11 November 2010
To: SBARC List-server From: Bill Talanian, Trustee K6TZ Subject: Club station operations
A week ago, as Trustee of K6TZ, I received an email inquiry from the FCC legal staff at the Enforcement Bureau relative to operations on the repeater. The inquiry requested information about on-the-air requests for donations to support the club station. The first step was to have everyone back-off this issue until the we could get all the facts together. An immediate response was sent to the FCC with a return reply received in 3 days. After a review of all the facts in this case it is apparent there was no violation of FCC rules by David Milton, K6HWN. The FCC was satisfied that the issue is resolved by not placing the Bureau in the position of passing judgement or issuing a ruling. In other words the FCC is satisfied that we have responsible people at the helm in keeping petty issues under control.
Each repeater system takes on an individual persona which is why there is more than one system for any person or group of persons. While the style of any one operator may not suit all the ultimate power is within two fingers to listen or simply turn the radio off. Like it or not David has brought back vibrant life to the K6TZ repeater and certainly has a large following. The Board is mindful that not everyone agrees with all styles and substance and has offered suggestions on how to achieve better cohesiveness in daily operations.
As your Trustee for more than 25 years this is the first inquiry or complaint we have ever received from the FCC. What is most distressing is that an individual complaint was made directly to the Enforcement Bureau of the FCC without knowing all the facts. As Trustee I report directly to the Board of SBARC as well as the FCC. My job is to resolve any differences be they operational or technical. If an issue requires further counseling we have a 13 member Board of Directors and the Regulatory Branch at the ARRL. Anyone is welcome to seek out an individual Board member or if necessary bring the issue before the full meeting of the Board which meets once per month. In this regard the complainant failed to meet the first test. By going directly to the FCC the complainant only get's one shot. This person has now lost all credibility in their argument.
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