Wed 18 Aug 2010 |
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Written by Loyd C. Headrick
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 On August 16, ReconRobotics -- in response to the ARRL’s Petition to Deny Applications, filed with the FCC on August 4 -- filed an Opposition to Petition to Deny with the FCC, arguing that the ARRL’s Petition is “frivolous.” The ARRL’s Petition asked the FCC to deny 68 pending Public Safety Pool license applications associated with the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance System, specifically the Recon Scout device.
Calling the “frivolous” contention “somewhat amusing, given what the FCC had done three days earlier,” ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, pointed out that on August 13, the FCC returned the first application -- submitted by the City of Salina, Kansas. The Salina Police Department had asked the FCC for a waiver to operate the Recon Scout in the band 433-445 MHz. The FCC returned the waiver request to Salina, noting that the frequency band requested was not consistent with the waiver Order (Docket 08-63/DA-291) which requires that the first unit licensed to an eligible entity operate in the band 436-442 MHz. “We expect that the application will be corrected and resubmitted,” Sumner said, “but it is encouraging to see that the FCC agrees with us that the applications -- this and all of the subsequent ones filed -- are defective in this respect.”
The ARRL’s Petition noted these and other incorrect technical parameters in each filed application, stemming from errors in the grant of equipment authorization for the ReconRobotics device, as well as inconsistencies between the applications and the FCC waiver grant for the device in Docket 08-63. Since the August 4 filing, the ARRL has noted another 16 applications have been filed with the FCC, requesting a waiver to be able to use the Recon Scout in the incorrect frequency band. On August 17 the ARRL amended its original Petition to Deny Applications to include these 16 additional applications. |
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 On August 4, 2010, the ARRL filed a Petition to Deny Applications with the FCC to deny 68 pending Public Safety Pool license applications associated with the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance System. Each license application is accompanied by a waiver request to permit operation of the devices in the 433-445 MHz band. The applications were coordinated by APCO International Inc Licensing Services -- the frequency coordinator for the public safety land mobile radio services -- and would allow the use of the Recon Scout product currently being marketed by ReconRobotics pursuant to an FCC waiver.
“While several issues factor into the ARRL’s Petition to Deny these applications, most notable is that the Commission has not acted on the ARRL’s Petition for Reconsideration in WP Docket 08-63, which has been pending since March of this year,” said ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. “That petition raises issues that should be addressed prior to any action on the individual applications. Granting applications based on the Docket 08-63 waiver, which is not final, would be premature. There is the potential for significant interference from these devices to licensed operations in the amateur 70 cm band. We urge the FCC to take thoughtful and expedient action on our Petition for Reconsideration.”
The Petition to Deny also noted incorrect technical parameters and frequency ranges in each filed application, stemming from errors in the grant of equipment authorization for the ReconRobotics device, as well as inconsistencies between the applications and the FCC waiver grant for the device in Docket 08-63. |
 Acting on behalf of an ARRL member in Midwest City, Oklahoma -- who had been sent a notice by the town asserting that he was in violation of a town ordinance regarding radio frequency interference (RFI) -- the ARRL notified Midwest City officials that only the FCC is empowered to regulate such matters. Two weeks after ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, sent the letter to town officials, Midwest City Assistant City Attorney Randal D. Homburg sent an e-mail to the ham to let him know “the previously delivered notice is hereby rescended [sic]. There will be no citations issued and thus, the issue is moot.” Midwest City is in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.
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 John, Paul, George and Ringo are on the list. Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Brahms -- even Frank Zappa and Elvis (but not Madonna). Of course Asimov and Sagan made the cut, Mr Spock, too, but not Captain Kirk. And now ARRL -- more precisely, (31531) ARRL -- joins this prestigious company as one of more than 16,000 named minor planets in our solar system. A minor planet -- such as an asteroid --is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is neither a dominant planet -- such as Mercury, Saturn and Neptune -- nor a comet. The first minor planet -- named Ceres -- was discovered in 1801. Since then, more than 200,000 minor planets have been discovered, most of them lying in the asteroid belt. But as of July 27, 2010, only 16,005 had been named.
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 With more than 18,000 new Amateur Radio licenses issued in the first half of this year -- 18,270 to be exact -- 2010 is shaping up to be a banner year for Amateur Radio. So far, the number of new licenses issued by the FCC in 2010 is outpacing the January-June 2009 totals by almost 8.5 percent; at this time last year, the FCC had issued 16,844 new licenses. As of June 30, 2010, there are 694,346 licensed Amateur Radio operators in the US, an almost 1 percent rise over all of calendar year 2009. Broken down by license class at the end of June 2010, there were 16,299 Novices, 342,064 Technicians, 154,284 Generals, 60,059 Advanced and 121,640 Amateur Extra licensees . Read more here. |
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