No word yet on restructuring An FCC staff member says the Commission staff is ‘’diligently working’’ towards getting a Report and Order on Amateur Radio license restructuring out the door. But beyond that, the FCC staffer—who did not want to be identified by name—said it was impossible to predict when that would happen. He said FCC rules prevent him from revealing any information about ‘’internal thinking or scheduling’’ regarding the proceeding, known formally as the 1998 Biennial Regulatory Review of Part 97 (WT Docket 98-143).
The FCC’s move last spring into consolidated offices at The Portals also disrupted routine work flow.
A year ago, the FCC proposed phasing out the Novice and Technician Plus licenses, leaving Technician, General, Advanced, and Extra in place. The FCC also asked the amateur community to express its opinions on Morse code requirements for licensing and testing, but offered no recommendations.
The previous month, the ARRL Board of Directors issued its own plan to restyle Amateur Radio. Among other details, the ARRL plan also called for four license classes and for ‘’refarming’’ Novice/Tech Plus subbands to provide additional phone spectrum for higher-class operators. Under the League plan, the Technician license would remain unchanged, and the General would become the entry-level ticket for those interested in HF operation. The ARRL proposed Morse code requirements of 5 WPM for General and 12 WPM for Advanced and Extra class.
‘’We are simply in that period of time when no information is available,’’ the FCC staff member said. ‘’This is a normal part of the Commission’s quasi-judicial decision-making process and a necessary part of being objective and fair to all.’’
Before the long-awaited Report and Order sees the light of day, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau staff first must digest the 2200 comments, filed mostly by individuals. Then, the staff will circulate its recommendation to the Commissioners. Commissioners and their staff will mull the WTB input and arrive at a plan.
The ultimate FCC decision will come either at the Commission’s monthly meeting or it will be handled ‘’on circulation’’—outside of a meeting. A Public Notice will be issued, and the Report and Order will follow.
The bottom line is that Amateur Radio operators will have to wait a few weeks or a few months longer before the restructuring issue is resolved.
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The ARRL Technology Task Force wants to hear from hams with ideas and proposals for new technology to carry Amateur Radio into the next century. The ARRL Board of Directors created the Task Force and the companion Technology Working Group last January, and ARRL President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, has appointed a number of leading amateurs to serve on both panels. The Task Force and the Working Group will work hand-in-hand to identify, evaluate, and promote the most promising 21st Century technologies for Amateur Radio.
The Task Force consists of members of the ARRL Board family and the Headquarters staff. Chairing the Task Force is ARRL First Vice President Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML…
The Technology Working Group will evaluate technical proposals and make recommendations to the Technology Task Force, which, in turn, will make specific policy proposals to the ARRL Board.
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The Task Force invites information and concepts on a wide range of technologies with the potential to improve Amateur Radio and to promote what the FCC calls ‘’continuation and extension of the amateur’s proven ability to contribute to the advancement of the radio art.’’ The Task Force invites the submission of ideas and proposals from all parts of the amateur community, and will use the input to help formulate League policy recommendations on a wide range of technical issues.
Amateurs are invite to complete the form on ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org/news/ttf/, send e-mail to the Task Force at ttfinput@arrl.org, or offer your ideas by mail to the ARRL Technology Task Force, c/o Ed Hare, W1RFI, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Suggestions requested by 30 Nov.
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The FCC has relaxed rules governing the use of spread spectrum techniques by radio amateurs and opened the door to the possibility of international spread spectrum communication. The Report and Order in WT Docket 97-12 adopted August 31 concludes a proceeding that originated with an ARRL petition in December 1995 and has been pending since 1997.
The FCC adopted rules that will allow Amateur Radio stations to transmit additional spread spectrum emission types. Once the new rules become effective November 1, hams will be able to use techniques other than frequency hopping and direct sequence spreading. In addition, the new FCC rules will permit US hams to use spread spectrum techniques to communicate with amateurs in other countries that permit SS. Spread spectrum communication has been limited to stations within FCC jurisdiction.
The new rules require that spread spectrum stations running more than 1 W incorporate automatic transmitter power control. Amateur stations using SS are restricted to a maximum power of 100 W.
The Commission also amended the rules to eliminate what it called ‘’now-unnecessary record keeping and station identification requirements’’ that apply only to stations using spread spectrum. The FCC agreed to let SS stations identify themselves using conventions developed by the Amateur Radio community.
Roanoke Division Vice Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, who has followed the League’s Spread Spectrum initiative through from start to finish was pleased with the outcome of the proceeding. ‘’I’m very happy,’’ he said. ‘’The League got everything it wanted and more—all of which, I believe, will help to promote this mode on the amateur bands.’’
Stations employing SS techniques will remain secondary to—and must accept all interference from—stations employing other authorized modes. The FCC declined to authorize the use of SS techniques on additional bands or frequencies.
A copy of the FCC’s complete Report and Order is available at http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt97-12.
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The Phase 3D team apparently got the “Good Vibrations” it was hoping for when the next-generation Amateur Radio satellite underwent vibration testing earlier this month at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “P3D performed very well in the vibration testing,” said AMSAT Phase 3D Lab and Integration Manager Lou McFadin, W5DID. “This is another milestone on P3D’s journey to flight.”
Now back at the Integration Lab in Orlando, Florida, P3D was to be carefully examined to verify that all systems were still functional and ready, McFadin said.
Phase 3D arrived at Goddard earlier this month but had to cool its heels while NASA was busy with higher-priority projects including the Hubble Space Telescope repairs and the Earth Orbiter-1 satellite.
The spacecraft was subjected to a preselected vibration scenario in each of the three axes. The testing was intended to simulate the vibrations the satellite will encounter during launch. Last fall, the satellite successfully completed thermal- vacuum testing, enduring nearly a week in a vacuum and alternately warming and freezing in a test chamber at the Orbital Sciences Corporation test facility in Germantown, Maryland.
Once it’s checked out at Orlando, P3D will be shipped to the as-yet unnamed launch site. Work continues on preparing the space frame and ground support equipment for shipment once the launch is announced.
For more information and photos, visit http://www.clark.net/pub/tac/p3d.htm & http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/phase3d.html.
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