"Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistenc

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I think this bill is bad. What business does the Federal Government have to fiddle around in private contracts? It's one thing to have Federal preemption of local ordinances etc., but this is bad precedent, IMHO. If you don't like CC&Rs and homeowners associations, don't sign them, or negotiate exemptions between private parties. I shiver thinking about what the Feds think they need to regulate next when it comes to agreements or contracts between private parties..[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

The problem with these "private contracts" is that they exist almost everywhere, and it is harder and harder to escape from them. Is it OK that hams are being forced to buy 50 year old houses or to live 30 miles from their jobs in order to put a signal on the air? Why can't a ham buy a new house in a good neighborhood without giving up the privileges that the FCC has granted him? Decades ago real estate covenants were used to keep Blacks and Jews from moving into certain neighborhoods. The Feds put a stop to those "private contracts", so now they are being used to run the hams out of town instead. If we don't stand and fight we will just keep running until we run out of places to hide.

The FCC has already established that it can override private contracts in the case of satellite TV dishes. We are only asking for the same consideration that the satellite TV industry has received. How do we recruit new hams to increase our numbers when most of the US population now lives in homes where they cannot get on the air after they get their license? The same federal government that issues the licenses now needs to make sure that the new licensees can use their privileges on the air. Even if you yourself live in a radio-friendly neighborhood, what is the value of your license when there are fewer and fewer hams to QSO with anymore? Covenants will kill amateur radio if there is no relief.

 

I sent one to Representative Michael N. Castle of DE about this issue (DE has only one Representative).

 

KC0QBV, you too? I constantly see that on the first read, lol.
Email me at dgr8zod@mausershooter.org. We may have something in common

73's to all..

 

Try a phone call:

1) Hard to ignore;
2) you will know if it gets through;
3) you can gage interest;
4) you can ask the rep's position!

Although you will only get through to a flunky, its better than a e mail that gets an automated (but oh so personal) response.

 

Find BOTH houses of Congress, for when the bill comes to the Senate.    

Find Your Senator

Find Your Representative

 

It is a better idea to send a short letter by regular US mail using this letter as an outline. Form letters and letters sent by the internet are less effective because so many special interest groups and their members spam Congress with these all the time.

Just a thought from my experince of dealing with legislatures.

NW Oregon Radio Page

 

It seems that we all have different experience as far as getting communications to our elected representatives.
I, and some others, believe that postal mail is not an option for time-sensitive issues because the mail is held in screening for months at a time, and our counterparts believe that e-mail is not an option because of the spam (spam: a totally different issue) that our elected officials get, which makes them just ignore their e-mails.

Which is more the truth? Will we ever know? Is it TOTALLY pointless to send any communications to our elected representatives because they (their staff) will likely never read anything we say and they will just do whatever the heck they want?
Now, faxing has not been addressed, but because of that, I lean toward that being the best form of communications now.
All of our reps have to come out with a consensus on what the BEST, FASTEST way is for us to contact them, or we will continue to do the WRONG way and not have our input considered.
Otherwise, we will just have endless bitching about how to do this, when the fact stands, we DON'T KNOW what the best way is.

 

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (ni0z @ May 27 2003,12:27)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Maybe it's just me, but...

I think this bill is bad. What business does the Federal Government have to fiddle around in private contracts? It's one thing to have Federal preemption of local ordinances etc., but this is bad precedent, IMHO. If you don't like CC&Rs and homeowners associations, don't sign them, or negotiate exemptions between private parties. I shiver thinking about what the Feds think they need to regulate next when it comes to agreements or contracts between private parties...

I for one am going to write my reps and senators to not support this bill, and I would urge others to do the same.

Sorry, no vote from here. -Alain, NIØZ.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
One may agree or disagree with this, however, the FCC has already allowed preemption for satellite dishes, then why not amateur antennas? Maybe it is deep pockets of the satellite companies, and the open pockets in the big system. The federal government has already made it their busine$$, why should hams be left out.

 

Edited and sent...

 

I sent an e-mail to my representative and got a reply via ground mail in a few weeks! So I don't want to hear any more folks tryin' to argue that e-mail don't work. Below is a copy of the letter I received in response to sending the e-mail.

Dear Mr. Lawrence:

Thank you for contacting me regarding the use of amateur radio. I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

As you know, there are more than 670,000 Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licensed radio amateurs in the United States. In addition to the recreational aspect, amateur radio operators provide emergency communications services during times of crisis and disaster such as flood, hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires, earthquakes, blizzards, train accidents and chemical spills. They have consistently and reliably rendered this valuable public service on a volunteer basis for many years.

In order to alleviate some problems that a few amateur radio operators face, Representative Steve Israel (D-NY) has introduced H.R. 1478, the “Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act.” This bill would attempt to fix an exception to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) policy governing rules for states and localities regarding the placement of antennas for amateur radios in private land-use groups.

I have some concerns about this legislation placing requirements on private land-owners. As a strong believer in personal property rights, I do not believe the Federal government should force regulations on private land-owners. The Founders of our nation were clear in the intentions of the Federal government not to place undue governance on private property. I share the sentiments James Madison wrote in 1792, “That which is not a just government, nor is property secure under it, one where arbitrary restrictions... deny to part of its citizens that free use of their property.”

Nonetheless, I am supportive of the efforts of amateur radio operators. In the wake of the September 11th attacks on our nation, amateur radio was a valuable link in our nations communications network. I will continue to support efforts that ensure amateur radio remains a viable tool, not only for recreational users, but as a valuable resource in times of emergency.

Thank you again for contacting me. Please feel free to call on me if I may be of further assistance.

Sincerely,
John Linder
Member of Congress
7th District, Georgia

 

With all due respect, it seems to me that the gentleman that disagreed with this proposed bill may not be or has not lived in a home subject to CC&R's. I live in a resort town where there are CC&R's all over town. I don't have a choice but to live in this town and could not afford anything but a Condo (obvious CC&R situation) when I moved here 15 years ago. I moved here because of a government transfer in which I had little choice and worked in a natural resource management/public safety position and never made much money. Don't interpret this as a complaint, I'm just relating my circumstances.

I retired here and can't afford to move and can't afford a land parcel or home anywhere within a two county area (about 250 miles north south) which doesn't have CC&R's. The county I live in needs more HF operators, it is somewhat remote and there is only one microwave path in and out of the county for commercial communications. I'm a RACES member and want to contribute to the community by doing so, but can't operate HF.

My community experiences frequent utility outages, including phones, and nearly countywide shutdowns of all roads due to heavy snowfall. I don't remember the average snowfall in feet, but a snow measuring station west of town averages 42" of water in the snowpack on April 1st. My Condo is located at the lowest elevation in town at 7800' and probably only gets 25" of water in the snow. Considering an average of about 10-12" of snow for every inch of water accumulated, you can see that this isn't Cleveland or D.C. As a weather spotter the NWS doesn't even want us to call until snowfall of 2" per hour is sustained for more than 4 hours. I've seen it snow the annual average snowfall of Minneapolis (76") in 30 to 36 hours here and have verified 8" per hour for 3 hours. Add to that 30,000 visitors when town is full in the winter (almost every weekend between December and April, and the two week Christmas to New Years period with a ski area that just had a 220 day season, 205 of which was on natural snow) and you can imagine the potential need for auxillery communictions on a regular basis in a decent snowstorm. Under the circumstances hams who can communicate during utility outages past the range of 2M repeaters, who can turn on a generator, and provide communications, are important, perhaps more so than in metro areas. Ironically there are darn few in town that can.

The point is that not everyone has the choices that other people may. CC&R developements are more numerous than in the past. If homeowner's associations will not talk with you about an antenna and don't even allow you to work out a compromise (I proposed a 24 ft. multi band vertical and don't expect a 50 foot tower and Yagi) then HF will become a hobby of the rich, who have more housing choices. I don't think that is in the interest of the nation as a whole, considering the contributions that hams have made operating HF to disaster efforts world wide.

In cases of public welfare and safety I think the goverment has a duty to bring some balance in a situation where the door is increasingly being shut. All I ask for is the right to have the door opened. That is less than people putting satellite dishes up already have.

73

Fred Richter
KG6DHV
Mammoth Lakes, CA

P.S. I don't have my General yet, but considering the cirumstances I'm not in a hurry.

 

E-mail sent and reply received.

This bill is going nowhere quickly. If you have not done so, NOW is the time to fire out those correspondences. As others have said, get your family and friends to hit up their respective reps in congress. This bill would be a major plus for ham radio.