HAM Toolkit/HAM Toolkit.iso/text/arrl/letter2.10

Text File | 1993-11-17 | 19KB | 434 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.