SB QST @ ARL $ARLB016
ARLB016 Next Round of PAVE PAWS Mitigation Contacts Begin

ZCZC AG16
QST de W1AW  
ARRL Bulletin 16  ARLB016
From ARRL Headquarters  
Newington CT  October 24, 2008
To all radio amateurs 

SB QST ARL ARLB016
ARLB016 Next Round of PAVE PAWS Mitigation Contacts Begin

On Wednesday, October 22, the FCC notified the ARRL that they would
immediately begin making direct contact with owners or trustees of
approximately 40 repeaters. The US Air Force identified these
repeaters earlier this year as contributors to the harmful
interference affecting the Beale Air Force Base PAVE PAWS radar
installation near Sacramento, California.

"ARRL understands that contact with individual amateurs will be made
from the DFCC's San Francisco office," said ARRL Regulatory
Information Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND. "The owners of these
newly identified repeaters will be provided the operating parameters
determined by the Air Force engineering unit's testing to be
necessary to mitigate the interference. The owners will be requested
to meet signal strength limits as soon as possible. The ARRL Lab and
staff are available to answer specific questions for the owners of
these newly identified repeaters and to provide technical
information to assist them in implementing the mitigation."

Henderson said that as the Amateur Radio Service is a secondary user
on the 70 cm band, "It is important for amateurs to remember that it
is 100 percent our responsibility to eliminate harmful interference
to the primary user. While we realize that this is and will continue
to be an ongoing process, this third round of mitigation should mean
that each of the known repeaters in the affected area have been
tested at least once. How the FCC will address approximately 50
repeaters previously identified as interference contributors -- but
which have not apparently completed the required modifications --
still remains. Nor is it clear when a process by which new
coordinations can be issued in the area might commence."

Henderson reminded amateurs that "It is important to remember that
this isn't a one-time solution. The amateur community needs to
remain aware of this problem and responsibly utilize the band in the
future to avoid any large-scale problems such as those we have
experienced in this situation."
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