March 22, 1996

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IN THIS UPDATE . . ..

ARRL TO FCC: SHORT-TERM SUSPENSIONS AN ANSWER

The League thinks the FCC should have statutory authority to suspend ham licenses for up to six months, once the Commission has good reason to believe an operator has grossly violated the rules. In comments filed in response to an FCC Notice of Inquiry seeking ways to streamline the Commission's administrative activities, the ARRL said short-term suspensions would be one way for the FCC to address malicious interference and other serious rule violations "without delay and expense." The League maintained the suspensions would be a viable deterrent.

Under the League's scenario, the FCC also would be able to immediately modify an Amateur Radio license to preclude operation on certain frequency bands or at certain times of day, also for up to six months.

In its filing, the League said that most of the 650,000 hams in the country behave themselves on the air and obey the regulations, and the Amateur Service "requires little enforcement effort" and pointed to the volunteer examination program as a model of self-regulation. However, the League said that in recent years, the FCC--and especially the Compliance and Information Bureau--has been "completely ineffective" in providing a meaningful enforcement presence for the few who flout the law, and this has led to an increase in instances of malicious interference. "Since 1983, there have been virtually no enforcement actions taken by FCC in the Amateur Service," the League's filing states. In recent years, the League said, hams have viewed the FCC as a "paper tiger" that fails to act "in even the most egregious" cases.

"There is no substitute for Commission action in certain types of compliance cases," the ARRL said in urging the FCC seek authority for the reforms.

In other matters, the League criticized the FCC for continuing to "focus on the symptom rather than the cause" of home-electronic equipment interference, even though it has authority to do so. The League urged the FCC to require manufacturers to put notices on products indicating they are subject to harmful interference, and to provide interference-resolution information and contact representatives for RFI resolution. The ARRL said it was not optimistic that the pilot privatized interference resolution program would work, since it puts the burden of resolving the interference problem on the consumer, not the manufacturer.

The League also recommended establishing a cadre of volunteers who would use their skills to resolve interference problems involving other radio services, provided volunteers could be guaranteed some protection from lawsuits.

The League further suggested the FCC reduce its administrative burden by adopting the ARRL's Petition for Rule Making, RM-8677, which asks the FCC to implement the Inter-American Convention on an International Amateur Radio Permit (IARP). This could eliminate the burden of processing reciprocal license applications of hams visiting from elsewhere in the hemisphere. The ARRL also suggested that the US take advantage of the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations' (CEPT) Recommendation T/R 61-01 arrangements and issue a CEPT license that would be recognized by other participating administrations and valid for visits.

The League's comments conclude by observing that the Commission's NOI "signals to the League an intention to reduce the Commission's functions to the role of auditor and mediator, rather than regulator," and calling this "a positive trend for the Amateur Service."

LEAGUE RESPONDS TO COMMENTS IN SPREAD SPECTRUM PETITION

The ARRL says its petition to relax spread spectrum rules seeks to address a lack of SS experimentation by hams, not too much spread spectrum. Responding to comments filed in response to its December rule making petition, RM-8737, the League emphasized that Amateur Radio--as an experimental service--requires flexible rules and "some trust of the licensees carrying out experiments."

Noting that some commenters called for tighter rules on SS, the League sought to dispel fears that relaxing the rules on spread spectrum would lead to an increase in the noise floor in bands used by narrowband modes. The League said most opposing commenters "ignore the fact that some amateur bands already are occupied by Part 15 spread spectrum devices," many near ham stations. Additional constraints would hinder hams from keeping up with spread spectrum developments and prevent maximizing spectrum efficiency, the League's filing asserted. The ARRL said its petition "suggests only a modest deregulatory effort."

The League's Petition for Rule Making seeks relaxed restrictions on spreading sequences and greater flexibility in spreading modulation. The spread spectrum technique, which distributes information among several synchronized frequencies within a band at the transmitter and reassembles the information at the receiver, was first approved for Amateur Radio in 1985 for bands above 225 MHz, and there has been some experimental amateur operation since then.

The petition proposes that the FCC permit brief spread-spectrum test transmissions and allow international spread-spectrum communication between amateurs in the US and those in countries that permit hams to use spread-spectrum techniques. The current rules allow only domestic communication. The petition also asks for automatic power-control provisions to insure use of minimum necessary power to conduct spread-spectrum communication and limit the potential for interference to narrowband modes. The petition does not ask for any changes in frequency restrictions on SS emissions, the 100-W power limit or logging and identification requirements. The League calls the proposals "the minimum necessary changes in order to foster SS experimentation in the Amateur Service."

Those filing comments supportive of spread spectrum included the Tucson Amateur Packet Radio Corporation (TAPR); Robert A. Buaas, K6KGS, and John Mock, KD6PAG. Commenting in opposition were the Indiana Repeater Council; Henry B. Ruh, KB9FO; the Wisconsin Association of Repeaters; the Mid-America Coordination Council Inc; the Southern California Repeater and Remote Base Association; the San Bernardino Microwave Society and the Southeastern Repeater Association Inc.

ARREST MADE IN MURDER OF HAM COUPLE

Authorities in Louisiana have arrested an 18-year-old man in the brutal slayings of former ARRL Delta Director Floyd Teetson, W5MUG, and his wife Winnie, WN5YTR. Webster Parish (Louisiana) Sheriff's Department Investigator Gary Valentine said Kevin Coleman of Heflin, Louisiana, who used to do yard work for the couple, was arrested March 18 and charged with two counts of homicide. "He's made a confession, and we have recovered some of the property that was taken," Valentine said. "He had been a suspect since the night the bodies were found." Coleman already was behind bars at the Webster Jail in Minden when he was arrested. He was serving a sentence on an unrelated traffic charge, a deputy said.

According to Valentine, robbery was the apparent motive in the killings. Authorities recovered jewelry and valuables that had been taken from the Teetsons' home. They also recovered a knife and a length of pipe believed used in the killings. Valentine said Coleman struck while the couple was at home, apparently hoping the Teetsons would tell him where they kept other valuables and money.

Coleman is being held without bond. The case is to be presented to a Webster Parish grand jury, which will decide whether to indict.

The couple's family had offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and successful prosecution of the couple's killer. The Teetsons' bodies were found outside their home near Heflin, Louisiana, February 23. Authorities believe the couple died two days earlier.

Valentine said the Teetsons' fellow ham radio operators helped authorities by offering what they knew about the Teetsons' activities. He said Coleman's arrest was a relief for both the community and authorities. The Teetsons' friend, Ernie Brown, W5FYZ, offered similar sentiments: "We are all relieved that this crime has been solved. Perhaps the community can begin to get back to 'normal,' even though it will never be the same without Floyd and Winfred," he said. People in the Teetsons' neighborhood "feel like a great weight has been lifted from their shoulders."

Floyd served as ARRL Delta Division director in 1962 and '63. Prior to that, he was the SCM of Mississippi (1960-61). He was an Honor Roll DXer and active contester and had been a member of several multi-op contest teams operating from various Caribbean DX sites. The Teetsons were active ARRL members.

Valentine said he did not know the Teetsons, but in the wake of the grueling investigation that led to Coleman's arrest, he said he felt "like I'm a member of the family." Valentine called the crime a tragedy all around, "even for this young man and his family."

HAMS HELP AFTER ALABAMA TORNADO

Ham radio was there when a bad storm hit Selma, Alabama, March 3. One person was killed and about 45 people were hurt by the storm, which spawned tornadoes, high winds and heavy rains. Violent winds ripped down trees and utility poles, peeled pieces off roofs and twisted an 800-foot broadcast tower into crumpled metal. The coordinator of emergency services for Dallas County, Alabama, told the media that ham radio operators assisted by reporting on damage to dwellings, including reports of mobile homes that exploded, overturned or were blown into nearby trees. Hams also reported 10 other mobile homes destroyed at a 50-home park north of Selma.--Amateur Radio Newsline

DAYTON HAMVENTION ANNOUNCES 1996 AWARD WINNERS

William A. (Bill) Tynan, W3XO, has been named Hamvention 1996 Amateur of the Year by the Dayton Amateur Radio Association. Tynan, who now serves as president of AMSAT-NA, long has championed the cause of VHF/UHF enthusiasts worldwide. For 18 years, he was editor of QST's "The World above 50 MHz" column, where he helped nurture new communication techniques, encourage DX performance and improve contesting rules on the VHF/UHF bands. He also pioneered the establishment of the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation (AMSAT). From the launch of OSCAR-6 to the present, Tynan has sacrificed much of his personal time, talent and resources to the promotion and development of the amateur satellite program. His vision continues with the advent of the Phase 3-D project, set for launch in December.

John Kraus, W8JK, is this year's HamVention Special Achievement award winner. Kraus' contributions to advancements in antenna design continue to be enjoyed today by many Amateur Radio operators. Over the years, Kraus invented several antennas, but he's perhaps best known for the W8JK beam. Other Kraus designs include the helical antenna and his most-recognizable "Big Ear" antenna. In fact, with the building of the "Big Ear" antenna came the "Wow" signal, an apparently extraterrestrial signal that remains to be explained. During his tenure as a professor at Ohio State University, Kraus also authored many articles and textbooks.

William (Bill) I. Orr, W6SAI, has been named the Technical Excellence award winner. Orr has inspired new and veteran amateurs alike with his consistent encouragement and technical expertise. Among his publications that have become ham-shack standards are The Radio Handbook, The Beam Antenna Handbook, The Quad Antenna Handbook, and The UHF-VHF Manual. An EIMAC engineer, Orr has gone beyond the call of duty by personally answering technical questions and supplying schematics to curious Amateur Radio builders. Orr writes the "Radio Fundamentals" in CQ magazine. After he announced his retirement last year, hundreds of letters prompted him to reconsider.--DARA

DXPEDITION SCORES TO COUNT IN CLUB COMPETITION

The ARRL Contest Advisory Committee and the ARRL Awards Committee have voted in favor of adding DXpedition scores to the club aggregate competition totals for active affiliated clubs in the ARRL International DX Contest, starting with the 1997 event. The current rule requiring that single guest operators and the station licensee be members of the same club, has been waived for DXpeditions only. The requirement that at least 66% of the operators in a multi-operator entry be members of the same club for the club's score to count, remains in effect, as do all other club-competition rules.

10-GHZ CUMULATIVE CONTEST EXPANDED

The ARRL Awards Committee has voted unanimously to accept a Contest Advisory Committee recommendation to add the bands above 10 GHz to the ARRL 10-GHz Cumulative Contest, to encourage use of the upper microwave bands.

This year, the 10-GHz cumulatives run August 17-18 and September 21-22. In the past, entries have not been divided into categories. Effective this year, however, there will be two entry categories, 10 GHz only and 10 GHz and above.

Scoring is based on distance points and QSO points. Distance points are earned at the rate of 1 point for each km between stations for each successfully completed QSO. Count 100 QSO points for each different (unique) call sign worked per band. (Portable indicators added to a call sign do not make the call sign unique.) Your total score is the sum of distance points and QSO points. There are no multipliers.

Details will be announced in June 1996 QST.

OL' SOL DEPRESSED, DISTURBED

Solar observer Tad Cook, KT7H, reports solar flux and sunspot numbers have held fairly steady during early March. March 11 was quite disturbed, with the K index as high as 6 and an A index of 28 for the day. Conditions are expected to become unsettled again on March 22-23 and April 6-7.

Expect solar flux values to continue to drift between 70 and 75 while we're at the bottom of the sunspot cycle. The latest projection from the NOAA Space Environment Service Center shows the sunspot number bottoming out between April and June of this year, and the solar flux reaching minimum between December, 1996, and February, 1997. For the solar flux, this is a bit sooner than any previously forecast. Two years out look for average flux values about 20 points higher than they are now, perhaps in the mid to high nineties.

Sunspot numbers for March 7-13 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 18, 27 and 24, with a mean of 9.9. The 10.7-cm solar flux was 67.8, 69.8, 67.5, 69.1, 71.8, 73.2 and 71.3, with a mean of 70.1.

LEO S. STAFFORD, W0BLR, SK

Leo Stafford, W0BLR, of Pittsburg, Kansas, a VHF pioneer, ham radio veteran and broadcasting professional died February 18, 1996. He was 88. Stafford worked at KWTO and KGBX in Springfield, Missouri, and later at KOAM in Pittsburg, Kansas. He also supervised the construction of KOAM-TV (Channel 7) in Pittsburg, and spent 35 years as KOAM-TV supervisor, before retiring in 1973. First licensed in the 1930s, he was a pioneer in VHF FM in Kansas. Stafford was a charter member of the Pittsburg Repeater Organization.-- H. Carrol King, W0WRQ

In Brief . . .

The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, e-mail rlindquist@arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.