Here you go. Quite a summary and more to come in the future. http://www.radioworld.com/article/fcc-confirms-field-office-closures-begin-in-2017/279516 Billy N6YW
Will the Tiger Team pack up their stuff and drive 300 miles to go after some unfortunate amateur radio AMer whose voice peak happened to exceed the magic number?
I hope not! I have to laugh because the idea of Amateur enforcement is practically non-existent, outside of egregious and profane examples like W6WBJ and others who have had NAL and fines imposed, and even then it took years to establish cases that had any teeth. The irony here, at least with us who operate AM to high standards is sort of like a catch 22. That magic number is meaningless except to the paper pushers and power trip idiots who have zero idea of what radio is about from the point of application. The point here is that you or I, or anyone who practices high standards of running their equipment could be subject to authoritative scrutiny by a rule giving free reign for Digital modes while making us virtually obsolete and in non-compliance. Bottom line, the FCC does not represent the best interests of Amateur Radio, period. It does serve the corporate and business "interests" all the way to the bank, while sociopaths like W6WBJ foment hate and racism on our frequency bands, yet do next to nothing to prosecute for decades. I am talking double standards here, just like your Symbol Rate thread. Digital gets a free ride while AM & CW gets the shaft. We should call the FCC into question as to what their role is to Amateur Radio and if they indeed have a positive mission in which to help us steer the course in a meaningful way that benefits all of us. The ARRL certainly is way too biased to be of any use to us in the AM community, if I read the comments correctly. They want to sell advertisement to the vendors with the biggest interest in profit and that does not include big vacuum tubes, heavy iron and the D-104... Meanwhile the FCC closes down numerous facilities in order to trim the fat as it were. What does this really mean for us? What are your comments?
The pattern is set. The FCC no longer cares about being a "Good Steward" of the national spectrum, nor in preventing future problems. As long as spectrum users and manufactured devices don't interfere with governmental services or cause monetary loss to businesses, no action will be taken.
Nobody wants to pay taxes, and "smaller government", "eliminating bureaucracy" have been popular mantras the past 20+ years. Well, this is what it looks like. The FCC is a shell of it's former self at a time when spectrum use is skyrocketing. Welcome to the future. Steve KV6O
