RadioBanter - View Single Post

June 29th 05, 05:33 PM

wrote:
From: on Mon 27 Jun 2005 03:19

Although several years ago, Riley's comments are worth a look:

"This Amateur Radio service is serious business."

From Riley Hollingsworth's position as Special Counsel to the
FCC Spectral Enforcement office of the Enforcement Bureau,
obeyance of federal law IS "serious business."

That's correct, Len.

Not once in the speech is the word "hobby" used.

?

Hollingsworth is NOT in the FCC "Key People," "Division Chiefs,"
or "Regional Director" listings at the FCC of their Enforcement
Bureau. One has to go deeper into the Spectral office of the
Enforcement Bureau where Hollingsworth is listed as second from
bottom on that office's "key people" listing...as one of two who
are "Special Counsel."

Hollingsworth is NOT over at the Wireless Telecommunications
Bureau, the one that is immediately responsible for amateur radio
at the FCC.

That's correct, Len.

It is true that nowhere in Title 47 C.F.R. are the words "hobby"
or "ham radio" given.

That's correct, Len.

On the other hand, Part 97 rather
specifically defines amateur radio as an activity done for a
NON-pecuniary reason. That doesn't even mention "money" though
it is obvious that it means that amateur radio CANNOT accept
money for doing any communications service for others.

That's correct, Len.

Amateur radio in the USA is forbidden by law to engage in
broadcasting.

That's correct, Len.

Amateur radio in the USA is forbidden by law to
be a public communications common carrier...that is, specifically
as a provider of radio communications services.

That's not exactly correct, Len.

Amateur radio in the USA cannot provide communications for pecuniary
interest.

Amateur radio
regulations even state that amateur communications themselves
are to be of a trivial nature and amateurs themselves are
supposed to avail themselves of commercial communications
services for non-trivial communications.

Where does it say that in Part 97, Len?

Amateur radio in the USA is NOT a "national service."

That is correct, Len.

Amateur radio is international.

All
throughout Title 47 C.F.R. the word "service" is a regulatory
term denoting a type and kind of radio activity being regulated.

That is correct, Len.

Is the Citizens Band Radio SERVICE a "national service?" No.
Is the Amateur Radio Service a "national service?" No.

There's a difference between words used "de jure" (by law as
stated) and "de facto" (what it really is in practice).

That is correct, Len.

Amateur
radio is a HOBBY...a recreational pursuit done for personal
pleasure, federally regulated only because of the physical nature
of radio wave propagation and possible interference with other
radio users. DE FACTO a HOBBY.

That is incomplete, Len. There are aspects of amateur radio that
go beyond the word "hobby". Unless you would also call volunteer
firefighters "hobbyists".

"...I know that when a natural disaster hits, they're [cell towers]
the first ones to go down. And the few that are remaining are jammed
and you can't get access."

Hollingsworth is "playing to his audience" (to use a show business
phrase).

That's you opinion, Len. Where you at Dayton when he spoke?

Physically, the cellular telephone services, an adjunct to the
wired telephone infrastructure, does NOT "go down" either "first"
or last.

That is incomplete, Len.

The term "go down" means to be unavailable, be it for reasons of
physical damage or overloading by too many simultaneous attempted
calls.

TELEPHONE communications is "jammed" only by too many
panic-stricken subscribers trying to use it simultaneously at the
onset of some emergency. The TELEPHONE infrastructure would not
have survived as a communications service provider if "all"
subscribers were free to use it simultaneously.

That is correct, Len.

" The people who are going to be taking care
of the real communications are sitting right here in this room. It's
the Amateur Radio service. And in the first few days, or the first few
hours of these multi-jurisdictional incidents, it's the amateurs who
keep things going."

In light of recent REAL EMERGENCIES, REAL HISTORY has shown
that the commercial services HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK despite
SOME of their facilities being "downed." Facilities are NOT
RESTRICTED to JUST telephones, wired and/or cellular. There
are, in this nation, literally, hundreds of thousands of OTHER
radios which can, and have, been used for two-way communications.
That is NOT counting CB or the approximately 100 million
cellular telephone radio handsets.

That is correct, Len. But it does not contradict what Mr. Hollingsworth
said.

Eleven and a half years ago, during the Northridge Earthquake in
Los Angeles, NO amateur radio "emergency communications" were
working in the first hours of the earthquake-induced TOTAL AC
POWER OUTAGE.

How do you know, Len?

Were you able to visit every amateur in the affected area and determine
that none of them were involved in emergency communications?

Public safety and utility radio services were
on the air and working despite the total electrical mains supply
being OFF. It took at least six hours for the Los Angeles area
power to BEGIN to be restored to subscribers on that necessary
BLACK START.

How long did it take before all, or nearly all, customers had their
electricity back?

Public safety and utility radios continued to
function, police and fire and paramedics rolled on calls,
hospitals were there with their own electric power and serving
patients. TEN MILLION residents were affected by that quake
and total power outage.

For how long?

What was the extent of the physical damage?

You seem to be saying that you could not see amateur radio playing an
important role in emergency communications during one particular
emergency. Based on that one emergency, you think that amateur radio
plays no important role in emergency communications during any
emergency.

Is that correct, Len?

Hollingsworth is a special counsel to the Enforcement Bureau's
Spectral enforcers.

That is correct, Len.

He should KNOW BETTER than to perpetuate
such myths as he stated.

That's your opinion.

But, Hollingsworth does NOT
specifically speak FOR amateur radio. He is little more than
a "radio cop in a suit."

Perhaps you would like to address those comments to him?

"There was a big newspaper chain that had a reporter with headphones on
listening to the hurricane emergency net. That made us nervous. The
last thing we wanted was some bad publicity for the Amateur Radio
service anywhere."

"Our people that go to these ITU meetings will tell us that it's
often a personal embarassment to them when these countries play back
tapes of what they hear on 75 and 20 Meters in the American amateur
bands."

On the American 'phone subbands. Not CW/data subbands...

Oh, my, another MYTH.

That is not correct, Len.

The tapes described are of voice operations. Not Morse Code operations.
Not digital/data operations. Voice only.

Simon Pure morseman "does not swear with
morse code!"

That is correct, Len.

Can you cite any instances to the contrary? Any examples of FCC
enforcement
for content violations by amateurs using Morse Code?

In the past decade or so, I know of *one* NAL for an amateur using
Morse Code. The amateur in question was transmitting Bible verses
"24/7" in Morse Code on the 40 meter band, as "code practice". But he
did not reply to questions from the FCC about how the station was
controlled. The NAL was for improper station control and failure to
reply, not for the content of the transmissions.

He is "safe to be around the children?"

In 38 years of amateur radio, all of the Morse Code amateur radio
transmissions I have heard had perfectly acceptable content for all
ages. None of them were an embarrassment for the Amateur Radio Service.

The same cannot be said for what I have heard of voice amateur radio
transmissions.

As an active radio amateur for almost four decades, I've heard a *lot*
of amateur radio transmissions - more Morse Code than voice.

[how many children did you say you "parented?"]

I didn't say how many, Len. How many did you say you "parented"?

"It puts them in a very difficult position when they have to defend
examples of conduct that other countries hear."

All those "75 and 20 Meters" radiotelephone users were
CODE TESTED (or had the equivalent of same).

That is correct, Len.

They were also written tested on the requlations.

The CODE TEST does NOT prevent verbal abuse via radio.

Not in 100% of cases, Len. Neither does the written test.

However, it is a fact that enforcement actions by FCC for "verbal abuse
via radio" are practically all about amateurs using voice modes, not
Morse Code. The ratio is far beyond what the relative popularity of the
modes would predict.

Should be "'nuff said".....

Here's another: David Sumner's editorial pieces in QST are done
by David Sumner.

That is correct, Len.

James Miccolis has not been invited to become
any "guest commentator" or "moral guardian" of U.S. amateur radio.

That is correct, Len.

But, he has set himself out as the same sort of "moral guardian"
and "giver of ethos" as if he was "respresentative" of over
700 thousand U.S. amateur radio licensees.

Even then he perpetuates the past with parodic perfidy.

That is your opinion.