| June, 2007 |  |
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Clandestine broadcaster, jamming station back in Amateur Radio band
ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch Liaison Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, confirms reports that a clandestine broadcaster and a jamming station again are competing on 18.160 MHz. The 17-meter band is a worldwide exclusive Amateur Radio allocation. Following up on reports, Skolaut says he's able to hear the "Sound of Hope" broadcast station from Taiwan as well as the so-called "Fire Dragon" jammer, broadcasting music from the Hainan, Peoples' Republic of China, at ARRL Headquarters station W1HQ. The Sound of Hope transmits news unfavorable to the PRC, while the Hainan music transmissions attempt to block the transmission, pausing for four minutes each hour, apparently to check the frequency. When the same two competing signals showed up on amateur frequencies last year, International Amateur Radio Union Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, requested the clandestine broadcaster avoid use of Amateur Radio frequencies. Skolaut has received reports about the clandestine broadcaster and music jammer interference from all over the US as well as Europe, Africa and the UK. IARU Monitoring System Region 1 Coordinator Wolf Hadel, DK2OM, in Germany has documented the intruders on 18.160 MHz (and others) on his Web site.
FCC’s Termination of Proceedings a Mixed Blessing for Ham Radio
The FCC’s recent termination of two aging proceedings has some
favorable and less-than-favorable implications for Amateur Radio. As
part of a recent effort to clear the decks of languishing proceedings,
the FCC closed out a Notice of Inquiry and Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NOI and NPRM)
in ET Docket 03-237, aimed at establishing an “interference temperature
metric” as a model for managing interference and “to expand available
unlicensed operation” in certain bands. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ,
referred to the interference temperature model as “a flawed concept”
and said the May 4 termination Order is good news. The FCC appeared to agree.
Loss of Amateur Radio License is Part of Settlement with FCC
An Indiana radio amateur will have to surrender his General ticket under the terms of a Settlement Agreement
reached with the FCC stemming from alleged corporate and personal
misdeeds. In addition, Timothy M. Doty, WB9MCD, of W Terre Haute, will
have to yield his General Radiotelephone Operator License, and
Commercial Radio Service (CRS) Inc, in which he’s an equal partner with
his brother, Gary, will have to surrender its Land Mobile Service
licenses. In a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O)
in EB Docket 06-168, released April 26, the FCC said the settlement
spares all parties from a lengthy legal proceeding, although according
to its terms, neither the Dotys nor CRS admit to any violation of the
Communications Act of 1934 or FCC rules.
Three States Set Sights on Amateur Radio Antenna Legislation
North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma have — or soon will
have — Amateur Radio antenna legislation in play. Radio amateurs in all
three states are hoping to have the essence of the limited federal
preemption known as
PRB-1
incorporated into their states’ statutes. The North Carolina bill,
H 1340,
appears to be on the fastest track at this point. The measure was
reported favorably out of the House Ways and Means Committee on May 3,
and a vote by the full House could happen today. North Carolina ARRL
Section leadership has been urging the Amateur Radio community to urge
their lawmakers to support the bill.
BRATS Meetings Scheduled
The Pikesville Library is still under construction, and they
are not accepting reservations for meeting rooms at present. We were
able to get the Randallstown Library for their next library year.-
July, 2007 through June, 2008. Reservations for meeting rooms must be
made during April each year. We will retain the 3rd Tuesday
of each month at 7:15 PM at The Randallstown Library, 8604 Liberty Road
at Old Court Road in Randallstown. Meetings are scheduled
for the following dates: For 2007: July 17, August 21, September 18,
October 16, November 20 and December 18. For 2008: January 15, February
19, March 18, April 15, May 20, and June 17. There is a possibility
that we may be able to switch back to Pikesville, in which case we will
let you know…
Mark your calendars and plan to join us!
| June, 2007 | |
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