March 29, 1996

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IN THIS UPDATE . . ..

NY SUPREME COURT RENDERS FAVORABLE RULING IN TOWER CASE

One of the reasons J. P. Kleinhaus, AA2DU, chose to live in Cortlandt Manor, New York, in 1993, was that the town's zoning ordinance did not restrict him from erecting a planned 120-foot tower. But by the time he closed the deal on his house in early 1994, a new zoning ordinance had gone into effect, one prohibiting towers above 35 feet. The town denied his application for the much taller tower, and Kleinhaus sued. But on March 20, the New York Supreme Court handed down a ruling annulling the Zoning Board of Appeal's decision as "irrational, arbitrary and capricious."

Kleinhaus is overjoyed. However, the "fine print" in the decision does not order the town to grant the permit. Instead, it directs Kleinhaus and the town to arrive at a compromise. Among the possibilities the judge cited was painting the tower to help it blend in with its surroundings. He was thinking about brown below the tree line and possibly a light gray or blue above the trees, but he said he'd go along with whatever the town agrees to.

"An order has not been signed by the judge," Kleinhaus said. "We're right now in the process of negotiating with the town." He said he's pleased with the high court's ruling, however, and called his particular case "remarkable" because of the size of the tower he has in mind. Kleinhaus, who describes himself as a contester/DXer "in that order," wants to install a guyed 120-foot tower in a wooded area 250 feet back from the road and behind his house.

Ironically, the town imposes no height restrictions on rooftop structures, provided they cover no more than 25% of the roof's surface area. Kleinhaus called that provision "bizarre." He said this week that he's "fairly confident" he can reach accommodation with the town. "It's actually a very good decision," he said. Earlier this year, the ARRL asked the FCC to take additional steps to compel state and local governments to make reasonable accommodation for Amateur Radio under PRB-1 and to apply the least restrictive means to regulate amateur antennas and activity.

The League's Petition for Rule Making, filed February 7, calls on the FCC to amend Section 97.15(e) to say that any state or local ordinances restricting ham radio antennas to heights below 70 feet would be presumed unreasonable, unless the state or local authority could show its restrictions support a clearly defined health, safety or aesthetic objective. The League says clarifying the preemption policy (PRB-1) would "help guide municipalities to enact provisions that make fair accommodation for amateurs and avoid highly divisive litigation between hams and localities."

SAREX MISSION GETS LATE START, EARLY END

After a one-day, weather-related delay, the space shuttle Atlantis was launched successfully March 22 to initiate the third shuttle/Mir docking flight. Four Amateur Radio operators (out of a crew of six) are aboard the STS-76 mission, the 20th SAREX flight. Hams include Commander Kevin P. Chilton, KC5TEU; Pilot Richard A. Searfoss, KC5CKM; and Mission Specialists Linda M. Godwin, N5RAX, and Ronald M. Sega, KC5ETH. On this flight, Mission Specialist Shannon Lucid will become the first American woman to serve as a researcher aboard Russia's Mir orbital complex, where she'll remain for approximately four months.

Five school groups have been picked to have a brief (4 to 8-minute) opportunity to speak with the shuttle crew via Amateur Radio. The five school groups include Yeso Elementary School, Artesia, New Mexico; Troy Middle School, Troy, Texas; Bethlehem Central Senior High School, Delmar, New York; S. J. Davis Middle School, San Antonio, Texas; and the University of Colorado College of Engineering and Applied Science, Colorado Springs, Colorado. WA3NAN at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will air SAREX contacts on HF.

NASA rescheduled the SAREX contact for Bethlehem Central Senior High School from a time near the scheduled end of the mission to early today, March 29. A hydraulic leak early in the mission and predicted fog at the landing site have caused NASA to shorten the mission by a day. The shuttle is due to return March 30.

The extremely busy nature of the flight is expected to severely limit SAREX radio operations. Hams are encouraged to listen on the 145.84-MHz downlink frequency and to transmit only when the crew is on the air. Uplink frequencies are 144.45 and 144.47 MHz. Forward reports of SAREX and general QSO operations by e-mail to sarex@amsat.org to alert the ham radio community to SAREX voice operations.--AMSAT News Service

HAM ASTRONAUT TO VISIT CONNECTICUT SCHOOL

Astronaut Ron Parise, WA4SIR, will put in a rare personal appearance May 16 at Plymouth Center School, Plymouth, Connecticut. Parise flew aboard STS-67 last year and had a successful SAREX contact with students at the 600-pupil elementary school. The visit is a result of the efforts of Len Brown, KD1OY, who volunteers at the school. While recovering from a back injury that put him out of his regular line of work as a mechanic, he approached school administrators about Amateur Radio and the SAREX program. He brought an HF receiver along to monitor the WA3NAN broadcasts. "They invited me back to spend the day," he said.

In subsequent visits, Brown explained about SAREX and got the school to apply for a spot on the SAREX schedule. "They were on the waiting list for about 2-1/2 years," he said. Since then, ham radio has become part of the curriculum at the school, and another school has approached him to help it get involved with SAREX. The media attention that resulted from the initial SAREX contact also boosted the school's reputation. "Everybody thinks Plymouth Center's the high-tech school to be at," Brown said.

Ever since the SAREX QSO, Brown said he's been nurturing his relationship with Parise. "The day after the contact, I put together a package of the media coverage and shipped it directly to his house," he recalled. Also, "a Christmas card helped." Brown said Parise will spend a good part of the day at the school, and Brown hopes to set up ham radio links to other schools to let them share in the visit and ask questions of Parise.

Brown, who lives in Terryville, Connecticut, and works as a teacher's aide at Farmington High School, has been invited to speak at other schools about SAREX. He's also begun to explore teaching as a new career. In addition to the SAREX contact, he has arranged for the youngsters at the school to listen to SkyWarn nets too. Brown believes ham radio can help to make the kids feel they are a part of things they'd otherwise just read about or see on TV. A few new licensees have been one result, and there have been lots of donations from other area amateurs, too.

Brown now meets with a ham radio club at the school every Thursday. However, recent construction at the school has interfered with hamming there. A 40-meter dipole had to come down, and a beam feed line was cut during the work. Everything should be back to normal in the fall. For more information, contact Brown via e-mail at lenny@sys415.chatlink.com or at fhslib@aol.com (put Lenny Brown on subject line).

SCOUTS PUT A NEW TWIST ON TOWER CONSTRUCTION

During these weeks when thoughts turn to Field Day planning, you might consider inviting some Boy Scouts along to help with the antenna. On February 10 at special event station K2BSA/6 at Camp Pendleton Marine Base, scouts from Troop 319 of Huntington Beach, California, designed and built a 35-foot HF tower lashed together from wooden poles. Assistant Scoutmaster Mel Goldberg, KO6TF, said the scouts built the tower on its side, then 40 scouts pulled it erect using ropes. Then three scouts (what else?) served to rotate the structure as needed. The operation drew media attention, including a mention in the Los Angeles Times and three regional papers. Kenwood provided HF gear for the event, and, Goldberg reports, 1400 scouts stopped by to visit.

The K2BSA/6 operation snagged 35 states and three countries in its eight hours on the air. One QSO was with an 84-year-old ham who had been an Eagle Scout in his younger days but was now partially blind and wheelchair-bound. Goldberg reports the man broke down when the scouts told him he'd always be an Eagle Scout and a friend of scouting.

A QSL certificate is available that shows the completed tower and all of the scouts on and around it. Pictures of the tower and the operation are on the ScoutRadio site at http://www.ecllc.com/bsa319/ham.htm on the World Wide Web.

Goldberg cites a "conservative estimate" that 250,000 Amateur Radio operators are or have been in scouting. He said Troop 319 will operate as K2BSA/6 during the 1996 Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) October 18-20. Scout groups interested in using the official call sign of the Boy Scouts of America during JOTA can apply to Dan Dansby, W5URI, the K2BSA trustee, at 5805 Walla Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76133. Include an sase. Only one application will be granted per call district (and the sixth is already spoken for).

FCC UPHOLDS INTERFERENCE-RELATED FINES AGAINST TWO HAMS

The FCC has reaffirmed fines against John B. Genovese, WB5LOC, of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Vernon A. Paroli, KA5OWW, of Gretna, Louisiana, for interfering with communications of other amateurs in the spring of 1993. The FCC upheld forfeitures of $500 against Genovese and $700 against Paroli after a second review. Genovese and Paroli were among four hams issued Notices of Apparent Liability by the FCC's New Orleans office. The other hams were Will Blanton Jr, N5ROC, of Carriere, Mississippi, and Joseph Richard III, N5JNX, of New Orleans. Richard had been cited for a similar violation in 1992. The fines resulted from occurrences of willful and malicious interference to an organized, 2-meter repeater net and were based on information provided by the Amateur Auxiliary, which tape recorded the violations and turned them over to the FCC. All four initially were fined $2000 apiece, but these fines later were reduced on appeal. Blanton and Richard were ordered to pay $1000. Paroli's fine was cut to $700 based on his inability to pay the original fine, while Genovese's fine was set at $500 because of the shorter duration of his transmissions.--FCC

FCC APPROVES REALLOCATION PLAN FOR 185 MHz OF SPECTRUM

The FCC has approved a plan to reallocate 185 MHz of spectrum transferred from the Federal Government to the private sector. The Commission also established the scope and timing of future rule-making proceedings to assign the reallocated spectrum. Last March, the Secretary of Commerce identified 235 MHz of Federal Government spectrum for private-sector use, 50 MHz of which had been released earlier. The FCC allocated that spectrum space to general, commercial fixed and mobile uses and unlicensed services. The remaining 185 MHz is to be allocated and assigned gradually over a 10-year period, and a significant portion will be held "in reserve" until that period ends.

The Commission says it intends to "consider all options for the appropriate use of the remaining 185 MHz, including, but not limited to, those addressed in allocating the first 50 MHz." Among the services that will be considered is public safety. The Budget Act requires that the FCC study public safety spectrum needs and develop a plan to ensure adequate spectrum through the year 2010. The Public Safety Wireless Advisory Committee--chartered by the FCC and the NTIA--will advise later this year on the operational, technical and spectrum requirements of Federal, state and local public safety entities.--FCC

IN BRIEF . . .

The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, e-mail rlindquist@arrl.org.

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