The ARRL Letter, Volume 8, Number 6, March 28, 1989 Published by: The American Radio Relay League, Inc. 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 Editor: Jay Mabey, NU0X 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 to the American Radio Relay League, Inc. CANADA'S PROPOSED DEREGULATION ADDRESSED The Canadian Department of Communications (DOC) has published a notice in the Canada Gazette (February 18) outlining proposals for deregulation of the Amateur Service in Canada. The proposals would (1) eliminate restrictions on the type of emissions Canadian amateurs may use within the amateur bands and instead, simply specify maximum permissible bandwitdh in each band without specifying subbands by mode; (2) permit foreign amateurs visiting Canada to operate with the same frequencies and emissions as Canadian amateurs (at present, "lowest common denominator" restrictions apply); (3) eliminate endorsements to the Amateur Radio Operator's Certificate, the legal authority for which apparently is questionable, and incorporate the privileges now granted by endorsement within the basic Amateur Certificate (one popular endorsement, available to a licensee after six months, permits ten- meter phone operation); and (4) accomplish some other, relatively minor, updating and revision. The Canadian Radio Relay League (CRRL) recognizes the problems likely to be created by deregulation of subbands in Canada, and at its August 1987 meeting, the CRRL Board of Directors went on record to request that DOC recommend the use of IARU bandplans should deregulation occur. To place ARRL concerns on the record, President Larry Price, W4RA, sent a letter to CRRL President Tom Atkins, VE3CDM, with the request that our comments be incorporated in the CRRL filing (deadline for which was March 18). President Price stated that DOC's proposals for privileges to be granted to foreign amateurs visiting Canada are quite generous, easy to understand, and adoption of these proposals would resolve some ambiguities associated with reciprocal licensing. The proposals for HF mode subband deregulation, however, appear to be based on an incorrect premise and raise serious concerns among US amateurs. The DOC states "Such an elimination of emission restrictions permits the Canadian amateur to enjoy equal privileges on a par with other radio users in the international radio environment and particularly with those privileges currently extended to US radio amateurs." At least with regard to US HF privileges, this statement is fundamentally incorrect. Canadian amateurs already enjoy considerably greater freedom to use the most popular HF mode, SSB emission, than do their US counterparts. If the purpose of DOC's proposal is indeed to bring about equity between US and Canadian amateurs, then the proposal is unnecessary and should be abandoned or significantly modified. The real question is how Canadian amateurs will respond to deregulation. We have faith in our Canadian brethren to act responsibly, if given the proper guidance. However, we believe that it is a responsibility of the DOC, in proposing to upset the existing equilibrium, to emphasize to its licensees the extreme importance of Canadian amateurs observing the voluntary band plans that have been developed through the representative international mechanisms of the IARU. We were disappointed to find no such reference in the notice, nor in the proposed regulatory text. FCC PROPOSES NEW BEACON SUBBANDS ON 2 METERS, 70 CM In response to an ARRL petition filed last September, the FCC has proposed, in Docket 89-65, to relocate beacon operation in the 2- meter and 70-cm bands. The ARRL petition had requested the changes since present beacon frequencies are very close to frequencies used for moonbounce and other weak-signal activities. The ARRL filed the petition after consulting with weak-signal and beacon users. The Commission said that it agreed with ARRL that the beacon subbands in the 2-meter and 70-cm bands should be relocated. The Commission followed the ARRL proposal to move beacon operation from 144.05-144.06 MHz to 144.275-144.300 MHz, and on 70 cm from 432.07- 432.08 MHz to 432.3-432.4 MHz. The ARRL had also requested the Commission to change the beacon subbands on 220 MHz. But as expected, the Commission declined to propose changes in the 220-MHz beacon subbands at this time, citing its decision to reallocate the bottom two MHz of the 220 band to the Land Mobile Service. Comments on this proposal are due on or before June 12, 1989. SPREAD-SPECTRUM SYSTEMS IN 902-928 MHZ A number of inquiries have been received from members concerning the local-area network (LAN) use of spread spectrum in the 902-928 MHz band as offered by Telesystems, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada; PA Consulting Group, Hightstown, NJ; and possibly by other suppliers. Spread-spectrum systems, for LANs or other purposes, are permitted at a one-watt power level in the 902-928 MHz band as authorized under section 15.126 of the FCC's rules. Such operation is also permitted under this section in the 2400-2483.5 MHz and 5725- 5850 MHz bands. Of concern to amateurs is the potential interference from such operations to amateurs operating in the 902-928, 2390- 2450, and 5650-5925 MHz bands. The rules place a number of limitations on spread-spectrum operation in these bands. The main point to bear in mind is 15.126(c), which requires that the spread-spectrum systems not cause harmful interference "to any other operations which are authorized the use of these bands under other Parts of the Rules." Also, they must accept any interference from these sources. This means that, as far as the FCC is concerned, the Amateur Service, and the Amateur-Satellite Service where applicable, both have priority over the spread-spectrum systems despite our secondary status relative to a number of other services in these bands. On the practical side, it is unlikely that these spread-spectrum devices will cause harmful interference to amateurs except where they are physically close to the spread-spectrum transmitter. Interference from spread-spectrum devices, watt for watt, will be at least an order of magnitude less than from narrow-band transmitters in the same frequency bands. Because the modulation rate of these transmitters is much higher than the audible range (66 kbit/s in the case of the PA Consulting system), any interference should not result in an audible output of an amateur radio (voice) receiver. Desensingcould occur, but only in the "near" zone. Spread spectrum system designers are cautioned by FCC to keep the potential high EIRP emanations from government radars in mind when developing their designs for these bands, and are also cautioned that the one-watt power limit on 902-928 MHz operation may be reduced in the future. FCC ACTIONS The FCC Commissioners have upheld their Private Radio Bureau's decision denying Anthony Sivo's (W2FJ) request to amend the amateur rules to authorize single sideband in the 30 meter band. The Commissioners agreed with the Bureau's conclusion that the need for SSB transmissions in the 30-meter band "had not been established" and there were already ample HF frequencies available for SSB emissions. The FCC also denied a petition (RM-6559) which would have allowed Technician class operators to use F1B emissions (teleprinting, packet) in the Novice/Tech segments of the 80, 40 and 15 meter bands. The petitioner, Nicholas Sayer, N6QQQ, said that the additional privilege for Technician operators would be an incentive for Novice operators to upgrade. The Commission said that the Technician class is currently the fastest growing amateur class, and there was no need to offer additional incentives for Novice class operators to upgrade to the Technician class. Additionally, "the opening of these small segments to such a large number of stations for teleprinting, moreover, could have a serious negative impact upon their usefulness in providing an opportunity for Novice and Technician class operators to improve their telegraphy skills sufficiently to qualify for a General class operator license. Such a result would be undesirable because the General class shows the slowest rate of growth." The Commission noted that Technicians could upgrade to the General Class and by doing so, could obtain access to the HF bands for F1B emissions. Thus, the Commission felt that to adopt the proposal "would actually have a negative impact of removing some of the incentive to upgrade from Technician Class to General Class." The Commission denied the petition on March 2. And finally, the FCC's Private Radio Bureau denied a petition by Shannon Cisco, WB4AZT, to change the amateur operator license requirements for senior citizens. Cisco had requested that amateurs over 65, licensed for 20 years, be automatically upgraded from Technician to General, General to Advanced, or Advanced to Extra Class respectively, without any examination. Cisco appealed the Order to the FCC Commissioners, who upheld the Private Radio Bureau's decision. WORLD TELECOMMUNICATIONS DAY Every year on May 17 the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) celebrates World Telecommunications Day. This year's topic is "International Cooperation." It is aimed at underlining the necessity for the world telecommunications community to enlarge the scope of international cooperation to meet the challenges of tomorrow. The ITU was founded in 1865 under the name International Telegraph Union, and is the oldest intergovernmental organization. It became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1947, and currently has a membership of 166 countries. FCC-ISSUED CALL SIGN UPDATE The following is a list of most recently issued FCC call signs (March 1). DIST GRP"A" GRP"B" GRP"C" GRP"D" Extra Advanced Tech/Gen Novice 0 WR0T KF0BD N0KGH KB0EAQ 1 NV1M KC1NT N1GIL KA1TID 2 WN2R KE2LT N2JBS KB2HHC 3 NT3W KD3LQ N3GXE KA3UFQ 4 AB4NG KM4OV N4VDB KC4JCA 5 AA5KQ KG5SE N5NZS KB5ION 6 AA6MW KJ6RK N6UMN KC6BZK 7 WX7Y KF7RV N7MJU KB7GZA 8 WO8Z KE8WT N8KLI KB8GOV 9 WF9Z KE9OY N9IFH KB9CDV Guam KH2K AH2CE KH2DR WH2ALY Hawaii ** AH6JQ NH6SQ WH6CBV Alaska ** AL7KW NL7QT WL7BTX USVI NP2E KP2BO NP2CV WP2AGP P.R. ** KP4PV WP4UC WP4IHF ** indicates that all 2 x 1 call signs have been assigned in those areas. FCC TERMINATES RECEIVER ADVISORY LABELING PROPOSAL In May, 1988 the FCC proposed amending Part 15 to require labeling radio receivers to advise users that it may be unlawful to intercept radio communications protected by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) of 1986. The FCC said that although the ECPA prohibits interception of certain classes of communications, the frequencies on which these communications are transmitted can be used for unprotected communications as well. The FCC decided that, given the complexities of the ECPA, it was impractical for a label to provide sufficient information to properly advise users of the legal requirements. The FCC also said that it agreed with some of the commenters that, in some instances, a warning label might encourage prohibited activity by calling attention to it. Lastly, some manufacturers are voluntarily informing users of ECPA provisions or by redesigning equipment to omit certain frequencies. Thus the FCC concluded that an advisory label on radio receivers was unnecessary and terminated the proceeding, Docket 88- 281. AURORA STRIKES NEW ENGLAND Speaking from the perspective of one who has seen the aurora (Northern Lights) up close and personal -- your Editor is originally from Northern Minnesota -- the effect in Connecticut is equally spectacular, as aurora is rarely seen this far south in New England. Talk around HQ lately has centered on the "lights in the sky" and there are, of course, different perspectives. The nonhams perceive the spectacle as "absolutely beautiful -- color hues ranging from orange to white and moving like a curtain in the wind." The hams see the aurora from a totally different perspective. Avid DXer Paul Shaffer, KB1BE, tells us that the "spectacle" has effectively killed communications on 20 meters. In his words "I now have a chance to catch up on recorded TV movies!" The active VHFers, however, have another story to tell! Propagation on the higher frequencies is tremendous in auroral conditions. There are a number of avid VHFers out there who are very familiar with propagation during auroral periods; results on VHF frequencies when aurora is active are something to tell the grandkids about! MIAMI FCC FIELD OFFICE MOVES Effective immediately, the Miami field office of the FCC is now at: Rochester Building, Room 310 8390 NW 53rd Street Miami, FL 33166 Recorded phone information (305) 592-0399 Public phone (305) 526-7420 NEW ADDRESS FOR HAWAII QSL BUREAU Effective immediately, the new address for the Hawaii QSL Bureau is: Hawaii QSL Bureau PO Box 788 Wahiawa, HI 96786 W1AW RENOVATION CONTINUES The renovation of the Maxim Memorial Station W1AW is progressing on schedule. There are trailers, construction workers, and other "implements of construction" scattered about in the area of the building. W1AW code practice and bulletins are now emanating from "W1AW Mobile One" -- a trailer located in the area of the original building.