[AMRadio] AM Forum

[D. Chester]

>From: Brett gazdzinski <brett.gazdzinski at verizonbusiness.com>
> ...I don't pay any attention
> to the politics, fcc stuff, incentive, arrl, ... Now if someone was 
> building something, I perk right up!

But it's important to pay attention to that stuff, boring and frustrating as 
it may be.  Remember the days of Johnny Johnston and the FCC's Private Radio 
Bureau, when almost monthly the FCC released yet another ill-conceived, 
poorly thought-out rulemaking docket, or released an RM-number to some lame 
petition, that managed to threaten AM operating privileges in some way, or 
even threaten the very existence of amateur AM?  Are you still "legal" 
whenever you fire up your AM kilowatt?

Back then we had no internet to discuss the issues, and had to rely on 
printed publications and snail mail.  Sometimes most of us were lucky to 
even find out about a rulemaking petition by ARRL or some disgruntled 
anti-AM'er, or an FCC rulemaking proposal, before the cut-off date for the 
comment period.

With the advent of the internet with amateur radio discussion forums and 
e-mail reflectors, hardly a phrase from FCC, ARRL, or any vocal anti-AM'er 
can get by without the entire AM community knowing about it within hours of 
its release.

Notice how the anti-AM actions have dwindled in recent years, and AM has 
become a widely accepted facet of mainstream amateur radio, even regaining 
some recognition by ARRL and QST.

But we still can't afford to ignore the political stuff from ARRL, FCC or 
disgruntled hams.  Look what has happened to major political candidates from 
both parties when they simply ignored bogus attack ads and hoped they would 
fade away.

I  love building, modifying and operating AM stuff, and I want to maintain 
the right to do so.  There are still many out there that would do anything 
they possibly could to have that privilege taken away.

Don k4kyv