An amazing revelation. Ham radio came close to losing the right to put home brew equipment on the air. This, as a result of technocrats at last November’s World Radiocommunications Conference in Geneva, Switzerland.
Delegates in Geneva were asked to consider type approval for all equipment used in the Amateur Radio Service according to a story in Fred Maia’s W5YI Report.
But the quietly made pitch to working groups at the International Telecommunications Union meeting in Geneva was countered by the International Amateur Radio Union, since type acceptance would have made it illegal for hams to design and build their own transmitters— something we’ve done throughout the history of the hobby.
Other working groups meantime wanted to implement a uniform set of spurious emissions standards for all transmitters. That too, could have made it tough for hams, if they had to demonstrate homebrew compliance before regulatory bodies. Moreover, all current homebrew and store bought transmitters in ham radio would have been incompatible with the proposed worldwide emissions standards.
None of the proposals ever made out of working groups, avoiding a major fight on the assembly floor in Geneva. Protecting the rights of hams to repair and modify contemporary gear, and to build and restore vintage radios such as Classic AM rigs now popular on the shortwave ham bands.
It cost the IARU delegation a lot of time and money to keep these measures from being brought before the conference in their original form which might have seen their approval by consensus.
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AMSAT-NA President Bill Tynan, W3XO, says AMSAT may go commercial to keep its Orlando, Florida, Lab afloat. In an interview, Tynan told the 200th meeting of the Houston AMSAT Net January 6 that AMSAT needs to keep the Orlando Integration Lab “or a facility of that type” going and that the organization is looking into several commercial ventures to help fund future projects and activities. Tynan said revenue from commercial projects would give AMSAT flexibility in pursuing future Amateur Radio satellite projects and additional commercial work.
“I can assure you that unless we can find some way to get a significant amount of money into the organization, we cannot keep Orlando going. We’re going to have to shut it down,” Tynan told the on-air gathering. One commercial prospect is the Canadian MOST proposal. Tynan said the project’s sponsors have “promised us a significant financial donation” if AMSAT participates in the project, assuming it’s eventually funded by the Canadian government.
AMSAT-NA Vice President for Operations Keith Baker, KB1SF, echoed Tynan’s concerns. Baker, who also was interviewed for the Houston AMSAT Net, said that one lesson learned from Phase 3D is that AMSAT can no longer “stand on the corner with our hands out” to fund future endeavors. Baker said AMSAT-NA wants to pursue additional revenue sources “without damaging or putting into jeopardy the volunteer spirit of AMSAT.”
Phase 3D Integration Lab Manager Lou McFadin, W5DID, said most of the modules for the spacecraft have been installed. Technicians now are installing the rest of the electronic components.
US amateurs soon will not need to apply for reciprocal licenses in order to operate during short visits to most European countries. While an official announcement still may be a few weeks away, it’s been learned the US request to participate in the European guest license arrangement has been approved. Similarly, most European hams visiting the US no longer will have to submit FCC Form 610A.
Approval of the US request came in late January at a meeting of the CEPT Radio Regulatory Working Group (WGRR), in Groningen, The Netherlands. The European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) has been instructed to officially notify the FCC of the decision approving US participation.
Last September, the US State Department applied for US participation in the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) Amateur Radio licensing system. A holders of a CEPT license can operate in CEPT-participating countries without having to apply for a reciprocal license.
The State Department’s action came at the urging of the ARRL that the US take advantage of the CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 arrangements and issue a license that would be recognized by CEPT- participating administrations and would be valid for brief visits.
Also last fall, the FCC proposed amending the Amateur Radio rules to make it easier for hams holding a CEPT license or an International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP) to operate during short visits to the US.
Under the soon-to-be-implemented arrangement, a US Technician license would be recognized as a CEPT Class 2 (VHF- only) license, with full privileges above 30 MHz. Holders of Tech Plus through Extra tickets would be given a CEPT Class 1 license, with full privileges on HF and VHF. Novice licensees would not be eligible for a CEPT equivalent license since most CEPT countries don’t offer a license of this type.
Once the ERO formally advises the FCC of the decision, the FCC must complete the steps to implement the participation before CEPT licensing can become effective.
"We’ve been urging the Commission to do this since 1991," said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. "Now that CEPT has given the green light, we hope the FCC will step on the gas."
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Gary Okula, N3CLZ, has submitted his resignation as the races officer to the New Hampshire Office of Emergency Management effective 1 March 1998. He held this position for a little over a year.
Gary will continue as an assistant section manager in the NH field organization. He will continue to participate in ARES and as the NH section managers representative to VOAD (volunteer organizations active in disasters).
Alan Shuman, N1FIK, the ARRL NH section manager thanks Gary for his dedication as an active interface to NHOEM on behalf of the amateur radio community.
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A ham radio package will be aboard the shuttle flight that carries US Senator and astronaut John Glenn into space this fall. Word from NASA this week was that the Shuttle Amateur Radio EXperiment or SAREX payload would be carried on STS- 95 when it flies in October carrying the 77- year-old space pioneer into orbit for the first time since the early 1960s, when Glenn became the first US astronaut to orbit the Earth.
Two hams—US Astronaut Scott Parazynski, KC5RSY, and European Space Agency astronaut Pedro Duque, KC5RGG, of Spain—will be among an international crew aboard STS-95. The launch date for the only other SAREX mission scheduled for 1998-- STS-93--has slipped from August to December. Glenn already has begun his astronaut training, but it’s not yet known if he plans to get his ham ticket before his return to space.
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Cushcraft says reports of its demise in the ham radio market have been greatly exaggerated. Cushcraft Production Manager Art Hambleton, K1ART, says the New Hampshire antenna manufacturer is still very much a part of the Amateur Radio antenna industry. Rumors that Cushcraft was exiting the ham market apparently mushroomed when word spread of some layoffs at Cushcraft.
Hambleton confirmed that a couple of people had been let go and that Cushcraft had cut back on its advertising in ham radio publications, and he attributed the moves to budgetary cutbacks. But he said “1997 was not a bad year” for the company. And Cushcraft has just hired another ham in a key position.
Hambleton announced this week that Cushcraft has hired Adam Alevy, N1FXT, of Amherst, New Hampshire, as its vice president of engineering. Alevy was previously with Atlantic Microwave of Bolton, Massachusetts. At Atlantic he designed VHF through millimeter wave antennas for communications and tracking applications.
As director of engineering at Cushcraft, Hambleton said, Alevy, 34, will manage the engineering group and design antennas in both commercial and amateur radio markets.
Cushcraft recently announced its X7 and X9 tribanders as part of its “Big Thunder” series.
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RF EXPOSURE AND YOU
As ARRL Executive Vice President Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, put it: “The new RF exposure rules are now a part of the regulatory landscape and are likely to remain so.” RF Exposure and You is the best way available to ease the transition, Sumner said.
This book communicates one simple message: For the vast majority of Amateur Radio operators, the RF exposure rules are not difficult to understand and follow. At 320 pages, RF Exposure and You contains all the background information, suggestions and worksheets you’ll need to help you comply with the new RF exposure rules and to operate your station legally and safely.
Hare said that preparing the book was “a real challenge and a real collective effort.” The result is a book that’s probably the first of its kind. “I have never seen this information pulled together in one place before,” he said. ARRL Headquarters staff and volunteers (including the ARRL RF Safety Committee) participated fully with the FCC as the Commission determined the best advice to give amateurs on how to meet the new requirements. The League was able to persuade the FCC to reconsider its rules, and to rewrite them so that amateurs would be less affected. Hare says it took a lot of teamwork between Headquarters staff and outside volunteers to have the book printed and available in just three months.
RF Exposure and You is $15 (plus shipping and handling). Order Item #6621.
New Edition of Satellite Handbook
The new Radio Amateur’s Satellite Handbook is available from ARRL Publications. Order Item #6583. It’s $22 (plus shipping and handling).
To order either book, visit your local Amateur Radio retailer or the ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/catalog/, or call toll-free 888-277-5289.
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