[MIham] WEAVER'S WORDS - WRITTEN, YET?

[Tom VanderMel]

All HAMS
Please pass on to your other groups and list


 [Reply to:  k8je at arrl.org.  Do not click on REPLY.]

 IF YOU CARE NOTHING ABOUT AMATEUR RADIO, DELETE THIS MESSAGE.  IF YOU
 CARE ABOUT IT, READ ON, PLEASE.

 Dear member,

 A few days ago, I asked you to write to your US Representative (i.e.
 your member of the US House of Representatives, not your US Senators)
 urging them to co-sponsor H.Res. (this is a US House Resolution; not a
 H.R. which signifies a House bill) 230.  This resolution calls on the
 FCC to review in depth the issues related to interference to police,
 fire, safety and Amateur radio communication and take appropriate
 action to safeguard these licensed services from QRM.

 Many of you have written.  Huge numbers of others of you have not.
 Very frankly, if we stick together and act together in asking our US
 Representatives to co-sponsor the resolution, we will get it passed and
 the FCC will be put into a position it cannot ignore.  Writing is
 something that supports Amateur Radio . . . and your privilege to use
 your hard-earned Amateur Radio license.  If you care about your
 license; if you care about the future of Amateur Radio; if you care
 about fair play from the FCC, you will send a letter.  Amateur Radio
 needs you . . . now.

 With your help and the help of all members in this Division, we can get
 the job done.  The question comes down to a simple, "Do you
 care?"

 I offer two ways for you to get the letter.  You can go to:
 http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/filings/hres230/HRes230-SampleLtr.doc
 and download it.  Or you can copy it from this message (below).

 Put in the name and address of your US Representative as well as your
 name, address (include your call sign) and send it.  PLEASE BE CERTAIN
 to send me a COPY OF THE LETTER you send so I can forward this copy to
 our lobbyist in Washington, DC.  Doing this will enable us to nearly
 double the value of the letter you send.

 How should you send the letter?  It makes little difference PROVIDED
 you send me a copy of it.  Send it by snail mail to the Representative
 at his Washington office or at his home office, send it by FAX, send it
 by E-mail (if he/she has a working E-mail (send  it by special courier,
 send it by carrier pigeon?).  The main thing is to SEND IT and to SEND
 ME a copy.

 Who is your US Representative?  Go to arrl.org, click on MEMBERS ONLY
 in the top banner and you'll see the names and addresses of your US
 Representative and your US Senators.  Ignore the Senators at this time
 (the resolution is in the House, not the Senate; therefore, your
 Senators probably don't even know a thing about it).

 Thanks for your help.  The 10 minutes you spend in following through on
 this action will be well worth your effort.

 73,

 Jim

 Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director
 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040
 E-mail: k8je at arrl.org; Tel:  513-459-0142
 ARRL Great Lakes Division
 ARRL, the Reason Amateur Radio is!
 Members, the Reason ARRL is!



 SAMPLE LETTER TO CONGRESS

 Rep. __________
 Street address
 City/State/ZIP

 Dear Rep. _______

      As a federally licensed Amateur Radio operator in your district
 and as a member of ARRL -- the national association for Amateur Radio,
 I ask you to support House Resolution 230. This resolution urges the
 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to conduct a comprehensive
 evaluation of the potential of "broadband over power line"
 (BPL) systems to interfere with public safety and other licensed radio
 services.

      BPL utilizes electric power lines to serve as the conductors of
 the broadband signals. Unfortunately, because the power lines are not
 shielded, they also act as antennas and radiate the signals into the
 air. These radiated signals will interfere with radio receivers tuned
 to the same frequency range. BPL has only been deployed to a very
 limited extent, but Amateur Radio already is experiencing severe BPL
 interference that the FCC has been unable or unwilling to correct.
 Unlike BPL, other methods of providing broadband Internet services to
 consumers, such as cable, DSL, wireless and Fiber to the Home, do not
 pollute the radio spectrum.

      Last October 14, the FCC ignored the evidence that BPL systems
 will cause widespread interference and adopted rules for BPL deployment
 that provide inadequate protection to radio communication by First
 Responders and others who need reliable radio communication to ensure
 our security. The FCC needs to do what it should have done in the first
 place: fairly and carefully review this evidence and adopt rules that
 will keep interference from BPL within reasonable bounds.

      Because we need no infrastructure in order to communicate, the
 Amateur Radio Service is the only 100-percent fail-safe emergency
 communication capability in the world. Interference from BPL emissions
 will significantly disrupt this capability. Please cosponsor H. Res.
 230 as soon as possible to express your concern over the interference
 potential of BPL to Amateur Radio operators and to public safety
 licensees.

 Sincerely,



 Name
 Address
 Call sign
 (Email and telephone optional)

 --------------------------------------------------------------------
 ARRL Great Lakes Division
 Director: James Weaver, K8JE
 k8je at arrl.org
 --------------------------------------------------------------------
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