HAM Toolkit/HAM Toolkit.iso/text/arrl/letter4.13

Text File | 1993-11-17 | 22KB | 842 lines

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 12, No. 7

April 13, 1993


League supports FCC on indecency


    The ARRL has filed a "friend of the court" (amicus

curiae) brief in support of the Federal Communications

Commission in the Commission's defense against a lawsuit.

The suit, brought by Action for Children's Television and 20

other broadcasting and public-interest organizations,

challenges the FCC's monetary forfeiture procedures in

indecency cases. The League's interest in the matter is to

protect the interests of radio amateurs in effective FCC

enforcement.

     The suit, brought in U.S. district court in Washington,

D.C., alleges that the forfeiture proceedings used by the

Commission in indecency cases violate Constitutional due-

process and free-speech protections.

    The plaintiffs argue that prompt judicial review of

FCC indecency forfeiture orders is not available, and that

broadcasters are thus forced to engage in self-censorship.

Plaintiffs also claim that the FCC has used such forfeiture

orders to punish or threaten broadcasters in other ways, in

violation of the Communications Act.

    The plaintiffs -- the broadcast interests -- have

asked that the Court, among other things:

    1. Find that the review procedures now used by the

FCC cannot constitutionally be used to adjudicate alleged

indecency violations under federal law;

    2. Enjoin the FCC from initiating or conducting

forfeiture proceedings for alleged violations of federal law

concerning indecency; and

    3. Order the dismissal of all indecency forfeiture

proceedings currently pending before the Commission.

    Because the relief sought by the plaintiffs is not

limited to the Broadcasting Service, the case could affect

FCC efforts to enforce its rules in the Amateur Service,

efforts strongly supported by the ARRL and, according to

surveys taken by the League, by the overwhelming majority of

radio amateurs.

    The League in its brief said that "If anything, the

Commission has not been aggressive enough in issuing

monetary forfeitures for indecent transmissions in the

Amateur Radio Service. Monetary forfeitures have been levied

only for past transmissions, in egregious cases, during

times when children are likely to have receivers tuned to

amateur frequencies.

    Specific determinations of times when children are

likely to participate in amateur radio communications have

been the subject of a study by the League, and the findings

have been submitted to the Commission.

    The League said it supported the FCC's history of

use of monetary forfeitures as a remedy for "past, repeated,

indecent transmissions" by amateurs, calling such

forfeitures "critical to the maintenance and utility of the

character of the Amateur Radio Service.

    "It is a remedy applied sparingly in the Amateur

Radio Service, and in the League's opinion, too sparingly",

the League said. "If monetary forfeitures are not available

to the Commission as a remedy for indecent speech, there

cannot be expected any future enforcement in the Amateur

Radio Service at all.

    "The Commission has, in the last ten years, relied

on the deterrence effect of a very few enforcement actions,

and the self-regulatory character of the Amateur Radio

Service. It cannot (and cannot under current circumstances

be expected to) dedicate the limited resources available for

enforcement to full evidentiary hearings in indecency cases

in the Amateur Radio Service, nor should license revocation,

or the ineffective cease and desist procedure, be the only

remedies available to the Commission in such cases."


Digital committee meets; considers issues


    The ARRL Digital Committee met March 28 in Boston

and addressed the following issues:

    1. Continuing work related to automatic HF message

relay stations;

    2. Radio-to-TNC interface standards;

    3. BBS interface standards;

    4. The development of wireline message relay

systems; and

    5. Training material for the beginning RTTY and

AMTOR operator.

    Study by the committee on HF forwarding was a

continuation of last year's efforts, which resulted in the

ARRL petition to the FCC in February proposing specific sub-

bands for both unattended, fully automatic and semi-

automatic message relay stations. To date, the FCC has not

acted on that petition.

    Acting on a request by the ARRL Board of Directors,

the committee is reviewing how the expansion of unattended,

semi-automatic operation privileges into other parts of the

digital bands could be done while continuing to protect

other users of the spectrum. Both the Board and the Digital

Committee are concerned with the effect that potential

growth will have on the digital bands.

    Also of concern, the digital committee reported, is

how best to encourage "the development of spectrum-efficient

technology and sound operating principles using these

increasingly popular modes."

    The Committee has developed preliminary

recommendations that suggest that unattended, semi-automatic

stations operating outside of the sub-bands proposed in the

ARRL petition be restricted to digital modes that utilize a

bandwidth not to exceed 500 Hz. Stations under full, local

control would not be required to meet these new

requirements. Because of the narrow bandwidth, several

stations could operate in the same bandwidth that one AX.25

HF packet station would require, ensuring non-interference

for the ham not interested in using automatically controlled

message relay systems.

    Beaconing would be prohibited.

    The Committee also is proposing the development of

operating guidelines, with input from digital operators, for

automatically controlled stations, including -- at a minimum

-- bulletin handling; interference-avoidance techniques; the

proper selection of frequencies; and other methods to

improve the efficiency of spectrum use.

    Finally, the Committee is encouraging the

development of non-HF relay methods, including VHF or above

or wireline communications, to lessen thge pressure on HF

spectrum.

    Attending the meeting were Board Liaison Mary Lou

Brown, NM7N; Chairman David Speltz, KB1PJ; Vic Poor, W5SMM;

Craig McCartney, WA8DRZ; Paul Newland, AD7I; Perry "Bo"

McClean, W0XK; Dale Sinner, W6IWO; and Headqarters Staff

Liaison Jon Bloom, KE3Z.



FCC PROPOSES NEW RULES

ON EFFECTS OF RADIATION


    The FCC has released a Notice of Proposed Rule

Making to update guidelines and methods used for evaluating

the environmental effects of radio frequency radiation,

based on new RF exposure standards adopted by the American

National Standards Institute (ANSI), in conjunction with the

Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers, in 1992.

    In 1985 the FCC adopted 1982 ANSI guidelines, which

resulted in some transmitting facilities being required to

prepare an Environmental Assessment if they would expose

humans to RF levels greater than those recommended by the

guidelines. Under the 1985 guidelines many low-power,

intermittent, or normally inaccessible RF facilities --

including amateur stations -- were excluded from the FCC's

rules.

    The new, 1992 ANSI guidelines in many respects are

more restrictive in the amount of RF permitted and they also

extend the frequency range under consideration to 3 kHz-300

GHz. The new guidelines also specify two sets of exposure

recommendations, one for "controlled environments" (usually

involving workers) and one for "uncontrolled environments"

(usually involving the general public).

    Hand-held devices are treated for the first time in

the new ANSI guidelines. The 1982 guidelines included

exclusions for devices that did not exceed a "specific

absorption rate" (SAR) or whose input was 7 watts or less.

The 1992 guidelines also contain low-power exclusions, but

they are more stringent and could require manufacturers to

demonstrate compliance with SAR requirements.

    The comment date in this docket, ET 93-62, is August

13, 1993. The reply comment date is September 13, 1993. More

information on this proposal will appear in our next issue.


FCC DENIES HAM'S REQUEST

TO CLEAR RECORD OF LETTERS


    The FCC has denied a request by an attorney for

Richard A. White Jr., KA3T, to have his record of

correspondence with the Commission withdrawn and expunged.

    White was one of eight packet bulletin board

operators to receive a letter in January, 1991, saying he

"may have operated his station in violation" of FCC rules,

by forwarding an "all USA" message which the FCC called a

business message.

    The letter required that White explain the

circumstances of the violation and describe what steps he

would take to prevent future violations. White, through his

lawyer, responded to the FCC, who in April, 1991, said that

no further action would be taken against White since he

had stated that no "all USA" messages would be sent by his

station without prior screening to ensure compliance with

the rules.

    White's lawyer sought to have the correspondence

between White and the FCC removed from his records because

no action against him resulted, saying that his client was

entitled to an untainted record free of any question

concerning the operation of his station.

    The FCC on March 22, 1993, denied that request,

calling it "unwarranted."  The FCC said that it does not

consider a licensee's file contaminated "merely by the

presence of an exchange of correspondence between the

Commission and the licensee."

    The FCC called the exchange between it and KA3T

"fruitful, in that it shows White as a licensee who takes

seriously the responsibility for station control."


RUSSIAN AMATEUR SCHEDULED

FOR NOVEMBER SHUTTLE FLIGHT


    Shuttle flight STS-60, scheduled for this November,

includes Russian cosmonaut Sergei K. Krikalev, UZ3AK.

Krikalev, 34, is a veteran of the Soviet Soyuz space

laboratory, in 1988, as well as riding aboard the Mir space

station from May, 1991 to March, 1992. Krrkalev is a prime

mission specialist for STS-60; a fellow Russian cosmonaut is

on standby.

    STS-60 has not yet received approval for SAREX

operations, because none of the U.S. astronauts scheduled

for that flight is a licensed amateur. Thus, the SAREX

status hinges on Kirkalev becoming a U.S.-licensed amateur

in time. The ARRL has sent him study materials, including

*Now You're Talking*, and Krikalev, who does speak English,

is trying to work studies into his busy NASA schedule.

    Krikalev has been pushing in his home country for

the signing of both a 3rd party agreement and an Amateur

Radio reciprocal operating agreement, both of which are hung

up in Moscow as more pressing matters are attended to. The

signing of either of these agreements would enable Krikalev

to become eligible for SAREX operation from STS-60, whether

or not he receives a full-fledged U.S. license in time.

    Meanwhile, SAREX shuttle flight STS-56 is aloft as

this is written and scheduled to land April 16. Its all-ham

crew has been active working a number of school classrooms.

*The New York Times* reported that on April 11 Discovery

made contact by Amateur Radio with the MIR space station.

    "...one of Discovery's five astronauts, Dr. Michael

Foale [KB5UAC], chatted by ham radio with a crew member

aboard Russia's Mir space station," the *Times* said,

"marking the first ship-to-ship conversation in the shuttle

program."

    The *Times* was correct; in April, 1991, Astronaut

Ken Cameron, KB5AWP -- the commander on the current flight -

- nearly had a 2-way contact with Musa Manarov, U2MIR. It

was close but not quite (see July, 1991 *QST*).

    "Dr. Foale," the *Times* reported, "said he was able

to exchange a few words with Aleksandr Poleshchuk before

losing contact. The contact occurred as the two spacecraft

passed within 86 miles of one another over South America."

    Incidentally, if you'd like to work with a school

during the STS-58 SAREX mission scheduled for this fall,

write to the ARRL Educational Activities Department (EAD) to

get a SAREX application. The EAD will tell you how to write

a proposal to be considered for a scheduled school-to-space

QSO.  Proposals are due at the ARRL EAD by May 10. The EAD

offers free lesson plans and resource materials for every

SAREX mission.


BRIEFS


    * Maybe it will have stopped snowing in Newington by

June 6, the date of the annual Headquarters open house. It's

from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and as usual on the same day as the

flea market of the Newington Amateur Radio League.


    * Also in June the Viking Amateur Radio Society of

Waseca, Minnesota, will celebrate the 70th anniversary of

its parent company, the E.F. Johnson Co. The club will

operate from one of the company's original buildings in

Waseca on June 18-20 and again during ARRL Field Day June

25-27.

    The club has asked for special permission to use the

call sign 9ALD, the original call of the company's founder

Edgar F. Johnson (who died in 1991). If that permission is

not forthcoming from the FCC, the club will use its own call

sign, WA0CJU.

    Operations are planned on all "non-WARC" bands from

160 to 10 meters, on AM, SSB and CW, with QSLs and

certificates going to those contacting the station. Guest

operators are welcome, and the club has a telephone hotline

for information: 507-835-6612.


    * The FCC on April 12 began accepting applications

from groups wanting to be certified as "Commercial Operator

License Examinations Managers" (COLEMs). This is a result of

the FCC's Report and Order in January giving the chief of

the Private Radio Bureau the authority to certify "private

entities" for such positions.

    Applicants for certification must describe

themselves and their qualifications; how they will prevent

any possible conflicts of interest; how they will administer

examinations; the geographic area they propose to cover;

what examination elements they propose to administer; the

frequency of their proposed exam sessions; and their

proposed fee structure.

    The FCC said it would consider an additional window

for applications if a sufficient number of applications

isn't received. The current window lasts until May 7, 1993.


    * Former FCC Chairman Robert E. Lee died April 6,

1993 and was remembered by the Commission as its longest-

serving commissioner. Lee, who was born in Chicago in 1912,

was a commissioner from 1953 to 1981, having been appointed

by President Eisenhower and reappointed by Presidents

Johnson and Nixon. He served briefly as chairman of the

Commission, from February 5 to May 18, 1981, in the initial

days of the Reagan administration.

    Before joining the FCC as an auditor Lee was an FBI

special agent, an administrative assistant to FBI Director

J. Edgar Hoover, and a Director of Surveys and

Investigations for the Appropriations Subcommittee of the

House of Representatives.


    * Stop by the League booth at the Dayton HamVention

to see our new Technician class videotape training course,

which is now in the final editing stage and scheduled to

debut at the HamVention. Jointly produced by the ARRL and

King Schools of San Diego, the five-hour course, presented

by John and Martha King, KD6SCY and KD6SCZ, covers

everything needed to pass the Novice and Technician class

written exams.



    * The FCC has reduced its fine of Donald W. Bishop,

N0EA, from $10,000 to $8,000. Bishop was cited in April,

1992, for allegedly transmitting from a mobile installation

on 7420 and 15050 kHz. The FCC said it was reducing the fine

because of Bishop's "prior history compliance with

Commission rules."


    * The FCC has suspended the Advanced class license

of James L. Brantley, K6KPS, for one year, beginning March

21, 1993.  Brantley, of Los Angeles, was fined $8,000 in

June, 1992, for malicious interference to other amateur

stations and "broadcasting" on 14.303 MHz. The suspension

was in lieu of the fine under a settlement with the FCC.


    * The FCC on April 1 changed its rules to allow for

the eventual "electronic" filing of license applications in

the private radio services. Currently all license

applications must include a handwritten signature. Last

October Congress amended the Communications Act of 1934 to

allow electronic filing of applications, applications signed

"in any manner or form, including by electronic means, as

the Commission may prescribe by regulation."

    Any changes to come will only be after the FCC has

established procedures for electronic filing; for now

amateurs, and all others, are still bound by the handwitten

signature requirement.


    * The premier episode of "Walker, Texas Ranger,"

starring Chuck Norris, airs Wednesday, April 21, on CBS

television. This is the new series that was being filmed in

Dallas back in February during which filming the production

crew was caught using, apparently unknowingly, hand-held

transceivers programmed to operate in the amateur 420-MHz

band. The story was on page 78 of April *QST*.


    * September, 1992, *QST* reported on FCC action

against James Winstead, KK6SM, who admitted causing

intentional interference to both amateur and commercial

channels in the San Francisco Bay area from October, 1990

through July, 1991. The story reported that Winstead was hit

with a Notice of Apparent Liability for $15,000, which was

issued May 18, 1992.

    According to the FCC's David Hartshorn, Winstead

appealed the fine, and it was reduced to $2,000 in July,

1992. In addition, Winstead's amateur and commercial

licenses were suspended for one year, beginning September

24, 1991.


    * The FCC has denied a request for a waiver of the

amateur 1,500 watt power output limitation. Dale Gagnon,

KW1I, of Bowe, NH, had asked for the waiver earlier, as well

as a reconsideration of the FCC's original denial. The FCC

said that Gagnon's latest request for a waiver "has not

shown that his circumstances are unique nor has he presented

any facts that would warrant a waiver."

    Gagnon wanted the waiver for his own use, to legally

operate on AM at a PEP power more than 1,500 watts output.


    * The ARRL Awards Committee has unanimously voted to

accept recommendations of the ARRL DX Advisory Committee

(DXAC) as follows:

    1. Add Macedonia (former Yugoslav rep, 4N5, YU5) to

the DXCC Countries List for contacts made 8 September 1991

and after;

    2. Delete Czechoslovakia (OK-OM) effective 1 January

1993. (Contacts made 31 December 1992 and before count for

this deleted country);

    3. Replace Czechoslovakia, effective 1 January 1993,

with the Czech Republic (OK, OL) and the Slovak Republic

(OM).

    The DXCC Desk will accept QSL cards for these three

new countries beginning 1 June 1993. QSL cards received

received at the DXCC Desk before 1 June 1993 will be

returned without action.


    * The 19-year-old New York man who used an amateur

2-meter rig to falsely report a downed aircraft in January

was sentenced in late March to 60 days in jail. Wayne

Michalak, of Appleton, New York, (not a licensed amateur)

also was fined $5,000 and ordered to undergo mental health

counseling, according to a story in the Buffalo *News*. Our

story appeared in April *QST*, p 79.


    * The satellite radio show "This Week in Amateur

Radio" has a new producer: Community Video Associates of

Albany, NY. Stephan Anderman, WA3RKB, is host and executive

producer of the show, which airs at 5 p.m. ET via the

Spacenet 3 communications satellite, transponder 21, on 5.8

MHz wideband audio.

    George Bowen, N2LQS, is president of Community Video

and serves as technical director for "This Week." Community

Video is a non-profit, charitable foundation, according to a

news release from them.


    * Quote of the Month: "Within 24 hours of the

license arriving [in 1963], I had applied to join the Radio

Society of Great Britain ... in those days you joined the

RSGB -- it was the done thing, and those who weren't members

were looked at somewhat askance." -- New RSGB President

Peter Chadwick, G3RZP.


    * New dates for the Radio Society of Great Britain's

International HF Convention are October 8-10, 1993, a change

from earlier announced dates. The convention is held at the

Beaumont Conference Center, close to Heathrow Airport and

Windsor Castle. A brochure and reservation form are

available from RSGB HF Committee, PO Box 599, Hemel

Hempstead, Herts, HP3 0SR U.K.


    * The March issue of *QST Canada* announced the 1992

Canadian Radio Relay League Amateur of the Year for 1992:

Will Melhuish, VE3AOY. Melhuish, 71, has been licensed since

1970. He has been visually impaired since 1938 and was

picked for the CRRL award for his volunteer services as

manager -- since 1989 -- of the Amateur Radio program at the

Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB).

    The CNIB program, which pairs clients with sighted

amateurs, has 486 current participants.