Monster Media 1996 #15/Monster Media Number 15 (Monster Media)(July 1996).ISO/ham/arrl.zip/ARRL0329.TXT

Text File | 1996-04-18 | 15KB | 264 lines

The ARRL Letter
Electronic Update
March 29, 1996
__________________________________

IN THIS UPDATE:

* NY Supreme Court blasts town's tower restrictions
* SAREX mission gets late start; QSO rescheduled
* Astronaut to visit CT SAREX school
* Scouts handy in makeshift tower construction
* FCC tells 2-meter QRMers to pay up
* FCC approves spectrum reallocation plan
* In Brief: Director Burden recovering; Top club newsletters; N4GFO/mm

__________________________________

NY SUPREME COURT RENDERS FAVORABLE RULING IN TOWER CASE

One of the reasons J. P. Kleinhaus, AA2DU, chose to live in Cortlandt Manor,
New York, in 1993, was that the town's zoning ordinance did not restrict him
from erecting a planned 120-foot tower. But by the time he closed the deal
on his house in early 1994, a new zoning ordinance had gone into effect, one
prohibiting towers above 35 feet. The town denied his application for the
much taller tower, and Kleinhaus sued. But on March 20, the New York Supreme
Court handed down a ruling annulling the Zoning Board of Appeal's decision
as "irrational, arbitrary and capricious."

Kleinhaus is overjoyed. However, the "fine print" in the decision does not
order the town to grant the permit. Instead, it directs Kleinhaus and the
town to arrive at a compromise. Among the possibilities the judge cited was
painting the tower to help it blend in with its surroundings. He was
thinking about brown below the tree line and possibly a light gray or blue
above the trees, but he said he'd go along with whatever the town agrees to.

"An order has not been signed by the judge," Kleinhaus said. "We're right
now in the process of negotiating with the town." Kleinhaus said he's
pleased with the high court's ruling, however, and he called his particular
case "remarkable" because of the size of the tower he has in mind.
Kleinhaus, who describes himself as a contester/DXer "in that order," wants
to install a guyed 120-foot tower in a wooded area 250 feet back from the
road and behind his house.

Ironically, the town imposes no height restrictions on rooftop structures,
provided they cover no more than 25% of the roof's surface area. Kleinhaus
called that provision "bizarre." He said this week that he's "fairly
confident" he can reach accommodation with the town. "It's actually a very
good decision," he said. Earlier this year, the ARRL asked the FCC to take
additional steps to compel state and local governments to make reasonable
accommodation for Amateur Radio under PRB-1 and to apply the least
restrictive means to regulate amateur antennas and activity.

The League's Petition for Rule Making, filed February 7, calls on the FCC to
amend Section 97.15(e) to say that any state or local ordinances restricting
ham radio antennas to heights below 70 feet would be presumed unreasonable,
unless the state or local authority could show its restrictions support a
clearly defined health, safety or aesthetic objective. The League says
clarifying the preemption policy (PRB-1) would "help guide municipalities to
enact provisions that make fair accommodation for amateurs and avoid highly
divisive litigation between hams and localities."

SAREX MISSION GETS LATE START, EARLY END

After a one-day, weather-related delay, the space shuttle Atlantis was
launched successfully March 22 to initiate the third shuttle/Mir docking
flight. Four Amateur Radio operators (out of a crew of six) are aboard the
STS-76 mission, the 20th SAREX flight. Hams include Commander Kevin P.
Chilton, KC5TEU; Pilot Richard A. Searfoss, KC5CKM; and Mission Specialists
Linda M. Godwin, N5RAX, and Ronald M. Sega, KC5ETH. On this flight, Mission
Specialist Shannon Lucid will become the first American woman to serve as a
researcher aboard Russia's Mir orbital complex, where she'll remain for
approximately four months.

Five school groups have been picked to have a brief (4 to 8-minute)
opportunity to speak with the shuttle crew via Amateur Radio. The five
school groups include Yeso Elementary School, Artesia, New Mexico; Troy
Middle School, Troy, Texas; Bethlehem Central Senior High School, Delmar,
New York; S. J. Davis Middle School, San Antonio, Texas; and the University
of Colorado College of Engineering and Applied Science, Colorado Springs,
Colorado. WA3NAN at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,
will air SAREX contacts on HF.

NASA rescheduled the SAREX contact for Bethlehem Central Senior High School
from a time near the scheduled end of the mission to early today, March 29.
A hydraulic leak early in the mission and predicted fog at the landing site
have caused NASA to shorten the mission by a day. The shuttle is due to
return March 30.

The extremely busy nature of the flight is expected to severely limit SAREX
radio operations. Hams are encouraged to listen on the 145.84-MHz downlink
frequency and to transmit only when the crew is on the air. Uplink
frequencies are 144.45 and 144.47 MHz. Forward reports of SAREX and general
QSO operations by e-mail to [e-mail] to alert the ham radio community
to SAREX voice operations.--AMSAT News Service

HAM ASTRONAUT TO VISIT CONNECTICUT SCHOOL

Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR, will put in a rare personal appearance May 16
at Plymouth Center School, Plymouth, Connecticut. Parise flew aboard STS-67
last year and had a successful SAREX contact with students at the 600-pupil
elementary school. The visit is a result of the efforts of Len Brown, KD1OY,
who volunteers at the school. While recovering from a back injury that put
him out of his regular line of work as a mechanic, he approached school
administrators about Amateur Radio and the SAREX program. He brought an HF
receiver along to monitor the WA3NAN broadcasts. "They invited me back to
spend the day," he said.

In subsequent visits, Brown explained about SAREX and got the school to
apply for a spot on the SAREX schedule. "They were on the waiting list for
about 2-1/2 years," he said. Since then, ham radio has become part of the
curriculum at the school, and another school has approached him to help it
get involved with SAREX. The media attention that resulted from the initial
SAREX contact also boosted the school's reputation. "Everybody thinks
Plymouth Center's the high-tech school to be at," Brown said.

Ever since the SAREX QSO, Brown said he's been nurturing his relationship
with Parise. "The day after the contact, I put together a package of the
media coverage and shipped it directly to his house," he recalled. Also, "a
Christmas card helped." Brown said Parise will spend a good part of the day
at the school, and Brown hopes to set up ham radio links to other schools to
let them share in the visit and ask questions of Parise.

Brown, who lives in Terryville, Connecticut, and works as a teacher's aide
at Farmington High School, has been invited to speak at other schools about
SAREX. He's also begun to explore teaching as a new career. In addition to
the SAREX contact, he has arranged for the youngsters at the school to
listen to SkyWarn nets too. Brown believes ham radio can help to make the
kids feel they are a part of things they'd otherwise just read about or see
on TV. A few new licensees have been one result, and there have been lots of
donations from other area amateurs, too.

Brown now meets with a ham radio club at the school every Thursday. However,
recent construction at the school has interfered with hamming there. A
40-meter dipole had to come down, and a beam feed line was cut during the
work. Everything should be back to normal in the fall. For more information,
contact Brown via e-mail at [e-mail] or at [e-mail]
(put Lenny Brown on subject line).

SCOUTS PUT A NEW TWIST ON TOWER CONSTRUCTION

During these weeks when thoughts turn to Field Day planning, you might
consider inviting some Boy Scouts along to help with the antenna. On
February 10 at special event station K2BSA/6 at Camp Pendleton Marine Base,
scouts from Troop 319 of Huntington Beach, California, designed and built a
35-foot HF tower lashed together from wooden poles. Assistant Scoutmaster
Mel Goldberg, KO6TF, said the scouts built the tower on its side, then 40
scouts pulled it erect using ropes. Then three scouts (what else?) served to
rotate the structure as needed. The operation drew media attention,
including a mention in the Los Angeles Times and three regional papers.
Kenwood provided HF gear for the event, and, Goldberg reports, 1400 scouts
stopped by to visit.

The K2BSA/6 operation snagged 35 states and three countries in its eight
hours on the air. One QSO was with an 84-year-old ham who had been an Eagle
Scout in his younger days but was now partially blind and wheelchair-bound.
Goldberg reports the man broke down when the scouts told him he'd always be
an Eagle Scout and a friend of scouting.

A QSL certificate is available that shows the completed tower and all of the
scouts on and around it. Pictures of the tower and the operation are on the
ScoutRadio site at http://www.ecllc.com/bsa319/ham.htm on the World Wide
Web.

Goldberg cites a "conservative estimate" that 250,000 Amateur Radio
operators are or have been in scouting. He said Troop 319 will operate as
K2BSA/6 during the 1996 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) October 18-20. Scout
groups interested in using the official call sign of the Boy Scouts of
America during JOTA can apply to Dan Dansby, W5URI, the K2BSA trustee, at
5805 Walla Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76133. Include an sase. Only one application
will be granted per call district (and the sixth is already spoken for).

FCC UPHOLDS INTERFERENCE-RELATED FINES AGAINST TWO HAMS

The FCC has reaffirmed fines against John B. Genovese, WB5LOC, of New
Orleans, Louisiana, and Vernon A. Paroli, KA5OWW, of Gretna, Louisiana, for
interfering with communications of other amateurs in the spring of 1993. The
FCC upheld forfeitures of $500 against Genovese and $700 against Paroli
after a second review. Genovese and Paroli were among four hams issued
Notices of Apparent Liability by the FCC's New Orleans office. The other
hams were Will Blanton Jr, N5ROC, of Carriere, Mississippi, and Joseph
Richard III, N5JNX, of New Orleans. Richard had been cited for a similar
violation in 1992. The fines resulted from occurrences of willful and
malicious interference to an organized, 2-meter repeater net and were based
on information provided by the Amateur Auxiliary, which tape recorded the
violations and turned them over to the FCC. All four initially were fined
$2000 apiece, but these fines later were reduced on appeal. Blanton and
Richard were ordered to pay $1000. Paroli's fine was cut to $700 based on
his inability to pay the original fine, while Genovese's fine was set at
$500 because of the shorter duration of his transmissions.--FCC

FCC APPROVES REALLOCATION PLAN FOR 185 MHz OF SPECTRUM

The FCC has approved a plan to reallocate 185 MHz of spectrum transferred
from the Federal Government to the private sector. The Commission also
established the scope and timing of future rule-making proceedings to assign
the reallocated spectrum. Last March, the Secretary of Commerce identified
235 MHz of Federal Government spectrum for private-sector use, 50 MHz of
which had been released earlier. The FCC allocated that spectrum space to
general, commercial fixed and mobile uses and unlicensed services. The
remaining 185 MHz is to be allocated and assigned gradually over a 10-year
period, and a significant portion will be held "in reserve" until that
period ends.

The Commission says it intends to "consider all options for the appropriate
use of the remaining 185 MHz, including, but not limited to, those addressed
in allocating the first 50 MHz." Among the services that will be considered
is public safety. The Budget Act requires that the FCC study public safety
spectrum needs and develop a plan to ensure adequate spectrum through the
year 2010. The Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee--chartered by the
FCC and the NTIA--will advise later this year on the operational, technical
and spectrum requirements of Federal, state and local public safety
entities.--FCC

__________________________________

IN BRIEF:

* ARRL New England Division Director Bill Burden, WB1BRE, of Strafford,
Vermont, is reported to be recovering nicely in the wake of a mild heart
attack he suffered this past weekend (March 23-24). Bill was admitted to a
hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire, after complaining of chest pains.
Following extensive tests earlier this week, he underwent a balloon
angioplasty to relieve a blockage. The procedure was successful. He was back
home Wednesday, March 27.--Warren Rothberg, WB1HBB, New England Vice
Director.

* Two ham radio club newsletters, The DXer, edited by Garry Shapiro, NI6T,
and W3OK Corral, edited by Clarence Snyder, W3PYF, earned top scores in the
1995 Amateur Radio News Service publication contest. The ARNS is an
organization of Amateur Radio newsletter editors and publicists. Its goal is
to help members promote ham radio by improving their publications. Entrants
in the annual contest are evaluated on format, appearance and content. In
the 1995 contest, ARNS received 99 entries from clubs in the US, Canada and
Puerto Rico. Eleven newsletters were ranked superior, 63 excellent and 25
good. For more information about ARNS, write Susan Biggs, Secretary, ARNS,
9708 Skillman, No. 107, Dallas, TX 75243.

* Ron Tivey, N4GFO, aboard the US Navy vessel Frank Cable, reports he's in
the South Pacific headed for Guam and operating maritime mobile. Ron plans
to make various ports of call, but cannot say just where ahead of time
because of Navy regs. Listen for N4GFO/mm on SSB through mid-April,
0100-0700Z, 14.222 and 14.175 MHz.

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel [phone]; fax [phone]. Rodney J.
Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail
[e-mail].
Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, e-mail [e-mail].

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest
to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be
disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate
and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any
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