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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 were 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