View Full Version : FCC Enforcement Letters
I regularly read the FCC enforcement letters as posted on the ARRL website. #The new postings list many new enforcement letters of one kind or another. #It seems to me however, that the bulk of these enforcement letters/warnings are issued for the California area. #Am I missing the enforcement actions for other areas of the country or is California the hands down winner in the shear number of enforcement letters/actions? #Is it me or is this a real trend in California.
K2WH
I find it interesting that the call sign on the top of the latest batch of enforcement letters ( http://www.arrl.org/news/enforcement_logs/2002/0810.html?nc=1 ) #is none other than NN6EE.
Yes, there seems to be more issues out there in California, but there are more hams out there, as well.
73 de Drew N0XU
WB2WIK
08-15-2002, 03:26 PM
California has by far the greatest number of hams (and the greatest number of people) of any state, and has a larger ham & general population than several entire call areas. Also, most of the "California" enforcement actions involve repeater operations, and a lot of them involve one single repeater which is notorious.
I do note with interest that Riley has sent an awful lot of enforcement action letters to utility companies lately, and most of those are not in California, but in Texas and the southeast.
WB2WIK/6
Yah, Jim NN6EE got slapped. Man, they hit him up for alternator whine AND for power supply hum.
Seems an odd thing to be cited for, what with all the REAL yo yo's out there....
k3sam
08-16-2002, 01:09 AM
I still can't figure out why Jim got a letter for that ? #I would wonder why, after being told that many times ( I believe the letter stated approximately 23 times ), Jim didn't correct the problem before a letter was needed from Mr. Hollingsworth. #
I can't speak for the amateur operators in California, however I am the spokesman for receiving letters in Pennsylvania, and not proud of it.
73, Sam
K3SAM
ke5wj
08-16-2002, 01:54 AM
Being a Houstonian, I was happy to see the letter that Reliant Energy got. Serves them right. What a bunch of arrogant @#$%^ people.
Way to go, FCC!
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (k3sam @ Aug. 14 2002,19<!--emo&http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I would wonder why, after being told that many times ( I believe the letter stated approximately 23 times ), Jim didn't correct the problem before a letter was needed from Mr. Hollingsworth.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Could it be he's a lid? Holding a ticket above General and being able to copy 20wpm does not preclude lidness. Considering his rude, inconsiderate, and offensive antics around here, I'm not surprised he operates so poorly.
n7wsb
08-16-2002, 03:38 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n0xu @ Aug. 15 2002,20:31)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Could it be he's a lid? Holding a ticket above General and being able to copy 20wpm does not preclude lidness. Considering his rude, inconsiderate, and offensive antics around here, I'm not surprised he operates so poorly.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
I have a friend (Advanced - KA6PDG) that jokes that when you pass your extra class license you get a Lobotomy on the way out.
Which is why when I passed he said - did it hurt?
NN6EE got cited because he chose to act as if he' above and outside of the FCC's jurisdiction. Those of us who have had experiences with him (in other venues) or on this venue know all to well how he tends to denigrate and/or deny the truth or value of any FCC actions.
He flouts his disdain of the rules almost any chance he can. This time... he got bit. The fact that he was warned 23 times shows you that the FCC moves quietly.. slowly.. and behind the scenes. So.. next time you bitch because 'the FCC isn'tdoing anything', just think about NN6EE's example.
His dad (W6IBD - SK) was an respected OO and known in the area and active with the Clubs. Boy. I can imagine if he were alive how proud he would be of his son.
Normally, the FCC used to send out a letter or two and/or ignore things. However, with Riley around.. things don't get ignored they get elevated AND he is one tenacious son of a bitch when people try to blow smoke up his coax.
I, too, am VERY glad to see the power companies getting their 'comeuppances'. They are arrogant but even they must bow to the Part 15 rules.
Ride On, Sir Riley! YAHOOOO!
73
Chuck K3FT
K6UEY
08-16-2002, 05:58 AM
KUDOS !! In the previous postings on this thread I read several that were actually complementary to Riley Hollingsworth and the FCC. It is pleasant but unusual to have them portrayed in a postive light. #Good Job !!
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # Enjoy!! # 73, #ORV
Let the Bad Guy's Beware.!!!!!!
N7CPC
08-16-2002, 07:05 AM
I live on the west coast and just about everything I hear from CA is power supply noise. Maybe that is why they have their own call district. The state government seems to have their own regulatory world, so why not the Amateurs too? Soon Maracopa County AZ may be included in sixland!
Ok, kids, flame on! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
73
W1RFI
08-16-2002, 11:48 AM
Amateur Radio has a real friend in Riley, but, as Riley has pointed out a number of times, this is an FCC matter, not just Riley. He is the most visible to the Amateur community, and really really good at his job, but if he were to leave the Commission tomorrow, enforcment would continue.
As one involved in the ARRL half of the electric-utility enforcement issues, I can personally attest to the fact that his approach is fair and even handed -- and all perpetrators are given ample opportunity to ship up. When ARRL or the FCC initially gets a complaint about electric utility noise, the case is immediately rolled into the ARRL/FCC joint program. The League contacts the hams involved, to determine that it really does appear to be power-line noise, or at least related to the electrical system in some way. ARRL then contacts the utility company president, under the wing of our cooperative relationship with the FCC. This actually works in many cases, with stuff rolling downhill, the local utility company staff often are once again willing to stop hanging up on the ham. :-)
If that doesn't work out, the next step is for ARRL to ask Riley to send the advisory letter. John Phillips, K2QAI, of the ARRL Lab staff, sends Riley a .doc file of the "canned" first letter, with all the info formatted for his printer! He prints it, signs it and into the mail it goes. That takes care of a number of remaining cases, as the CEO gets a customized version of the text ARRL told him the FCC sends out.
There are still a number of holdout cases, though, and Riley met with ARRL staff a couple of weeks ago to hammer out the next steps. The Reliant case was a bit different, and the League is hoping that Riley's letter of explanation to their lawyer will be sufficient to get them to understand that it is less expensive to replace insulators than to pay lawyers. Riley asked John to select 3 of the outstanding cases and prepare the documentation of the history so Riley can send them to the FCC Field Offices for investigation. The CEO that received ARRL's letter, then the FCC letter, will soon find FCC agents at his front doorstep. No one knows how it will go from there, but it was clear that more steps were needed.
Hams who are having electrical noise problems should not assume that nothing can be done. First, go to ARRL's web page at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/rfi-elect.html and read the information. Use any of this as a tool to first try to work with your electric utility company. In some cases, they actually will respond.
If that doesn't work out (expect it to go slow -- a month or two from first contact to noise gone is unfortunate, but not unusual), contact John at rfi@arrl.org. Include a brief history of the attempts you have made to resolve it. (Put it in a format that John can send directly to the utility, if necessary -- don't use insults or cuss words, no matter how badly you want to! He also will need the name of the utility CEO and his/her mailing address. From there, the case will become part of the 75+ cases he is working right now.
73,
Ed Hare, W1RFI
ARRL Lab
W1RFI
08-17-2002, 01:04 AM
< KUDOS !! In the previous postings on this thread I read several that were actually complementary to Riley Hollingsworth and the FCC. It is pleasant but unusual to have them portrayed in a postive light. Good Job !! >
I think that Riley et al are doing a great job. Though in an ideal world, every bad guy would get a fine, the reality is that the FCC can write more warning and inquiry letters than fines. Riley sincerely hopes that each letter will be the only action he needs to take, from the letters he writes to hams to the ones he writes to electric utility companies. For the most part, he is right, because, at least in most cases, the FCC has done the necessary followup and taken the bad guys who keep being bad to the next step.
If we taxpayers would let them double our taxes, we could probably get more FCC enforcement, but in the meantime, considering that most of the Amateur enforcement is done by one dude at the Commission, I take my hat off to the man.
Now, I am lucky; I will get to do that next week in person. Riley is showing up for the RFI Services powerline interference workshop being held at ARRL HQ next week! The field part of the workshop is going to be for the class to go out and find the power-line noise plaguing W1AW. We had some fun and emailed the Northeast Utilities guy that has been ignoring us, offering him an opportunity to correct the noise before the head honcho of Amateur enforcment shows up to learn how to go out and find the noise he hasn't fixed.
I gotta' say it -- I love my job! :-)
73,
Ed Hare, W1RFI
ARRL Lab
W5ATX
08-17-2002, 03:09 AM
Back to the original post, I'm glad to see for once good "engineering and good amateur practice, (FCC Rules Part 97, Paragraph 97.101a)" has been noticed. Long time no see.
KD4LEI
08-17-2002, 04:00 AM
Now if they would just go after W6NUT repeater out in LA and blow it off the map. Not only that, it would be great if they could find just about 99% of the violators and QRT them as well.
However, going after the power companies are (and should be) a priority.
KD7LDH
08-17-2002, 04:58 AM
what is an "oo"?
K9STH
08-17-2002, 05:07 AM
For LDH:
An "OO" is an "official observer", an appointment made by the ARRL. These people make notes of improper operation (i.e. out of band operation, "chirp" on CW, SSB "splattering", etc.). They then send a post card to the offending station as a "friendly" notification of problems. They are not an "arm" of the FCC, but are part of the "self policing" that amateur radio is noted for.
Glen, K9STH
n7wsb
08-17-2002, 06:18 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KD4LEI @ Aug. 16 2002,21:00)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now if they would just go after W6NUT repeater out in LA and blow it off the map. #Not only that, it would be great if they could find just about 99% of the violators and QRT them as well.
However, going after the power companies are (and should be) a priority.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Personally I think they should go after the rule violators on w6nut - otherwise those same idiots will go to the other repeaters in town.
wb0wao
08-17-2002, 08:54 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (W1RFI @ Aug. 16 2002,18:04)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now, I am lucky; I will get to do that next week in person. Riley is showing up for the RFI Services powerline interference workshop being held at ARRL HQ next week! The field part of the workshop is going to be for the class to go out and find the power-line noise plaguing W1AW. We had some fun and emailed the Northeast Utilities guy that has been ignoring us, offering him an opportunity to correct the noise before the head honcho of Amateur enforcment shows up to learn how to go out and find the noise he hasn't fixed.
I gotta' say it -- I love my job! :-)[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Gee Ed, you really know how to bring out the big guns!
72 es oo
Dennis - WB0WAO
KD4LEI
08-18-2002, 06:09 AM
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (n7wsb @ Aug. 16 2002,23:18)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif0--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KD4LEI @ Aug. 16 2002,21http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif0)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Now if they would just go after W6NUT repeater out in LA and blow it off the map. #Not only that, it would be great if they could find just about 99% of the violators and QRT them as well.
However, going after the power companies are (and should be) a priority.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Personally I think they should go after the rule violators on w6nut - otherwise those same idiots will go to the other repeaters in town.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Yes, that probably would happen. However, the violators would probably get nailed a lot quicker than getting tagged on the NUT machine.
I have read up on this dreambook that a guy (last 3 of call) BIW and it seems to be some grumblings about the repeater being taken off the air after 0000 hrs each night. I even hear there is a new repeater owner although he's shady too.
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (KD7LDH @ Aug. 16 2002,01:58)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">what is an "oo"?
There are two definitions:
1. Official Observer. An Official Observer is part of a longtime ARRL program in which volunteers monitor the ham bands, sending advisory notices to stations having signal problems or that may be violating FCC regulations.
2. In German, an "OO" is an outdoor toilet.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
what is an "oo"?
There are two definitions:
1. Official Observer. An Official Observer is part of a longtime ARRL program in which volunteers monitor the ham bands, sending advisory notices to stations having signal problems or that may be violating FCC regulations. Although OO notices do not have the force of law, they can be very helpful in getting someone to fix a problem with his station that could lead to FCC action.
2. In German, an "OO" is an outdoor toilet. #http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif5--></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (N7CPC @ Aug. 15 2002,04http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif5)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I live on the west coast and just about everything I hear from CA is power supply noise. #Maybe that is why they have their own call district. #The state government seems to have their own regulatory world, so why not the Amateurs too? #Soon Maracopa County AZ may be included in sixland!
Ok, kids, flame on! http://www.qrz.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
73[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Soon Maracopa County AZ may be included in sixland!
Prior to 1939, ALL of Arizona was in "sixland"!
Phineas
08-19-2002, 08:47 PM
I just have a few questions regarding this subject since I just spent a week and a half out there in Los Angeles.
1. Where are the Frequncy police? Surely they could hear the same bad language I heard. Next time some one gets on my behind about petty stuff, I will tell them to listen to the 147.435 repeater in SoCal.
2. What is this crap about all of the 440 repeaters being private?....On an amateur band?
3. Is it legal to have an xrated repeater?
4. Why is it stupid for a ham from out of town to get on a repeater and say hi? I cant tell you how many times I was called a stupid *** for just getting on and trying to make a local contact.
The next time you want to bash CBers, Freebanders, etc.... I would like some of you OFs to give some opinion about what is going on in your own back yard. For the rest of you freq police that are out there picking new people apart, I dare you to have the balls to go to SoCal and try that mess. I hope you are not offended by 4 letter words.
Phineas
KC0LSC
N7CPC
08-19-2002, 11:11 PM
Phineas.........
I believe you just added to my post on this topic. The "other world" feeling one gets in southern Calafornia is something you have to experience to believe. Another place to experience it is Houston,TX. If you ain't famaliar to the occupants of even the open repeaters, you ain't talking there.
Not to disparage Texas in general. A few miles East of the 610 loop you get into range of the machines in Beaumont. It gets hard to quit talking to the locals there!
There have been more complaints from L.A. and Houston about jamming than anywhere else. Most of these are just folks tryihg to use the "wrong" machine.
Although, in L.A. there doesn't seem to be a "right" machine.
73 de Craig.........N7CPC
k1ooo
08-22-2002, 09:25 PM
Gentlemen,
In an earlier post Glen lets us know,
An "OO" is an "official observer", an appointment made by the ARRL. These people make notes of improper operation (i.e. out of band operation, "chirp" on CW, SSB "splattering", etc.). They then send a post card to the offending station as a "friendly" notification of problems. They are not an "arm" of the FCC, but are part of the "self policing" that amateur radio is noted for.
I would like to go a step further and say the ARRL OO program is an appointment to the Amateur Auxiliary of the FCC. This group is similar in makeup to the Civil Air Patrol or the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Because the OOs are trained and tested by the ARRL under an MOU established with the FCC, I believe Mr. Hollingsworth must act on the reports submitted by his Amateur Auxiliary members.
To say that Mr. Hollingsworth is singling out Jim for "out of band transmissions, operating on a repeater that was 40 kHz wide, or transmitting 23 times with hum and alternator whine" is wrong! Riley is doing his job following up on reports sent in by his Amateur Auxiliary.
Folks in the East Bay Section know their OO Amateur Auxiliary are mostly members of a large ARRL Special Service Club. Those folks also know Jim was a long time Board member of that Club as well as an OO several years ago.
The Amateur Auxiliary was able to use Mr. Hollingsworth's office to ban Jim from their club repeater for talking club politics, a violation of their club rules. The list goes on.
Seems to me the current ARRL-FCC MOU is allowing some members of the Amateur Auxiliary to abuse the authority granted them. Back in the old days, the OOs had to send their reports up the chain of command, filtering out all the "cross town club rivalry" reports and only allowing the gregarious miscreants their day before the Commission. Today the Amateur Auxiliary reports directly to the FCC Special Counsel, anything goes! No wonder we see hams being warned by the FCC for having alternator whine.
I would hope our two "new members" would be willing to open up this discussion and clear up some of our misconceptions, mine included about the MOU.
Thanks,
WB2WIK
08-22-2002, 09:39 PM
L.A. has lots of "right" machines. Hundreds of them. And some have spectacular coverage, like machines on Mt. Disappointment and Santiago Peak. Or on Catalina. Or on Oat Mountain, or Rasnow Peak, or South Mountain, or even Mt. Baldy.
It's unfortunate that these "more polite" machines, where people do have manners and openly welcome newcomers, don't have 24/7 activity on them, so when visitors are just "scanning" the band locally and don't know where to look, the best repeaters often aren't found.
WB2WIK/6