Where Never Is Heard... ARRL Board "Code of Conduct" on HamRadioNow

I don't think they are hiding a thing.

They either do not understand the wording, or are convinced that the words mean something else. This despite the fact that the meaning of the wording was illuminated by professional attorneys, including those in the telecom sector.

My opinion; your may differ.

 

Gary,

I listened with great interest. Very informative!

But the let’s all be against a “burn it down” rhetoric precludes any prospective competition. There are, for instance, alternate EmComm organizations to ARES. I posted n the YouTube comment section to this (or was it a previous episode on a related topic?) about a 75M phone QSO where one or two of the participants joked about launching a “national radio league” to give it a baseball sense of competition. I do not advocate this approach righ now but moving the League’s cheese via competition is one of two logical alternatives IF the ARRL CEO continuesdown this path. The remaining one is for most members to simply quit. Where would that leave amateur radio?

 

Thanks, Gary, for giving this issue some air time. I am going to continue to subscribe to the "Quite Simply Terrible" magazine because it's ham radio. Same as I do for CQ. I hope that the activists will support a "loyal opposition" approach and seek to encourage the principles of democracy that have served the United States so well. It would seem that some issues, such as the Joe Ames, W3JY lawsuit have pushed certain ARRL executives to take extreme action. And the proposed legislation from the ARRL (Hr555) has been revealed to be seriously flawed, another power play from Newington. Let the bright let of democracy shine on these scoundrels and force them into a new line of employment.
73
AF4RK

 

Know you know why I will not pay there ransom.

 

Your dipole example is badly chosen. ARRL has NO lawmaking powers.
But, your point that a minority of the amateur population can determine League policy has a broader application.
Within the general American electorate only about half of the potential voters actually vote. So, our political leaders can be elected by something very close to only 1/4 of the total number of voters. That too is not a good thing.

 

Yup. Maybe that was a bad example...I meant the ARRL could petition congress and use "The voice of ham radio" to try to have a bill crafted that would ban dipole antennas...and all we could do is watch. So maybe that example is a stretch.

Now that there's a lot more information available on the proposed Appendix B, or the Code of Conduct, it's clear that there are bigger problems than just the number of people voting. But, I'm backing out of that discussion. I've written to all Directors and Vice-Directors with my concerns, and those concerns have been validated. I've shared some ARRL links and taken my lumps here on the Zed (not the first time! LOL), and now it's time to play the waiting game. We'll see what happens Friday. I've been a member of the ARRL for 25 years, but based on the outcome of Friday's meeting, I don't know what the future holds. Everyone will make their own decision, and I hope the ARRL continues to thrive in the coming years with or without me, but that's really up to them.

 

I very much doubt anyone is taking money from the HOA lobbyists. The HOAs don't like this bill, either - but they also have more political power than we hams do.
The problem here is that no one ever gets everything they want on bills like this. Hams want complete freedom for antennas. HOAs want no antennas. What actually ends up is somewhere in between the two desires. And since it is hams trying to change the status quo, we have an uphill battle. Compounding that with having less political power and this bill is probably the best that can get passed. The ARRL could try to get a stronger bill, but it wouldn't get through Congress.

 

As regards HOAs: One of the most important tactics in any tough negotiation is to ask for more than you expect to get. My main critique of the ARRL's performance in this regard is that it is asking for far too little; the draft legislation could allow HOAs to prohibit hams from operating. (Ironically, they'd be endangering life and limb in a disaster for the sake of aesthetics, but that is what HOAs often do.) The law needs more clearly delineated requirements for what MUST be allowed under ALL circumstances. It should allow AT LEAST as much as the FCC's OTARD rules for satellite dishes and TV antennas, as well as all thin wire antennas within a property (so that HOAs cannot preclude operation at the longer wavelengths that are vital to long range communications). Given hams' recent performance in natural disasters such as the two recent hurricanes, this should be an easy sell to Congress.

 

Oh Yes I DO! I Don't Have To Support THEM. I Vote With My Wallet And You Should Too.

 

I can see I am wasting my time with you.