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FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition to Allocate New 5 MHz Band
by bob bascom 20 Feb '17

20 Feb '17

http://qrznow.com/fcc-invites-comments-on-arrl-petition-to-allocate-new-5-m… FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition to Allocate New 5 MHz Band Posted date: February 16, 2017 The FCC has invited comments on the ARRL’s January 12 Petition for Rule Making <https://ecfsapi.fcc.gov/file/101122964205072/Petition%20for%20Rule%20Making…> to allocate a new, contiguous secondary band at 5 MHz to the Amateur Service. The League also asked the Commission to keep four of the current five 60-meter channels — one would be within the new band — as well as the current operating rules, including the 100 W PEP effective radiated power (ERP) limit. The federal government is the primary user of the 5 MHz spectrum. The FCC has designated the League’s Petition as RM-11785 and put it on public notice. Comments are due Monday, March 20. ARRL plans to file comments in support of its petition. The proposed ARRL action would implement a portion of the Final Acts of World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) that provided for a secondary international allocation of 5,351.5 to 5,366.5 kHz to the Amateur Service; that band includes 5,358.5 KHz, one of the existing 5 MHz channels in the US. The FCC has not yet acted to implement other portions of the WRC-15 Final Acts. “Such implementation will allow radio amateurs engaged in emergency and disaster relief communications, and especially those between the United States and the Caribbean basin, to more reliably, more flexibly and more capably conduct those communications [and preparedness exercises], before the next hurricane season in the summer of 2017,” ARRL said in its petition. The League said that 14 years of Amateur Radio experience using the five discrete 5-MHz channels have shown that hams can get along well with primary users at 5 MHz, while complying with the regulations established for their use. “Neither ARRL, nor, apparently, NTIA is aware of a single reported instance of interference to a federal user by a radio amateur operating at 5 MHz to date,” ARRL said in its petition. NTIA — the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which regulates federal spectrum — initially proposed the five channels for Amateur Radio use. In recent years, Amateur Radio has cooperated with federal users such as FEMA in conducting communication interoperability exercises. The League said in its petition that while the Amateur Radio community is grateful to the FCC and NTIA for providing some access to the 5-MHz band, “the five channels are, simply stated, completely inadequate to accommodate the emergency preparedness needs of the Amateur Service in this HF frequency range,” ARRL said. Access even to the tiny 15-kHz wide band adopted at WRC-15 would “radically improve the current, very limited capacity of the Amateur Service in the United States to address emergencies and disaster relief,” ARRL said. The WRC-15 Final Acts stipulated a power limit of 15 W effective isotropic radiated power (EIRP), which the League said “completely defeats the entire premise for the allocation in the first place.” ARRL said the FCC should permit a power level of 100 W PEP ERP, assuming use of a 0 dBd gain antenna, in the contiguous 60-meter band. “To impose the power limit adopted at WRC-15 for the contiguous band would render the band unsuitable for emergency and public service communications,” the League said. The ITU Radio Regulations permit assignments at variance with the International Table of Allocations, provided a non-interference condition is attached. Source:ARRL

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SBARC General Club Meeting Cancelled for Tonight
by Brian Milburn K6BPM 17 Feb '17

17 Feb '17

We're going to go ahead and call off tonights meeting. I am concerned about downed trees, mudslides and general safety issues. We don't want anyone to go out and not be able to get home safely if this rain continues. Please let others know if you think they might not receive this email. Thanks, 73, stay safe and dry and we'll see you next month!! -- Brian - K6BPM

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NWS Weather briefing
by Bill Talanian 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

To All Hands: Forward from Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ, ARES SEC. Hello Partners, Attached are the slides from this morning's webinar. These will also posted on our webpage. Thanks to all who joined and please call or email us if you have any questions. *Mark Jackson* /Meteorologist in Charge/ /National Weather Service Los Angeles/Oxnard, CA/ /805-988-6617/

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Operational readiness
by Bill Talanian 16 Feb '17

16 Feb '17

Reminder: Should the anticipated heavy weather system present a state of readiness or response by ARES the K6TZ and W6YJO repeater operations will be governed by direction from ARES in response to directives from the SBC OES. Thanks for your cooperation. Bill Talanian Trustee

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Obit, WA6MBZ
by Bill Talanian 06 Feb '17

06 Feb '17

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=jogoleff&GSbyrel=all…

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ARRL Southwestern Division e-Communicator
by Marvin Johnston 04 Feb '17

04 Feb '17

ARRL Southwestern Division e-Communicator Amateurs in California and in several Arizona communities are facing recently enacted or impending bans on handheld electronic devices while driving. Here’s what we currently know about these laws. In California, Assembly Bill 1785 took effect on January 1 of this year. Now included in Section 23123.5 of the Vehicle Code, this law provides that “a person shall not drive a motor vehicle while holding and operating a handheld wireless telephone or an electronic wireless communications device unless the wireless telephone or electronic wireless communications device is specifically designed and configured to allow voice-operated and hands-free operation, and it is used in that manner while driving . . . For the purposes of this section, “electronic wireless communications device” includes, but is not limited to, a broadband personal communication device, a specialized mobile radio device, a handheld device or laptop computer with mobile data access, a pager, or a two-way messaging device.” Whether intentionally or unintentionally vague, interpretations of this language have ranged from applying to all mobile communications (a traffic court commissioner speaking to a radio club) to excluding mobile radios (a CHP spokesperson in Orange County). One of our ARRL Volunteer Counsel attorneys spoke with a staff member of the Assembly Transportation Committee, which introduced the bill. The staffer told him that the law was intended to apply to smartphones and similar broadband devices, not to Amateur Radio or other radio communication services. Another Volunteer Counsel attorney is attempting to get a clarifying statement to that effect entered into the official record. Meanwhile, CHP in Sacramento has provided guidance to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s office that wired microphones permissible but handheld radios are not. Until the law is amended or clarified, it might be prudent for California Hams to avoid wielding a handheld while driving. In December, the Town of Oro Valley (in Pima County), Arizona adopted a “hands-free” ordinance that states, "No person shall, except as otherwise provided in this ordinance, use a mobile telephone or portable electronic device while operating a motor vehicle upon a street or highway, unless that device is specifically designed or configured to allow hands-free listening and talking and used in that manner while operating a motor vehicle." The ordinance defines "hands free" as the "use of a mobile telephone or portable electronic device without the use of either hand by employing an internal feature of, or an attachment to, the device." Like the new California law, this one was ostensibly targeting smartphones and the like, but its lack of clear definitions or specific exclusions has Amateurs concerned. The town has provided for a warning-only period of a few months during which mobile radio operators can make their case if stopped. (Source: Oro Valley Web site) A similar bill was passed earlier in 2016 in the City of San Luis (in Yuma County) but has not led to any enforcement cases to date. On January 10, the Tucson City Council approved in concept a law similar to Oro Valley’s, and the final language is expected any time now. The stated purpose was to enable better enforcement of the city’s four-year- old ban on texting while driving, and it appears that the implementation will be as a secondary offense, one for which you can be cited only of you are already being stopped for another offense such as speeding. (Source: Tucson News Now.) Tucson Amateurs are contacting their council members to request inclusion of appropriate exemption or exclusion language. It is worth noting that an overly broad mobile-communications ordinance enacted in Coconino County, Arizona in 2014 was amended after pressure from both Amateurs and commercial trucking interests, according to Section Manager Robert Spencer KE8DM. In Dave Sumner’s editorial devoted to this subject in February 2012 QST, he noted that “Safety must be our number one concern. Guiding a motor vehicle is an awesome responsibility. Radio amateurs have been operating mobile for decades without being perceived as a threat to public safety, but if there is ever any doubt in your mind about your ability to discharge that responsibility you should either pull off the road (if it is safe to do so) or turn off the radio.” I encourage you to read the full editorial. -------------------------------------------------------------------- ARRL Southwestern Division Director: Richard J Norton, N6AA n6aa(a)arrl.org -------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from messages, go to: http://p1k.arrl.org/oo/55210d6929e5ff29dec2a61588e338cb

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Baker to Vegas
by Ken Alker 26 Jan '17

26 Jan '17

My wife (Lena - no call sign), is a Deputy DA for Santa Barbara County. Her colleagues at the DA's office participate in an annual event called "Baker to Vegas". As I understand it, this is a relay (foot) race that is 120 miles long, covers about four counties, two states, and 6500 square miles, and elevations from 470' to 5495'. There is no cell service on about half of the course. They have a need for radio communications amongst their five "shuttle vehicles" and the "follow vehicle", and, ideally, their coordinator (home base) in Las Vegas at the end of the run. Communications over this distance is quite a challenge. There are two closed repeater systems on Potosi (Vegas) and Turquoise (Baker), however, this still doesn't cover the entire race. I'm told by the frequency coordinator, Jeff Lee (KF6NXQ), that some ham clubs and RACES/ACS units use the race as their annual "exercise" so they get real fancy with equipment, trailers, temporary repeaters, lots of people, etc. Is this something anyone in the club has had experience with, and is there any interest in trying to support our local DA's office? They have to have their frequency coordination in by February 2 and the race is on March 25 and 26 so this is very last-minute, but I'm interested in seeing if there is interest, even if not until next year. Because it is so late, this year they will likely have to rent commercial radios that use the MRA trunking system that probably cover 70-80% of the course. The group supplying this system has permanent repeaters on Potosi and Turquoise and they bring out temporary repeaters at Ibex Pass and at the California/Nevada state line to support the race. I have no idea how well this system works, and/or if the hams can do better. Jeff tells me that San Diego County RACES puts out 30 people and supports six teams. They use a combination of simplex and repeaters and mostly 50-watt mobile radios. Here is a link: <http://bakervegas.net/>. I also have a power point that Jeff put together detailing the various means of radio communications (and there are a LOT used in the race... also including ham HF, CB, GMRS, MURS, satellite phones, etc.) which I can supply if anyone wants a copy. As an aside, they also have a full-blown private APRS system that will be tracking all of the runners (via the follow vehicles) which will be displayed on findyou.com. That said, each team has to supply their own APRS beacons if they want to participate. Ken Alker KA6KEN

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SYP Weather
by Bill Talanian 26 Jan '17

26 Jan '17

Folks: HPWREN has been installing sensors on several peaks in SB County. This includes cameras and weather instrumentation. Here is the link to the latest Vaisala station on top Santa Ynez Peak. This is a quality unit. http://hpwren.ucsd.edu/Sensors/SYP-WXT520/ Bill Talanian

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Revised/Expanded N6ZE/Rover Plans For January VHF Contest
by peter h 20 Jan '17

20 Jan '17

Pete, N6ZE, plans a daytime 3 grid rove on Saturday, 21January2017, during the ARRL VHF Contest. At 11AM PST, Pete & Woodie, KJ6VZC, plan to begin in Ventura, CA (DM04); travel up US-101 past Santa Barbara to Grid CM94 for some limited operating . CM94 ops will be sometime about noon-time. We then plan to travel on CA-1 (PCH) Southward along the coast to Santa Monica (DM03) & Palos Verdes; and thence back to Ventura & Thousand Oaks by approximately 1800 PST. We plan to use vertical antennas for (6m) SSB 50.125 /CW/FM 52.525; (2m) SSB 144.200/CW/FM 146.52/146.55; (135cm) 223.5 MHz FM; (70cm) SSB/CW 432.1/446.0 FM; & (33cm) 902.1 & 927.5 MHz FM. We will try to specifically monitor FM frequencies for minutes 00 - 05 of each hour. (IF we operate on Sunday, we hope to also use 23 cm from the Thousand Oaks area only) The weather forecast for Saturday is decent; for Sunday, weather will be unsuitable for much roving! The contest begins at 1100AM PST, Saturday, and ends at 8:00PM PST, Sunday. We will occasionally check n6ze(a)aol.com for schedule requests. Good Luck to al. bt73 Pete, N6ZE

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WA6MBZ SK
by Jay Hennigan 09 Jan '17

09 Jan '17

http://www.independent.com/obituaries/2017/jan/09/michael-jogoleff/ -- -- Jay Hennigan - CCIE #7880 - Network Engineering - jay(a)impulse.net Impulse Internet Service - http://www.impulse.net/ Your local telephone and internet company - 805 884-6323 - WB6RDV

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