April 26, 1996

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IN THIS UPDATE . . ..

FCC DROPS PILOT RFI PROGRAM

The FCC has quietly ended a pilot program in Tampa, Florida, that referred consumer-electronics interference cases to a local repair shop for resolution. Jim Dailey, the FCC engineer in charge in Kansas City and head of the FCC's privatization task force, says the FCC's data showed the program "had no takers" because the complainants did not want to spend money to eliminate the interference.

Fear was another reason, says Roy Lewis, W4WLY, whose Vulcan Electronics in Tampa was the only shop certified by the FCC (from August 1995 until February 1996) to deal with interference problems. Lewis reports that all of the approximately two dozen complaints of RFI to televisions, stereos, telephones and even air conditioners, stemmed from unlicensed, high-power operations that the customers already had identified. He said the customers not only didn't want to pay to have the problems resolved, "they were afraid of retaliation if I went out there."

In an April Public Notice, the Commission said it cannot resolve most of the thousands of complaints of interference to TVs, radios, stereos and televisions "because the cause of this interference is the design or construction of these products and not a violation of any FCC rule." Resolving interference problems will be the responsibility of manufacturers and consumers, Dailey said. "We are separating the issue of interference from the issue of compliance. We are not in the television or telephone repair business." Daily said consumers who buy an electronic device "have a presumption that it ought to work when they buy it."

The FCC's Telephone Interference Bulletin encourages consumers experiencing telephone interference to write equipment manufacturers, and it even provides a sample complaint letter to make it easy.

Lewis said the consumers complaining about RFI problems believe the government should do something about it. Extremely high-powered 11-meter operations are common in the Tampa area, Lewis reports. He said the scofflaws often cascade several illegal power amplifiers to obtain extremely high power levels, and he'd like to see the FCC beef up enforcement, "at least in metro areas."

In the same Public Notice, the Commission emphasized that its Compliance and Information Bureau "will continue to take appropriate enforcement action where it has been determined that the interference is caused by violations of the Communications Act or the Commission's rules or policies."

ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare, KA1CV, says he's cautiously optimistic about the FCC's stance on interference, as reflected in the Public Notice. "I truly hope the Commission's statement represents a shift in the way the FCC will handle these matters," he said. But he noted that the FCC has not taken "appropriate enforcement action" in any of the cases referred to Lewis' shop. Ralph Barlow, engineer in charge of the FCC's Tampa office, agrees that such illegal operators generate lots of interference complaints, but says it would take more than complaints before his office would treat it as a compliance issue. For example, a properly operating amplifier could cause telephone interference, but "it's still the telephone's problem," he suggested, until the FCC has good reason to believe the interference source also is breaking the law. Then, "we would address it only as a compliance issue" and on a priority basis. "Which probably means we'd never get to it," Barlow conceded. Tracking down an offending operator can sap a lot of resources the FCC needs to apply elsewhere, he said. "We go after the worst first."

Dailey concurred that the FCC's staff is thinly spread and that other issues--primarily those involving safety--come first. After the FCC's reorganization is complete, he'll have one person for each of the four states in his region. "We have to look at what we can accomplish with the resources available to us," he said.

Hare says the ARRL will continue to cooperate with the FCC and manufacturers in cases of interference that involve Amateur Radio.

The FCC provides basic consumer information about interference problems via the Internet on the FCC Compliance and Information Bureau's home page at http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Compliance/WWW. (The list also is available through the Commission's Fax on Demand service at 202-418-2830. Request document 6904.) Documents available for viewing and downloading include the Interference Handbook and the Telephone Interference Bulletin. The Interference Handbook includes a list of equipment manufacturers who provide specific assistance with interference problems.

The ARRL makes available several RFI-information packages through its Technical Information Service. Specific packages are available for interference to TV, cable, VCRs, telephone, computer and audio equipment as well as on electrical and automotive interference. Each package costs $2 for ARRL members and $4 for nonmembers, postpaid. Write to the ARRL Technical Department Secretary, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Most are also available on the Hiram BBS (860-594-0306) or via ARRL FTP at ftp://oak.oakland.edu/pub/hamradio/arrl/infoserv/tech.

HOLD THE PHONE: H-Ts WELCOME IN OLYMPIC VENUES AFTER ALL

The latest word from Atlanta is that Amateur Radio will be welcome at the Olympics this summer after all. ARRL Southeastern Division Assistant Director Jim Altman, N4UCK, reports ham equipment, including handie-talkies, is not on the list of items excluded from Olympic events. "There was some thought at one time of banning all communications devices, including cellulars," Altman said. He said he had assurances "straight from the horse's mouth" that H-Ts would not be banned from Olympic venues, as had been announced earlier and confirmed by Michael Smalls of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games' technology department.

Altman said he's been in close contact with the top security people in ACOG in his capacity as head of the ad hoc group under the ARRL umbrella that's coordinating the Amateur Radio volunteer force for the games in July, and the security heads have assured him that ham radio H-Ts--as well as CB transceivers and cellular telephones--will not be kept out and may be used in Olympic venues. Altman said not only will ham radio be allowed through the gates, hundreds of ham radio volunteers will provide "contingency communications" to support the security force's radio system. He expects to have approximately 350 ham radio volunteers.

Altman had no explanation for the earlier, contradictory announcement, but he did offer a word of caution: "ACOG's decision-making process changes daily. This is the state of affairs today," he said. "But I don't see any indication that it will change."

FCC PROPOSES 5-GHZ SPECTRUM FOR WIRELESS LANS, INTERNET ACCESS

The FCC has adopted a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to make available 350 MHz of spectrum at 5.15-5.35 GHz and 5.725-5.875 GHz for use by so-called NII/SUPERNet devices. The spectrum includes part of the shared Amateur Radio allocation at 5.65-5.925 GHz. The unlicensed devices provide short-range, high-speed wireless digital information transfer and could support new wireless local area networks (LANs) and facilitate access to the Internet. The proposal is in response to Petitions for Rule Making from Wireless Information Networks Forum (WINForum) and Apple Computer Inc.

The FCC has proposed regulating NII/SUPERNet devices under its Part 15 rules. "Unlicensed Part 15 status would facilitate spectrum reuse and provide protection to incumbent and proposed primary operations," the Commission's announcement said. The Commission also has proposed only the minimum technical standards necessary to prevent interference to other unlicensed devices as well as to services already using those frequencies and to ensure efficient spectrum use. Proposed rules specify power limits, out-of-band emission limits and a basic "listen-before-talk" protocol. Details of the proposed rules are not yet available, however, according to ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD. The FCC said it was encouraging industry to develop additional standards it believes necessary.

In a separate statement, FCC Commissioner Susan Ness said such unlicensed devices "can play a vital role in meeting established and incipient needs for communications offering mobility, flexibility, versatility and economy." She said she was "especially enthusiastic" about WINForum's proposal, and said the proposal sets the FCC on a course that will "bring substantial benefits, with no intrusive governmental intervention."

FCC DENIES W5YI PETITION TO END ONE-WAY TRANSMISSIONS

Citing overwhelming opposition, the FCC has denied a Petition for Rule Making, RM-8626, filed last year by Frederick O. Maia, W5YI, that would have prohibited one-way transmissions of bulletins and code practice--such as those aired by W1AW--on frequencies below 30 MHz. Maia had argued that such transmissions were outmoded and that some one-way, broadcast-type transmissions have interrupted two-way communications already in progress.

Maia publishes the commercial newsletter the W5YI Report, manages the W5YI-Volunteer Examiner Coordinator and publishes training materials for amateurs.

When he filed his petition, Maia expressed concern over the level of anger directed at certain one-way transmissions. "The proliferation of these stations has caused chaos in the amateur community that has now reached crisis proportions," he said.

The ARRL said that Maia's arguments were overstated and inflammatory, and the League urged the FCC "in the strongest possible terms" to deny or dismiss the petition without further consideration. The League cited W1AW's 65 years of free service to amateurs; other countries whose amateur societies also conduct informational bulletins on the air; the absence of any allegations that W1AW creates any significant interference to ongoing amateur communication; and the value of W1AW's bulletins in alerting amateurs to emergency situations.

The League said that "any on-air anger perceived by Maia" ought to be the subject of FCC enforcement action, not rules changes, saying such situations were the direct result of the Commission "allowing abuses to continue for months and years" rather than addressing them in a timely manner in the context of the existing rules.

The ARRL also said that W1AW code practice as a free alternative to Maia's retail sale of code practice products "is sufficient rebuttal to the allegation that the code practice has 'outlived its usefulness'."

During the comment period, the FCC said it received 371 comments opposing Maia's request and 20 comments supporting it. While acknowledging some disagreement about the propriety of one-way transmissions on HF bands, the Commission said the overwhelming opposition to Maia's petition "persuades us that the amateur service community continues to view the one-way information bulletins and the text for telegraphy practice to be of great value to the service."

SKYWARN HAMS SAVE LIVES DURING CAROLINA TORNADOS

Thanks to early eyewitness reports of tornado activity by Skywarn hams, no lives were lost when tornadoes hit the Raleigh, North Carolina, suburb of Zebulon around suppertime on April 15. The storms damaged or destroyed nearly 100 homes and caused some minor injuries. Eyewitness reports of the tornadoes on the Amateur Radio Skywarn network, intercepted and broadcast by Raleigh TV stations, gave many people the few minutes they needed to take cover.

The Skywarn network is a voluntary effort by Amateur Radio operators and other weather spotters, working in cooperation with the National Weather Service. Because of a severe thunderstorm watch, the Raleigh Skywarn network had been on the air since midday April 15, with an operator at the ham station at the Raleigh NWS office. Just before 6 PM, sightings from hams on the Skywarn system prompted a tornado warning from the weather service. WRAL-TV monitored the Amateur Radio traffic and broadcast its own warning before the official NWS warning.

The Skywarn net stayed on the air late into the evening, as a tornado watch continued until 1 AM. Then, as telephone circuits in Zebulon were disrupted and cellular channels became overloaded, Wake County Emergency Management called in additional Amateur Radio operators to provide communication between the county emergency operations center and several sites in Zebulon, including emergency shelters.--Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, Raleigh Amateur Radio Society; Wake County Amateur Radio Emergency Service

"SPARKS" GIVES WAY TO SATELLITES?

The nostalgic image of the shipboard Sparks getting the message through with his trusty telegraph key took a reality hit April 5 when the FCC voted to drop the requirement that vessels equipped with the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System also carry manual Morse code radiotelegraph gear. The Commission requested that Congress authorize the change, and it was included in the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

Previously, US-flag cargo vessels of more than 1600 gross tons and US-flag passenger vessels were required to carry a manual Morse code radiotelegraph installation when navigating in the open sea or on international voyages. The radiotelegraph-based vessel safety system, however, is being phased out internationally and is scheduled to be replaced by the GMDSS on February 1, 1999. Qualifying vessels won't have to carry CW equipment if the US Coast Guard determines the vessel has GMDSS equipment installed and in good working condition.

The rule change exempts GMDSS-equipped vessels from the radiotelegraph requirement, provided that each vessel is inspected by the Commission or its designee, and is issued a safety certificate or endorsement. The Commission noted that the US Coast Guard intends to accept the safety certificate or endorsement as evidence that the GMDSS has been installed and found to be operating properly. The FCC says the action "will reduce economic burdens for vessel operators, enhance worldwide competition in the shipping industry by eliminating a requirement generally applicable to only US vessels and increase safety at sea by promoting the timely implementation of the GMDSS."--FCC

SOLAR UPDATE: MORE OF THE SAME

Solar observer Tad Cook, KT7H, reports that solar flux remained low during mid-April, but the geomagnetic field was quite active, making conditions, in a word, lousy. There were several more days of no sunspots, but frequent periods with a K index of 4 and 5 increased absorption of radio waves. When conditions stabilize, look for 30 and 40 meters to provide the best chance of worldwide DX. As of this weekend, the K and A indices should be quite low again, and though there won't be much ionizing radiation from the sun, at least conditions will be stable.

Look for a return to unstable periods after May 10. Solar flux should stay around 70 or lower, falling into the high 60s after April 26.

The 199 solar flux figure forecast for August 2000 (and reported earlier), is a projected average for the month, and it is also a guess based upon previous solar cycles. We hope that peak levels in the summer and fall of that year will be higher on some days. Sunspot numbers for April 11 through 17, respectively, were 0, 13, 13, 0, 0, 12 and 14, with a mean of 7.4. The 10.7-cm flux was 68, 68.3, 68.8, 68.7, 68, 68.3 and 69.3, with a mean of 68.5.

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.

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