HamRadioNow #421: Grant... Wished! (plus the Frawley FCC fine and VHF contest

This is a jam packed show.

First, we talk with John Hays K7VE. John is Outreach Manager with the Amateur Radio Digital Communications Foundation. For the past three years, this group has made grants totaling millions of dollars to Amateur Radio groups and projects… and they’re just getting started. Find out where they got the money and how they give it away (maybe to your club?). John also talks about the state and future of Digital communications in Amateur Radio.

Next, we take up the case of Jason Frawley WA7CQ. The FCC has proposed fining Jason a record $34,000 for interfering with government communications involving a forest fire near his Idaho hometown (and a tower where he has communications equipment) last summer. But this is not an allegation of jamming, a false emergency call or misdirection of emergency personnel. Jason says he had a good reason to use the Forest Service frequency to alert the firefighters about something he knew… something the FCC did not detail in their Notice of Apparent Liability that proposes the fine. There are lots of question marks that will hopefully be filled in over the coming months. We have a spirited discussion.

Finally, this was the June VHF Contest weekend. Gary drove the Q-mobile up to a ‘high spot’ in his neighborhood and made a few contacts on two-meter SSB and FM, and then six-meter SSB. He made a little movie out of the experience. And Gary’s wife Cyndi KD4ACW makes a return appearance to the show because the VHF Contest has special significance to her and Gary’s relationship. Yes… VHF ‘Roving’ was their first date.

Zip down to 7:30 to get past the countdown screen​

 

The Frawley fine is a stark reminder that while HT's may operate on public safety bands, hams cannot.

Don't..be...tempted. Its YOUR responsibility to know what you can do legally-- and exclude everything else.

IMO the Frawley fine will end up dramatically reduced because of 'inability to pay'. BUT, I could be wrong.

 

I know a NYC HAM (in the 1990s) who called in his car being broken in to
on the air. NYPD tried to press charges against him. He said it was in defense
of his property and they countered why did he have it programmed in his
HT to be able to do this (on their repeater) with their tone all set to go.

He got off the hook eventually but it did cost him legal fee wise.

 

I thought that in an emergency situation it was legal to communicate on any frequency if it was in reference to the emergency.

As it says in the article, "this is not an allegation of jamming, a false emergency call or misdirection of emergency personnel".

 

Read the FCC NAL. That explains the offense and the reason for the magnitude of the fine.

 

Thanks Chip, I just read it through. The allegations in the NAL document add a lot of clarity to the description of the event.

73 Frank W3PX

 

The portions of Part 97 dealing with emergency contact between services is sufficiently obscure that absence of plain language text allows incorrect interpretation. I don't know what the story is here, but the FCC felt that the actions were improper to the level of setting an example, IMO.

73
Chip W1YW

 

One of the most misunderstood, misapplied, conflated items in Part 97.

 

I was taught unless there is an immediate danger to life or property AND THERE ABSOLUTELY IS NO OTHER WAY TO SUMMON HELP,
a single call for help is permitted. An example would be, climbing a mountain, falling off a cliff and bleeding quite
badly. It's my understand that is permitted but I had better be absolutely sure I have no other way to summon help.
I was looking at that airstrip and it looks like there is a neighborhood right next door where he could have easily gotten
access to a phone if there was no cell service in that area. From what I'm understanding from the video, he was sending
observations that weren't needed nor asked for. Is that correct? I can understand back in the day when there were no cell
phones and ham radio phone patches were in use much more than they are today but there are just so many ways nowadays.
FRS/GMRS. I do remember a story somewhere where two kids were playing with FRS radios and received a distress call from
someone high up on a mountain, obviously line of sight so obviously there are multiple ways to summon help.

 

When I trained for the Technician Class and 5 WPM (Elements 1 & 2) in '04 using the ARRL's "Now You're Talking", to KD7YVV's point, yes it was printed that you could use ANY MEANS. If I had that text on file, I could easily cite the exact page. However, FCC's enforcement in this case, and subsequent NAL Letter, shows a different result.

However, the reality is you better not do it PERIOD Many times, as a Special Police Officer, I've seen DK drivers, serious traffic infractions, and crimes, yet I never used my work Moto to 'call it in'... everyone knows that in the real world you're going to get in trouble. Common sense, I bet this ham had a High Viz Yellow Vest for ARES (just kidding... sort of).

I'd assert there is a lot of temptation with hammy-hams using cheap-o Chinese radios that are advertised as "opened up"... no es bueno.

 

At the risk of sounding redundant, when I teach classes, we go over this.

When there is an immediate risk to life or property, you CAN use any means at your disposal.

"No provision of these rules prevents the use by an amateur station of any means of radiocommunication
at its disposal to provide essential communication needs in connection with the immediate safety of human
life and immediate protection of property when normal communication systems are not available."

If a legal route is there, however, you should use it. This could be calling the forest service on the phone, and having them relay over the radio.
In this case, if he can prove that he exhausted all other means first, or that the risk was indeed imminent, he might have footing.
Otherwise, he can just plead for mercy.

 

The Other thread on Frawley was locked, a set of legal questions was posed by an Retired LEO N1FM , great questions.

 

You CAN use any means, any being the key word. If you have no cell service or no cellphone, and you can't hit someone simplex or a repeater and your
leg is broken and you're bleeding quite badly, then your only means then would be to use any frequency you can find where you can summon help,
because that is the only option left to you. Nowadays as I said, with cell service, FRS/GMRS, CB radio, the chances of you contacting someone
is quite good. Just be absolutely sure that your call for help on a frequency you're not supposed to be on was made because you had no other option.