[Ham-News] Amateur Radio Newsline 1393 - April 23, 2004

[ham-news-admin at mailman.qth.net]

Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1393 - April 23,  2004

The following is a Q-S-T. 

The FCC says its time to look at rebuilding ham radio and a big win for 
Radio Frequency I-D tagging.  Find out the details on Amateur Radio 
Newsline report number 1393 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here) 
 
**

RESTRUCTURING:  FCC HOUSECLEANING AND THE BEGINNING OF ROUND TWO

The FCC says its time to begin restructuring the Amateur Service for the 
21st century and it has handed the nations ham radio community a 71 page 
start.  Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, has looked it over and has the rest of 
the story:

--

Actually, you might call this a bit of housecleaning because the bulk of 
the FCC's proposal stems from a number of petitions that have been 
sitting on desks and in drawers at the regulatory agency for months; 
some up to three years.

And, we should say up-front that this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking is 
separate from the latest license restructuring proposal put out for 
comment by the FCC a few weeks ago.

CQ Magazine Editor Rich Moseson W2VU, is focusing on this new FCC 
proposal in his "Zero Bias" editorial column for the magazine's June 
issue.

He tells me the centerpiece is what's known as the American Radio Relay 
League's "Novice Refarming" petition.

"A couple of years ago, the League filed a petition with the FCC saying: 
'You're not issuing new Novice licenses anymore and that these band 
segments are not being well used. Let's expand the phone bands using 
some of these frequencies,' " Moseson explains.

Basically, Moseson says, the plan would expand code and data privileges 
for Novices and Technicians.

"And what they propose, basically, is giving Novices and Technicians 
with code credit access to the General CW portion of each of these three 
bands - 80, 40 and 15 and 10 meters as well. But CW only for them on 80, 
40 and 15 and RTTY and Data on 10 meters. And then to take part of each 
of those Novice bands on 80, 40, and 15 and use them to expand the phone 
bands."

And, Moseson says there are also some big changes proposed for General, 
Advanced and Extra-class license holders.

"The big winners here are going to be General class hams," Moseson says. 
"They are going to get an extra 50 khz of phone band on 75 meters and on 
40 meters and an extra 25 khz on 15 meters. Advanced and Extra class 
hams will also get additional space, 25 khz each on 75 and 40.

"But they're going to lose some of the exclusive areas that they have 
now. The exclusive Advanced class bands are going to be shrunk down by 
25 khz or so.

"Of course, since there are no new Advanced class licenses being issued 
and since a lot of people have upgraded to General since the code-speed 
requirement was dropped to 5-words-a-minute, this may, indeed, be the 
right thing to do."

Again, Moseson stresses, this doesn't address the A-R-R-L's proposal to 
revive a Novice class license that would be a "no-code" ticket with HF 
privileges. And, he says, it has nothing to do with the raft of 
petitions on file at the commission to change the code requirements or 
add an entry level class by some other name.
 
Another big change in the FCC document centers on a proposal to legalize 
the sale and use of amplifiers for frequencies in the range of 24 to 35 
Mhz.

Moseson says back in the mid-1970s, when Citizen Band radio operators 
were at the heart of interference complaints due to excessive use of 
power, the FCC banned the manufacture and sale of the amps that could be 
used on a wide scale that included 27 Mhz.

Well, Moseson says, that decision hurt the ham community then and causes 
unnecessary restrictions now.

"It hasn't really had any impact on CB because those people who want to 
have illegal amplifiers have had no problem continuing to get them," 
Moseson says. "And the hams who want to abide by the rules have not been 
able to use the power that's permitted to them on 12 meters and 10 
meters.

"So the commission is proposing to do away with those restrictions and 
once again allow commercial manufacturers to make amplifiers that will 
amplify on 12 meters and 10 meters and to let you build as many as you 
want."

And finally, among the major elements, one allowing remote-control 
access to an HF transceiver using the 2-meter band. It would essentially 
legalize Kenwood's "Sky Command" system.

"They are now proposing to allow auxiliary operation on 2 meters 
considering the fact that the loading of the band in terms of actual use 
of repeaters etcetera is considerably less that it was 5 to 10 years 
ago," Moseson says.

"So it's not as likely to create interference problems and it's 
something that could become very important with the advent of things 
like BPL and more and more antenna restrictions that people may want to 
have an HF transceiver in a remote location that they cannot operate 
from home for whatever reason either the environment is poor for it or 
it is restricted and that they can use their VHF/UHF handheld or mobile 
rig to communicate back and forth with that remote transceiver."

Moseson says you can find more on-line at the FCC's website. He says 
copies of the June CQ with more of an explanation will be available at 
Dayton and in your mailbox or on newstands by mid-May.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in 
Philadelphia.

--

More on this FCC offering and reaction from the ham radio community in 
next weeks amateur Radio Newsline report.  (ARNewsline(tm))

--

ENFORCEMENT:  SELL THOSE AMPS AND GO TO JAIL

While the FCC says that it may eventually change the rules regarding the 
current prohibition on the sale of  R-F power amplifiers capable of 10 
and 12 meter operation, as of today they are still illegal.  Anything 
marketed must be FCC certified and the agency has told a Texas 
businessman that he could go to jail if he does not stop selling some 
that are not.  The FCC's Daryl Duckworth, NN0W, explains:

--

Duckworth:  "A warning notice went to Donald Hewitt, of Tomball, Texas.  
It stated that continued sale of non certified equipment would submit 
him to fine or imprisonment.  

This case dates back to the Dayton Hamvention in 1999 involving the sale 
of WM-300 and WM-600 power amplifiers.  We note that at his website 
these units are again for sale and that he has presented them for sale 
in the parking lot of the Houston Amateur Radio Supply and at the 
Smithville, Texas, hamfest this year."

--

By way of background, Hewitt was issued an Official Notice of Violation 
of violation of Section 2.815 of the Commission's rules regarding 
manufacturing and marketing external radio frequency power amplifiers 
that operated below 144 Mhz.  This, after he showed them at the 1999 
Dayton Hamvention.  He subsequently agreed to stop and the matter was 
dropped until it was brought to the FCC's attention that he again had 
them for sale.  Now the FCC says that Hewitt had better cease offering 
the units or he could face time behind prison bars.  (FCC, RAIN)

**

THE BPL FIGHT:  NC POWEER COMPANY SAYS ITS LICKED INTERFERENCE

I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, with late word on the B-P-L front where a 
North Carolina power company says that its licked the interference 
problem.  Well almost.

In a letter to the FCC, Progress Energy claims it has solved almost all 
of the problems to the ham bands created by its test installation near 
the city of Raleigh.  The company says that what remains is interference 
near the band edges that only affects mobile operators.  It also says 
its still working to resolve this aspect. 

Are the hams in the area satisfied?  We will find out next week in a 
special in-depth report by Gay Pearce, KN4AQ.  (ARNewsline(tm), KN4AQ)

**

RADIO RULES:  A WIN FOR RFID IN THE 70 CM BAND

The FCC has adopted a somewhat limited proposal to permit deployment of 
RF Identification or R-F-I-D  tags on the 70-cm band.  This, at much 
greater duty cycles than current Part 15 rules permit for such devices.

According to an ARRL bulletin, the Third Report and Order in ET Docket 
01-278 which was approved April 15th follows a 2000 petition by SAVI 
Technology.  This, to revise FCC Part 15 rules to accommodate such 
devices in the band from 433.5 to 434.5 Mhz, instead of the 425 to 435 
Mhz SAVI originally asked for.  It also prohibits operation of RFID tag 
systems within about 25 miles of five government radar sites and 
manufacturers of 433 Mhz R-F I-D systems would have to register the 
locations of their system base stations to aid in interference 
resolution.

The ARRL had opposed these changes but the FCC has gone along with it 
based mainly on national security reasons.  Ed Thomas who is the Chief 
of the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology  said that these 
devices are designed to increase homeland security at ports, rail yards 
and warehouses.  (ARRL)

**

RADIO LAW:  FCC EXPLORES RULES FOR DIGITAL AUDIO BROADCASTING

The Federal Communications Commission has taken another step toward 
bringing digital radio services or D-A-B to American consumers.  This, 
as it releases a Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making and companion 
Notice of Inquiry into changing the rules as part of the broader digital 
migration that is underway across all media.  

Docket No. 99-325 released April 15th and its companion N-O-I seek 
comments on several topics relevant to D-A-B, including what changes and 
amendments to the FCC's technical rules are necessary to further its 
introduction.  Specifically, sought are comments on proposals to allow 
AM nighttime digital service. The FCC also asks questions concerning 
digital's affect on FM translators.  Questions regarding interference 
are also raised for comment.

Looking at the business side of radio, the FCC wants to know what types 
of digital services the it should permit stations to offer.   Should a 
broadcaster be allowed to offer a high definition service, a multiplexed 
service, a datacasting service, or a combination of all of these 
possibilities?  Comment is also sought on whether a radio station should 
be permitted to offer subscription services.

Comments on Docket No. 99-325 are due by June 16th and reply comments 
must be dated no later than July 16th.  The FCC says that Digital audio 
broadcasting technology offers the possibility for enhanced sound 
quality, improved reception, and will offer the public new services such 
as datacasting along with music and news.  (FCC, CGC)

**

ENFORCEMENT:  IGNORING THE FCC BRINGS $11,000 N-A-L

A Southern California ham who repeatedly ignored FCC warnings has now 
been told that he owes the government $11,000.  Newsline's David Black, 
KB4KCH is here with more:

--

The FCC slaps Daniel Granda, KA6VHC, with an 11-thousand dollar fine for 
what it says is willful and repeated interference.  The Commission says 
it sent a warning notice by certified and regular mail to Granda in 
December, 2002 ... but the notice was later returned as unclaimed.  The 
Commission says the letter it sent via regular mail was not returned.   

Twice during January, 2003, the Commission sent follow-up warning 
notices, again, using certified and regular mail.  Each of those times, 
the FCC says the certified mail was returned as unclaimed, while the 
notice sent by regular mail was not returned.

The fine goes back to a series of events beginning in November, 2002.  
That's when the Commission says it received a complaint that Granda was 
causing deliberate interference to two southern California repeaters.  
But the Commission and Granda had many more encounters.  On March 6th, 
2003, an FCC agent determined that Granda was retransmitting 
communications from 223-point-275 MHz onto the input of a repeater 
operating on 223-point-840 MHz.  Just over two weeks later, authorities 
again caught Granda's station interfering with the same repeater.

The Commission's complaint cites more than half a dozen encounters with 
Granda.  At times, investigators said Granda's station was transmitting 
signals from various 2 meter frequencies on to the 220 MHz repeater's 
input channel.  In one incident agents using mobile direction finding 
techniques identified Granda's home as the source of an unidentified 
unmodulated carrier.
    
On April 15, 2003, the FCC says agents inspected Granda's  equipment at 
his home in Whittier.  The Commission says Granda orally admitted that 
he received several warning notices from the FCC.  Investigators say 
Granda stated he was trying to prevent anyone from using quote--his--
frequency by retransmitting other signals to keep the channel occupied.

Granda's ham license could be in jeopardy.  That's because he's in 
trouble not just for alleged interference, but also for not responding 
to the FCC.  The Commission notes that on three separate occasions, it 
sent notices to Granda, requiring responses, and that all three times, 
he failed to answer.  That could set the way for the FCC to eventually 
order Granda to show cause why he shouldn't lose his amateur radio 
license.