KB6NU's Ham Radio Blog

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2016 Extra Class study guide: E1F - Miscellaneous rules

Posted: 01 Apr 2016 06:41 AM PDT
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E1F Miscellaneous rules: external RF power amplifiers; business
communications; compensated communications; spread spectrum; auxiliary
stations; reciprocal operating privileges; special temporary authority

As the name of this section implies, it contains a hodgepodge of questions
covering sometimes obscure rules. About the only way to get these right is
to memorize the answers.

The use of spread-spectrum techniques is a topic that comes up from time to
time. Many amateurs feel that the rules are too restrictive. For example,
10 W is the maximum transmitter power for an amateur station transmitting
spread spectrum communications (E1F10), and only on amateur frequencies
above 222 MHz are spread spectrum transmissions permitted. (E1F01)

All of these choices are correct when talking about the conditions that
apply when transmitting spread spectrum emission: (E1F09)

A station transmitting SS emission must not cause harmful interference to
other stations employing other authorized emissions.
The transmitting station must be in an area regulated by the FCC or in a
country that permits SS emissions.
The transmission must not be used to obscure the meaning of any
communication.


External RF power amplifiers

The rules governing the use of external amplifiers is also somewhat
controversial. A dealer may sell an external RF power amplifier capable of
operation below 144 MHz if it has not been granted FCC certification if it
was purchased in used condition from an amateur operator and is sold to
another amateur operator for use at that operators station. (E1F03) One of
the standards that must be met by an external RF power amplifier if it is
to qualify for a grant of FCC certification is that it must satisfy the
FCCs spurious emission standards when operated at the lesser of 1500 watts,
or its full output power. (E1F11)

There are regulations that protects Canadian Land/Mobile operations near
the US/Canadian border from interference. Amateur stations may not transmit
in the 420 430 MHz frequency segment if they are located in the contiguous
48 states and north of Line A. (E1F05) A line roughly parallel to and south
of the US-Canadian border describes Line A. (E1F04) There is a
corresponding “Line B� parallel to and north of the U.S./Canadian border.

Compensated communications

As you might expect, there are some questions about not making any money
from operating an amateur radio station. Communications transmitted for
hire or material compensation, except as otherwise provided in the rules
are prohibited. (E1F08) An amateur station may send a message to a business
only when neither the amateur nor his or her employer has a pecuniary
interest in the communications. (E1F07)

This next question is a bit of a trick question. 97.201 states that only
Technician, General, Advanced or Amateur Extra Class operators may be the
control operator of an auxiliary station. (E1F12) It’s a trick question
because there are also holders of Novice Class licenses, even though no new
Novice licenses have been issued for many years.

The post 2016 Extra Class study guide: E1F Miscellaneous rules appeared
first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.


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2016 Extra Class study guide: E1E - Volunteer Examiners

Posted: 31 Mar 2016 04:38 PM PDT
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E1E Volunteer examiner program: definitions; qualifications; preparation
and administration of exams; accreditation; question pools; documentation
requirements

The Volunteer Examiner program started in the early 1980s, and has been a
boon for amateur radio. Exam sessions are now more accessible than when
tests were given by the FCC, meaning that it is much easier to obtain an
amateur radio license, and that more people can now enjoy our hobby.

As the name implies, volunteer examiners (VEs) are volunteers. They may not
accept any payment for administering tests. They may, however, be
reimbursed for some expenses. Preparing, processing, administering and
coordinating an examination for an amateur radio license are the types of
out-of-pocket expenses that Part 97 rules state that VEs and VECs may be
reimbursed. (E1E14)

The organizations that are responsible for accrediting and administering
the exams are called Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs). A Volunteer
Examiner Coordinator is an organization that has entered into an agreement
with the FCC to coordinate amateur operator license examinations. (E1E03)
There are currently 14 VECs in the U.S. The procedure by which a VEC
confirms that the VE applicant meets FCC requirements to serve as an
examiner is the phrase that describes the Volunteer Examiner accreditation
process. (E1E04)

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) is a
group made up from representatives of the 14 VECs. The NCVEC is responsible
for maintaining the question pools for the three examinations. The
questions for all written US amateur license examinations are listed in a
question pool maintained by all the VECs. (E1E02)

The rules and procedures for administering the tests are written so that
everything is on the up and up. For example, 3 is the minimum number of
qualified VEs required to administer an Element 4 amateur operator license
examination. (E1E01) Each administering VE is responsible for the proper
conduct and necessary supervision during an amateur operator license
examination session. (E1E06) Having several VEs, and making them all
responsible, leaves very little room for cheating.

VEs are not to show any favoritism. To minimize the chance of this
happening, a VE may not administer an examination to relatives of the VE as
listed in the FCC rules. (E1E08)

The penalty for a VE who fraudulently administers or certifies an
examination can be revocation of the VE’s amateur station license grant and
the suspension of the VE’s amateur operator license grant. (E1E09)

Before administering a test, the VEs instruct the candidates of the rules.
For example, the candidates are not allowed to consult any books during the
test. They may use a calculator, but only if they can demonstrate to a VE
that all of the calculator’s memories have been cleared. If a candidate
fails to comply with the examiner’s instructions during an amateur operator
license examination, a VE should immediately terminate the candidate’s
examination. (E1E07)

After the test, three VEs must correct each test sheet. This minimizes the
chance for making a scoring mistake. On amateur operator license
examinations, there is a minimum passing score of 74%. (E1E05) If an
examinee scores a passing grade on all examination elements needed for an
upgrade or new license, three VEs must certify that the examinee is
qualified for the license grant and that they have complied with the
administering VE requirements. (E1E11)

After the administration of a successful examination for an amateur
operator license, the VEs must submit the application document to the
coordinating VEC according to the coordinating VEC instructions. (E1E10) If
the examinee does not pass the exam, the VE team must return the
application document to the examinee. (E1E12)

A recent rules change allows VEs to administer exams remotely. This allows
applicants living in remote locations to more easily take an amateur radio
license examination. An acceptable method for monitoring the applicants if
a VEC opts to conduct an exam session remotely is to use a real-time video
link and the Internet to connect the exam session to the observing VEs.
(E1E13)

The post 2016 Extra Class study guide: E1E Volunteer Examiners appeared
first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.


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ARRL Executive Committee discusses enforcement, emcomm, HandiHam, and
podcasting

Posted: 31 Mar 2016 02:17 PM PDT
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On March 12, 2016, the ARRL Executive Committee met in Texas. They recently
published the meeting minutes. I found a couple items of interest:

Enforcement. The ARRL got Rep. Peter King of New York to bring up the issue
of repeater jamming with the FCC. It was noted during the discussion
thatÂ*the closure ofÂ*some FCC field offices has led to the retirement of
several experienced engineers who have beenÂ*helpful to amateur radio in the
past. This led to a discussion of how the Official Observer program could
be repositioned to provide more assistance to the FCC, and efforts are
already underway to do that.
Emcomm. FirstNet is an organization created by the U.S. Congress
whoseÂ*mission is to build, operate and maintain the first high-speed,
nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. The ARRL
hopes to be able to participate in this somehow, but it sounds to me like
this might be yet another effort to cut amateur radio out of emergency
communications.
HandiHam. I didnt know this, but apparently the ARRL is trying to take over
the HandiHam program. There are some legal hurdles that they have to jump
before this can occur.
Podcasting. At itsÂ*January meeting, the ARRL Board requested that ARRL
staff establish a Digital Media Content Channel. Apparently, they produced
a pilot podcast, so all you ham radio podcasters out there should be
looking for some ARRL competition soon.




The post ARRL Executive Committee discusses enforcement, emcomm, HandiHam,
and podcasting appeared first on KB6NUs Ham Radio Blog.