[HIham] HB 2773 and HB2774 Amateur Radio antenna restrictions

[Kevin C. Bogan]

For the hearing of HB 2773 and HB 2774, Wednesday, February 25, 2004, 1:30
p.m. in House Conference Room 325.

Aloha,
Please support HB 2773 and HB 2774 radio amateur antennas bills being
considered by the legislature.

In 1992, I sat in my home in Hawaii Kai waiting for Hurricane Iniki to
strike.  I could not make or receive phone calls because there was no
dialtone.  I could only listen to the news and wait.  As I was waiting, I
made a list of everything I wish I had had in way of preparing for the
emergency.  At the top of the list was communications.  In the following
days, I read in the newspapers that the only communications in and out of
Kaua'i was on Amateur Radio.  As you may remember the Local Government Radio
Network (LGRN), Medicomm, police, and fire communications were not working
on Kaua'i.  Mayor Yukimura had to talk to the governor on Amateur Radio.
It was only Amateur Radio that provided communications in the wake of the
destruction.  Subsequently, not knowing a single Amateur Radio operator, I
studied on my own and took the tests leading to me being licensed by the
FCC.  Since that time, I have served the community as an emergency radio
communicator volunteer with the OCDA Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
(OCDA RACES).  I am now in my fourth term as the president of the Emergency
Amateur Radio Club (EARC).  I have recently assumed the position of the
Amateur Radio Relay League Pacific Section Section Manager (ARRL SM
Pacific), a national position.  I have done all this despite being able to
produce an adequate signal from home.  I am forced to do most of my long
distance and much of my local communication from my automobile parked at the
coast.  This denies me the access and convenience of my resources at home.
I would greatly appreciate being allowed to erect a better antenna in order
to provide the level of service that we in Honolulu require.

The ability to erect an adequate antenna is crucial for emergency
communications, their practice, and development.  World and national events
have highlighted the need for better communications.  The more sophisticated
and complex the communication system is, the greater is the risk of
disruption - just ask HPD.  When the power goes out, when antennas and
buildings go down, Amateur Radio is ready and able to step in and provide
emergency communications.  As a last resort, as a safety net, Amateur Radio
has no equal.  We have done a great deal; however, we need help to improve
our capabilities.  One of our best Net Control Operators lives in a condo on
Diamond Head.  He cannot produce a good signal consistently for local
communications and not at all for communications that cover the whole state.
He needs to be allowed to put up a better antenna.  One of our best Amateur
Radio operators living in Mililani has the capability to act as a relay for
almost all of Honolulu, but he cannot because he is restricted.  He must put
up his incredible antenna surreptitiously, for testing and practice, and
then bring it down before the condo association finds out.  Another Amateur
Radio operator lives in a condo in the Kaimuki area.  He is a gifted
professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  He is also one of our most
knowledgeable operators, a pioneer in antennas and radio propagation.  He
cannot produce a good signal because of the condominium association's
restrictions. If he were allowed to erect a better antenna he would be able
to offer on air problem solving and guidance in addition to the standard
emergency communications.

When Hurricane Jimena threatened the Big Island,  thirty-four Amateur Radio
operators from around the state came up on a net, passed information, and
relayed critical information to the National Weather Service (NWS).  There
would have been many more operators up if others had been allowed to erect
an adequate antenna. An adequate antenna allows us to not only produce a
better signal, but also allows us to use less power.  This savings can be
life or death if on emergency battery power.

There are a number of nets in which we participate.  They allow us on a
daily and weekly basis to exchange information throughout all of the
Hawaiian Islands and to the U.S. Mainland, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa, and
FSM.  These nets are crucial in providing an avenue for requests for
assistance and Health & Welfare traffic, whether we originate it or answer
the request.   Regularly, State CD, OCDA, and FEMA rely on Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications.  In an emergency, there are times that some of the
normal lines of communication still survive.  That is when the remaining
services may become overwhelmed and Amateur Radio is pressed into passing
Health & Welfare traffic on the nets.  Letting loved ones know that you are
alright is invaluable. It is difficult if not impossible to participate in
some of these nets unless one has an adequate antenna.

When the next disaster strikes, it just may be your neighbor that provides
the critical communication or relay that you need.  Our ability to provide
these emergency communications is barely able to keep its head above water.
Please lift the Condo and CC&R restrictions.  Please support HB 2773 and HB
2774.

Sincerely,
Kevin C. Bogan, AH6QO
6606 Kahena Place
Honolulu, HI 96825-1016
ARRL Section Manager, Pacific Section
President, Emergency Amateur Radio Club
OCDA RACES Quick Response Team volunteer
Hawai'i State VOAD member