QRZ! Ham Radio 4/QRZ Ham Radio Callsign Database - Volume 4.iso/files/arrl/hiram/ltr12n9.txt

Text File | 1994-11-27 | 23KB | 449 lines

The ARRL Letter
Vol. 12, No. 9
May 12, 1993

Joint resolution presented to Congress commends amateurs, urges
protections

     Joint Resolution S.J. 90 was introduced in the U.S. Senate
on May 7, 1993, by Sen. Charles Robb of Virginia. It's a bill
that recognizes radio amateurs, supports amateurs "as national
policy," and urges that regulations "facilitate" Amateur Radio
operation as a "public benefit."
     The resolution results not only from the diligent efforts of
the League's Washington team but -- more importantly -- from the
thousands of amateurs who give their time and energy in public
service, in technical experimentation, in education, and in
international good will.

     Sen. Robb entered the following statement into the
*Congressional Record*:

     "S.J. Res. 90. A joint resolution to recognize the
achievements of radio amteurs and to establish support for such
amateurs as national policy; to the Committee on Commerce,
Science, and Transportation.

     "AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE JOINT RESOLUTION

     "Mr. ROBB. Mr. President, today I am pleased to be joined by
Senators AKAKA, DECONCINI, PRESSLER, and SHELBY to introduce a
joint resolution that will grant well-deserved recognition to a
valuable national resource, the Amateur Radio Service. For the
past 80 years, this group of dedicated volunteers has been first
on the scene for virtually every communications emergency. When
Mother Nature or a human misstep causes the telephone lines to go
down or radio circuits to be overloaded, the 'ham' operators are
there with their equipment, providing communications until the
regular infrastructure is back to normal.
     "Radio amateurs also demonstrate their expertise in another
way, as technical innovators. Eager to push back technical
frontiers, amateurs probe the upper limits of the useful radio
spectrum, discover much about radio propagation, and develop
practical and affordable alternatives to complicated expensive
new equipment from the laboratories.
     "Our resolution expresses the Nation's gratitude for both
the technical and disaster communications achievements of the
Amateur Radio Service. But words without deeds, it is often said,
are empty. Keeping that in mind, this resolution goes beyond
commendation to give the amateurs a tool or persuasion to smoooth
their path; it urges adoption of rules and regulations that
encourage the use of new technologies within the Amateur Radio
Service.
     "Finally, without limiting the decision-making capability of
any agency -- local, State or Federal -- the resolution urges
that any regulations which are necessary at any level of
government be crafted in ways that facilitate and encourage
amateur radio operation as a public benefit.
     "We urge its prompt adoption by the Senate."

     Co-sponsoring the joint resolution were Senators Akaka of
Hawaii, DeConcini of Arizona, Pressler of South Dakota, and
Shelby of Alabama.
     Last fall the Congress adjourned without acting on companion
Amateur Radio bills in the House and Senate and those bills died.
The House bill, H.R. 73, was co-sponsored by more than half --
219 -- of the 435 House members, while just over a third, 35, of
the Senate's members signed on to the Senate versiou. S.1372,
before the 102nd Congress adjourned.
     At the time, ARRL President George Wilson III, W4OYI, said
"With half the House and more than a third of the Senate already
co-sponsors, Amateur Radio has a big head start in working with
the 103rd Congress next year."
     The spade work done by ARRL Washington Area Coordinator
Perry Williams, W1UED, and other League officials, now has
resulted in S.J. Res. 90.

     *JOINT RESOLUTION*

     To recognize the achievements of radio amateurs, and to
establish support for such amateurs as national policy.

     Whereas Congress has expressed its determination in section
1 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151) to promote
safety of life and property through the use of radio
communication;
     Whereas Congress, in section 7 of the Communications Act of
1934 (U.S.C. 157), established a policy to encourage the
provision of new technologies and services;
     Whereas Congress, in section 3 of the Communications Act of
1934, defined radio stations to include amateur stations operated
by persons interested in radio technique without pecuniary
interest;
     Whereas the Federal Communications Commission has created an
effective regulatory framework through which the amateur radio
service has been able to achieve the goals of the service;
     Whereas these regulations, set forth in part 97 of title 47
of the Code of Federal Regulations clarify and extend the
purposes of the amateur radio service as a --

     (1) voluntary noncommercial communication service,
particularly with respect to providing emergency communications;
     (2) contributing service to the advancement of the
telecommunications infrastructure;
     (3) service which encourages improvement of an individual's
technical and operating skills;
     (4) service providing a national reservoir of trained
operators, technicians and electronics experts; and
     (5) service enhancing international good will.

     Whereas Congress finds that members of the amateur radio
service community have provided invaluable emergency
communications services following such disasters as Hurricanes
Hugo, Andrew, and Iniki, the Mt. St. Helens eruption, the Loma
Prieta earthquake, tornadoes, floods, wild fires, and industrial
accidents in great number and variety across the Nation; and
     Whereas Congress finds that the amateur radio service has
made a contribution to our Nation's communications by its
crafting, in 1961, of the first Earth satellite licensed by the
Federal Communications Commission, by its proof-of-concept for
search and rescue satellites, by its continued exploration of the
low Earth orbit in particular pointing the way to commercial use
thereof in the 1990s, by its pioneering of communications using
reflections from meteor trails, a technique now used for certain
government and commercial communications, and by its leading role
in development of low-cost, practical data transmission by radio
which increasingly is being put to extensive use in, for
instance, the land mobile service:
     Now, therefore, be it

     Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS OF CONGRESS.

     Congress finds and declares that --

     (1) radio amateurs are hereby commended for their
contributions to technical progress in electronics, and for their
emergency radio communications in times of disaster;
     (2) the Federal Communications Commission is urged to
continue and enhance the development of the amateur radio service
as a public benefit by adopting rules and regulations which
encourage the use of new technologies within the amateur radio
service; and
     (3) reasonable accommodation should be made for the
effective operation of amateur radio from residences, private
vehicles and public areas, and that regulation at all levels of
government should facilitate and encourage amateur radio
operation as a public benefit.

Science teachers get taste of Amateur Radio

     ARRL Educational Activities staffer Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R,
attended the International Technology Education Association
(ITEA) 55th Annual Conference April 18 to 21 in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Here's his report:
     Educators who attended this year's ITEA Conference were
exposed to "leading edge" technology for use in their schools.
Hundreds of exhibitors showed off their robots, computers,
modular curricula, and gadgets. In a large corner of the
convention hall, however, NASA and the ARRL displayed how such
technology was being used in everyday life on board the Space
Shuttle and in the homes and classrooms of thousands of Amateur
Radio operators.
     Most of the educators at the conference were technology
teachers. You needed only to begin a sentence with
"communication" to have their undivided attention. Over two days
our ARRL booth drew hundreds of teachers. We brought back more
than 100 names and addresses.
     On Monday afternoon, I visited Discovery Place, a hands-on
science museum in uptown Charlotte. The museum sports an
impressive Amateur Radio station, W4BFB. The purpose of the
station is easily summed up by a sign leading to it: "Radio
Education."
     I was given a tour of the facility by the control operator
that day, David Lewis, KB4YSX. The station is fully equipped with
HF, VHF/UHF, packet, and ATV. There is a station for students to
use, in order to pick up shortwave signals.
     The station also has an array of ARRL educational materials
and wall paper and is staffed by volunteers from the Mecklenburg
ARS. The current trustee, Bob Southworth, KI4YV, also provided
assistance and expertise at the ARRL convention exhibit.
     On Tuesday afternoon, I made a presentation to 30 teachers
on the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment and on using ham radio in
the classroom. Twenty nine of them were technology teachers, and
one was a science teacher. The group was also introduced to *Now
You're Talking* and *Understanding Basic Electronics* as possible
classroom textbooks.
     During Wednesday's exhibit, I was ably assisted by Patricia
Hensley, N4ROS. Patricia is an elementary school principal from
Richburg, S.C. and an ARRL Educational Advisor. As someone who
has participated with her students in a SAREX contact, Patricia
shared much of her excitement and enthusiasm about Amateur Radio
with hundreds of educators.
     Finally, the ITEA Conference provided a captive audience
filled with prospective hams. I'm looking forward to our follow-
up with each of these educators and their students.

NOVICE CLASS TESTING SLATED FOR VEC PROGRAM

     The FCC has decided to place Novice class examinations under
the Volunteer Examiner Coordinator program. As with other class
amateur license exams, responsibility for both preparation and
administration of Novice exams will lie with the VEC system, "in
the interest of integrity, simplification and efficiency," the
FCC said today.
     The Commission also will allow recovery of out-of-pocket
costs for coordinating and administering the exams.
     The examination elements required for the Novice license are
already being administered in the VEC system because they are
also requirements for other classes of amateur operator licenses.
     The FCC said that placing Novice examinations under the VEC
system would avoid confusion caused by having two different
systems; result in fewer errors in exam administration and in
paperwork (including allowing simplification of the FCC Form
610); and improve the availability of overall data on
examinations.
     In making the announcement the FCC noted how Novice exams
are currently administered (unchanged since the 1950s) and said
that since the advent of the code-free Technician class license
in 1991 the number of new Novice licensees had declined.
     This action, in PR Docket 92-154, was taken May 3.  No
effective date for implementation has yet been announced.

THREE MEN FINED $2,000 FOR UNLICENSED OPERATION

     Three Washington state men have been fined $2,000 each by
the FCC for unlicensed operation on 2 meters.
     The FCC received a complaint from an amateur on November 17,
1992, alleging that people aboard fishing vessels were operating
on 144.170 MHz. The FCC agent was unable to receive adequate
signals from the operations and instead relied on a tape
recording from the complainant.
     The FCC conducted its investigation using telephone, marina,
and U.S. Coast Guard records to identify the sources of the
transmissions.
     The FCC said that since all three accused men were
individuals (rather than commercial operations) and because of
the nature of the violations and the fact they were first
offenses, it would set the fines at $2,000 instead of the $8,000
"base forfeiture" set by its rules.
     Receiving Novices of Apparent Liability for $2,000 were
Randy Baxter, Kevin Marilley, and Mark Karuza, all of Bellingham,
Washington.

ONE-YEAR TIMETABLE SET FOR BAN ON PHONE SCANNERS

     Changes in FCC rules regarding radio scanners capable of
receiving cellular telephone transmissions will be implemented
over the next year. This was not clear in the story in the last
issue of *The ARRL Letter*.
     Effective with the adoption of the new FCC Part 15 rules on
April 26, 1993, the Commission will not grant equipment
authorization for receivers that do not comply with the new
provisions of Part 15.121. These new provisions do not prohibit
the sale or use of authorized receivers manufactured in the U.S.,
or imported into the U.S., prior to April 26, 1994.
     In addition, the manufacture or importation of scanning
receivers, and frequency converters designed or marketed for use
with scanning receivers, that do not comply with the new
provisions in Part 15.121, must cease by April 26, 1994.
     More information will appear in June QST.

FCC CLARIFIES POSITION IN 902-MHZ PROPOSAL

     The FCC has clarified its recent proposal to adopt rules for
automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) systems, with a word change of
interest to amateurs. In a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in PR
Docket 93-61 last month the FCC proposed creation of a new
location and monitoring service (LMS) in the 902-928 MHz band,
which is currently shared by amateurs with several government and
scientific services as well as various non-licensed, low-power
"Part 15" devices.
     The FCC said that AVMs in the band "could lead to rapid
congestion of available spectrum," and asked for comments on
possible solutions, "such as removing Part 15 users and amateur
operations from the band, restricting where such uses could
operate in the band, or placing stricter limitations on the
operation of such users in this band."
     In its May 6 erratum to the NPRM, the FCC changed "such as
removing" to "*short* of removing."
     The comment date is June 29, 1993; reply comment date is
July 14, 1993.

Lenore Jensen, W6NAZ, SK

     Lenore Jensen, W6NAZ, died May 5, 1993, in Sherman Oaks,
Calif. She was 79 years old, the widow of Robert Jensen, W6VGQ,
and one of Amateur Radio's premier ambassadors.
     She was first licensed as W9CHD in 1939, in Chicago, where
she was a contract actress for NBC. She became W2NAZ upon moving
to New York City in 1940, and then W6NAZ after the Second World
War, when she and her husband, Joe, W2MSC, moved to Hollywood.
     Most of her operating involved message handling and phone
patching. She ran 68,000 Army MARS phone patches during the
Vietnam War, according to a profile in *QST* in December, 1987.
     Lenore Jensen was a founder of the Young Ladies Radio
League, and the 1983 Dayton HamVention Special Achievement Award
winner.  She was especially important to Amateur Radio public
relations, interviewing stars and celebrities for radio "spots."
     Survivors include two stepchildren, Cindy Wall,
KA7ITT; and Stephen Jensen, W6RHM.
     Funeral arrangements are pending. In lieu of flowers
memorial donations may be made to the ARRL Foundation, the Los
Angeles Recordings for the Blind Assn., or the American Cancer
Society.

BRIEFS

     * A new book, *Ham Radio Horizons: The Book*, debuted at
Dayton. This is a joint publication venture for *CQ* publications
and the ARRL, intended to introduce Amateur Radio to nonhams.
Associate Technical Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE, and *QST*
Features Editor Brian Battles, WS1O, edited the book, which was
written by Peter O'Dell, WB2D. A portion of the proceeds from
sales of the book will go to a fund to be jointly administered by
CQ and the ARRL for ham radio recruiting projects.

     * ARRL Laboratory Supervisor Ed Hare, KA1CV, just attended a
one-day power-line electromagnetic interference seminar conducted
by Northeast Utilities at their Newington training facility, at
the invitation of Dave Faucher, WA1UQC, who is a technical
manager at NU. The seminar covered the regulatory and technical
aspects of power-line interference.
     "It was quite refreshing to see a utility company being so
responsive to potential problems," Hare said. "We generally only
hear about the utility companies that do NOT clean up their
acts."

     * Repairs to the ARRL HQ shipping room floor begin May 14. A
new concrete floor will be poured in a small area in the "new"
portion of the shipping room, which is on the second floor of the
building and was built in the winter of 1977-78. Those working on
the first floor under the affected area will be forced to bail
out temporarily. We'll have photos next issue.

     * At the Dayton HamVention, DXCC Specialist Bill Kennamer,
K5FUV, checked 139 DXCC applications totaling 7,522 country
credits, with the assistance of several DXCC Field
Representatives.

     * On May 1 W1AW inaugurated Saturday afternoon visitors
operating hours of 1 to 4 p.m. (when the evening code practice
and bulletin schedule begins). This was in direct response to
visitor requests, says Chief Op Jeff Bauer, WA1MBK.
     Bauer also reports that visitors to the station this year
are running somewhat behind 1992, 340 compared to 402, probably
due to worse-than-usual weather.

     * ARRL Public Information Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA,
continues to field calls from reporters inquiring about Amateur
Radio's role in the conflict in the former
Yugoslavia. No wonder, since practically every news report these
days attributes information to "ham radio operators."

     * Upcoming ARRL meetings: Membership Services, May 15 in
Chicago; Industry Advisory Council, May 22 in Chicago; Long Range
Planning, June 12 in Chicago; and Board of Directors, July 16-17
in Hartford.

     * A federal appeals court on May 7 blocked the FCC from
enforcing rules against indecent and unlawful depictions on
public access cable television, according to the Associated
Press. Lawyers for public access channels argued that the rules
were overly broad, saying they would have prevented access
channels from carrying some programming that is allowed on
broadcast radio and television.
     Last month, a D.C. appeals panel put a similar hold on the
rule against indecent programming on *leased* access channels,
which also are available to virtually anyone but for which the
user must pay a fee for time and can sell commercials, the AP
said.
     Plaintiffs in both cases are, according to the AP, the
American Civil Liberties Union, People for the American Way, The
90s Channel, Alliance for Community Media, and Alliance for
Communications Democracy.

     * Organizers of this year's National Boy Scout Jamboree are
looking for licensed amateurs/Scouts to help staff the Radio
Merit Badge Tent. The event will be August 2 to 9, in
Fredericksburg, Virginia. If you're interested, contact Ray
Moyer, WD8JKV, at 214-580-2595.

     * James O. Weldon, AA5ST, died April 19, 1993, in
Williamsburg, Va. He was 88 years old. Weldon, who lived in
Dallas, founded Continental Electronics Corp. there. The company,
according to a Dallas newspaper account, built transmitters for
the Voice of America network as well as communications equipment
for broadcast facilities worldwide.
     According to current Continental president Robert McDonald,
Weldon's high-power RF designs led directly to the first "super
stations," including XERA in Villa Acuma, Mexico, which ran a
half-million watts in 1938.
     Weldon was a lifetime fellow of the Institute of Radio
Engineeers (now the IEEE), and received the Henry Busignies Award
of the Radio Club of America in 1982.
      According to an acquaintance, Edward J. Boh, W5AUY, Weldon
passed his 20 wpm code test to upgrade to Extra Class at the age
of 86.
     He leaves his wife, Nancy Chappelear Weldon, and many other
survivors. Services and burial were April 23 in Dallas.

     * The only person to die in a tornado that struck Tulsa,
Okla. on April 24 was Bill Moore, KF5DL, killed while helping two
fellow hams repair radios for a fledgling
business. The Tulsa *World* said that Moore, 70, had founded the
Tulsa Amateur Radio School, "where he taught hundreds of people
how to operate ham radios for emergencies and public service
events.
     "Ham radio was his passion, friends and family said."
     With Moore at the time of his death were Jim Brassfield,
KB5CWP, and Clara Brassfield, N5UBA. Both were briefly
hospitalized with injuries from the storm.
     Moore, a WW 2 veteran, leaves his wife, Dorothy. The funeral
was April 29 in Tulsa.

     * ARRL Advertising Assistant Angela Beebe, KA1SER, who
received her bachelor's degree last winter, has just finished
taking the grueling exams to become a certified public
accountant. Now begins the even more grueling 3-month wait for
the results!

     ARRL Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH,
presents the board's *QST* Cover Plaque Award to Joel Kandel,
KI4T. Kandel authored a story about amateurs' role during and
following Hurricane Andrew in September, 1992. The story appeared
in December, 1992 *QST*. Holding the plaque is Southeastern
Division Vice Director Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR. The presentation
was made at the Miami Hamboree in February.

     On May 2, 1993, the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) became a
reality with the joining together of the Canadian Radio Relay
League and the Canadian Amateur Radio Federation. Gathering at
the meeting in Toronto are, VE7EWI, Pacific director; VE6AFO,
Alberta-NWT director; VE5FY, Mid-west director; VE3YV, Ontario
director; VE3JAB, Ontario director; VE3JGR, Quebec director; and
VE1UU, Atlantic director;
     VE3AGS, vice president, international affairs; VE3AR,
treasurer; VE3DSS, first v.p.; VE3XE, secretary; VE6NM, v.p.
government relations; Debbie Norman, general manager; VE7RD,
president; VE3LYN, v.p. administration; and VE6SH, houourary
legal counsel.
     RAC's address is PO Box 356, Kingston ON K7L 4W2, and their
telephone number is 613-545-9100. The International Amateur Radio
Union (IARU) has already recognized RAC as a member, continuing
the membership of the CRRL.

*eof