Ham Band Incursions

[k4byf]

I thought some of you might be interested in this.

Message: 2
Date: Wed, 14 May 2008 09:48:32 -0400
From: "Chris J. Smith" <chrisjsmith at netzero.net>
Subject: [SEMARA] New threat to the 440 mhz band?
To: "SEMARA" <discussion at semara.org>, <part-l at lists.wb1gof.org>
Message-ID: <B84FBB1AA6D943CE8D0BF78351513D01 at chrisadmin1>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello people:

In what our Section Manager Art Greenberg will say is in the interest 
of amateur radio, I have a news item of some small importance here, 
please alert your club personnel and publish this news in your club 
newsletters and on your club websites.

We hams are having to put up with a loss of our ability to use the440 
mhz band in this area because of the Pave Paws installation here, but 
now there comes another threat to 
our use of this band--nationwide. It seems that a commercial concern 
has applied for a waiver to utilize these frequencies for incidental 
control of a remote controlled 
surveillance 'robot'. I'm including the released information here--
please make your comments known to the FCC.

A situation like this led to our loss of part of the 220 mhz band to 
a commercial package carrier--who ultimately gave up on using the 
allocation, and now the remaining 220 mhz 
band is hardly used at all--the ham manufacturers don't really make 
radios for the 220 mhz band anymore. It can be argued that we don't 
want to lose the 440 mhz band in a similar manner. Even though this 
waiver spells out use only at isolated incidents along with other 
restrictions, how long would it be until a waiver application was 
made to remove the restrictions?

It may well be worth our while to send notice to the FCC that this 
doesn't sit well with us--the amateur community, and that other 
similar frequencies are available or may soon 
be available that would better suit this type application.

Please help spread the word--and help protect our band allocations.

73,

Chris J Smith, K1CJS

Eastern Mass. Affiliated Clubs Coordinator