[Lowfer] Part 5 rules link enclosed...

[John Davis]

Bill asks:

>1. What are the typical 'good reasons' for applying for these grants that
>the FCC is likely to approve?


They always end up surprising me on this one, so I won't venture an opinion
just yet.  They prevented my employer from demonstrating the practicality of
an already well-developed synchronous transmission concept in the States
(it's presently used in Europe) which would have involved taking very
precisely determined sets of measurements in carefully controlled,
professionally monitored experiments.  Yet they've approved some very vague
justifications by some of the LF licensees.

>2. Is a group license more likely or less likely to be approved?

There is no such thing as a "group license" under Part 5, really.  It's
issued to ONE individual, corporation, or association, with multiple station
locations.  It seems like a subtle distinction, but it's an important one to
the FCC.  Where the experimental program is a bit vague, an organization
apparently stands a better chance of getting a license than an individual.
Yet an individual with clear and specific goals, such as your loop work,
stands a very good chance too.  The individual license could be issued
faster, in fact, but it generally would not permit communication with folks
operating under another license.

>3. What Is the practical limit to the number of grants in the LF band?

I don't think there's any way to determine that ahead of time, because
there's no good model of actual usage established yet.

>4. Are frequencies in the 136 to 137k range available? This is certainly a
>desirable location as it allows for transcontinental experimentation.

There's no regulatory reason why they wouldn't be available.
Transcontinental coverage, yes.  Don't count on international communication
being permitted, though.

>5. If the application indicates non-amateurs will be permitted, does this
>make it less likely the FCC will  grant approval?

It shouldn't, provided there is some way of establishing the qualifications
of the station operators to the Commission's satisfaction.  That part would
have to be well thought out ahead of time.

>6. Are approvals more likely if the application is limited in power?
>Frequency?


Yes.  In normal circumstances, the fewer resources you ask for, the less it
sounds as if you are on a fishing expedition, and the more it sounds as if
you have a serious, well-thought-out program of research in mind.

John D.