PAVE is an Air Force code word. PAWS is an acronym for Phased Array Warning System. Unlike older mechanical radars, PAVE PAWS is steered electronically, allowing for greatly increased speed an accuracy. The primary mission of this system was to detect the launch of Soviet missiles from submarines. PAVE PAWS radars are currently located at Beale Air Force Base, California and Cape Cod Air Station, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The radar pictured here is in El Dorado, Texas; it was built in the mid-1980s and was shut down in 1995.

Earlier this week, the ARRL responded to a series of concerns raised by repeaters owners regarding the ongoing PAVE PAWS interference mitigation project at Beale Air Force Base near Sacramento, California. In a lengthy e-mail dated August 20, ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, addressed a series of concerns raised by Tom Naso, N6MVT, of Lafayette, California; Naso is owner or trustee to several involved repeaters.

"Tom raised a series of thoughtful, valid concerns," Henderson stated. "The ARRL's response to his queries, though lengthy, attempts to address them in detail. With Tom's permission, we are releasing both his original e-mail and the ARRL's response in order to get the most accurate and full information out to repeater owners and users as possible. It also gives us the opportunity to make sure a couple of other issues relating to the PAVE PAWS situation that have arisen are brought to the public's attention."

Henderson said that the biggest challenge the ARRL -- and through them the affected repeater owners -- continues to face is "the balance between not being able to know full technical details of the interference and the testing techniques and the desire/need to know information. It's a tough challenge. And while there have been a few errors in identifying call signs (because of errors in databases being used by the Air Force), there were actual measurements made of signals identified by the Air Force testing group."

Henderson pointed out that the ARRL continues to pursue valid concerns that can be based on fact and backed up with solid data that are raised by repeater owners. "We will continue to expect the FCC to perform its responsibilities. If a permanent shut-down order comes from the FCC, we expect that the licensee is given their full rights for due process."

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