The FCC has proposed to phase out the Novice and Technician Plus class licenses, leaving just four amateur license classes in place—Technician, General, Advanced, and Extra. The Commission also has asked the amateur community to express its opinions on Morse code requirements for licensing and testing, but offered no specific changes. And the FCC proposed to permit Advanced class licensees to administer amateur exams up through General class. The proposals were among several suggested rules changes and invitations to comment contained in an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, WT Docket 98-143, made public August 10.
In proposing to phase out the Novice and Tech Plus tickets, the FCC said “there appears to be an unnecessary overlap between the Novice, Technician, and Technician Plus license classes.” The FCC also said that Technician and Tech Plus operators “predominantly” use FM and packet on VHF and UHF. In addition, the FCC said Novice applicants last year numbered fewer than 1000, while there were nearly 21,500 Technician applications.
Under the FCC plan, Novice and Tech Plus licensees would retain current operating privileges, but no new Novice or Tech Plus licenses would be granted. For examination purposes, current examination elements 2 and 3A would be combined into a new element 3A. For administrative purposes, the FCC would combine current Technician and Tech Plus databases into a single Technician database. The proposal would eliminate the 5 WPM code test, Element 1A, as a required element for any license. The elimination of the Novice and Tech Plus license classes would effectively raise the bar for future applicants desiring to gain HF operating privileges, unless the FCC ultimately reduces Morse code testing requirements. Since the General class license would become the entry-level HF ticket under the FCC’s proposed rules, applicants would have to pass at least the 13 WPM code test.
The FCC did not propose to change any operating frequencies or license privileges for amateurs. However, the FCC does seeks comment on the disposition of the current Novice HF bands, which carry a 200-W output power limit for all licensees. The FCC invited comment on whether it would be “appropriate” to delete the Novice bands and the power restrictions on higher-class licensees and permit Novices to operate CW anywhere on 80, 40, 15, and 10 meters at 200 W output.
The FCC opened the door to comments on all aspects of Morse code testing from the amateur community. In particular, the Commission said it wants to know if hams prefer the current three-level system or would like to see it reduced to a one or two- tier system—and, if so, at what required speeds. The FCC asked whether hams would be willing to trade a reduction in Morse code requirements for additional written elements on newer digital technologies “which, in part, are replacing the Morse code.” And, the Commission asked whether it should consider specifying Morse code examination methods, such as fill-in-the-blank or one minute of solid copy, instead of allowing VEs to determine the testing method.
In a related issue, the FCC also seeks comments on how to deal with potential abuses of the current disability waiver for higher-speed Morse code tests. In RM- 9196, the ARRL had asked the FCC to require anyone applying for an exemption pursuant to a doctor’s certification to first attempt the higher-speed test before examination credit could be given. The League also asked that VECs have access to relevant medical information from the certifying physician. The FCC said the ARRL’s proposal would place “an unfair burden on examinees” and raised serious privacy and confidentiality issues.
The FCC went along with an ARRL petition and proposed allowing Advanced class hams to be eligible to prepare and administer license examinations up through General class under the VE program. The Commission said the change would permit greater testing opportunities for hams. The FCC also invited comments on whether it should change written examination requirements “to provide VEs and VECs additional flexibility in determining the specific contents of written examinations.”
Referring to yet another ARRL petition, RM-9150, the FCC invited comments on how it can improve its Amateur Radio enforcement processes. The FCC applauded the ARRL “for its creative thinking” in that petition, but said the specific proposal was “inconsistent” with the current statutory role of administrative law judges. The FCC raised the possibility of encouraging complainants to include a draft order “to show cause to initiate a revocation or cease and desist hearing proceeding.” The FCC said it also wants to hear how it can better use the services of the Amateur Auxiliary in beefing up enforcement.
The FCC proposed to phase out Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service, or RACES, stations by not renewing their licenses. No new RACES licenses have been issued since 1980, and only 249 valid licenses remain. The FCC said RACES stations no longer are needed because any amateur station that has been properly registered with a civil defense organization has the same privileges as a RACES station.
The FCC also took the occasion to clarify the definition of “power” as used in the RF exposure table in Section 97.13 (c) (1). The FCC said it refers to peak envelope power (PEP) input to the antenna. It also made clear that no one holding an FCC-issued ham ticket may apply for a reciprocal permit for alien amateur license.
The FCC set a longer-than-normal comment period. The deadline for comments is December 1, 1998. The deadline for reply comments is January 15, 1999. The FCC will accept electronic comments via http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html. A copy of the complete NPRM has been posted on the ARRLWeb page, http://www.arrl.org. The FCC NPRM can also be downloaded from the FCC Web site in Word Perfect 5.1 and Text from http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Wireless/Notices/1998/ as: fcc98183.wp and fcc98183.txt respectively.
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The members of PART, The Police Amateur Radio Team of Westford, Massachusetts, are pleased to announce that the WB1GOF station operating on 146.52 MHz for emergency assistance throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Southern Hew Hampshire is back on the air.
The club station, co-located with the Town of Westford Police Department’s dispatching center, has been relocated to it’s temporary new home. As mentioned in a previous message, we expect some degradation of range in this new location and would appreciate check-ins on the Sunday Night Net at 8PM (local time) for those that would be available to assist in determining the stations range capabilities.
A reminder to all past and future users of WB1GOF, the station will only be activated for reception of your emergency call on 146.52MHz after a 3 to 5 second asterisk(*) tone FOLLOWED by your voice call to WB1GOF. It is discouraged from testing your touch-tone capabilities at any time other than when the scheduled Sunday Night Net is occurring. Net Control Stations will be available to test at the 8PM net time. All other tone activation should be used for emergency requests only! No tone is required for the Sunday Night Net.
Please feel free to visit the PART website at http://users.aol.com/wb1gof or email WB1GOF@aol.com for more information.
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The ARRL Board of Directors met July 16- 18 in Rocky Hill, Connecticut. Details of the Board’s proposal to restructure Amateur Radio licensing are in ARLB052 and on the ARRLWeb site, http://www.arrl.org. Among the Board’s other actions:
The Board resolved that the League will seek to prevent additional nongovernmental sharing partners access to the residual segments at 5.650 to 5.725 or 5.825 to 5.850 GHz. The FCC has authorized Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) devices at 5.725 to 5.825 GHz with relatively high power and antenna gain. The FCC also has proposed to allocate 5.850 to 5.925 GHz on a coprimary basis for dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems as part of Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) architecture. The Board said the FCC’s actions “will undoubtedly have an adverse effect on the utility of the band 5.650 to 5.925 GHz.”
In response to concerns about possible “millennium bug” (or Y2K) problems that could disrupt key services or communications, the Board asked the Volunteer Resources Committee to recommend to the Board at its 1999 annual meeting “various options for Amateur Radio preparedness to provide emergency communication support during the year 2000 rollover period.”
The Board asked Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, to develop and implement a marketing plan to recruit new League members using the year 2000 theme.
The Board also agreed to make ARRL “vanity” e-mail addresses available to former League officials who request them and agree to abide by rules for such use.
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A public safety fair will be held from 9 AM - 2 PM at the State headquarters off Rte. 9 in Framingham, MA. Free admission - free parking entertainment & information for the whole family! See the latest technology in Public safety. Attention local emergency managers! Display your equipment! Bring your Emergency vehicles, antique fire trucks, D.A.R.E. car, motorcycles etc. !
Call 508-697-3600 for more information.
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“Communicating Worldwide for Three Quarters of a Century” is the theme of this year’s World Amateur Radio Day, set for September 19. The event marks the first two-way transoceanic Amateur Radio contact between French station 8AB and American stations 1XAM and 1MO on November 27, 1923. The historic contacts ushered in the era of worldwide shortwave communication.
IARU Region One broadcast a special program on shortwave that traces the early history of shortwave communication and the contributions hams have made to the development of radio science and the understanding of HF propagation.
The program will air to North America on September 19 at 2100 UTC on 15205 KHz. For more information, contact Hans van de Groenendaal, ZS5AKV, hans@intekom.co.za.
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While the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment (SAREX) payload won’t be aboard the shuttle flight that carries US Sen and astronaut John Glenn into space this fall, renowned former TV newsman Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, will be back in the anchor chair for the historic flight.
Cronkite, who’s 81 and retired from his long-held anchor position at CBS in 1981, will report on Glenn’s return to space for CNN. Cronkite, who anchored Glenn’s original 1962 space mission, will be joined at the anchor desk for the October 29 launch and November 7 landing by CNN’s John Holliman. Cronkite also will contribute to coverage of Glenn’s nine-day mission aboard the space shuttle Discovery.
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.—via ShopTalk
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The 1998 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) is October 17 and 18. You can do a community service by contacting your local Girl Scout or Boy Scout troop. Invite a few scouts to your shack or take your equipment to a local campout. JOTA brochures and exhibit kits are available from ARRL. To order, contact Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, at ARRL, EAD, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0219; e-mail jwolfgang@arrl.org. Order early to allow for materials to arrive.
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A king and a cardinal—both well-known in ham radio circles—underwent treatment in separate hospitals this week.
King Hussein (Hussein Ibn Talal) of Jordan, JY1, has been at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, this week, undergoing chemotherapy for lymphatic cancer. Press reports said the king responded well to early treatment and showed signs of an early recovery. Hussein, 62, has ruled Jordan for 45 years. He underwent prostate cancer surgery in 1992 and has had regular medical checkups in the US since then.
On the West Coast, Los Angeles Roman Catholic Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, W6QYI, who underwent prostate surgery a month ago, was hospitalized again for a blood clot. He was expected to be able to return home in a few days, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles earlier this week. Mahony also is 62. The Archdiocese is the largest in the US.
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After just a couple of weeks in space, the two newest Amateur Radio digital satellites—TMSAT-1 and TechSat-1B—are reported responding to flight commands from ground-control stations. The micro- satellites were successfully launched July 10 from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome.
Chris Jackson, G7UPN/ZL2TPO, reports that the initial part of the flight software is now running on TMSAT-1, and the onboard computer system has been switched to the downlink. “Users familiar with the current digital satellites will now be able to observe TMSAT data using standard ground-station software,” said Jackson. The official control station for TMSAT is HS0AM in Thailand, but Jackson is handling ground control during the initial phases.
Jackson says the satellite’s call sign is TMSAT1. It transmits on 436.923 MHz. At present, it may be 3 KHz too high in frequency because the internal spacecraft temperature is quite cold. The transmitter is currently only being switched on over Bangkok during commissioning tests. Current output power is approximately 1.7 to 2 W. G7UPN requests that stations refrain from attempting to uplink at this time.
The Gurwin II TechSat-1B also is reported responding well to flight commands. Shlomo Menuhin, 4X1AS, says the TechSat- 1B downlink frequency was recently changed to 435.225 MHz with the satellite transmitting in telemetry mode. The satellite does not have a continuous beacon, but does transmit a 9600-baud burst every 30 seconds (for about 3 seconds). Menuhin estimates that it will take several weeks to complete initial in-orbit testing. In the meantime TechSat-1B will continue its present burst- mode transmission format. TechSat-1B will be a digital store-and-forward multi-user system. For more information, visit http://techsat.internet-zahav.net/.
Stations around the world continue to report receiving signals from the two new satellites.—via AMSAT News Service
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The ARRL seeks articles for the next volume of the very popular The ARRL Antenna Compendium series. An article should be previously unpublished and should deal with antennas, transmission lines, or propagation. Submit articles (or solid ideas for possible articles) to Dean Straw, N6BV, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111 or to n6bv@arrl.org.