[OkHam] SB-389

[Jim Glover]

>   For example,
> 
> C.	No provision in this bill shall prohibit licensed amateur radio 
> operators from installing towers on their own property so far as the 
> structures are permitted by current zoning ordinances.  Communities are 
> required to accomodate, in the greatest possible manner, amateur radio 
> operators registered and participating with their local emergency 
> management agency and/or the Amateur Radio Emergency Service.
> 

Whoa!!!

I am absolutely floored to see the suggestion that exemption from
antenna-hindering legislation be afforded only hams who are affiliated
with EM or ARES.  I am both shocked and dismayed to see that someone
has that sort of narrow view concerning which sorts of hams are worth
protecting from legal impediments to operating an amateur radio station.
Legislation of the sort proposed here would make second-class hams out
of non ARES/EM members, in that they would not have the same right to
put up good antennas that ARES/EM members might have.

Please consider these scenarios (using fictional names, but describing
situations which could easily apply to many hams' lives):

Joe Ham is a new ham.  He's busy learning things, like how to get a
basic station on the air, how to participate in routine QSO's, in
nets, in repeater round-tables, how to make antennas, and theory and
maybe Morse code for an upgrade.  Joe's finding the nets the most
fun, followed closely by ragchew, but really has no idea what will
interest him in the future.  If we had the necessary crystal ball,
we could see that in 5-10 years, Joe, now more experienced, and
feeling confident about his ability to operate properly under even
the most stressful conditions, will decide it's time to look seriously
at getting involved in public service.  For now, though, he's busy
just getting to know the hobby.

Mary has been a ham for years, and has held a general class license
for almost that long.  A busy wife, mother, and career woman, Mary
has very little time to get on the air, and spends what little time
she has chasing DX.  She's not involved in any sort of emergency
preparedness, but she buys a new radio every few years, and pays dues
to her local club and the ARRL.  Good fortune willing, we will never
have to find out, but it just so happens that in the event of the
sort of catastrophe that might wipe out communications over much
of the North American continent, her knowledge of propagation could
quite possibly prove invaluable.  (Of course, she'd have a hard time
developing that skill in the first place without a decent antenna
and support system for it.)  Without her and thousands like her,
amateur radio would have fewer manufacturers making ham gear, less
influence to support things like spectrum protection legislation, and
a smaller, weaker, national organization.

Bob has held an extra class for even longer than Mary, but gets on
the air very little.  He's too busy reading technical journals and
tinkering with computers and circuitry.  When he decides to try to
get on the air and do some experimenting, he discovers that he
doesn't belong to one of the qualifying groups which would lend him
the credibility necessary in the eyes of the law to qualify for
having an antenna up.  Discouraged, he decides to sell his ham
equipment, and let his license lapse.  He continues to work on his
research, and eventually develops an ingenious method of filtering
that virtually makes BPL interference disappear.  Rather than write
his article for QST, providing amateur radio a bright glimmer of
hope in the midst of its downward spiral after the onslaught of the
BPL disaster, he instead submits his idea to the US military, who
quietly sits on it.

Jerry is 75 years old, and has been a ham for over 50 years.  For
over three decades of that 50 years, he was involved in some sort
of public service.  On 11 different occasions, he responded to
tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters by leaving his job
and family behind to assist with emergency communications in the
stricken areas.  His health no longer permits that level of
involvement, but his greatest joy in retirement is getting on 40M
CW at night, and 20M CW during the day, to keep in touch with
friends and make new ones.  Some of the guys at the local club
have been helping Jerry maintain his tower and antennas, but they're
not sure they should go on doing so since, technically, Jerry is no
longer qualified to have a tower up.

Do you really want to exclude Joe, Mary, Bob and Jerry from fully
participating in amateur radio, just because they don't happen to
belong to ARES, or whatever?  Do you really believe that hams who
are members of emergency preparedness organizations are the only
ones who deserve accommodation?  Do you think that hams who'd rather
devote their time to building equipment, modeling antennas, studying
propagation, working contests, maintaining repeaters, working EME,
working meteor scatter, writing articles, or educating the next
generation of hams, don't deserve the right to erect antennas and
support structures, unless they devote some of their time to some
emergency preparedness organization instead?

Do you really believe that's what's best for ham radio?

Everyone, please do support accommodations for amateur radio in any
legislation which aims to restrict the building of antennas or
their support structures.  However, please do not even *think* of
limiting this support to hams who belong to any particular type of
additional organization, such as RACES.  Let's support the right
for *all* hams to build and maintain effective amateur radio
stations.

73,
Jim  WB5UDE