[SixClub] Grid expeditions/activations A WARNING

Sat Jul 23 14:54:08 EDT 2005

I'm talking about National Parks, public lands, private lands... Not down a
road. 

-----Original Message-----
From: John Geiger [mailto:ne0p at lcisp.com] 
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 2:51 PM
To: jgault at nc.rr.com; World Wide Six Meter Club; ScottOlitsky at aol.com
Subject: Re: [SixClub] Grid expeditions/activations A WARNING

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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