JIM'S NOTE
Jim Maxwell Pacific Division ARRL Director
Hi to all the HARC members. I am planning a visit to Hawaii
to coincide with the HAMFEST in November. I have been in contact
with clubs on all the Islands and plan to make it an all island
visit for Amateur Radio. I'm searching for low cost travel and
lodging right now. Believe it or not, ARRL is not rich. But we
ARE interested in you and Amateur matters in Hawaii. I hope to
see many of you this fall in person. In my view, this is the
key item of current interest to the Pacific Section ---
RF Safety Regulations Fully In Force Sept. 1
The time has come. Effective September 1, every US amateur will
be required to be fully compliant with the FCC's RF Safety regulations.
For many, perhaps most US hams, compliance means only reading
and understanding the regulations themselves. Others, however,
effective September 1 are required not only to read and understand
the regulations, but must also perform a technical evaluation
of their station in order to determine that their stations are
compliant with the new regulations. Compliance isn't difficult
in most cases; the vast majority of amateurs will find it to
be a "slam dunk." However, compliance with the regulations
is NOT optional. Even aside from the fact that every US amateur
is required to follow the RF safety regulations, in my opinion
amateurs owe it to themselves, their families, their neighbors,
and the general public to follow the regulations to the letter.
Check the webpage http://www.pdarrl.org for more info.
73 Jim Maxwell W6CF (See you in NOVEMBER)
W5YI VE Session at HARC Meetings
The W5YI VE team is headed by
Lee Wical KH6BZ.
The VE Session will follow the HARC Meeting. If you have any
question, contact Lee. The fee is $6.65 set by the FCC. You need
your current license and a copy of it, plus a photo ID, if you
plan to upgrade.
FCC'S HATFIELD TELLS HAMS TO "WALK
THE WALK"
The FCC's Dale Hatfield, W0IFO, predicts a bright future for
Amateur Radio. But the Office of Engineering and Technology chief
says that amateurs "will be under a certain amount of pressure"
to justify their free use of the radio spectrum. As a result,
he said, it will be more important than ever that hams actually
fulfill their service, good will and educational roles--not just
talk about them.
Hatfield offered his observations as keynote speaker for AMRAD's
25th anniversary dinner June 17 in Virginia. Hatfield told the
gathering, "the key issue for the amateur service is maintaining
access to an adequate amount of spectrum." While emphasizing
that he was not suggesting any immediate threat, Hatfield said
hams will have to do a better job of justifying their current
allocations.
Hatfield said hams should actually engage in experimentation
to advance the state-of-the-art, provide communication and train
operators for emergencies, encourage international cooperation
and good will, and offer an important technical educational outlet.
"Or, to use a bit of slang, it seems to me that it will
be even more important for all segments of the amateur community
to 'walk the walk' not just 'talk the talk'," he said.
Hatfield encouraged his audience to explore advanced techniques
that conserve spectrum, especially digital techniques. As the
rest of the telecommunications world transitions to digital techniques,
Hatfield said, "the amateur service will look antiquated
if it is not making progress in that direction as well."
Hatfield also said software defined radios could facilitate
"a new era of amateur experimentation" and, in many
ways, represent "a final merger" of radio communications
and computers.
The text of Hatfield's prepared remarks is available on the
FCC Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/Speeches/misc/dnh061700.html
FCC Weekly report from Riley Holingsworth in on the Internet
Every Sunday there is a new 4 minute audio report from Riley
Holingsworth, Special Counsel for Amateur Radio posted to the
Internet. It is worth taking the time to listen every week and
understand the extent to which the FCC IS back in the Amateur
Enforcement business. You'll find the current weeks report at:
http://www.rrsta.com/rain/ "RAIN" is the Radio Amateur
Information Network and contains other tidbits of possible interest
as well.
Or you can just read it for yourself.
The FCC Enforcement logs are all posted to the ARRL Webpage
and you can find them at: http://www.arrl.org/news/enforcement_logs/
The ARRL Members Only Web Page is enough to make joining ARRL
worth the money!
From the Aug 30, 2000 Enforcement Log:
DIAMOND SPRINGS, CA: The FCC wrote Advanced licensee
William F. Crowell, N6AYJ, on August 21, 2000, citing monitoring
information before the Commission alleging that the licensee
may have engaged in deliberate interference to other amateur
operations on 75 meters over the last several months. "This
interference consists of unsolicited and unwanted comments and
responses to the ongoing communications," wrote FCC Special
Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth. "Such
communications have occurred even though your transmissions were
not acknowledged and in some cases even after you were requested
to refrain from doing so." Hollingsworth noted that he'd
spoken with Crowell earlier this year regarding this matter and
that Crowell had told him problems with the other operators had
been resolved and that Crowell assured him he "would stop
such attempts at forcing communications with the other stations."
Hollingsworth said such conduct "degrades the Amateur Radio
Service for legitimate communications, is contrary to §97.1
and is considered deliberate interference." He requested
that Crowell reply within 20 days stating "what actions
you are taking to eliminate this type of interference."
MEETING TOPICS
The speaker for our September meeting will be Lee Wical, KH6BZF.
Lee is a recognized authority in the field of radio propagation
and will speak on: "The Mysteries of Propagation" so
come and learn more.
Do YOU want to return to a MONTHLY HARC MEETING? Let K1ER
know what you prefer for a meeting schedule.