I bring to your attention the fact that the next scheduled New Hampshire Amateur Radio Association meeting is scheduled for May 22nd 1999 at the Grist Mill Restaurant in Bow NH (exit 1 off route 89). Exact time to be announced. It is time to get the NHARA active again ! ! ! Agenda items will include:
Also, meet Mike Graham, K7CTW, your new ARRL Section Manager for NH starting July 1st, 1999.
And maybe even a surprise special mystery guest ( if I can talk him in to it ).
Nominations for NHARA officers for the next term beginning October 1999 are currently being solicited. Currently:
73 de Al Shuman, N1FIK
NNNN
The International Amateur Radio Union will get a new president and vice president May 9. In voting completed March 12, IARU member-societies overwhelmingly ratified the election of Larry E. Price, W4RA, as president, and David A. Wardlaw, VK3ADW, as vice president. It’s the first top leadership change in more than a decade.
A former ARRL president, Price succeeds Richard L. Baldwin, W1RU, who has served as IARU President since 1982. Wardlaw succeeds Michael J. Owen, VK3KI, who has served as vice president from 1989. Price and Wardlaw will serve five-year terms. Price’s replacement as IARU secretary will be announced sometime before May 9.
First licensed in 1951, Price has held elected offices in the American Radio Relay League continuously over the past 27 years. He served as ARRL president from 1984 until 1992. He was IARU vice president in 1983- 84 and has been IARU secretary since 1989. He’s attended 13 IARU regional conferences and has served as an IARU delegate at every ITU World Radiocommunication and Telecommunication Development Conference since 1992 as well as at numerous other ITU meetings.
Wardlaw joined the Wireless Institute of Australia in 1947 and was first licensed in 1948. He has served in numerous WIA posts, including two stints as president. Wardlaw has twice served as IARU Region 3 Director, 1988-1994 and 1997-present, and has attended six meetings of the IARU Administrative Council as well as regional conferences. Since 1978, he’s also attended numerous ITU meetings and conferences as a member of the Australian delegation or as an appointed ITU expert.
NNNN
After six months as the FCC’s top Amateur Radio enforcer, Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says he’s pleased with the progress he’s made and the support he’s received from the amateur community. During a St Patrick’s Day visit to ARRL HQ, Hollingsworth told ARRL staff members that Amateur Radio enforcement has been ‘’one of the few victories the Commission has been having these days.’’ He said he does not expect the impending FCC restructuring—including creation of a new Enforcement Bureau—to affect the course or momentum of amateur enforcement. He said his current effort is making up for years of neglect in FCC amateur enforcement. But he said long term, ham radio will continue to be self policing, and the Amateur Auxiliary will be a critical link in making that happen. ‘’We'll be depending more and more on the Amateur Auxiliary,’’ he said.
In the weeks ahead, Hollingsworth said he hopes to turn his attention to such problems as the incursion of unlicensed operators on 10 meters—the so-called ‘’freebanders’’ who often stray onto amateur frequencies— as well as the improper marketing of equipment to unlicensed individuals and examination fraud cases. He also plans to add some casual monitoring capabilities at his Gettysburg office.
Hollingsworth said he’s currently working about a month behind in replying and advised those contacting him to use either a letter or e-mail instead of the telephone.
This was Hollingsworth’s first visit to HQ. He said getting a chance to visit W1AW was the highlight. During his visit, Hollingsworth made a quick contact with an acquaintance on 20 meters from W1AW. He also had the rare opportunity to wield the original Wouff Hong and Rettysnitch—the traditional symbols manufactured and invoked by ‘’The Old Man’’ during the early years of the hobby to combat poor operating practices. League officials expressed the hope that the experience would provide an additional boost to Hollingsworth’s present enforcement efforts.
NNNN
The FCC is advising applicants for reciprocal operating permits that an application is no longer required. Under new ULS rules that took effect February 12, the FCC Form 610A has passed into history. The new rules also will pave the way for US hams to more easily operate in most of Europe. The FCC is expected to issue a Public Notice in the near future that will spell out the details.
Alien visitors to the US holding an amateur license issued by their home country may operate in the US without submitting any FCC paperwork—provided that a reciprocal operating agreement is in effect between the two countries. The only documentation required is proof of citizenship and an Amateur Radio license issued by the country of citizenship. These arrangements are similar to long-standing arrangements between the US and Canada.
The new rules move the US a step closer to participation in the licensing arrangements of CEPT, the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations. The US State Department applied for US participation in 1997, and the request was approved in early 1998. Completion of the final steps to make this a reality is understood to be imminent. These include formal US notification to the European Radiocommunications Office that it is prepared to carry out its responsibilities under CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01, and the issuance of a Public Notice in English, French and German.
Under the CEPT arrangements, a US Technician licensee will be recognized as holding the equivalent of a CEPT Class 2 (VHF-only) license. Holders of Tech Plus through Extra tickets will have the full HF and VHF privileges of a CEPT Class 1 license. Novice licensees will not be eligible.
Additionally, the ARRL has informed the US State Department that it plans to go forward in April with arrangements to issue International Amateur Radio Permits to US hams in accordance with the CITEL Amateur Convention, signed by several countries in the Americas. The League has offered its services to issue IARPs to US hams. An IARP is not a license, but it certifies the existence of a license.
The new rules will not change the procedures for US hams operating overseas in countries that are not CEPT members or CITEL Amateur Convention signatories.
NNNN
(Ed Note: Despite the Bulletin date, and despite the 1998 April Fools article regarding CEPT, this is all legitimate)
The FCC has amended its rules to strengthen existing prohibitions on scanning receivers that can receive cellular telephone transmissions. While the new rules contain specific exemptions for the Amateur Service, they will have important ramifications for the manufacture of new Amateur Radio equipment that scans frequencies outside the ham bands.
The new rules—released March 31 in a Report and Order—broaden the definition of a scanning receiver to include receivers that automatically switch among two or more frequencies between 30 and 960 MHz and are capable of stopping at and receiving a detected signal. Still exempted are receivers designed solely for operation as a part of a licensed station. In response to an ARRL request, the FCC clarified that the rules do not apply to Amateur Service receivers unless they cover frequencies outside the ham bands.
The FCC also widened its definition of ‘’test equipment’’ exempted from the cellular reception restriction. The adopted definition defines test equipment by function, rather than by end user as proposed, thus permitting sale to the general public.
Receivers that allow reception of cellular frequencies because of their poor image response would be illegal under the new rules. As it proposed, the Commission adopted a 38 dB rejection standard for signals in the cellular bands ‘’for any frequency to which the receiver can be tuned.’’
The FCC abandoned a proposal to require manufacturers to limit reception of cellular service frequencies by ‘’direct pickup’’ through the cabinet. The FCC also backed away from a proposal that could have required epoxy potting and nonremovable components to prevent scanner modification. The League had argued that this could raise the cost of buying and repairing equipment and could preclude ham gear modification for CAP and MARS or for experimental purposes.
The FCC adopted a more generalized requirement that receivers be designed so that tuning, control circuits, and filtering be inaccessible, and that the design be such that any attempted modification would render the receiver inoperative.
The new FCC rules also prohibit
modification of scanning receivers as a
business or on an ongoing basis ‘’regardless
of the date of manufacture or number of
units modified.’’ The Commission also said
modification of any scanning receiver is
prohibited and invalidates the equipment
authorization. New, permanent labels on
scanning receivers also will be required.
Kits for scanning receivers would be treated
the same as assembled equipment. The
Commission said that ham radio scanning
receivers ‘’already cover frequency ranges
needed by amateurs’’ and a prohibition
against scanner kits ‘’will not impact
frequency converter kits used to expand the
frequencies covered by amateur
equipment.’’ The League plans to look
closely at this provision to make sure it will
not prevent amateur manufacturers from
producing legitimate transverting
equipment.
The FCC said it was modifying its rules ‘’to
clarify that the prohibition on modifying
scanning receivers to receive Cellular
Service transmissions contained in Section
15.121 overrides the home built device
provisions of Section 15.23.’’
The proposed new rules become effective
due 30 days after their publication in the
Federal Register. But the FCC said it will
include ‘’transitional provisions in our rules
to allow the acceptance of equipment
certification applications for scanning
receivers under the current rules for up to 90
days after the publication of the R&O.
A copy of the Report and Order is available
at http://www2.arrl.org/announce/et98-RandO.html.
NNNN