wheatley@inuxi.UUCP (Steven Wheatley) (11/24/85)
/\
/ \
/ A \
/ \
===============/ \==============
THE / R R \ LETTER
VOLUME 4 \ / NUMBER 24
===============\ /==============
\ /
\ L /
\ /
\/
November 21, 1985
The ARRL Letter is published bi-weekly by the Information
Services Department of the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main
St., Newington, CT, 06111; (203) 666-1541. Larry E. Price, W4RA,
President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President; Dave
Newkirk, AK7M, Editor; Debra Chapor, Circulation Manager.
Information from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole
or part in any form including photoreproduction and electronic
databanks, providing credit is given to The ARRL Letter and to
the American Radio Relay League.
The ARRL Letter is available in printed form from ARRL.
Subscriptions, limited to ARRL Members, are $19.50 (U.S. funds)
per year for First-Class Mailing to the U.S., Canada, and
Mexico. Overseas air mail subscriptions are available at $31
(U.S. funds) per year. Sample copies are available for an
s.a.s.e.
In this issue:
o ELECTION RESULTS
o W0ORE VIDEO AVAILABLE
o ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT SEIZED BY FCC
o ...and much more!
DIRECTOR/VICE DIRECTOR ELECTION RESULTS
The ARRL Committee of Tellers met November 20 in Newington to
count ballots in the elections just concluded for Director and
Vice Director. The number of votes credited to each candidate is
as follows; the first listed candidate for each office is
declared elected for the next term of office:
Atlantic Division, for Vice Director: James M. Mozley, W2BCH,
2857; Vince H. Bardsley, KB3OM, 2254.
Delta Division, for Vice Director: Lionel A. Oubre, K5DPG,
1246; Robert P. Schmidt, W5GHP, 656.
Great Lakes Division, for Vice Director: Allan L. Severson,
AB8P, 3017; Carolyn S. Elliott, KA4JMZ, 1305.
Midwest Division, for Director: Paul Grauer, W0FIR, 1808;
Robert S. McCaffrey, K0CY, 1075.
Midwest Division, for Vice Director: Richard W. Ridenour,
KB0ZL, 1739; Dick L. Eilers, W0YZV, 1114.
Pacific Division, for Vice Director: Kip Edwards, W6SZN,
1301; Cynthia Delauney, W6PHT, 1061; Glenn E. Koropp, W6YFW, 612;
Jettie B. Hill, W6RFF, 487.
Southeastern Division, for Director: Frank M. Butler, Jr.,
W4RH, 3777; Carl D. Henson, WB4ZNH, 1345.
The new Directors and Vice Directors take office starting
January 1, 1986. On that date, the following candidates,
previously declared elected (see the August 28 Letter), also take
office for two-year terms:
Atlantic Division Director Hugh Turnbull, W3ABC; Dakota
Division Director Tod Olson, K0TO, and Vice Director Howard Mark,
W0OZC; Delta Division Director Clyde Hurlbert, W5CH; Great Lakes
Division Director George S. Wilson, W4OYI; Pacific Division
Director Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV; Southeastern Division Vice
Director Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR.
In separate elections held in Canada, Thomas J. Atkins,
VE3CDM, was elected without opposition as President, CRRL, and
Harry MacLean, VE3GRO, was reelected without opposition as Vice
President, CRRL. They will serve, therefore, as Director and
Vice Director, respectively, of the Canadian Division, ARRL.
RADIOLOCATION ON 160 METERS BY MID-DECEMBER?
On November 8, FCC issued an Erratum correcting a few
glitches in its Report and Order in PR Docket 84-874 -- the
action making Amateur Radio secondary to radiolocation at 1900-
2000 kHz as of December 9, 1985. The corrected Report and Order
states that radiolocation stations displaced from 1605-1705 kHz
would not be able to apply for 1900-2000 kHz operation until July
1, 1987, giving us "virtually exclusive" (FCC phrasing) use of
1900-2000 kHz until then. Well, our dictionaries vary a bit in
their definitions of "virtual," but "giving the appearance of but
not actually being in fact" is pretty close. And that's the way
it is with our virtual exclusivity at 1900-2000 kHz: we may have
company there very soon but it may be hard to tell when we do!
"Fine print" in the text accompanying the actual Part 97
amendment had said: "Also, wideband systems can be authorized
immediately in the 1900-2000 kHz band since relocating displaced
systems from the 1605-1705 kHz band will not begin until July 1,
1987." Wow! Would we really be sharing 1900-2000 kHz as early
as December 9, the date the 84-874 Report and Order goes into
effect? Hq. staff had a hard time believing their eyes, and
asked for clarification.
Yes. The Erratum states that " . . . as stated in paragraph
25 [of the Report and Order], wideband systems can be authorized
immediately in the 1900-2000 kHz band and need not wait until the
dates indicated for existing and new radiolocation systems . . .
applications for wideband systems in this
band will be accepted beginning December 15,
1985. The thought-provoking part of this is whether we may be
able to detect aurally the presence of wide-band radiolocation if
it arrives at 1900-2000 kHz. "Wideband" here means "spread-
spectrum," and it remains to be seen if such a signal would rise
much above the high atmospheric and man-made noise levels at most
QTHs.
LEAGUE REQUESTS PARTIAL RECONSIDERATION IN 30-DAY RETEST ISSUE;
REQUEST FOR STAY DENIED
Effective November 8, applicants failing exams for Amateur
Radio licenses were no longer required by FCC to sit out a 30-day
wait before retesting -- in fact, FCC made it clear that a
waiting period of any length was not required at all. (See the
September 30 Letter.) ARRL quickly filed a Request for Partial
Reconsideration on the grounds detailed below, following this
with a Request for Stay of the November 8 date of effect,
pending Commission study of the request for reconsideration. The
Request for Stay was denied; as this is written, we're 12 days
into the "no waiting period" period. The serious questions
raised by ARRL as to what may happen to the integrity of Amateur
Radio licensing without a retest waiting period remain.
In its Request for Partial Reconsideration, ARRL notes that
FCC's decision to delete the 30-day wait was based on three
premises: that the waiting period was a carryover of what had
been merely an FCC administrative expedient; that there is no
persuasive evidence that any given waiting period will result in
better preparation by an applicant; and that adequate protection
against a candidate possibly being retested with exactly the same
set of questions -- "the only remaining concern" in the
Commission's view -- is satisfied in that the Commission's
instructions to VECs require that the same set of questions not
be used in successive exam sessions. The League points out that
these premises fail in several respects to justify the deletion
of any waiting period, and fail expecially to take into account
the integrity of the Novice examination program, which is not
part of the Volunteer Examination program.
Here's the flaw: with the 30-day wait formerly on the books,
anyone sitting for an exam, Novice Class or higher, had to wait
30 days before retesting if an exam was failed.
With the 30-day wait blown away, and with the integrity of the
exam process guaranteed only by the prohibition against
successive identical exams in the Commission's Instructions to
VECs, Novice applicants appear to be able to be able to take and
retake the same exam because Novice exams are not given by VECs!
A loophole, indeed! Said ARRL, "Such an absence of regulations
insuring the integrity of the Novice examination program will
potentially affect the Technician license class as well. Ap
plicants for the latter are credited with having passed elements
1(A) and 2, so that the beginner's code test and basic law
examination need not be retaken."
Since the 30-wait prevented rote memorization as a side
benefit, FCC's statement that the waiting period had been
initially intended to conserve Commission resources is "not
particularly relevant," wrote ARRL. "A waiting period
approaching a month actually was not a burden on nor a reduction
in flexibility of the VEC program. Quite the reverse: it was a
benefit because it permitted a VEC to offer examinations on a
more-frequent-than-monthly basis without the added burden of
changing the examinations for each session. The waiting period
limited the individual's ability to take the same test but
facilitated the examiner's ability to offer a smaller number of
tests more often to more, different people."
The League believes that the elimination of the waiting
period will actually reduce the number of available examination
sessions in a particular locality to at least that increment of
time necessary to prepare new examinations. The public should
not be deprived of an opportunity to take an examination once a
week because someone had failed that examination a day or week
before and the VEC was unable to supply all new examinations in
time for a subsequent session. Practically speaking, the League
believes that there are insufficient checks and balances in the
VE system to permit reliance on the instructions to VECs not to
use the same question set in successive examination sessions.
It's noteworthy that the Commission retains a section in Part 13
of its Rules requiring that applicants for commercial radio
operator examinations wait two months before retesting a failed
exam element. Isn't what's good for the goose good for the
gander?
"THE POINT YOU MAKE IS A GOOD ONE" -- FCC
Though the League's Request for Stay in Docket 85-21 was
denied (see previous item),
FCC has agreed that the integrity of the Novice exam process may
be adversely affected by the deletion of the requirement for a
waiting period before retests. In a November 13 letter to the
League's Counsel, Robert S. Foosaner, Chief of FCC's Private
Radio Bureau, wrote:
"We appreciate your bringing the matter of the integrity of
the Novice examination program to our attention. The point you
make, that instructions to the VEC's concerning examination
retakes do not apply to examiners in the Novice program, is a
good one. We are correcting this omission by revising PR
Bulletin 1035 A (Element 2 Examination Questions) to address this
matter. Future editions of that bulletin will instruct a
volunteer examiner giving Novice examinations not to use the same
questions or the same telegraphy test when retesting an
appplicant.
"The rule amendments in PR Docket No. 85-21 became effective
on November 8, 1985. The matters that you raise concerning the
subject Report and Order will be considered when the Commission
acts on your Petition for Partial Reconsideration."
W0ORE/CHALLENGER VIDEO AVAILABLE FROM HQ
What was accomplished when Tony England, W0ORE, operated
SAREX, the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, aboard Challenger
this past summer? The first ever television exchange with manned
a orbiting spacecraft, that's what! You can watch as well as
listen to the action with the new SAREX video, produced by Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, with Roy Neal, K6DUE -- and it's available
from Publication Sales at ARRL Hq. Postpaid prices are $25.00
for VHS format, $35.00 for U-Matic.
SCRRBA ASKS FCC FOR F8E EMISSION ABOVE 928 MHz
As we gained access to the 902-928 MHz band September 28 (see
the Letter for August 15, and September QST), we were also
granted use of an emission not allowed the Amateur Radio Service
previously: F8E. That's "F" for frequency modulation, "8" for
two or more channels containing analog information, and "E" for
telephony. F8E is the emission used by stereophonic FM
broadcasting stations, but its uses don't stop there. The
Southern California Repeater and Remote Base Association thought
that 902 MHz was a good place for Amateur Radio to make use of
F8E, and suggested this as FCC was considering what privileges
should be allowed amateurs on the new band. The request paid
off; we were granted F8E on 902.
In late October, SCRRBA petitioned FCC to allow F8E on all
amateur frequencies above 928 MHz for the same reason advanced by
FCC in granting its use at 902-928 MHz: its availability would "
. . . permit amateur operators to experiment with a new
transmission mode and to efficiently utilize the spectrum when
several different channels of information must be transmitted
simultaneously from one location to another."
Why not F8E on lower frequencies? SCRRBA considers them too
heavily utilized for such a bandwidth-consumptive emission,
excepting perhaps the 420-450 MHz band. Concerning 420, the
Association said it would " . . . prefer to wait until a little
operating experience with the mode is achieved before considering
including the 70 centimeter band within the authorization."
FULL-CARRIER DOUBLE-SIDEBAND AM PHONE LIMITED TO 1500W PEP OUTPUT
AFTER MAY 1990
On July 22, 1983, the FCC adopted a Report and Order in PR
Docket 82-624 replacing the former input-power-measurement
standard in the Amateur Radio Service with a power-measurement
standard based on peak-envelope-power output, with 1500 watts
being the maximum allowable power. The Commission recognized
that this would have an impact on AM double-sideband full-carrier
radiotelephone (A3E) operation, typically limiting such
operations to half of their previous maximum allowable operating
power. The FCC grandfathered the input power measurement rules
for AM DSB operations until June 1, 1990, to minimize the
immediate impact of this rule change. ARRL had gone on record as
favoring permanent grandfathering of the A3E output limitation,
but FCC's response was that " . . . we cannot justify a
permanent and continous expense in terms of equipment and
training that would be necessary for us to be prepared to make a
special power measurement for this class of operations."
Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, fought this change for A3E all the way
up to the U.S. Court of Appeals, and the judgment of that court
was issued October 15. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit upheld FCC's decision, and its
judgment was accompanied by an unpublished memorandum opinion.
In his appeal, Baxter had argued that the new standard,
which permits A3E
operators to continue to operate under the old standard (1000 W
DC input, the output power of which might approach 3000 watts
peak), would decrease the range and quality of his operations,
thus reducing the educational and economic value of his
equipment. While the court acknowledged the importance of public
service that Amateur Radio operators render, it could find
nothing on the record to indicate that the Commission had
violated its legal duties in this matter. It also concluded that
the FCC possessed technical knowledge and expertise which
exceeded that of the court. Baxter has indicated his intent to
take his case to the Supreme Court.
[Editor's comment: Hq. receives a small but steady stream of
"stamp out spectrum-gobbling AM" letters. We hope it's not out
of place to point out that the emissions used by most amateurs
between 1.8 and 30 MHz are amplitude-modulated emissions. Full-
carrier double-sideband AM phone (A3E) is just one of several.
By "doing away with AM," we'd be blowing away SSB (J3E) and CW
(A1A) emissions as well. FCC estimated in its 82-624 Report and
Order that "only approximately one percent of the licensed
amateur operators use this mode." As attrition runs its course,
this figure can be expected to diminish further still. Aside
from the question of spectrum usage, perhaps a hidden issue is
whether or not every last radio amateur has completed his or her
experimentation with full-carrier double-sideband amplitude-
modulated radiotelephone, as the license each of us holds is as
much a technological learner's permit as it is a pass to the
amateur fraternity. So -- "do away with AM?" Never! What would
we do without CW and SSB? And A3E? That's for you to decide.]
JOB OPENING AT HEADQUARTERS
The Field Services Department has an immediate opening for
the key position of ARRL Convention Program Manager. This is a
highly visible position in the field, with the Board of Directors
and with the large number of ARRL convention and hamfest
committees around the country. It's a "people" position for a
"people" person. The ARRL Convention Program Manager oversees
the entire Hq. convention support function, and supervises one
ARRL Convention Assistant. The successful Convention Program
Manager takes the initiative in
developing plans and programs to better serve crucial ARRL
convention and hamfest personnel in the field, and streamlining
Hq. functions to increase our internal efficiency in shipment
preparation and prize/consignment packaging. Qualifications
include high school plus one year additional education in office
skills, including word-processing and data-base management. One
to three years office experience required. An Amateur Radio
license is desirable, but is not required. Starting salary:
$15,496. Contact Richard Palm, K1CE, at ARRL Hq.
$40,000 OF ILLEGAL ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT SEIZED BY FCC'S SAN
FRANCISCO OFFICE
On October 8 and October 17, U.S. Marshals and FCC
investigators seized an estimated $40,000 worth of electronic
equipment, including illegal RF amplifiers and modified CB
transceivers, from two Northern California CB sales outlets.
Search warrants were executed against Doc Holiday Communications
of Santa Clara and Red Money Communications of Fresno.
Initially, these firms were issued warning letters for marketing
illegal CB equipment. Subsequent to the warning, further
investigation showed that both businesses were continuing to
market or sell illegal equipment.
*eof