Mobile museum curator John Dilks, K2TQN, at the operating position of his 1933 classic ham station. Dilks is an ARRL Life Member and on the Board of the Antique Wireless Association.
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The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, says the Commission may have to resort to fines to curb the practice of hoarding multiple club station call signs. "The reason we're concerned about this is that we consider it an abuse of our licensing processes," said Hollingsworth, a legal adviser for enforcement in the FCC's Compliance and Information Bureau. "If somebody applies for 30 or 40 licenses over time, it really overloads the staff." Hollingsworth pointed out that the call signs often must be typed in manually.
"If we have continued abuse, we're going to have to levy some forfeitures, which we have done in the past for abuse of Commission processes," he said. "With short staff and budget considerations, we just can't let things like this go on."
Earlier this month, a ham listed as the trustee for more than three dozen club station call signs agreed to give up all but one of them. Motoaki Uotome, JA1GZV, who also holds a US Extra ticket as W9BO, apparently was the trustee of 41 club station call signs. Last month, the FCC set aside 14 recently granted club station call signs and 12 recently granted club vanity call signs he held and asked Uotome to justify the grants.
The US is not the only country in which Uotome has collected a call sign. An Internet search indicates that he also holds one or more Amateur Radio call signs in Australia, Chile, and Uruguay.
Hollingsworth concedes that the FCC rules do not specify an upper limit to the number of call signs an individual may hold, but says "the underpinning of the rules is common sense." He recommended that multiple call sign holders should seriously consider turning in their excess grants before they hear from the FCC, "because we will be pursuing them."
In addition to the Uotome case, the FCC on June 4 wrote Steve Massey, N6TT, of Manhattan Beach, California, to inquire about the one dozen club station call signs it had granted to him. The FCC immediately set aside several call signs and requested that Massey provide justification for having them. In a similar letter on June 7, the FCC also set aside four recently issued club station call signs granted to Steven K. Nace, KN5H, of Chandler, Arizona.
News of the cases already has had an impact. "We're had several others come in on a voluntary basis and turn their excess number in," Hollingsworth said.
The FCC says the two-year rule applies for those seeking to obtain one of the desirable call signs being yielded or called back by the FCC, and Hollingsworth plans to specify a date of cancellation on each letter to a holder so that it will be clear when the two years are up.
"We're also going let them know they can't reclaim any of these call signs under former call sign holder exceptions to the two-year period," he said. Close relatives also would be unable to claim any of the call signs in the future.
The FCC says the Amateur Service is the next in line to be converted to the Universal Licensing System. Amateur Radio is scheduled for ULS "deployment" in August. Most of the remaining wireless services will be converted from their old licensing systems to ULS in phases during the remainder of 1999.
The FCC has adopted a Report and Order to enable public access to application and licensing information in the ULS via the Internet. The FCC says its decision will "significantly enhance the ability of the public to access public record information regarding wireless licensees, at a reduced cost."
The Universal Licensing System will replace the venerable Form 610 series with a new, inclusive electronic document known as Form 605. It also will incorporate the vanity call sign program. The ULS will permit amateurs to file applications, modifications or renewals via the Internet. Individual hams will not be required to file electronically, however. So far, nearly 6000 amateurs have registered with the ULS.
The annual meeting of the National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has been postponed, and a new meeting date likely won't be set until the FCC drops the other shoe on Amateur Radio restructuring. NCVEC members were to meet July 9 in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Members were concerned, however, that the FCC has yet to issue its impending Report and Order in WT Docket 98-143, the FCC's Biennial Review of Part 97--better known as Amateur Radio restructuring. The FCC's action is expected to have a substantial impact on the content of amateur examinations.
"The VECs felt it was important to delay any NCVEC meeting until after the restructuring decision had been announced by FCC, rather than prior to its announcement," said Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, of the ARRL-VEC. The FCC has not indicated when it plans to act on the restructuring issue.
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Mobile museum curator John Dilks, K2TQN, at the operating position of his 1933 classic ham station. Dilks is an ARRL Life Member and on the Board of the Antique Wireless Association. |
Like the traveling circus, John Dilks, K2TQN, has taken his show on the road. Ever since he started collecting vintage radio gear back in the 1950s, Dilks, 57, says it's been his desire and goal to have a radio museum. His wife "wasn't too keen" on the idea of his setting up the museum in their New Jersey home, however.
So after a bit of creative thinking, Dilks' decided to house his dream museum in a recreational vehicle--itself a bit of an antique--and his inaugural tour included a stop at ARRL Headquarters June 16.
"There's too many good collections that don't see the light of day," Dilks says. "I believe in sharing it." Dilks says it's also an opportunity to show newer hams the homebrewing techniques of the earlier generations.
Among the more unusual pieces aboard are two early receivers, a Patterson and a Sergeant Model 44 from the late 1930s. "Having the more unusual ones gives visitors a chance to see something they would not normally see," he said. K2TQN's Old Radio Museum contains a few of the old chestnuts as well, including units by Hallicrafters and National SW-3. Also in the lineup are well-preserved homebrew transmitters, including several breadboard-style units. The museum also includes a smattering of vintage tubes and keys, plus two spark transmitters and even crystal sets.
Swaying on two bamboo poles above the R/V's roof is a vintage-style multiwire antenna of the sort that an amateur of the 1920s or 1930s might have used.
 A visitor to ARRL HQ, Dave Brindle, K1WER, of Nashua, New Hampshire, checks out another vintage station in K2TQN's Old Radio Museum. The station includes a Stancor transmitter and a Silvertone receiver. |
But the highlight of the museum-on-wheels is an authentic 1933-style Amateur Radio station. Dilks assembled the station with equipment from several sources. It includes a 1932 Hammarlund Comet Pro receiver, coil box, speaker and QSL card once owned by Dare Aucott, W3CRY, and a homebrew 300-W transmitter built by Joe Hoffman, W2DST, of New York. The table and the 1933 station log book, license, lamp, and chair once were in the shack of Earl Abbott, W2FTT, of Manahawkin, New Jersey. QSL cards of that era line the wall above the station.
A curious historical footnote to the W2DST transmitter: Dilks says Hoffman, who had emigrated to the US from Germany, put away his Amateur Radio gear as World War II was breaking out--lest he be thought a German spy. It remained in an attic for decades. Dilks obtained the transmitter when the house was sold.
Dilks says he hopes to have the station operational from the R/V by next year and plans to have a vintage station on the air next spring from the Dayton Hamvention flea market.
Dilks had to cut short his visit to ARRL HQ after his R/V--a 1973 Dodge-powered unit--developed water pump problems. Once vehicle repairs are complete, Dilks planned to head off to Maryland for Radioactivity '99 in Burtonsville, followed by a stopover for the Rooster Net 3990 picnic at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. After a break, Dilks' museum will make stops in Pennsylvania and New Jersey before heading off to the big Antique Wireless Association national meet September 1-3 in Rochester, New York.
Dilks remains on the lookout for early amateur gear. "The goal is to change the display once every two years," he said, to keep things fresh for repeat visitors.
For more information, visit the New Jersey Antique Radio Club site, http://www.eht.com/oldradio. Contact Dilks via e-mail at oldradio@worldnet.att.net.
The Louisiana state Senate has passed HB 2088, which limits the control of local jurisdictions to regulate Amateur Radio antennas by incorporating the essence of the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1 into state law. The bill now is on its way to Gov Mike Foster for his signature.
Louisiana Section Manager Lionel "Al" Oubre, K5DPG, expressed his thanks and appreciation to Dan Whelchel, K5IQZ, who spearheaded the Louisiana PRB-1 effort, and to Rep Victor Stelly, who authored the bill. Oubre also thanked the Louisiana hams who contacted state lawmakers urging support of the bill.
Meanwhile, Oregon's PRB-1 bill, Senate Bill 879, has jumped another hurdle in its trip through that state's Legislature. The House Rules Committee approved and sent SB 879 to the House floor with a "Do Pass" recommendation on a unanimous vote. Amateur Radio operators are being encouraged to contact their local representative for their support of the bill. Bob Shelby, W7FPY, ARRL Assistant SM Marshall Johnson, KK7CW, and Sen Lee Beyer appeared on behalf of the bill at the committee hearing and work session.--thanks to Lionel "Al" Oubre, K5DPG and Marshall Johnson, KK7CW
CLOVER inventor Ray Petit, W7GHM, died June 13, 1999, at his home in Oak Harbor, Washington. He was 55. According to his close friend Ed Bixby, AK0X, Petit suffered a stroke in early March caused by a brain tumor that left him mostly paralyzed. Continuing growth of the tumor resulted in additional strokes that finally took his life.
CLOVER is a digital communications protocol designed for use on the HF bands that's found wide application in commercial and amateur communication.
Petit was well-known and respected within the Amateur Radio digital community. "Ray was a real gentleman and he will be missed," said QST Digital Dimensions Editor Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU. An ARRL member for more than 27 years, Petit had authored several articles for QST and QEX on CLOVER and coherent CW, among other topics.
Petit is survived by his wife, Joyce, two brothers and a sister.--thanks to Ed Bixby, AK0X, and Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Solar wonk Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average sunspot numbers were up 10 points this week, and average solar flux was down by just two points. A peek at http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/ shows how the two indices have diverged a bit, with sunspot numbers climbing faster than solar flux.
Solar flux is expected to bottom out at 150 on June 18, then rise over the weekend to 152 and 154. Planetary A index is expected to be 8, 12 and 10 over the same three days. Solar flux should be back to 160 by June 27, and stay around 165 June 28 through July 10. This is based on the previous solar rotation, so we can always hope for new activity to push the numbers higher. But as we approach the summer solstice, even higher solar flux won't make much difference on 10 meters until the fall.
Geomagnetic indices look stable over the next few weeks, with unsettled conditions around July 5.
Sunspot numbers for June 10 through 16 were 214, 211, 233, 211, 210, 240, and 201, with a mean of 217.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 161.1, 164.7, 168, 167.7, 168.2, 158.5, and 152.7, with a mean of 163. The estimated planetary A indices were 7, 6, 7, 6, 4, 8, and 7, with a mean of 6.4.
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