AMATEUR
RADIO "OMNIBUS"
RULES CHANGES TO
GO INTO EFFECT
DECEMBER 15
US Amateur Bands
Chart pdf
On 28
November the FCC
released an
erratum that
corrects an
error in the
Report and Order
so that J2D
transmissions
are not limited
to 500 Hz. If it
had been left to
stand it would
have made
illegal Pactor
III at full
capability,
Olivia and MT63
when operated at
bandwiths
greater than 500
Hz, 1200 baud
packet, Q15X25
and Clover 2000.
A little over a
month after the
Federal
Communications
Commission
released
the Report and
Order (R&O) in
the so-called
"Omnibus"
Amateur Radio
proceeding, WT
Docket 04-140
(FCC 06-149) to
the public, a
revised version
appeared
November 15 in
the Federal
Register
<http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20061800/edocket.access.gpo.go
v/2006/pdf/E6-19189.pdf>.
The changes in
the R&O will
take effect
Friday,
December 15, at
12:01 AM EST, 30
days after its
publication.
As expected, the
Report & Order
clarified two
items that had
raised some
concerns when it
was first
released last
month: That the
80/75 meter band
split applies to
all three IARU
Regions, and
that FCC
licensees in
Region 2,
which includes
North America,
can continue to
use RTTY/data
emissions in the
7.075-7.100 MHz
band.
Still to be
resolved are
three
controversial
aspects of the
Proceeding:
* Expansion of
the 75 meter
phone band all
the way down to
3600 kHz (thus
reducing the
privileges of
General,
Advanced and
Amateur Extra
class
licensees, who
had RTTY/data
privileges in
the 80 meter
band, and CW
privileges of
General and
Advanced class
licensees)
* The
elimination of
J2D emissions,
data sent by
modulating an
SSB
transmitter, of
more than 500 Hz
bandwidth. This
will make PACTOR
III at
full capability
illegal. Other
digital modes
effectively
rendered illegal
below 30 MHz
include Olivia
and MT63 (when
operated at
bandwidths
greater
than 500 Hz),
1200-baud
packet, Q15X25
and Clover 2000.
* The
elimination of
access to the
automatic
control RTTY/data
subband at
3620-3635 kHz.
The ARRL Board
is discussing
the possibility
of a petition to
reconsider
several items in
the R&O.
ARRL Regulatory
Information
Specialist Dan
Henderson, N1ND,
commented: "The
release of the
R&O in the
Federal Register
has started the
countdown clock.
We are all
looking forward
to being able to
use the refarmed
frequencies
starting on
December 15. We
are still
anxiously
awaiting the
release of the
Report and Order
for 05-235, the
Morse Code
Proceeding. We
are hopeful that
the Commission
will be able to
move on that
petition and
address the
outstanding
issues in the
Omnibus R&O
soon."
For more
information, see
the band chart
<http://www2.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt04-140/Hambands3_color.pdf>
and
the Frequently
Asked Questions
on WT Docket No.
04-140
<http://www2.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/wt04-140/faq.html>.
Both have been
updated to
reflect the R&O
as it was
published in the
Federal
Register.
Material from
The ARRL Letter
may be
republished or
reproduced in
whole or
in part in any
form without
additional
permission.
Credit must be
given to
The ARRL
Letter/American
Radio Relay
League.
This
page was last updated
12/15/2006
