Mission Statement:

The ARRL RFI Task Group monitors developments in the Electromagnetic Compatibility field and assesses their impact on the Amateur Radio Service. The Task Group then informs the ARRL Board of Directors about these activities and makes policy recommendations for further action, if appropriate.

The overall goals of the committee are:

HQ Staff:

The role of the ARRL HQ staff consists of the following:

RFI to hams continues to be the main focus of the HQ staff. Messrs. Hare and Phillips have received reports of interference from electric utilities and other devices. In many cases, they have written letters to the involved utility companies, usually eliciting good initial cooperation. One case, involving Cumberland Electric in Tennessee, was referred to the FCC for further action.

Status of Other Current Projects:

Although many of the current projects are being performed by HQ staff, the Lab has maintained close contact with the other members of the RFI Task Group, and they have all offered input and participation in many of the projects and programs.

ANSI/IEEE C.63 Committee: The C.63 committee is working on developing industry standards of immunity for consumer devices. ARRL serves as a resource to the committee to protect the interests of Amateur Radio. Subcommittee 1 continues to work on a variety of EMC projects, primarily related to test site standardization. Subcommittee 5 deals with immunity and immunity measurement issues. Subcommittee 8 deals with various types of medical equipment.

Mr Bodson has been appointed as the representative and HQ staff liaison Mr Hare is the alternate. Mr Hare attended the C63 meeting in Baltimore, MD. At that meeting, Mr Hare was appointed be the Secretary of Subcommittee 5. The parent committee also formed an ad hoc working group on power-line communications devices. At the meeting, Mr Hare was appointed to be a member of that working group.

Automotive EMC: Mark Steffka, along with his colleague Terry Rybak, W8TR, have completed a draft of revisions to the automotive chapter of the ARRL RFI Book. Although the book is over a year from stock out and reprinting, the chapter will continue to be revised on an ongoing basis. In addition, the RFITG referred a problem relating to a Chevrolet S-10 truck to the EMC staff at General Motors (GM). GM was able to solve the problem, and, as a result, will review their corporate guidelines for mobile radio installations.

Wireless Modem Jacks: In late 1998, the ARRL received reports about interference near 3.53 MHz from model PX-421 wireless modem jacks. The jacks are an older model made by Phonex, a Utah company. They were installed by the thousands by AT&T Broadband cable (formerly TCI Cablevision). The League and RFI Task Group have been monitoring the status of this problem and have been working with Phonex and AT&T since this problem was first reported. As of December, 2000, the League had over 100 reported cases of interference, with several ARRL Directors indicating that they had also received additional reports. Phonex and AT&T have been continuing to respond appropriately. In mid 2000, AT&T initiated a system-wide recall of the units, supplementing its earlier procedure to respond to specific complaints. In most cases, hams are now reporting either complete resolution, or a noticeable improvement. There are a few pockets of problems, though. The ARRL Task Group purchased some 80-meter direction finding receivers and has sent two of them to AT&T for evaluation.

HomePlug: HomePlug devices use HF signals to network computers within a local area using residential or business electrical wiring. Because electrical wiring is not as well balanced , potential for interference from power-line devices. The League has maintained contact with the HomePlug industry group. As a result of that work, the HomePlug specification includes protection for the ham bands. HomePlug devices are just now being deployed. ARRL will closely watch for any interference problems and will aggressively pursue any cases of harmful interference.

Power-Line Interference: Mr Phillips has been handling most of the power-line cases reported to ARRL, through our cooperative relationship with the FCC. At the end of 2001, Mr Phillips reported that he has handled 110 power line cases, involving about 30 separate utilities. Many of these have received a letter from ARRL, outlining our agreement with the FCC and utility-company responsibilities. Most of the companies responded appropriately and either fixed the problem or are working with ARRL and the involved Amateurs. Those that didn't were referred back to the FCC. In those cases, the utilities received a similar letter from the FCC Enforcement Bureau.

RFI Database: As of January 1, 2002, the ARRL Lab is entering all new and pending RFI cases into a database. This will allow tracking of individual problems and identification of trends.

RFI Update Column: In December 2001, the ARRL web site began its monthly column on RFI -- the RFI Update. This column will feature stories about current RFI issues, reports of interesting individual cases and various tips on how to deal with RFI problems.

The Future: Interference to hams appears to be the present RFI issue. RFI, especially RFI from unlicensed devices, poses real threats to Amateur Radio. This will continue to require significant Task Group and ARRL staff attention. To the extent possible with existing staff, or with additional resources, the ARRL should increase its contact with standards organization, industry groups and individual companies, and continue to work on all aspects of RFI problems and solutions.

ARRL's information about RFI can be read at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/rfigen.html.