
The ARRL Letter
Electronic Update
March 29, 1996
__________________________________

IN THIS UPDATE:

* NY Supreme Court blasts town's tower restrictions
* SAREX mission gets late start; QSO rescheduled
* Astronaut to visit CT SAREX school
* Scouts handy in makeshift tower construction
* FCC tells 2-meter QRMers to pay up
* FCC approves spectrum reallocation plan
* In Brief: Director Burden recovering; Top club newsletters; N4GFO/mm

__________________________________

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." Kleinhaus said he's 
pleased with the high court's ruling, however, and he 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:

* ARRL New England Division Director Bill Burden, WB1BRE, of Strafford, 
Vermont, is reported to be recovering nicely in the wake of a mild heart 
attack he suffered this past weekend (March 23-24). Bill was admitted to a 
hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire, after complaining of chest pains. 
Following extensive tests earlier this week, he underwent a balloon 
angioplasty to relieve a blockage. The procedure was successful. He was back 
home Wednesday, March 27.--Warren Rothberg, WB1HBB, New England Vice 
Director.

* Two ham radio club newsletters, The DXer, edited by Garry Shapiro, NI6T, 
and W3OK Corral, edited by Clarence Snyder, W3PYF, earned top scores in the 
1995 Amateur Radio News Service publication contest. The ARNS is an 
organization of Amateur Radio newsletter editors and publicists. Its goal is 
to help members promote ham radio by improving their publications. Entrants 
in the annual contest are evaluated on format, appearance and content. In 
the 1995 contest, ARNS received 99 entries from clubs in the US, Canada and 
Puerto Rico. Eleven newsletters were ranked superior, 63 excellent and 25 
good. For more information about ARNS, write Susan Biggs, Secretary, ARNS, 
9708 Skillman, No. 107, Dallas, TX 75243.

* Ron Tivey, N4GFO, aboard the US Navy vessel Frank Cable, reports he's in 
the South Pacific headed for Guam and operating maritime mobile. Ron plans 
to make various ports of call, but cannot say just where ahead of time 
because of Navy regs. Listen for N4GFO/mm on SSB through mid-April, 
0100-0700Z, 14.222 and 14.175 MHz.

===========================================================
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.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest 
to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be 
disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate 
and readable in our reporting.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any 
form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that 
credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.


