a long way toward addressing amateurs'
concerns about this legislation, and clearly establish that our
needs must be considered as the bill proceeds through the
Congress," ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ said.
     On February 4, the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications
and Finance approved its version of the bill, H.R. 707. While
similar in most respects to S. 335, the House bill does not
contain protective language for amateurs. It will still be some
time before the bill comes before the full House.
     An ARRL effort to introduce protections for amateurs similar
to that in the Senate bill have not yet borne fruit in the House,
ARRL Washington Coordinator Perry Williams, W1UED, said.

HAROLD H. BEVERAGE IS DEAD AT AGE 99

     Harold H. Beverage, ex-W2BML, died January 27 in Stony
Brook, New York. He was 99 years old.  Although not an active ham
since the 1920s, his name is immortalized as the inventor of the
Beverage receiving antenna (or, as he originally called it, the
"Wave Antenna").  It was developed in 1918 to enhance
communications between the US and Europe during the First World
War, and was described in *QST* in November, 1922.
     Beverage said in 1980 that he considered his two greatest
inventions (he received more than 40 patents) the Wave Antenna
and diversity reception. A biography of Beverage, *Genius at
Riverhead*, was written by Alberta I. Wallen and published by the
North Haven (Maine) Historical Society in 1988.
     Beverage was recognized with an obituary in the February 2
New York Times.  The American Institute of Electrical Engineers
awarded Beverage its Lamme Gold Medal in 1957, the *Times* said,
and cited him "for his pioneering and outstanding achievements in
the conception and application of principles basic to progress in
national and worldwide radio communications."

DXCC LOOKS TO FUTURE

     Field checking of DXCC endorsements (currently only
*initial* DXCC applications may be checked in the field),
contingent on the continued reduction in the DXCC backlog at
Headquarters, is projected for sometime in 1994. In the three
month period November 1992-January 1993 the DXCC backlog was
reduced by one third.
     Sometime in 1993 the DXCC Branch expects to authorize field
checking of *all new* DXCC applications (currently only *initial*
applications are eligible for field checking.
     Finally, in-person checking of DXCC QSLs both at
Headquarters in Newington and at conventions and hamfests now is
limited to 110 cards. This change is in fairness to other
applicants waiting for their cards to be processed.
     In other news, the DX Advisory Committee has voted 10-6 to
recommend deletion of Abu Ail from the ARRL DXCC Countries List,
effective March 31, 1991, the date that the Red Sea Islands
Company resigned from management of the lighthouses on some of
the islands. Since Yemen now appears to administer the islands,
they no longer meet the DXCC rules "separation from land"
requirement.
     And the DXAC is asking for input from DXers on a suggested
DXCC rules change regarding QSLing practices. Interested parties
are invited to submit, to ARRL HQ, examples of "poor QSLing
practices" and suggested changes in the rules, by August 31,
1993.

SCHOENBOHM RECEIVES SENTENCE

     Herbert L. Schoenbohm, KV4FZ, has been sentenced to two
months in jail, to two years probation, and fined $5,000 on one
criminal count involving long-distance telephone use.
     U.S. District Judge Anna E. Thompson handed down the
sentence on December 30, 1992. Schoenbohm had earlier been found
guilty of one count of "fraudulent use of [a] counterfeit access
device."
     Judge Thompson suspended the jail sentence and placed
Schoenbohm on house arrest for two months, beginning January 11,
1993.

PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES INTERIM FCC CHAIRMAN

     President Clinton has named James Quello, a 19-year member
of the Federal Communications Commission, to head the agency on
an interim basis until a permanent chairman is found. Quello, a
Democrat, has served longer than anyone currently on the five-
member commission. His rise to acting chairman, announced
February 5, fills the vacancy created when Chairman Alfred E.
Sikes resigned January 19.
     Quello was first nominated to the Commission by President
Nixon and sworn in on April 30, 1974. He was reappointed by
President Reagan in 1981 and again in 1984 for a third term.
Quello was reappointed by President Bush in 1991. His term ends
June 30, 1996.
     Besides finding a new chairman, Clinton also must fill the
FCC seat occupied by Republican appointee Sherrie Marshall, whose
term expired last June. She has continued to serve pending
reappointment or replacement but, according to the Associated
Press, has begun job hunting and is starting to recuse herself
from some FCC decisions that could affect potential employers.
     FCC commissioners are appointed by the president and
confirmed by the Senate to staggered five-year terms. No more
than three commissioners can be from the same party.
     Other commission members are Andrew Barrett, a Republican,
whose term expires in 1995, and Ervin Duggan, a Democrat, whose
term ends in 1994.

*eof