Ham radio volunteers stand to benefit from ‘’The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997,’’ signed into law June 18 by President Clinton. The measure aims to provide Federal protection from ‘’frivolous, arbitrary, or capricious’’ lawsuits filed against individuals affiliated with nonprofit organizations and government entities and acting in their volunteer capacities. This would include members of the Amateur Auxiliary and volunteer examiners, as well as other volunteers.
In general, the new law will exempt a volunteer of a nonprofit organization or governmental entity from liability for harm caused by an act or omission of the volunteer on behalf of such organization or entity if:
The volunteer was acting within the scope of his or her responsibilities at the time. The volunteer was properly licensed or otherwise authorized for the activities or practice in the State in which the harm occurred.
The harm was not caused by willful or criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless misconduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed.
The harm was not caused by the volunteer operating a motor vehicle, vessel, aircraft, or other vehicle for which the State requires the operator or owner to possess an operator’s license or maintain insurance.
The law, known as Public Law 105-19, becomes effective September 16, 1997. NNNN
Now 64 years old, Field Day did not start out as the vaunted test of emergency preparedness it is considered today (nor was it on the fourth weekend in June). The first “International Field Day” on June 10 and 11, 1933, it was “just a test of portable equipment” for US and Canadian amateurs, says former ARRL Communications Manager George Hart, W1NJM, who’s operated in 50 Field Day events over the years. Hart says then-Communications Manager Ed Handy, W1BDI, came up with the idea “He had a real active mind,” Hart said.
Under the early Field Day rules, only portable stations “actually in the field, away from the ‘home’ address” were eligible to submit Field Day scores. At that time, ARRL sections counted as multipliers in scoring, and portable-to-portable contacts counted double. (According to the old Federal Radio Commission rules, you had to notify the FRC that you were going to be operating away from your normal location, too.) Operating Field Day in the early years was further complicated by the fact that it was a lot harder to come up with a way to supply the necessary plate and filament voltages in the field than it is with today’s mostly 12V equipment.
It was not until the second annual Field Day, in 1934, that Handy’s Field Day writeup in QST raised the aspect of emergency preparedness—something to keep in mind in 1997, the Year of Public Service. “Keep an operative portable at hand all the year, so it will be where you can put it to work promptly in the event of disaster or public emergency,” Handy wrote more than six decades ago. Even with all of the ultra- portable equipment available today, his admonition stands, especially as we recall the service hams have provided in recent months in the aftermath of floods, tornadoes and other disasters. But in addition to being a preparation for public service, Field Day also is fun.
From: The ARRL Letter Vol. 16, No. 26 June 27, 1997