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| The award-winning monthly publication of The Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society P.O.Box 5915 Baltimore, MD 21282-5915 |
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| The award-winning monthly publication of The Baltimore Radio Amateur Television Society P.O.Box 5915 Baltimore, MD 21282-5915 |
FCC "Omnibus" Amateur Radio R&O Published in Federal Register,
Takes Effect December 15
Just a little over a month after the Federal Communications Commission released the Report and Order
(R&O) in the so-called "Omnibus" Amateur Radio proceeding, WT Docket 04-140 (FCC 06-149) to the
public, a revised version appeared today in the Federal Register. The changes in the R&O will take
effect Friday, December 15, at 12:01 AM EST, 30 days after its publication.
As expected, the Report & Order as published this morning clarified two items that had raised some
concerns when it was first released last month: That the 80/75 meter band split applies to all three IARU
Regions, and that FCC licensees in Region 2, which includes North America, can continue to use
RTTY/data emissions in the 7.075-7.100 MHz band. Still to be resolved are three controversial aspects
of the Proceeding: Expansion of the 75 meter phone band all the way down to 3600 kHz (thus reducing
the privileges of General, Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees, who had RTTY/data privileges in
the 80 meter band, and CW privileges of General and Advanced class licensees) The elimination of J2D
emissions, data sent by modulating an SSB transmitter, of more than 500 Hz bandwidth (thus making
PACTOR III at full capability illegal), and The elimination of access to the automatic control RTTY/data
subband at 3620-3635 kHz. The ARRL Board is discussing the possibility of a petition to reconsider
several items in the R&O. For more information, see the band chart [917,715 bytes, PDF] and the
Frequently Asked Questions on WT Docket No. 04-140. Both have been updated to reflect the R&O as
it was published in the Federal Register.
As of December 15, the 75-meter phone band will begin at 3600 kHz, the 40-meter phone band will start at 7125 kHz and the General Class phone band on 15 meters will begin at 21,275 kHz. A summary of the new band plans as well as other major features of the ruling appears on page 2 of the December issue of CQ, which is in the mail now to subscribers, and should be on newsstands soon as well.
Best Wishes for the Holiday Season ...
Come to The BRATS Holiday Party, Tuesday, December 19,
7:15 PM, at the Randallstown Library
| December, 2006 |  |
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