[SixClub] Grid expeditions/activations A WARNING

[John Geiger]

So if I want to drive up the road a bit to activate EM05, and sit on the
side of the road to operate, who do I get written authorization from?

73s John NE0P

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Gault" <jgault at nc.rr.com>
To: <ScottOlitsky at aol.com>; <sixclub at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 6:45 PM
Subject: RE: [SixClub] Grid expeditions/activations A WARNING


> Any grid expedition should be planned and proper written authorization to
> operate from any area should be obtained. I certainly won't go anywhere
> without written authorization.
>
> 73
> Jerry
>
>   _____
>
> From: ScottOlitsky at aol.com [mailto:ScottOlitsky at aol.com]
> Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 2:29 PM
> To: jgault at nc.rr.com; sixclub at mailman.qth.net
> Subject: Re: [SixClub] Grid expeditions/activations A WARNING
>
>
> Last April I attempted to activate EL84 from Fort Jefferson in the Dry
> Tortugas.  Two rangers stopped me from using my radio for various reasons
> that made no sense.  It took a few hours to get there and cost a vacation
> day and a fair amount of money.  I have pasted below a letter that I sent
to
> the national park service.  The response that I was received was
ridiculous
> and continued to state that I needed special permission because of the
harm
> that amatuer radio could inflict on the park.  I have sent this
information
> to the ARRL and am awaiting their response to the park service.
>
> Before going to a rare grid, I suggest making plans to see that this does
> not happen to you.  Even though the rangers were clearly wrong, It did not
> matter that day.
>
> Scott
> AC3A
>
> Dear XXXXXXX,
>
> I would like to bring to your attention an incident that occurred on my
> recent trip to the Dry Tortugas national park.
>
> On April 25, my family and I traveled to the Dry Tortugas for a day trip.
> We had planned the trip several weeks earlier.  We has planned to visit
Fort
> Jefferson and snorkel.  I had also planned to operate my amateur radio
that
> day and talk to other hams from this relatively rare island which was met
> with a fair amount of excitement from other amateur radio operators.
>
> Upon our arrival, I took out my handheld radio and handheld antenna.  My
> radio is about the size of a cell phone and my antenna is approximately 24
> inches long.  Shortly after putting my antenna on the radio, Rangers
> XXXXXXXX  walked over to me and inquired about what I was doing.  I
> explained that I was a licensed ham radio operator and offered to show
them
> my license.  I was told that I needed a special permit to "broadcast" from
> the park.  I then explained that I was not "broadcasting" and that I had
an
> FCC license which would allow me to operate my radio and talk to other
radio
> operators.  I told them that I would be happy to show them.  They did not
> want to see my license and I was again told I needed a special permit to
> operate my radio in a national park.  I questioned them about that need as
I
> had operated from many national parks throughout the country.
Furthermore,
> I suggested that the! FCC would most likely be the government agency that
> would govern where I could transmit.  Officer XXXX then explained that the
> Dry Tortugas were different from any other national park in the country
and
> that a special permit was indeed needed.  I asked her to please check this
> as I found that difficult to believe and thought she might have been
> mistaken.  I also explained that a major reason we came to the park that
day
> was to operate my radio and that there were many other hams wishing to
> contact me from the island.  She supplied me with a number to call for a
> special permit for my next trip to the park but would not allow me to use
my
> radio.  I still found it hard to understand that I could not transmit but
at
> that point I realized that I was not going to be able to change her mind.
> Therefore, I told her that I would simply listen and not transmit.  She
then
> instructed me that I could not listen to the radio either.  I found! it
even
> harder to believe that using a radio to RECEIVE radio signals was not
> permitted on the island nor was it under her jurisdiction to limit my
> ability to do so.  However, I did not wish to have my radio gear
confiscated
> so I stored it for the day.  It was a very disappointing way to start our
> stay in the park.
>
> The following day, I contacted the park supervisor, the park
superintendent
> and the law officer to inquire about the rules governing the use of
amateur
> radio.  Each person told me that a permit had been needed for some
> operations when they included large operating stations and large antennas
> inside the fort.  They each knew of no law or rule that prohibited the use
> of a small handheld radio outside the fort.  Each said they would check
with
> the rangers and try to determine why I was not permitted to use my radio.
> They each promised to get back to me with follow-up information.  A week
> passed and several phone calls were not returned.  Finally, the park
> supervisor returned a call and I was told that a special permit would help
> prevent this from occurring the next time I came to the island.  I was
told
> that because the island is small, the use of a radio would be easily seen
by
> other visitors who might wonder what I was d! oing.  In a larger park, the
> use of a radio would be less likely to be seen and these questions would
be
> less likely to be asked.  This reasoning makes no sense to me.  Given the
> small size of my radio, does this also hold true for users of family
service
> radios?  If cell phone service was available on the island, would they not
> be allowed?  Given this explanation, could a handheld radio then not be
> allowed to be used in more populated areas of larger parks where their use
> would be visible?
>
> This was an upsetting experience.  I suspect that the rangers and the
other
> people I spoke to do not appreciate the consequences of these actions.  It
> would be analogous to preparing a special golfing trip to the National
Golf
> Course in Augusta or a snorkeling trip to the Great Barrier Reef during
your
> vacation.  Arriving there with all of your equipment and then being told
you
> could not partake in the event that you had planned, and spent a
> considerable amount of money on, because you did not have a permit that
was
> not listed as being needed anywhere and that was actually not really
needed
> anyway.  We amateurs are dedicated to our hobby and often make operating
our
> radios part of trips that we make.  I have personally traveled all over
the
> world on surgical mission trips and always make amateur radio part of my
> trip.  Furthermore, I am still not sure these rangers were told they were
> wrong with regards to what they had done.  It has n! ot been made clear to
> me that what I was told was accurate in any way.
>
> Is a special permit needed to operate from a national park?  Are the Dry
> Tortugas different in that respect from any other national park?
>
> Or, were these rangers incorrect in what they told me?  Can they decide
who
> can and who can not operate a handheld amateur radio in a national park?
> Do the rangers have an authority over the use of a radio by a licensed
> amateur radio operator that they do not have over a cell phone user?
>
> I appreciate your help with this matter.  If this was a mistake, I would
> like to know that the people involved are aware of it and maybe it can be
> avoided from happening again.  If it was not, the amateur community needs
to
> be aware of these issues.
>
> Thank you for your attention,
>
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