The ARRL Letter Vol. 13, No. 9 May 10, 1994 Telephone interference survey examined; ARRL Lab offers solutions to problems In early March the Federal Communications Commission's Field Operations Bureau released statistics from a survey of 105 random cases of telephone interference, saying that since some telephones are "bulletproof," all of them could be. The results of the study were obtained by the ARRL and reported in May QST. The FCC concluded that transmitter power did not seem to be a significant factor, and found that filters worked only one-third of the time. The FCC said that its own bulletproof telephones were free of interference "virtually all of the time." The FCC did say that, since its survey was done at random, the results should not "be construed as FCC endorsement or criticism of any particular manufacturer's product." The FCC said that telephone interference filters "cannot be relied upon to eliminate telephone interference" (emphasis added), since, in two out of three cases in this survey, they didn't work. ARRL Laboratory Supervisor Ed Hare, KA1CV, spoke to the FCC about their survey, and was told it was preliminary and not meant to be conclusive. On May 4 the FCC issued a news release about the survey, summarizing its findings. The FCC's "bullet-proof" telephones were all modified, non-electronic type, Hare said, and it is much more difficult (although not impossible) to make modern electronic telephones, full of active devices, so absolutely immune. The bullet-proof telephones also lack the bells and whistles popular with consumers. There are many reasons why telephone filters may work only "one-third of the time." RF filters are designed to be optimum over a specific frequency range -- an HF filter installed to correct an interference problem caused by a VHF station may not be effective, Hare said. Separate filters are often required for telephone lines and handsets; a handset cord can pick up an RF signal from an HF or VHF station and some telephones may as a result require the use of a handset filter. Hare emphasized that telephone interference can be cured. Often, a combination of immune telephones, multiple filters and troubleshooting techniques is required for a complete solution. On the other hand, as the FCC said in its report on the survey, "...manufacturers can design interference-free telephones." FCC seeks comments on UHF reallocations The FCC has issued a Notice of Inquiry on reallocation of spectrum from federal government use (in ET Docket 94- 32). 50 MHz of spectrum would be transferred to private sector use, possibly as early as this summer. The comment deadline is June 15, 1994. The reallocation is called for under the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1993, which requires the Department of Commerce to identify 200 MHz of spectrum below 5 GHz to be reallocated within the next 15 years. The spectrum identified for immediate reallocation is at 2390 to 2400 MHz, 2402 to 2417 MHz, and 4660 to 4685 MHz. Amateurs share the first two ranges. The Commission said that "there are a number of factors associated with existing allocations of the bands that will affect their potential for private sector use." In response to provisions of the Act that say the Secretary of Commerce shall "seek to avoid excessive disruption of existing use of Federal Government frequencies by Amateur Radio licensees," the NOI said: "The 2390-2400 MHz and 2402-2417 MHz bands are in the 2300-2450 MHz range referred to as the 13 cm band by the amateur service community. Within this range, the amateur service is currently allocated a total of 70 MHz on a secondary basis. The Department of Commerce has identified 35 MHz of this spectrum for reallocation (25 MHz available immediately). "The Department of Commerce expects that the amateur service community can satisfy the majority of its spectrum requirements in the remaining 35 MHz. It also believes that current use of the 13 cm band by amateur stations is light compared to use of bands lower in the spectrum, but notes that use may increase for amateur-satellite, high-speed computer data links, amateur TV, and other wide-band applications. The Department of Commerce states that it excluded the 2400-2402 MHz band from consideration for reallocation in order to protect existing amateur satellite operations." The FCC requested comment on two specific areas of concern to amateurs: * "Will the recommended reallocation avoid excessive disruption of existing use of Federal Government frequencies by amateur service licensees? Is the 2 megahertz segment at 2400-2402 MHz that the Department of Commerce excluded from consideration for reallocation sufficient to avoid disrupting existing amateur-satellite operations?" * Will new non-Federal services in these bands be able to share the spectrum with existing services, especially with amateur operations in the 2390-2400 MHz and 2402-2417 MHz bands, and with the fixed-satellite service in the 4660- 4685 MHz band? If yes, what are appropriate technical sharing criteria? What should be the relative status of users? What effect will existing users have on competition and on access to new services?" NEW MOBILE TOOLS FOR FCC INCLUDE 10 COMPUTER CARS The Federal Communications Commission is showing off a new vehicle for investigative work, equipped with two computers, a color monitor, a mobile phone, and a satellite receiver. The FCC told the Associated Press it expected to have 10 such cars in service in metropolitan areas this month, with the goal of eventually having two such cars for each of the Commission's 35 field offices. The FCC said that businesses and boat operators are the most likely to operate unlicensed transmitters. Meanwhile, in Gettysburg, at the end of April the FCC's amateur license processing backlog was 10 to 12 weeks. The Commission has not yet switched to its new computer system, which will be required for processing the new-style, simplified Form 610, which has been mandatory since March 1. And according to Broadcasting and Cable magazine, FCC Chairman Reed Hundt is asking the Office of Management and Budget for more money for fiscal 1995, in order to hire more Commission workers. Hundt said the FCC is running at a "personnel deficit" of about 500, compared with 1980. FCC TURNS DOWN PETITIONS FOR CHANGING AMATEUR RULES In late April the FCC denied three petitions from amateurs to change the licensing structure. One petitioner would have lowered Morse code requirements and two others would have eliminated the 5 wpm CW examination for the Novice license. The FCC said that the current amateur license requirements were the result of Commission proceedings that produced thousands of comments. "The amateur community indicated on each occasion that it strongly desires to preserve communications by telegraphy," the FCC said. NEW JERSEY HAM PAYS FINE FOR QRM TO REPEATER A New Jersey amateur has paid a fine for interfering with a New York City repeater. John Lickun, N2MVZ, of Little Falls, New Jersey, admitted causing malicious interference to repeater W2SNM, operated by the Manhattan Avenue of the Americas Radio Club. In July 1993 the FCC's New York Field Office monitored transmissions determined to be coming from a coffee vending street stand, and from Lickun. The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for $1,000; Lickun apologized for his actions and paid a reduced fine of $250. ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE PONDERS A.R. BILLS Three bills related to Amateur Radio are currently before the Illinois legislature, but insiders say only one has much chance of becoming law this session. HB 4180 would ban scanner radios as well as many amateur rigs from vehicles, and was the brainchild of a local police force. Legislators are aware of the implications for licensed amateurs and a future bill would exempt them from any such ban. But HB 4180 is dead for this session at any rate, sources said. HB 3730 cites PRB-1 and would exempt amateurs from most overly restrictive local covenants on towers and antennas. The bill's sponsor is a Republican from the northwest Chicago suburbs. The bill -- as do most current Republican- bills in Illinois -- languishes. One bill that probably will pass is SB 1159, which would permit Amateur Radio call sign vehicle marker plates on corporate-registered autos (instead of only those registered to licensed amateurs). QST TO MAKE JULY DEBUT ON NATION'S NEWSSTANDS Beginning in July, QST will be available at selected "newsstands" around the US, on an experimental basis. These newsstand copies will be identical to member copies, except that their front covers will have a slightly different look, including "teasers" for stories inside. QST will still be available at Amateur Radio retail stores. NH law exempts antennas from taxes; inspired by $9,000 assessment on ham New Hampshire House Bill 1380, recently signed into law by Governor Steve Merrill, exempts from real estate property taxes "radio towers, antennas, and related or supporting structures used exclusively in the operation of an Amateur communications station under Federal Communications Commission Amateur Radio Service rules and regulations." ARRL Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD, called the bill "an important precedent," saying that it may have far-reaching effects throughout the US as amateurs continue to seek relief from local and state regulation. ARRL New Hampshire Section Manager Al Shuman, N1FIK, who played a key role in the passage of the bill, largely credits ARRL New Hampshire State Government Liaison (and representative in the state legislature) Ralph Rosen, W1HSB, and a team of ARRL Field Organization volunteers, who testified numerous times before both House and Senate committees. The matter came to a head when a New Hampshire town added $9000 to an amateur's property value, for tax purposes, based on his towers and antennas. While he appealed the assessment in court, Rosen and others initiated the legislation. Washington Coordinator W1UED bows at Dayton; speaks to HamVention, accepts its top award Perry Williams, W1UED, retired last week as ARRL Washington Area Coordinator, after 40 years of working at HQ. At the Dayton HamVention on April 30, Williams accepted the HamVention's 1994 "Amateur of the Year" award. He was nominated by former US Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, and ARRL Southwestern Division Director Fried Heyn, WA6WZO. Here are excerpts from Williams's speech to the banquet: "This assembly tonight is composed of radio amateurs, would-be radio amateurs -- and people who have been dragged here by radio amateurs! We share a fascinating avocation. Never, before the advent of ham radio -- in all human history -- has the ordinary person had the opportunity and the means to exchange views with others in every corner of the world -- and without paying a tariff to a third party! And this unique thing, this Amateur Radio, is worth protecting against all forces. It must be preserved. "I'm a most fortunate man. From time to time in the past forty years, circumstance has placed me where I could make a modest contribution to that goal of preservation, and occasionally of enhancement, of the hobby as well. You, who have been members of the American Radio Relay League during this span, deserve credit for preservation of Amateur Radio by providing this particular circumstance. Individuals alone, even a group of customers of a book and magazine publisher, couldn't have done the job. "It took interested, active people, people willing to serve as volunteers in a cause -- in my case, the ARRL -- through which ham radio has grown and prospered. Particularly, it took that special breed of people willing to give up large chunks of personal time to run for and serve as [ARRL] Officers, Directors, Vice Directors and Section Managers, as club officers, Emergency Coordinators, Public Information Officers, Technical Advisors, Volunteer Counsels -- people who will argue out what policies will best preserve and enhance, and then do the work necessary. "You see, there are some tasks an individual can't handle alone. The first of our forebears to stand upright and use language discovered that several hunters working together were far more successful than the sum of them working alone. With some hunters waiting in a box canyon and others driving the game into its walls, the living standard of the group took a giant step upward -- meat on the table! "The principle remains true today. Even with modern technology, some tasks overwhelm the individual but seem easy when everyone works together. With assets derived from relatively small contributions of 170,000 persons, a host of services are provided to all of Amateur Radio by the American Radio Relay League. Some of the services, to be sure, are personal, even inward-looking. But most are not. Take the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, for instance. Organizing, training, recruiting and interconnecting these volunteers is a group effort, efficiently done by the League. In turn, America and the world can count on hams to be there whenever an act of God or misstep of mankind overloads or interrupts the public communications systems. This is a major reason the world has tolerated and even encouraged us. Emergency service is a cornerstone for the preservation of Amateur Radio. "Amateur contributions to technology, too, are by no means inconsequential. Stuck below 200 meters with what was considered flea power at the time, amateurs opened up those short waves, discovering DX with small tube-type transmitters, and gave this technology to the world. "Some folks here tonight may remember Fred Schnell's Navy cruise in 1925 which proved the utility of short wave to the US Navy. More will remember Generals Curtis LeMay and Butch Griswold, in the fifties, installing a Collins amateur sideband rig on an Air Force plane, and flying it around the globe, all the time staying in touch with Omaha on voice. Those two hams solved the Air Force's dilemma: how to stay in touch with an armada of jet bombers dispersed over the Earth yet too cramped to carry a radio operator for Morse. "The beat goes on: Volunteers in Technical Assistance (Vita) and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT) together have earned a Pioneer's Preference from the FCC for applying Amateur Radio technology to the little LEO [low Earth orbit] branch of the emerging Information Highway. "The Bible points out that one doesn't light a candle and place it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand. If the work which hams do is kept secret, then no one will appreciate their usefulness. If the hams are not seen as making a contribution, their frequency allocations will be fair game for conversion to another purpose. The light of Amateur Radio must shine brightly, particularly in Washington. League members have sent me there to do that for the past 14 years. "Initially, I was detailed to both the executive and legislative branches of the government. Each workload got heavy enough two years ago to require another hand, so my colleague Paul Rinaldo is now covering the executive side, and my beat until yesterday was solely the Congress. "Now Congress takes a lot of lumps from people, some of them well-earned, as when personal peccadilloes get in the way of statesmanship. But throughout history, the rulers of the people have always had their bad sides, even David the King, Constantine, and many rulers with "Saint" in front of their name or "the Great" after it. Congresspeople collectively, freely chosen by the people as their leaders, are probably better behaved than the hereditary rulers, taken as a whole. "And you know, senators and representatives do listen to their constituents! We've had a number of bills to follow in the past several years -- some we've originated, some imposed on us. These bills have dealt with spectrum issues, with license and administrative fees, with call signs of choice. Always, the messages from home have turned the tide. "Congress listens. Beyond that, the course for all of us to follow is: participate, participate, participate. Keep ham radio strong and useful through your membership and activity in the QCWA, the ARRL, your radio clubs and club councils, your nets and the groups specializing in your favorite activity or mode. Keep Congress and the FCC informed of your needs, your desires, and your activities. "Write letters, send faxes, make phone calls. They can't operate in a vacuum; they need to know what's out there. What's in the balance is no less than the survival of our thing, Amateur Radio." BRIEFS * Job opening at HQ: Regulatory Information Branch Supervisor in the Field Services Department. Needed, a bachelor's degree, supervisory experience, strong writing and speaking skills, and strong customer service orientation. Amateur Radio license required. Salary range, $24,024 to $33,541. Contact FSD Manager Rick Palm, K1CE. * Youngest DXCC? Nine-year-old Casey Haley, AB5RG, received his certificate in April. Casey, an Extra Class licensee, lives in South Houston, Texas. * No reply from Russia to your QSL? A Moscow newspaper in April reported the arrest of several mail thieves at the Moscow Central Post Office. Postal workers were searching bags of mail for valuables (e.g., currency and International Reply Coupons), then throwing the mail away. * Dr Karl William Edmark, a Seattle heart surgeon who invented the portable defibrilator, died in April. Although not a licensed amateur at the time of his death, he held W7IGJ for many years and said he built the first prototype of his life-saving device on a card table in his bedroom, in 1954. * HQ news: We're about halfway finished hooking up to a new local area network that will not only better connect HQ employees but will give them better and faster access into and out of the building, to the Internet and other needed services. You can send electronic mail to The ARRL Letter at the following address: jcain@arrl.org * A highlight of the 1994 Dayton HamVention was the ARRL Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) forum, commemorating 10 years of Amateur Radio from the Space Shuttle. Some 500 attended, to hear space tales from astronauts Tony England, W0ORE, and Steve Nagel, N5RAW. Astronaut Ken Cameron, KB5AWP, participated by telephone from Russia's Star City, where he is on assignment from NASA. * The Houston Amateur Radio Club has disbanded; the club became ARRL-affiliated in 1919. The club's directors have given the remains of its accounts to the ARRL Legal Research and Resource Fund ($11,283), and to the ARRL Foundation to support scholarships for amateurs in the ARRL West Gulf Division ($3759). * The FCC has once again denied a request by Dale Gagnon, KW1I, for a waiver of transmitter power limits. A year ago the Commission denied a similar request from Gagnon for higher-power AM operation. The FCC also recently denied a petition for reconsideration from David Ingram of Mableton, Georgia, who was fined $2500 for violating citizens band rules, and fined K40 Electronics, Ltd., of Warren, Michigan $20,000 for selling non-type accepted CB equipment, including power amplifiers. * The 1994 Microwave Update Conference is scheduled for September 22 to 24 in Estes Park, Colorado. A lineup of speakers is already forming, under the direction of Al Ward, WB5LUA, and Jim Davey, WA8NLC. As usual, the ARRL will publish the proceedings of the conference. More information and a registration form are available from Bill McCaa, K0RZ, PO Box 3214, Boulder CO 80307, tel (days) 303-441-3069. 10 years ago in The ARRL Letter The FCC suspended the license of a New York Technician class amateur for allegedly cheating on his General class CW exam before an FCC examiner. [The man had passed the same test a month later. He is licensed today, as an Advanced class.] Canada's Department of Commerce floated the notion of removing all HF subband restrictions for amateurs there, in part in response to "imminent US phone band expansion" on 10, 15, and 20 meters. Republican Sen Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, introduced into the Congressional Record a commendation to the Dayton (Ohio) Amateur Radio Association for administering the first "large scale" batch of volunteer examinations. Goldwater also complimented other volunteer examiner coordinators who were gearing up to begin exams, saying "The radio amateurs of this nation are once again demonstrating their dedication and abilities. The taxpayers benefit by not picking up the tab for amateur examinations, and the amateurs benefit by having examinations more readily available and a more direct role in the amateur service." The ARRL was still delaying its application to be a VEC until the matter of reimbursement of expenses for volunteer examiners was resolved. ARRL's Task force on Federal Preemption continued visiting officials in Washington but most of them "gave little hope of relief in the near future." (PRB-1 became law in 1985). Dayton HamVention attendance was estimated at 21,000 and "was marked by good weather."