[InHam] Re & Fw: [KA9QJGREPEATERS] HAM EXPLAINS WHY HES QUITTING EMMCOMM AT WORK

Mon Sep 14 00:11:41 EDT 2009

I agree w/you 100% Don, this poor guy got caught between the gears because of the wording of the regulation. 
The gal at the fcc doesn't care about why it happened, all she is concerned w/is that it did happened. 
To her, it is all black & white. She isn't giving the guy any slack what-so-ever. 
Those of us who are in EmCom should pay particular attention to this situation because we may wind up in this same or similiar situation.
The wording of the regulation should be changed to allow hams who work for agencies/orgs that host ham radio stations for emcom, to provide coms for the agency/org, as if they were volunteers & didn't work for the agency/org. 
I could see her point if Jeff worked for an autodealership or a hardware store & was soliciting for customers on ham radio. That would clearly be in violation of the rules. If I heard something like that, I would want to report it to the fcc myself. 
But if I heard something like what Jeff did on ham radio & knew for a fact that he was an employee of the angency/org who hosted the ham station, I would not report it to the fcc, but actualy encourage this activity because it is for the good of the public & in public service.  
This impacts agencies/orgs like police departments, fire departments, American Red Cross, ect, not just hospitals. 
There are several names/terms for people like her & I will leave it up to the readers to figure out what those names/terms are.
Thankyou for letting me use the soapbox.   
73/75 de ka9jwx, Paul Lewis Webster
SKCC #5322
John 3:16
Proud member of the;
ARRL
AARP
NRA
Handihams
LiveFreeUSA
Long:-87.334L (-87*20'3"W)
Lat:41.4967N (41*29'48"N)
EN61HL
Merrillville, Indiana, 46410-3503, USA 
;-)

--- On Sun, 9/13/09, ka9qjg1 <KA9QJG at WOWWAY.COM> wrote:

> From: ka9qjg1 <KA9QJG at WOWWAY.COM>
> Subject: [KA9QJGREPEATERS] HAM EXPLAINS WHY HES QUITTING EMMCOMM AT WORK
> To: KA9QJGREPEATERS at yahoogroups.com
> Date: Sunday, September 13, 2009, 3:59 PM
> 
> I just happen to listen to Radio Newline last night and
> heard this , I don't think it is right and I thought Amateur
> Radio was about Helping out , We should keep an eye on this
> and if necessary try and get it changed  For this type
> of assistance 
> 
> 73 De Don KA9QJG 
> 
> Tom KA9QPN I don"t know if You can comment on this but I
> know You have been helping  for Years 
> 
> 
> 
> ENFORCEMENT:  HAM EXPLAINS WHY HES QUITTING EMMCOMM AT
> WORK
> 
> A ham who posted on an Internet website that he had
> assisted in an 
> emergency communications drill at work has come forward to
> explain why 
> he was contacted about his action by FCC ham radio rules
> enforcer Laura 
> Smith.  Amateur Radio Newsline's Norm Seeley, KI7UP,
> has more:
> 
> --
> 
> In his posting to the QRZ.com website, Jeffery Casselberry,
> W0WLS, says 
> that last July he volunteered to take part in a state
> sanctioned 
> communication drill which was backed by the Missouri
> Hospital 
> Association.  At that time he was the only licensed
> amateur in the 
> facility so he said yes. 
> 
> According to Casselberry this drill took place during
> business hours 
> while he was on the clock.  He explained that he had
> built the amateur 
> station for the hospital and with it the facility better
> than most in 
> communicating locally and to the state capital.
> 
> W0WLS went on to say that he was so thrilled about the
> drills success 
> that what he made what he terms as the mistake of posting
> his 
> excitement on the QRZ website.  Someone who read it
> decided to cut and 
> paste his  comments and send them off to the
> FCC.  As a result, W0WLS 
> says that he received an informal email from the FCC's
> Smith 
> acknowledging his violation and requesting a response. 
> 
> Casselberry says that he responded to Smith and explained
> in detail the 
> events of his alleged violation.  Smith responded with
> the following e-
> mail which reads as follows and we quote: 
> 
> "Jeff: Again, just so we are clear, Section 97.113 (a)(3)
> of the 
> Commission's rules specifically states that "no amateur
> station shall 
> transmit: communications in which the station licensee or
> control 
> operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications
> on behalf 
> of an employer." This means that if you are an employee of
> the hospital 
> you may not operate the amateur equipment on their behalf
> even after 
> hours or while you are on a break. The operation of the
> amateur 
> equipment must be conducted strictly by volunteers." -- end
> quote.
> 
> Casselberry went on to say that he does not want to become
> a poster 
> child for some emergency communications cause on
> QRZ.com.  He says that 
> he is done with this type of ham radio activity and it will
> never 
> happen again.  He's even gone so far as to tell his
> employer that he is 
> done with this type of radio activity and will take no
> further part in 
> it's emergency communications  program. 
> 
> W0WLS ends by noting that he is a hobbyist and don't need
> this sort of 
> turmoil in my life.  As such, he will make no further
> comments on this 
> issue.  
> 
> I'm Norm Seeley, KI7UP, in Scottsdale, Arizona, reporting
> for the 
> Amateur Radio Newsline.
> 
> 
> 
> Sec.  97.113   Prohibited
> transmissions.
> 
>    (a) No amateur station shall transmit:
> 
>    (1) Communications specifically
> prohibited elsewhere in this part;
> 
>    (2)  Communications  for 
> hire or for material compensation, direct or
>    indirect, paid or promised, except as
> otherwise provided in these rules;
> 
>    (3) Communications in which the station
> licensee or control operator has a
>    pecuniary interest, including
> communications on behalf of an employer.
>    Amateur  operators may, however,
> notify other amateur operators of the
>    availability for sale or trade of
> apparatus normally used in an amateur
>    station, provided that such activity is
> not conducted on a regular basis;
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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