The FCC has told a Delaware ham that she must take her Amateur Radio examinations again or lose her license. The FCC’s Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says ‘’questions were raised’’ about how Sheila Bowden, N3QQS, of Millsboro, upgraded to Extra. He said the FCC is requesting that Bowden start from scratch and retake ‘’all the elements.’’ Bowden was notified Feb. 16.
The FCC has the authority under Part 97 to re-administer exam elements previously administered by VEs. The FCC told Bowden that she must retake the Amateur Extra Class examination series at an ARRL/VEC session before March 19 or lose her license.
Hollingsworth said the FCC plans to call in additional amateur licensees for retesting in the near future. In all of those cases, Hollingsworth said, the FCC has reason to suspect the integrity of the exam process.
‘’The ham community needs to have a sense of confidence in the examination system,’’ Hollingsworth said. ‘’This is a critical link in the chain.’’
Last month, the FCC dismissed the Extra class license formerly held by Bowden’s husband, Wayne, after the Commission discovered ‘’irregularities in the administration of the examination by the Volunteer Examiners.’’ Wayne Bowden, formerly AA3RT, took the complete Amateur Radio examination series at an October 4 W5YI-VEC session. He had not held an amateur license before then.
The FCC is continuing its probe into alleged testing irregularities at Pennsylvania W5YI- VEC sessions October 4 and 6, including allegations that examinees might have been coached or given test answers.
In a separate action, the FCC has suspended the HF privileges of a New Jersey ham. The FCC notified Walter P. Miller Jr., W2YEE, of Edison that his privileges below 30 MHz were being suspended for 180 days.
The license-modification letter February 16 from Hollingsworth came in the wake of an earlier warning letter to W2YEE. Hollingsworth alleged that W2YEE’s 75- meter operation on February 4 and 5 was contrary to the Amateur Service Rules. Hollingsworth said Miller violated Section 97.1, basis and purpose of Amateur Radio, Section 97.101(a), good engineering and good amateur practice, and Section 97.119, identification requirements. The alleged operation took place on 3901 and 3950 KHz, the FCC said.
Miller has 30 days to formally protest.
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The FCC has shut down for 120 days the K7IJ repeater facility on Grizzly Peak in the San Francisco Bay area. The FCC also told the licensee, Bruce Wachtell of Carson City, Nevada, that his ham ticket could be in jeopardy. The FCC took the action by modifying K7IJ’s license to prohibit repeater operation starting midnight February 28, 1999. The repeater operates on 145.29, 223.78, 440.175, and 441.175 MHz.
In related actions, the FCC also set aside recent license grants of four individuals accused of unlicensed operation on the repeater prior to obtaining their amateur tickets and other behavior. The cases, the first major VHF/UHF enforcement actions the FCC has taken in recent months, were brought to the Commission’s attention by the Amateur Auxiliary.
The FCC’s Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said that for almost a year, the repeater’s control operator, identified as Blake B. Jenkins, N6YSA, of Berkeley, California, ‘’has apparently not only allowed, but encouraged, use of the repeater by unlicensed operators, rebroadcast of cordless telephone calls, playing of music, and profanity and obscenity.’’ He said extended QSOs have taken place between the control operator and unlicensed stations.
Hollingsworth said the situation was brought to Wachtell’s attention, but nothing was done. He said Jenkins’ ‘’actions and omissions’’ while control operator were under separate FCC review, along with those of the secondary control op, Steven R. Rossi, KE6LNH, of Novato, California. The FCC set aside the recent license grants or upgrades of James C. Walker, KF6VAA; Gordon B. Reese III, KF6QKA; Michael J. Nichols, KF6UAS; and Eric B. Shuler, KF6BMG (ex-KF6UJU) pending further investigation. The FCC has permitted Reese, who just upgraded to Tech Plus, to retain his Technician operating privileges while its investigation continues. The FCC also issued warnings to two others in the case.
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It’s round two in Congress for the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act. At the request of the ARRL, Rep Michael Bilirakis introduced the 1999 version of the proposed legislation, HR 783, on February 23.
The bill is aimed at ensuring the availability of spectrum to Amateur Radio operators. It would protect existing Amateur Radio spectrum against reallocations to or sharing with other services unless the FCC provides ‘’equivalent replacement spectrum’’ elsewhere. Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, also sponsored last year’s measure, which attracted upwards of 83 cosponsors on both sides of the aisle. Rep Frank Pallone Jr, a New Jersey Democrat, is the initial cosponsor of the 1999 bill.
ARRL Legislative and Public Affairs Manager Steve Mansfield, N1MZA, says the 1999 bill ‘’is largely the same as last year’s HR 3572.’’ The major difference is that the 1999 version adds ‘’Amateur Satellite Service’’ frequencies to ‘’Amateur Radio Service’’ in detailing the frequencies that would be afforded protection under the act.
HR 783 would amend the Communications Act to require the FCC to provide ‘’equivalent replacement spectrum’’ to Amateur Radio and the Amateur Satellite Service in the event of a reallocation of primary amateur allocations, any reduction in secondary amateur allocations, or ‘’additional allocations within such bands that would substantially reduce the utility thereof’’ to amateurs.
Mansfield said it’s too soon to predict how HR 783 would fare in the new Congress, but said the fact that it has been introduced so early in the session ‘’bodes well for our prospects.’’ He said that a number of the cosponsors from last year have already indicated an interest in signing on again.
A copy of the measure is available via the Thomas Web site, http://thomas.loc.gov/
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The FCC has granted a one-year experimental license to the Amateur Radio Research and Development Corporation— AMRAD—to conduct tests on 136.75 KHz. Experiments would be carried out from 12 Northern Virginia sites using the call sign WA2XTF to gain low-frequency experience in anticipation that the FCC may allocate an amateur band at 136 KHz.
Emissions authorized for these tests include 173-Hz and 450-Hz bandwidth frequency- shift data and 100-Hz bandwidth CW. The authorized transmitted power is 1 W ERP. The 12 stations will operate experimental transmitters, antennas and receiving systems using digital signal processing techniques.
Participating in the experimental operation are Glenn Baumgartner, KA0ESA; David Borden, K8MMO; Robert Bruhns, WA3WDR; Hal Feinstein, WB3KDU; Terry Fox, WB4JFI; Andre Kesteloot, N4ICK; George Lemaster, WB5OYP; Shannon Mishey, N8TBM; Paul Rinaldo, W4RI; David Rogers, K9RKH; Elton Sanders, WB5MMB; and John Seely, AA4GM. Rinaldo is the ARRL’s technical relations manager.
While the list of stations is closed and new transmitting stations cannot be added, others are invited to join the project by listening and reporting results. Reception reports should be sent via e-mail to Andre Kesteloot, N4ICK, n4ickamrad.org.
Last October, the ARRL petitioned the FCC to create two amateur LF allocations at 135.7-137.8 KHz and 160-190 KHz. Several countries throughout the world already enjoy LF allocations around 136 KHz. These include New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, and several European nations.
Further information concerning these LF experiments will be available on the AMRAD Web site, http://www.amrad.org.
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The FCC has written nearly two dozen Amateur Radio licensees whose 20-meter SSB signals were said to be “unusually wide, overpowered, or both.” The FCC’s Riley Hollingsworth did not identify the specific licensees involved, but he said some of them were believed to be over-the-road truckers operating mobile. Licensees were in several locations, including Illinois, New York, Mississippi, Arkansas, Puerto Rico, Ohio, Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida. Hollingsworth’s letter said information received by the FCC indicates that the stations involved “ignored requests from other licensees operating on adjacent frequencies” to do something about the wide signals. He said the operations in question were believed to be confined to the high end of the 20-meter band, above 14.300 MHz.
A letter from Hollingsworth to 22 Amateur Service licensees requests fixed and mobile station information about the use of and specifications for any linear amplifiers employed on 20 meters as well as the use of ALC and mike gain settings.
Hollingsworth cited Section 308(b) of the Communications Act of 1934 as authority for the inquiry, calling it “our most powerful inquiry tool.” He said the section “gives the Commission the authority to require information from a radio licensee during the term of the license that will enable it to determine whether that licensee is qualified to retain a license.”
The affected licensees have 20 days to provide answers to the FCC. Hollingsworth’s letter pointed out that hams are prohibited from occupying more than the necessary amount of bandwidth for the particular mode and that hams must use the minimum power “necessary to carry out the desired communications.”
Hollingsworth emphasized that the letters were not warnings but letters of inquiry.
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The FCC has taken another step in its investigation of alleged rulebreaking and impropriety on the K7IJ Grizzly Peak repeater system. In the latest action, the FCC has notified Blake B. Jenkins, N6YSA, of Berkeley, that his amateur VHF/UHF privileges were being suspended for 120 days as of March 5. Jenkins has been identified as the primary designated control operator of the four K7IJ VHF and UHF repeaters. Citing what it called “an alarming and unacceptable lack of control” over the operation of the repeaters, the FCC on March 2 shut down the K7IJ system for 120 days while it continues its investigation. FCC officials have not visited the site, however, and no equipment has been seized.
In a letter to Jenkins dated March 3, FCC Amateur Radio enforcer Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, said FCC monitoring indicated that Jenkins “encouraged and solicited unlicensed radio operation on the repeaters.” Hollingsworth also accused Jenkins of using his ham station “to solicit the jamming of other licensed repeaters” after the K7IJ repeater system was shut down.
The FCC letter seeks information from Jenkins on his role and activities while K7IJ repeater control operator. Hollingsworth’s letter also referred briefly to the “Ham Radio Jamming” section on the N6YSA Web site, “on which you provide circuit descriptions of jamming devices and techniques.” Pages dealing with jamming hardware appear to be no longer available. Hollingsworth said the FCC continues to look into the conduct of an alleged secondary control operator Steven R. Rossi, KE6LNH.
Meanwhile, Hollingsworth said he and K7IJ licensee Bruce Wachtell spoke by telephone after Wachtell—a shipboard radio operator now in the Pacific—reached port in Hawaii. Hollingsworth said the FCC still expects a written response from Wachtell addressing the Commission’s concern about the repeaters’ operation.
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