Category Archives: News

Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, Congress, Federal Communications Commission, News

Senator Blumenthal Supports Amateur Radio at Senate Confirmation Hearing

Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) received an affirmative reply from FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel when he asked her to commit to providing his office “an update on the steps that the FCC is taking to support amateur radio operators.” The Senator posed the written question as part of Rosenworcel’s renomination hearing conducted by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.

Blumenthal took note specifically that “Radio amateurs voluntarily provide an array of public services, especially emergency and disaster-related support communications when infrastructure has been destroyed by a hurricane or similar disaster. Their contributions in this area are regularly recognized by local and state authorities.”

“ARRL is grateful to Senator Blumenthal for his support and recognition of radio amateurs,” said ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR. Blumenthal has previously co-sponsored legislation supporting amateur radio, and his staff was recently briefed by ARRL on pending amateur radio matters at the FCC. Roderick added, “We need the partnership of the FCC and Congress to ensure our rules and spectrum continue to support the march of technological innovation in our vibrant Amateur Radio Service.”

Multiple proceedings to update or change the FCC’s amateur Part 97 rules to account for changes in technology and operating practices have been languishing at the FCC, some going back five or more years. ARRL is hopeful that these will be addressed soon.

The Senate Committee approved Rosenworcel’s renomination with a bi-partisan vote on December 1, 2021. She has served on the FCC since 2012, and the Committee’s vote to approve her nomination for an additional term sends it to the full Senate for final consideration.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARRL, Education, Federal Communications Commission, National, News

Make your comments for or against upcoming fees on amateur radio licenses.

The FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) MD Docket 20-270 appeared in the October 15 edition of The Federal Register and sets deadlines of November 16 to comment and November 30 to post reply comments, which are comments on comments already filed. That means that the deadline for you to make comments is only days away.

I was able to finally figure out how to submit comments, so I’ll impart what I have learned. First, there are two ways to submit comments. One is to prepare a word processor document, as I did, and upload it to the FCC at the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System. The other is to make a brief statement for, or in opposition to, the proposed fees. You can type that right into the ECFS.

Yes, you can make comments that you agree with the proposed increase. Remember, however, that your comments are public and we know who you are (Just kidding).

First I will explain how to make a brief statement which is probably the prefered method for those who do not have a lot of time. Second I will explain how to upload a document. You might want to peruse the ARRL guide to submitting comments web page before you start.

They recommend not dwelling on how devastating such an increase might be to amateur radio. Obviously do not make accusatory statements. There are some blogs out there contending the FCC is trying to destroy amateur radio so they can sell our frequencies to private companies. This may, or may not, be true, but it is an example of what not to say in your comments.

Try to stick to what you know. Old timers have seen developments in amateur radio that benefited humankind and contributed to the landing on the moon (or what ever). Stick to those elements. I concentrated some effort on emergency communications because that is what got me interested in amateur radio to begin with. If you have participated in community service events, you might indicate how you feel part of the community because of it. If you have had to call for help with amateur radio, that might be something to tell them.

Making a Brief Statement

The brief statement is the easiest and quickest method of making a comment. If your comment is going to be 500 words, or less, this is probably the best method. My statement was about five pages so I had to use the method outlined next.

I recommend that you type out your comments in your favorite text editor. Read it over a couple of times and make any corrections. Be concise, but clear. If you read your statement and it sounds like a politicians campaign speech, you probably want to cut it down. If you have several points, you can use a number-bullet-type of arrangement such as:

I oppose the proposed fees on amateur radio licenses because:
1) I have participated in community events and have seen how amateur radio protects the lives of people in these events. On at least two occasions I have witnessed amateur radio operators calling for help for runners in distress that may have saved their lives [That was my personal experience. Wish I had thought to add that to my statement.]
2) I participated in actual emergencies with the Amateur Radio Emergency Service during weather emergencies that kept me up-to-date on what was happening and allowed me to keep in contact in case I had an emergency.
3) I find the life-long learning of amateur radio to be a benefit to me and helps me to keep abreast of technological advance in amateur radio and in other fields.
4) I personally constructed a robot that can take instructions through amateur radio and can perform appendetomies. [Only use if you happened to construct a robot that can take instructions through amateur radio and can perform appendectomies. Don’t use otherwise.]

Once you have your statement ready to cut-and-paste, go to the the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System Express Comment section. The following steps also apply for the standard filing.

In the Proceeding(s) box, type “20-270”. Two items will come up, but you obviously want to select 20-270.

Put your name in the Name(s) of Filer(s). If you are making the statement with others, add their names, as well. For example you could add all of the amateurs in your home.

Unless you are a law firm or attorney, go down to Primary Contact Email and add your email. Just below that click on the drop-down menu and select Comment for Type of Filing.

Go down to the Address of section and fill out your address. You can use any address where you receive mail, but I recommend using the address you used to obtain your license. I seriously doubt that the FCC is going to send you a letter on the matter. At the bottom, however, there is a box for Email Confirmation. I recommend that you check that and you will get an email confirmation that the FCC received your comments.

Click on the Continue to review button. If it looks good submit it. You’re done.

Standard Filing

If your comments are going to be lengthy, you might want to choose Standard Filing. Use the same steps as above to prepare to upload your comments. You can simply drag-and-drop from your directory to the web site.

The site says it will accept PDF, text, ppt, pptx, docx, xlsx, doc, xls, rtf, dwg documents of 25 MB per submision and a maximum of 5 files. I used LibreOffice (the freebie program because I am cheap) to create a docx file. When I tried to submit it, however, it kept giving me an error. When I saved it to a PDF, it uploaded with no problem. So if the site give you an error, I recommend saving it as a PDF to upload.

SUMMARY

I hope this helps you to get a comment in before the comment period is up. Remember the last date for comments is November 16.

I will let you know that in my comments, I did say that if they needed an increase, I would not totally object to a $15 fee. I also said that I agreed to a $50 fee (or higher) for vanity license fees. We have people that have been changing their vanity calls several times tying up a call you might want. A healthy fee might just prevent that. I also said that anyone under 18-years-old should remain free and to upgrade your license should remain free. That is my opinion and I am sticking with it.

What ever your opinion, I hope you will get it in before the comment period ends.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARRL, Federal Communications Commission, National, News

ARRL Urges Members to Join in Strongly Opposing FCC’s Application Fees Proposal

ARRL will file comments in firm opposition to an FCC proposal to impose a $50 fee on amateur radio license and application fees. With the November 16 comment deadline fast approaching, ARRL urges members to add their voices to ARRL’s by filing opposition comments of their own. The FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) MD Docket 20-270 appeared in the October 15 edition of The Federal Register and sets deadlines of November 16 to comment and November 30 to post reply comments, which are comments on comments already filed. ARRL has prepared a Guide to Filing Comments with the FCC which includes tips for preparing comments and step-by-step filing instructions. File comments on MD Docket 20-270 using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

Under the proposal, amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio application for new licenses, license renewals, upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. The FCC also has proposed a $50 fee to obtain a printed copy of a license. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees. Amateur Service licensees have been exempt from application fees for several years.

The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the “Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act” of 2018 — the so-called “Ray Baum’s Act.” The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service. The 2018 statute excludes the Amateur Service from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees. The FCC proposal affects all FCC services and does not single out amateur radio.

ARRL is encouraging members to file comments that stress amateur radio’s contributions to the country and communities. ARRL’s Guide to Filing Comments includes “talking points” that may be helpful in preparing comments. These stress amateur radio’s role in volunteering communication support during disasters and emergencies, and inspiring students to pursue education and careers in engineering, radio technology, and communications.

As the FCC explained in its NPRM, Congress, through the Ray Baum’s Act, is compelling regulatory agencies such as the FCC to recover from applicants the costs involved in filing and handling applications.

In its NPRM the FCC encouraged licensees to update their own information online without charge. Many, if not most, Amateur Service applications may be handled via the largely automated Universal License Service (ULS). The Ray Baum’s Act does not exempt filing fees in the Amateur Radio Service, and the FCC stopped assessing fees for vanity call signs several years ago.

See also “FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees,” reported by ARRL in August, and a summary page of the proceeding at www.arrl.org/FCC-Fees-Proposal.

Amateur Radio, Flagstaff, News, Obituary

Ted KF7QPG Silent Key

When I first started in amateur radio in 2015, I connected with a fellow Navy veteran in Seligman, Arizona by the name of Theodore “Ted” Shelly KF7QPG. I learned tonight that he is a silent key.

He used to rag me about my Baofeng UV-5r that I started with, as most new Technician licensees do. I was happy when he finally gave me a good report on the UV-82. I got my Technician license in October of 2015 after a serious Internet/phone outage occurred in February in northern Arizona. Ted was always there to talk to on the Bill Williams 146.780 repeater. I daresay we hogged the repeater at times because we were both studying to upgrade our licenses. I was working on the General and he the Amateur Extra.

In December of 2015, I rode with him to the Coconino Amateur Radio Club exam in Flagstaff. We both left as Amateur Extras. While he was able to use the “Stroke AG” on HF, I was still relegated to the Technician spectrum because of income. That was okay because I mainly was interested in emergency communications and getting into the Amateur Radio Emergency Service system with the CARC.

Ted and I also became volunteer examiners and had a little competition on how many exams we could do. He was way ahead at one time, but I blame ARRL because they did not give me credit for a couple.

Ted also gave me some of his old equipment, some of which I still use.

He moved to Georgia a couple of years after we met, as I understand it, but I learned today that he passed away on May 20 of this year due to cancer. He was one of my first amateur radio friends and I morn his passing, but he did live a good long life. He had many years as a Ham and I am sure he continued to touch lives as he did mine.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, ARRL, Federal Communications Commission, National, News

FCC Proposes to Reinstate Amateur Radio Service Fees

[UPDATED 2020-09-01 @1845 UTC] Amateur radio licensees would pay a $50 fee for each amateur radio license application if the FCC adopts rules it proposed this week. Included in the FCC’s fee proposal are applications for new licenses, renewal and upgrades to existing licenses, and vanity call sign requests. Excluded are applications for administrative updates, such as changes of address, and annual regulatory fees.

The FCC proposal is contained in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in MD Docket 20-270, which was adopted to implement portions of the “Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act” of 2018 — the so-called “Ray Baum’s Act.”

The Act requires that the FCC switch from a Congressionally-mandated fee structure to a cost-based system of assessment. In its NPRM, the FCC proposed application fees for a broad range of services that use the FCC’s Universal Licensing System (ULS), including the Amateur Radio Service that had been excluded by an earlier statute. The 2018 statute excludes the Amateur Service from annual regulatory fees, but not from application fees.

“[A]pplications for personal licenses are mostly automated and do not have individualized staff costs for data input or review,” the FCC said in its NPRM. “For these automated processes — new/major modifications, renewal, and minor modifications — we propose a nominal application fee of $50 due to automating the processes, routine ULS maintenance, and limited instances where staff input is required.”

The same $50 fee would apply to all Amateur Service applications, including those for vanity call signs. “Although there is currently no fee for vanity call signs in the Amateur Radio Service, we find that such applications impose similar costs in aggregate on Commission resources as new applications and therefore propose a $50 fee,” the FCC said.

The FCC is not proposing to charge for administrative updates, such as mailing address changes for amateur applications, and amateur radio will remain exempt from annual regulatory fees. “For administrative updates [and] modifications, which also are highly automated, we find that it is in the public interest to encourage licensees to update their [own] information without a charge,” the FCC said.

The FCC also proposes to assess a $50 fee for individuals who want a printed copy of their license. “The Commission has proposed to eliminate these services — but to the extent the Commission does not do so, we propose a fee of $50 to cover the costs of these services,” the FCC said.

The Ray Baum’s Act does not exempt filing fees in the Amateur Radio Service. The FCC dropped assessment of fees for vanity call signs several years ago.

Deadlines for comments and reply comments will be determined once the NPRM appears in the Federal Register. Interested parties may file comments by using the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), posting to MD Docket No. 20-270. This docket is already open to accept comments, even though deadlines have not yet been set.

SOURCE: ARRL

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Amateur Radio Relay League, Classes, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Flagstaff, License Examinations, News, Williams

Can you get your amateur radio despite the coronavirus?

With what is going on in the world today, it may have sparked your interest in amateur radio. With the appropriate license, equipment and propagation, you may be able to contact areas hard-hit by the coronavirus and get on the scene reports. You may realize that it helps in emergency communications locally. You may just want to chat or use it just for communications while camping or hunting. What ever your reason, if you have an interest in an amateur radio license, you can still study for it. There are several resources that may help you prepare for an upcoming exam in your area (if they have not been cancelled).

Let me first explain the licenses. There are three levels. From lowest-to-highest they are Technician, General and Amateur Extra. Most people that have taken our Coconino Amateur Radio Club sponsored classes have been able to get the General license. The Amateur Extra is much more difficult to get and only gives you a few more frequency privileges. The Amateur Extra, however, give you the ability to assist amateur radio in other administrative ways.

There is a separate exam for all three levels of license. The exam fee is $15. This does not pay the people giving the exam. The examiners are all unpaid volunteers. The classes (if held) are also free and run by volunteers. The exam fee pays for the administration of the exam (printing the exam, postage, etc.). When you go in, you must take the Technician exam first. You must bring in a valid picture ID, also. We recommend that you bring a FCC Registration Number (FRN) to the exam. You need this to deal with the FCC and you can obtain it at their web site. If you plan to get a General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) license, you need to get an FRN also. It only takes about an hour to get the FRN, so I always recommend people do it a couple of days before the exam in case you decide not to take the exam. If you do not get an FRN, you must bring your social security number. We prefer the FRN for your security.

When you pass the Technician exam, you can take the General exam free. If you pass that, you may take the Amateur Extra exam free. If you fail an exam, however, you must pay the $15 exam fee to take it again. For example, if you pass the Technician and fail the General, maybe you feel you can pass the General if you had another shot. You have to pay the $15 to retake the exam.

Another point is that once you are licensed, you are under no obligation to join any group or organization to use that license. You may go merrily along calling out on the radio and QSOing. (You will learn what that means when you study) There are obvious advantages, of course, to supporting the ARRL and joining a local Ham club.

By the way, I gave you the information to answer about three exam questions in the above paragraphs.

As of this writing, the Coconino Amateur Radio Club has an exam scheduled for April 18 and Saturday classes starting April 25. This may change depending on current conditions. The Bill Williams Mountain Radio Club sponsors periodic classes in Williams when there is enough interest.

The American Radio Relay League has information on becoming licensed. They also offer books. These books and other resources are available on Amazon, as well.

Applications on your phone can help.
Another source of information is your smart phone. If you have an Android phone you can search for ARRL Ham Test Prep. That app contains all of the questions and answers (including distracters) for every exam level. There is also an app for Ham Bands that is useful. There are also free apps on Apple. The Ham Test Prep app allows you to take sample exams. However the “STUDY” button is a little misleading. The STUDY button allows you to go through each section of the exam pool and memorize answers. It does not explain the answers. That is where the books and videos mentioned above are useful.

There are web sites on line which offer practice exams, also.

I recommend the videos at http://www.hamwhisperer.com/p/ham-courses.html. The videos cover an outdated question pools, but most of the information is still valid. The updated pools ask some new questions about digital radio and ask some questions a little different, but overall the information is still good. The videos go through each question of the old exam pool give a very basic explanation of the information. The videos on electronics and radio wave propagation, for example, will give you valid information even though the questions have changed. There are some updated questions in the area of radio equipment, but those are minor.

With the plethora of resources available, we still have an uncertain future concerning actual exams. We are hopeful that this situation is resolved by April 18. If it is, you will be ready without the need for classes.

News, Product Review

Night Hero Binoculars review


I imagine you have seen the ads on television as I did. I was interested in night vision for emergency purposes, search and rescue and that sort of thing. When I found these on a clearance shelf, I decided to test them.

I should add a disclaimer that these were on a clearance shelf and looked as though they have been repackaged and returned. I do not know if that affected the performance or if they were returned because of the performance. I can tell you that my first impressions were pretty much along the line of the video below. They normally run $39.99 and on the Night Hero web site, you can get two pair for the $39.99 and a “free” Atomic Beam LED flashlight. Just pay a separate fee of $29.98. So the bundle is actually $69.97.

These are advertise as similar to those our heroes use in the field. They are not, however. Our “heroes” in the field use infer-red lenses. They do not shoot out a green light. I found these to be basically binoculars with a green flashlight on them. The flashlight is not even a good flashlight.

When I tried them at night, the flashlight did not align with the lenses so the top 1/4 was still dark. The light only extended to, at best, 20-feet. My LED flashlight does much better. I tried using them as just binoculars and could not get them to focus at the magnification provided.

I wound up giving these to a tot as a toy because they are built a little more solid than the average binocular toy. I did warn the parent not to install batteries because there is the potential of damaging the eyes.

The bottom line is that you are better off with a flashlight than this product. If you really think night vision is necessary, you should expect to pay $250 and up for a decent pair.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Flagstaff, News

Only one starts the new exam season

While only one person came to take the amateur radio exam, Craig Gerasim represents the beginning of another cycle of exams. The exam was held on January 18 and Craig received a technician license.

The rest of the exams scheduled for the year are April 18, July 18 and October 17. There will probably be an exam at the Overland Expo in May. This also does not count exams that may crop up from classes in Williams.

If someone was a little quicker on the keyboard at ARRL, we would have had two lux in Coconino County. Craig, however, drew the call sign of KI7LUY.

It was also beneficial in that the newest volunteer examiner—Mike, AG7XQ—a chance to learn the exam system. Mike earned his Extra license in one sitting at the last 2019 session.

Joe, W7LUX, thanked Erv KE7QFI, Mike AG7XQ , Scott KY7A and Glen, KG7YDJ for making the exam possible.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, AMSAT, News

HuskySat-1 with VHF/UHF Linear Transponder Set to Deploy Soon

Source ARRL Newsletter

The University of Washington’s HuskySat-1 3U CubeSat, launched November 2, 2019, is set to deploy on January 31 after the vehicle that carried it to the International Space Station undocks.

HuskySat-1 has remained stowed aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply vehicle. Within 24 hours after Cygnus’ departure from the ISS, HuskySat-1 and SwampSat 2 will be deployed into orbit. After deployment, HuskySat-1’s 1200 bps BPSK beacon on 435.800 MHz should be active and decodable with the latest release of AMSAT’s FoxTelem software. HuskySat-1 is expected to carry out its primary mission before being turned over to AMSAT for amateur radio operation.

The FoxTelem software is available at, https://www.amsat.org/tlm/leaderboard.php?id=0&db=FOXDB .

HuskySat-1 features a 30 kHz wide V/U linear transponder for SSB and CW. The uplink passband will be 145.910 – 145.940 MHz LSB/CW. The downlink passband will be 435.840 – 435.810 MHz USB/CW (inverting). Telemetry will be transmitted on 435.800 MHz, 1k2 bps BPSK with an experimental downlink at 24.049 GHz.

The “Fox-in-a-Box” FoxTelem software has been updated for HuskySat-1 operation and is available at its download website at, http://burnsfisher.com/AMSAT/FoxInABox/ .

The new release now contains the SD card image, FIAB-distro8-V1.08w.zip. This file, when unzipped and written to a 16 GB SD card will provide the latest software for FoxTelem and will run on a Raspberry Pi 4. The 1.08 versions can switch bands between listening on VHF and UHF, based on which Fox and Husky satellites are overhead at the time.

The linear transponder and telemetry system carried aboard AMSAT’s Fox-1E was designed for use in different CubeSats merely by adding an interface adapter for connection to the host bus. Noting the prevalence of CubeSats built and launched by universities and other organizations, AMSAT adopted a goal of “amateur radio in every CubeSat.” Interested CubeSat programs wanting to fly an amateur radio payload may partner with AMSAT to carry one of these modules on their spacecraft.

By providing amateur radio capability, the CubeSat program gets a worldwide ground station network to receive telemetry and experiment data, while the amateur radio community gets a transponder to use in orbit. Additional information is posted on the University of Washington Husky Satellite Lab site.

Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Organizations, Bill Williams Mountain Radio Club, Coconino Amateur Radio Club, Education, Flagstaff, License Examinations, News, Williams

CARC Ends a successful exam year

This year has been a good year for Amateur Radio in Flagstaff and Williams. The exam October 19 is indicitive of that

Congratulations to Morgan KI7WTS who upgraded to Amatuer Extra and Mike who upgraded to Amateur Extra from… Well. Nothing. He passed all three exams. His dad, Don, got a General license. Congratulations to Jeremiah KF7NIQ who upgraded to General. Carl passed the Technician and General exams. Nathan and Willis, from Williams, got a Technician license.

The final talley is two new Amateur Extras, two new Generals and two new Technicians.

Thanks to Ken KF7DUR, Ron KG7OH and Glen KG7YDJ for proctoring this exam and Joe W7LUX and Janice KI7WCK for setting up the exams. Also thanks to all of the other VEs who helped this year. We, of course, thank Melissa Fisher and North Country Health Care for allowing us to use their facility.

Thanks to the instructors who helped in Flagstaff and Williams. Phil AE7HO, Ron KG7OH, Kevin KK7NAZ, Jack NT7MM, Jackie KI7YQO, and Peter. I hope I remembered everyone.