The ARRL Letter Vol. 12, No. 21 November 10, 1993 Executive Committee hears status report; numerous proposals await action at FCC On the burner: * Instant license * Wind profilers * 219-220 MHz * Weak sig segment * 902 MHz users * Club call signs * Quiet zone * Message content * Automatic control * Digital codes * RF exposure * PRB-1 * VEC fees When the ARRL Executive Committee met on October 30 in Memphis it heard a report from General Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD, on the status of a number of proposals before the Federal Communications Commission. 1993 has been an exceptionally busy year for such proposals affecting amateurs, who now await the outcome. Here's a rundown of just a portion of this lengthy Executive Committee meeting: *Wind profiler radars* ET Docket 93-59 is a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, issued in April, 1993, to allocate 449 MHz for non- government wind profiler radar systems; a Notice of Inquiry seeks comment as to whether such systems should be accommodated at 915 MHz. Imlay told the Executive Committee that the ARRL "continues to seek recognition of ongoing amateur requirements in any implementation of wind profiler radar systems." *Allocation at 219-220 MHz* ET Docket 93-40 is an FCC proposal, based on an ARRL petition made in 1991, to allocate 219-220 MHz for limited amateur operations on a secondary basis. Action on this proposal is expected around March 1994, Imlay said. The League has told the FCC that the one MHz of spectrum is urgently needed by amateurs for packet radio backbone networks and other point-to-point communications, which are distressed from the loss two years ago of 220-222 MHz. The Commission has proposed measures to ensure that such amateur operations do not cause interference to primary operations in and adjacent to the 219-220 MHz band. The 216-218 and 219-220 MHz bands currently are occupied on a primary basis by the maritime mobile service for Automated Maritime Telecommunications Systems (AMTS) and the 218-219 MHz band is allocated on a primary basis to Interactive Video and Data Services (IVDS). In 1991 the ARRL and Waterway Communication Systems (Watercom, an AMTS service) had suggested mandatory coordination of amateur operations, but the FCC said such an arrangement would not be permissible under the Communications Act. Since then, the League has held detailed consultations with Watercom and is confident as a result that amateur point-to-point operations can be "engineered in" the 219-220 band without harmful interference to AMTS operations. While the FCC has concluded that amateur access to the 216-219 MHz range is not feasible because of potential interference to other point-to-point services, and to TV channel 13, it does support amateur use of 219-220, saying it believes amateurs have the technical expertise to design their packet systems to operate in the 219-220 MHz band without interference to other services. In reply comments to this NPRM filed in July, the League said that it hoped that experience in the new 219-220 band, should it be allocated to amateurs, might lead to the consideration of additional frequency sharing by amateurs in the remainder of the 216-220 MHz range in certain geographic areas, depending on the development of IVDS and other advanced television systems. The Executive Committee agreed to support an effort to plan a high speed, nationwide digital communications network that would use this band where it is available, and other connections where it is not (e.g., in the area of the Mississippi River and its tributaries). Because FCC action on the new band is expected next year, amateur planning would have to begin immediately, so the EC instructed President Wilson to appoint an ad hoc committee to develop and recommend such a plan. The committee will be asked to give an interim report to the Board at its January, 1994 meeting, and a final report to the EC at its first meeting in 1994 (after the board meeting). *Threat to 902 MHz band* In May 1993, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to allow the expansion of automotive vehicle monitoring (AVM) systems by creating a new location and monitoring service (LMS) in the 902-928 MHz band. Amateurs currently share this band with government radiolocation, fixed, mobile, and other services, and the FCC said in making its proposal that AVMs could "lead to rapid congestion of available spectrum." The FCC asked potential LMS users whether "they believe it possible to establish reliable LMS systems considering the number and diversity of other users of this band," and if not, it asked for possible solutions "short of removing Part 15 users and amateur operations from the band." In comments made in July the ARRL said more study was needed to determine if the already-crowded 902-928 MHz band could accommodate yet another service, namely AVM, when the Commission already was proposing to add wind profiler radars there. Expansion of AVM/LMS in the band would "significantly reduce" its utility for amateurs at a time when they are increasingly looking to the band in the face of "intense growth" of Amateur Radio licensees and the "concurrent saturation" of the lower UHF and VHF amateur allocations," the League said in reply comments made in July. General Counsel Imlay told the EC that this proposal had "encountered opposition from a number of other sources in addition to the ARRL." The ARRL plans to file a petition seeking a primary allocation for the Amateur Service in a portion of the 902- MHz band, as authorized by the board of directors. *Club call sign program* Last July the FCC began accepting applications for "Club and Military Recreation Station Call Sign Administrators," after a change in Commission rules allowed it to use qualified volunteer organizations as administrators of the new program. Several groups applied, including the ARRL. The League gave the FCC several reasons why it felt only one administrator of the program should be appointed, and why the ARRL was the logical choice for the job. The League later said that the applications of several groups were defective. Complaints -- "motions to strike" -- against the ARRL were filed by the W5YI-VEC Inc. and the National Amateur Radio Association. The League challenged those motions to strike, and continued to urge the FCC to name an administrator for the program. Meanwhile, the FCC's Order, enabling the acceptance of applications and the program itself, was questioned in a petition for reconsideration filed by David Popkin, W2CC. Popkin argued that the Commission erred in not providing an opportunity for public comment before amending its rules. The issue now has been further complicated by the possibility that the FCC may soon be able to institute a "vanity call sign" program, enabling the Commission to charge a fee for the issuance of specific call signs -- which could include clubs and military stations. Imlay told the EC that the Popkin petition will likely delay implementation of the call sign administrator program for some time. *Puerto Rico "quiet zone"* In November 1992, Cornell University filed a Petition for Rule Making that would create a radio "quiet zone" around its Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. The ARRL opposed the petition, saying that the petition was vague in a number of aspects; that no technical criteria were proposed for the evaluation of possible interference to the observatory by amateur repeaters, and that no basis for what Cornell's petition called "appropriate action" was specified. The League also said that the Cornell petition failed to address what degree of protection should be accorded, made no distinction about what radio services might or might not be potential sources of interference, and did not take into account that planned upgrades to the antenna at Arecibo would tend to *reduce* received interference. The League said that the nature of amateur repeater stations made it highly unlikely that they would interfere with a radiotelescope, at any rate, and suggested that Cornell work with local repeater or frequency coordinators to obtain information concerning amateur repeaters. Imlay reported to the Executive Committee that Cornell has now filed reply comments to its own petition, suggesting that the University has worked out an informal arrangement with Puerto Rico amateurs. To date, the FCC has taken no action on the Cornell petition. *Message content responsibility* August 1 was the deadline for reply comments to an FCC NPRM issued in March that would change the responsibility for the content of amateur messages relayed by high-speed networks. The action, in PR Docket 93-85, came in response to a number of petitions for rule making, and would establish "a compliance policy for amateur stations participating in automatic message forwarding systems, to hold the licensee of the station originating a message and the licensee of the first forwarding station primarily accountable for violative communications." The ARRL supported the proposal as an improvement on the present situation, saying only that better definitions of "first forwarder" and of "repeater station" were needed. No action has been taken on this proposal. *HF automatic control* There also has been no FCC action with regard to petitions concerning automatic control on HF, RM-8218 and RM-8280. *RF exposure guidelines* Earlier this year the FCC proposed changing its guidelines for evaluating environmental RF radiation, to reflect the guidelines adopted in 1992 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, Inc. (IEEE). The new ANSI guidelines were more specific about proximity to RF fields and placed stricter limitations on automatic exclusions for low-power devices, such as hand- held radios and telephones, based on operating power. At its meeting the Executive Committee authorized General Counsel Imlay to file comments in ET Docket 93-62, the FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making to implement the ANSI guidelines. The Executive Committee expressed concern over the lack of specific text in the NPRM and guidelines for commenting on it. The League will argue that while the subject deserves serious attention, it has always been ARRL policy to urge "prudent avoidance of prolonged exposure to unnecessarily high levels of RF energy." The League will argue for a categorical exemption of amateur stations. *Licensing of foreigners* Imlay told the EC that an FCC proposal for the temporary licensing of foreign radio amateurs on the basis of an examination of their qualifications by Volunteer Examiners (PR Docket 92-167), is still pending but is "expected to be dismissed without action." The League had responded to this proposal by saying it believed an "International Amateur Radio Permit," similar to that already in effect in much of Europe, would be more desirable. International Affairs Vice President Larry Price, W4RA, reported to the EC that an initiative drafted for the International Amateur Radio Union by ARRL staff is working its way through CITEL, the organization of telecommunications administrations in the western hemisphere; once adopted by CITEL it could be placed on the agenda of a future World Radiocommunication Conference. *More teeth to PRB-1* President Wilson, at the direction of the EC, appointed a committee to examine how best to pursue an expansion and clarification of PRB-1, the preemption of state and local regulations by federal (FCC) law. First Vice President Rod Stafford, KB6ZV, and Rocky Mountain Division Director Marshall Quiat, AG0X, were named to the committee. Both are lawyers. *Lifetime operator license* At its July 1993 meeting, the Board directed the General Counsel to file a petition seeking a lifetime operator's license for radio amateurs. Imlay said that filing will be made soon. *Concerns about enforcement* Imlay said he will meet with FCC staff concerning enforcement cases in the Amateur Service, to express the concerns of amateur volunteers who play an active role in assisting the FCC in locating offenders on the amateur bands. *VEC fees* The ARRL has received an FCC request for financial details of its VEC program, as have other VECs. Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, confirmed for the EC that the cost of administration of the ARRL VEC program significantly exceeds the amount of examination fees collected, and would still exceed the fees collected even if fees were charged for examination elements 1(A) and 2 (Novice exam elements). This stems from a complaint filed with the FCC by the W5YI Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC), asking that the ARRL-VEC be forced to change its policy and begin charging for administering Novice class examinations. The W5YI-VEC argued that the issue is one of "uniformity," claiming that ARRL benefits financially from giving free exams. The League responded that "VECs have always had the latitude to set their own fees. We see no compelling federal interest in whether or not a class of nine year olds ought to be charged for taking an entry-level exam." *Shortage of call signs* Available preferred call signs for Amateur Extra Class licensees ("Group A") have run out in Puerto Rico, Alaska, and Hawaii, and such call signs are about to run out for Advanced class ("Group B") in Hawaii. The EC authorized the General Counsel to present a proposal to the FCC that would make more preferred call signs available in these areas. The letter was sent November 4. In short, it suggest making numerals other than "7" available for Alaska call signs, the numeral 3 available for Puerto Rico ("3" was originally allocated for Serrana Bank and Roncador Cay but is no longer needed), and the numeral 7 for Hawaii (with a distinctive suffix for Kure Island). STATION LOCATION DROPPED FROM FCC LICENSE FORMS Effective November 15, 1993, the FCC will no longer require that a station location be shown on amateur license applications, nor on applications for reciprocal operating permits. The Commission, in an Order adopted September 24, said that because portable and mobile equipment is now so often used by amateurs, a station's location often changes, sometimes even daily. The FCC also said that deleting the station location requirement would expedite the processing of license applications. They said that since this rule amendment is not likely to be controversial and that it is a "nonsubstantive" change in licensing procedures, no notice and comment period was needed. The amended FCC Rule "Section 97.21 Mailing Address" will be: "Each application for an amateur service license and each application for a reciprocal permit for alien amateur licensee must show a mailing address in an area where the amateur service is regulated by the FCC. The mailing address must be one where the licensee can receive mail delivery by the United States Postal Service." FCC OKs ANNUAL CHANGE IN ALLOWABLE TEST FEE The FCC has announced that effective January 1, 1994, the maximum allowable reimbursement fee for an amateur operator license examination will be $5.75, up from the current $5.60. As before, volunteer examiners and volunteer examiner coordinators may charge examinees for out-of-pocket expenses incurred in preparing, processing, administering, or coordinating examinations for amateur operator licenses. The amount of any such reimbursement fee from any one examinee for any one examination session, regardless of the number of elements administered, must not exceed the maximum allowable fee. Where the VE and the VEC both wish to be reimbursed, they jointly decide on a fair distribution of the fee. The ARRL VEC will begin charging $5.75 after the new FCC allowable fee becomes effective. REPEATER TRUSTEE FINED; AWAITS OUTCOME OF APPEAL The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability to William A. Krause, WA2HDE, the trustee of a 220 MHz repeater in New York City. The repeater was found to be transmitting for several days in August on 243 MHz, a Federal Aviation Administration frequency used for emergency locator transmitters. The FCC's NAL called the violation "willful and repeated." Krause, an engineer, said that the repeater, a 10-year-old commercial unit, developed a malfunction that caused it to emit a very weak signal on 243 MHz when its transmitter was unkeyed. He said the repeater was checked out on a regular basis. The FCC said that the violation was "minimally occurring" on three days, August 30, 31, and September 1, and that the FAA had said the "unauthorized signal" also had occurred on August 26-29. The NAL was issued September 30; Krause responded on October 21, saying "I at no time willfully transmitted on any frequency that I am not authorized for. I was shocked to hear that there was any problem at all, much less one of such a nature." Krause told the FCC "I have always made measurements of the transmitter in the transmitting mode and would never have found this problem unless pointed out" (the spurious signals were present only when the repeater was in *receive* mode -- ed). Krause pointed out that this was his first offense and asked the FCC not to impose the fine. SHUTTLE HAMS CONGRATULATE COUNTERPARTS ON THE GROUND SAREX space shuttle flight STS-58 landed November 1 after a shuttle record-breaking 13 days in orbit. All 17 scheduled contacts with schools -- via Amateur Radio -- were completed, with 15 successful on the first try. ARRL Headquarters had received 162 QSLs for the flight before it even landed! Near the end of the flight those hams tuning in to the shuttle's robot packet beacon found the following message from the crew: "W5RRR-1*>QST We are in the middle of Flight Day 13. Tomorrow we will begin preparation for deorbit, entry, and landing. "To those of you who have attempted a QSO, the STS- 58 crew is eternally grateful. Congratulations to those who have succeeded. To those who were not successful, thanks for trying and better luck during a future mission. The Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment is successful only due to your efforts. "... Flying in space is truly an honor and I am pleased and proud that amateur radio is part of the human exploration of space. 73, KC5ACR (Bill McArthur), KC5AXA (Martin Fettman), KC5CKM (Richard Searfoss)." DALLAS HAM PLEADS GUILTY TO INTERFERENCE CHARGES A Technician Class licensee has admitted to interfering with a restaurant's wireless intercom. On October 27 Terry Van Sickle, WB5WXI, of Dallas, entered a plea bargain in U.S. District Court in Dallas, saying that between January, 1992 and at least August 22, 1993, he would "broadcast his voice over the drive-thru speaker and interrupt the customer's order and willfully interfere with the authorized and licensed radio communications of the restaurant on its assigned frequency." Van Sickle, 34 and a TV news photographer, admitted to at times being "accompanied and aided by an acquaintance," who was not identified in court papers and has not been charged. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a complaint from a McDonald's eatery in suburban Dallas. Van Sickle agreed to the surrender of evidence seized by the FBI, which included radio equipment from his vehicle. Van Sickle is scheduled for sentencing January 12, and could face a year in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. Temporary operating authority plan detailed The Executive Committee awaited the issuance by the FCC of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making, to grant temporary operating authority to unlicensed persons who pass the examination for a new amateur operator license. A few days after the meeting, on November 4, the NPRM surfaced -- PR 93-267. The temporary authorization would begin when the exam is passed and an application for a license is filed, and last until a full-term license is received from the FCC (but not more than 120 days), provided that the person is not a previous licensee whose license was revoked or suspended for less than the balance of the license term and is not subject to an active Amateur Radio-related cease-and- desist order. The temporary authority would cease immediately if the application is returned without action, and no temporary authority would be granted if the operation of the station might have a "significant environmental effect." Those operating under the proposed new rules would use call signs determined by the initials of their name and by their mailing address. The prefix for each such call sign would be WZ followed by a number indicating the appropriate Volunteer Examiner Coordinator region, the person's initials, and a two-letter indicator of the class of license being exercised. For example, WZ12ABC/KT. The Commission said it believes this system would reduce the approximately 11,000 inquiries it receives each year from amateur license applicants about the status of their application. Imlay told the EC (before the NPRM) that it is not known how the Commission proposes to minimize the obvious opportunities for abuse of such a system. The NPRM when it appeared did not mention this subject. The League is on record as preferring to see Commission resources devoted to the implementation of electronic filing and other measures to minimize the turnaround time for the processing of applications. The comment deadline for this NPRM is January 10, 1994; reply comment deadline is February 10, 1994. For the full text of this NPRM send an SASE to the Regulatory Information Branch at ARRL Headquarters and ask for PR Docket 93-267. ARRL members are encouraged to express their views on this proposal to their division director. More on this subject was in the last *The ARRL Letter*. *10 years ago in *The ARRL Letter* The historic space shuttle flight of Owen Garriott, W5LFL, topped the news as amateurs awaited the first ham radio from space. STS-9's launch was delayed until November 28 and because many of the times when Amateur Radio was scheduled coincided with the shuttle's ham antenna's pointing away from the earth, there was some trepidation that two-way contacts would be few. *The ARRL Letter* co-editors Pete O'Dell, KB1N, and Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, announced they would be in Houston at the Johnson Space Center during the flight to provide information for W1AW bulletins. The *Letter* also reported on mop-up operations following the U.S. invasion of Grenada, saying that a replacement for a repeater on the island (destroyed during the military operation) had been procured and sent through ARRL efforts. And Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, mentioned Amateur Radio's role in communications out of Grenada in the Senate. Sen. Goldwater also introduced legislation that would permit recovery of out-of-pocket expenses by volunteer examiners; the VE program was not yet in place, and ARRL representatives were meeting with the FCC to iron out VE question pools and other details. About the same time, the FCC announced its 1984 examination schedule for amateurs. The *Letter* called the schedule "bad news" for amateurs looking to upgrade; FCC field offices would give exams only quarterly, and there would be no walk-ins or late filers, the FCC requiring appointments be made a month before the scheduled exam date.