The Amateur Radio Parity Act of 2015 -- H.R.1301 in the US House of Representative and S 1685 in the US Senate -- would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private land use restrictions. US Rep Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) introduced HR 1301 on March 4 with 12 original cosponsors from both sides of the aisle -- seven Republicans and five Democrats in the US House. US Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) introduced S 1685 on June 25, with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) as the original cosponsor, into the US Senate.
The Amateur Radio Parity Act would require the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to apply the three-part test of the PRB-1 federal pre-emption policy to include homeowners association regulations and deed restrictions, often referred to as "covenants, conditions, and restrictions" (CC&Rs). At present, PRB-1 only applies to state and local zoning laws and ordinances. The FCC has been reluctant to extend the same legal protections to include private land-use agreements without direction from Congress.
H.R. 1301 has been referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR), chairs that panel's Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which will consider the measure. S 1685 has been referred to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet, which is chaired by the bill's sponsor, Wicker.
ARRL members are urged to contact their members of both the House and the Senate, asking them to sign on to the bill as a co-sponsor. Route letters for your member of Congress to:
ARRL
Attn Amateur Radio Parity Act grassroots campaign
225 Main St
Newington CT 06111
To find out more and how you can help with the Amateur Radio Parity Act please click here
Click here for a video on the Amateur Radio Parity Act
Winter is a great time to get licensed or upgrade
Hams are giving people, you will find them providing communication resources to help in emergencies or support for public service events. Sometimes, you will find them conducting Amateur Radio classes and some even become Volunteer Examiners administering the tests as part of a VE team.
Without a doubt, it is fulfilling to help another toward the goal of passing an Amateur Radio exam and receiving a license. Each of us has been there; thankful for those that took the time to assist us.
We know prior to taking the exam, the potential licensee will need to study and review the necessary material for the license sought after and having a class to attend with other likeminded students for instruction is certainly well worth the time and investment, not only for the student, but provides the instructor(s) opportunities to share his or her Amateur Radio knowledge and experience. The FCC issues 3 classes of licenses today; the Technician, General and Extra which are administered by a 3 person Volunteer Examiner (VE) team.
The fall is a wonderful time for Amateur Radio clubs to prepare a class. Cooler months often re-focus activities to the inside, which provide an ideal time to conduct Amateur Radio License sessions.
License classes are conducted numerous ways; from the single all day session to multi-class sessions, usually given over many weeks. Clubs know their demographics best and often tailor a class to meet the needs of their particular area.
If you are wondering how to structure a typical Technician Class, consider a period of 6 Saturday mornings (or day and time of the club’s choice). This provides a good way for the instructor(s) to cover two easily digested chapters per session. The ARRL study manual has 10 chapters covering the introduction to Amateur Radio, Basic Electronics, Antennas, Propagation, Amateur Radio equipment, Licensing and Operating regulations ending with a chapter on Safety. The final class would be a VE session conducted a by the local VE team.
Recently, the new FCC Technician question exam pool has been changed and using the new ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, Third edition, June 30th 2014 – July 1, 2018 is now in effect. The main advantage of the multi-session class is to allow students time to absorb the material presented from each session and to bring questions for the instructor during the next. Allowing several in the local club to share in the teaching responsibilities takes advantage of different gifts and experiences from each instructor and makes individual chapter preparation quite manageable.
Registering with the League as an instructor can provide substantial discounts on license manuals and other related instructional material with the Instructor Discount Program. Further info on the program can be found at http://www.arrl.org/License-instructor-registration
The League also provides a way to promote your Amateur Radio License Class on the arrl.org website. Once details are determined, go to URL http://www.arrl.org/list-a-license-class to list your class. Send the information also to peter@k1pjs.com to have it added to the Section www.nharrl.org and NH Section Facebook page.
Finally, If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Examiner, information can be found at the League web site http://www.arrl.org/volunteer-examiners
73.
Pete Stohrer, K1PJS
NH Section Manager
"Hands Free" law now in effect.
Does not impact Amateur Radio mobile operations.
A question that has been asked frequently is what effect will the “Hands Free” law have on drivers operating amateur radio from their mobiles beginning in July? The short answer is “none” for those over 18.
In January 2014, legislation was introduced to the NH House in an attempt to help reduce the number of accidents that are the result of distracted drivers using their cell phones. NH already has a law that makes it illegal to text while driving. The legislation is primarily aimed at certain types of cell phone use. Due to wording in the original legislation, concern in the Amateur Radio community was voiced that this could impact mobile radio use. Section leadership along with several amateurs testified before the House hearings and working with the Department of Safety had verbiage added into HB 1360 which stated, “Using one hand to transmit and receive messages on any non cellular two way radio” would still be permitted. This 2 way radio provision in the bill was accepted by the House and Senate and Governor Hassan signed into law which takes effect in July. Section II and part b of the legislation is below;
II. It shall not be an offense under this section for any person driving a motor vehicle upon a way:
(b) To use one hand to transmit or receive messages on any non-cellular 2-way radio.
This does not apply to drivers under 18 years of age. All electronic devices are for this age group prohibited. Amateurs are encouraged to be familiar with HB1360 and the entire bill adopted by the House and Senate and signed by the Governor can be read at;
http://www.nhliberty.org/bills/view/2014/HB1360
If you have any questions please email me at k1pjs@arrl.net
73
Pete K1PJS
NH Section Manager
NEW to the NH ARRL
Dee Hebert, AB1ST our Section Technical Coordinator, has created a new Technical Specialist page to provide Amateur Radio operators a forum looking for answers to technical questions along with a list of "Elmer's" to assist and provide information on a particular topic.
You can join Dee, AB1ST for a technical discussion net on the days during the month. The nets meet on the following schedule:
1st Tuesday, 8:00 PM, SRA repeater, Deerfield, 147.000. -, 100 Hz PL
2nd Tuesday, 8:00 PM K1PJS repeater, Pembroke, 146.94, -. 114.8 PL
Last Tuesday, 8:00 PM 3.805, LSB.
Click on the button below to enter in the Technical Specialists site.
Welcome to the NH ARRL Web Site!
NH Amateur Radio Clubs
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Now is the time to be thinking of an Amateur Radio License
Class
Hams are giving people, you will find them providing communication resources to help in emergencies or support for public service events. Sometimes, you will find them conducting Amateur Radio classes and some even become Volunteer Examiners administering the tests as part of a VE team. Without a doubt, it is fulfilling to help another toward the goal of passing an Amateur Radio exam and receiving a license. Each of us have been there; thankful for those that took the time to assist us. We know prior to taking the exam, the potential licensee will need to study and review the necessary material for the license sought after and having a class to attend with other like minded students for instruction is certainly well worth the time and investment not only for the student, but provides the instructor(s) opportunities to share his or her Amateur Radio knowledge and experience. The FCC issues 3 classes of licenses today; the Technician, General and Extra which are administered by a 3 person Volunteer Examiner (VE) team. The fall is a wonderful time for Amateur Radio clubs to prepare a class. Cooler months often re-focus activities to the inside, which provide an ideal time to conduct Amateur Radio License sessions. License classes are conducted numerous ways; from the single all day session to multi-class sessions, usually given over many weeks. Clubs know their demographics best and often tailor a class to meet the needs of their particular area. If you are wondering how to structure a typical Technician Class, consider a period of 6 Saturday mornings (or day and time of the club’s choice). This provides a good way for the instructor(s) to cover two easily digested chapters per session. The ARRL study manual has 10 chapters covering the introduction to Amateur Radio, Basic Electronics, Antennas, Propagation, Amateur Radio equipment, Licensing and Operating regulations ending with a chapter on Safety. The final class would be a VE session conducted a by the local VE team. Recently, the FCC Technician question exam pool was updated and using the new ARRL Ham Radio License Manual, Third edition, June 30th 2014 – July 1, 2018 is now in effect. The main advantage of the multi-session class is to allow students time to absorb the material presented from each session and to bring questions for the instructor during the next. Recruiting several in the local club to share in the teaching responsibilities takes advantage of different gifts and experiences from each instructor and makes individual chapter preparation quite manageable. Registering with the League as an instructor can provide substantial discounts on license manuals and other related instructional material with the Instructor Discount Program. Further info on the program can be found at http://www.arrl.org/License-instructor-registration The League also provides a way to promote your Amateur Radio License Class on the arrl.org website. Once details are determined, go to URL http://www.arrl.org/list-a-license-class to list your class. Send the information also to peter@k1pjs.com to have it added to the Section www.nharrl.org web site and the NH Section Facebook page. Finally, If you are interested in becoming a Volunteer Examiner, information can be found at the League web site http://www.arrl.org/volunteer- or drop me an email peter@k1pjs.com vy 73, Pete K1PJS NHSM " |
