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The Ham Radio Parity Act Unanimously Passed By US House (arrl.org)
This week the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed "The Ham Radio Parity Act" -- a huge victory for grass-roots advocates of amateur radio.
Slashdot reader bobbied reports: This will allow for the reasonable accommodation of amateur radio antennas in many places where they are currently prohibited by homeowner associations or private land use restrictions... If this bill passes the Senate, we will be one step closer to allowing amateur radio operators, who provide emergency communications services, the right to erect reasonable antenna structures in places where they cannot do so now.
The national ham radio association is now urging supporters to contact their Senators through a special web page. "This is not just a feel-good bill," said representative Joe Courtney, remembering how Hurricane Sandy brought down the power grid, and "we saw all the advanced communications we take for granted...completely fall by the wayside."
The national ham radio association is now urging supporters to contact their Senators through a special web page. "This is not just a feel-good bill," said representative Joe Courtney, remembering how Hurricane Sandy brought down the power grid, and "we saw all the advanced communications we take for granted...completely fall by the wayside."
Why not just use a cell phone?
I don't care what the cause, this sort of lobbying must be stopped.
Disgusting to think this is a so called 'democracy'.
Is that deed restricted properties are even allowed under law.
Only complete idiots thinks it's a good idea to hand over the deed right to you property to an association that can foreclose on you because you let your grass grow to 3" instead of the maximum allowed 2.5".
These types of places were tolerable only until they started taking over ALL available property within the best school districts, good locations in cities, and other important qualities of a property. Generally based on municipalities who want to collect taxes but not be held accountable for maintaining common spaces (parks, pools, sidewalks, etc.) and thus _require_ all new development to be done under a deed restricted plan. It's a "lovely" work around to that whole pesky property rights issue that governments face due to federal, state and local constitutions, laws, etc.
Elmers rejoice! Commence stroking your dipoles!
Don't worry, it's a shit bill, stuffed to the gills with weasel words. The HOA can still just say "no", and your only option at that point is to spread your wallet wide open for a lawyer. And you still could end up with "no."
Totally shit bill. Watered down and mutated into a pro-HOA exercise in sycophancy.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
There is an entire body of stealth antennas that have been developed for legally and space-constrained homes, such as flagpole antennas, magnetic loops, folded attic dipoles, and even tuned metal gutters! Yet these are all compromise antennas due to their limited height from the ground , proximity to metal objects and wiring, and size (for the 40m band on HF, you need at least a 10m/33ft vertical plus one or more counterpoises of that length on the ground). Some HOAs are even more draconian and allow nothing outside of a strict approved list of items per the HOA contract. This means that even a 1/4 wavelength vertical wire antenna that is barely visible to the eye is disallowed. Ironically, it's these same antennas that contribute to RFI issues for neighbors, increase RF exposure and worsen problems that would not be present with a properly deployed non-compromise antenna. HOA agreements have a disproportionate impact on hams who tend to be older and often use ham radio to communicate with their friends. Some of these are ex-military and civilian volunteers who are part of the Military Auxiliary Radio System or Civil Air Patrol, or participate in volunteer civil safety services such as Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service and Skywarn that use HF frequencies as well.
The HOAs have been vociferously opposed to this act as an infringement of civil liberties and have written both to the FCC and to congress opposing this. Yet there are already FCC-mandated requirements for such things as satellite antennas on HOA-governed properties that supersede any restrictions that may be contained in HOA contracts on spectrum which is technically regulated by the FCC. The intent is not to replicated a nearly 200' tall antenna tower with stacked Yagis, but to provide reasonable accommodation. A 1/4 wavelength vertical wire antenna barely visible to the eye can literally communicate with the entire world, yet somehow the HOA board fanatics claim that even these should be restricted. Even one of the trapped multiband vertical antennas in a back yard can make a big difference in getting out and participating in radio, but they again want no part of it.
There is bias against what we don't know or don't want to know. Heck, people think that there is an environmental impact to these antennas. I'm hopeful this will get passed and withstand scrutiny in the inevitable court battle that will ensue over it. But in a country turning its back on science for sports, maybe even the discussion with the non-ham folks might actually activate a few brain cells.
I'm not exactly saying I'm old enough to remember this, but it used to be that the biggest geeks around were the biggest geeks around. Rather than 0's and 1's, you had to say everything through dot (.) and dash (-). Personally, I could never keep all 26 letters straight so I never got a license. Plus, I grew up after the dark ages. We had CB radios. On a good day we could shoot skip as far as some HAM operators, but didn't have as many rules. 10-7.
I was under the impression that those covenants were unenforceable, as the FCC has direct jurisdiction over all consumer communications equipment and ordinances.
In other words, if the FCC says you can't restrict the placement of antennas, then nobody can place additional regulations on antennas - HOA or not. This was brought up with DirectTV style satellite dishes, and the FCC stomped all over HOAs, and even apartment buildings, attempting to regulate them.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Pot-bellied retirees reliving their childhood pretending to matter in the modern world...
I like HAMs, but I also know what it is like living next door to one who called across the country daily at 5pm. Our phones didn't work, cable TV didn't work, radios would only pick up his voice, nothing else.
This was in the early 80s, so perhaps filtering is better and the HAM would have better control over frequencies to minimize interference, but if the FCC is as terrible at their jobs still - and I believe they ARE terrible based on GSM interference that is allowed even today.
This legislation is a needed benefit for the ham community, but the NIMBY problem is far bigger than this. I have seen cases where a small group of Concerned Citizens (aka tinfoil yammerheads) can prevent needed cell towers from being installed in their town because 'radiation'.
What I would like to see is legislation that would strip NIMBYs of court access to prevent the construction of any public infrastructure project that conforms to published specifications for safety, appearance, and environmental impact for the project type, as adjudicated by the relevant regulatory agency. To obstruct a project, an opponent would be burdened with proving that the project did not conform to its type specification.
We can only hope. I've had a 20' 4" aluminum flagpole installed in my front yard for 18 months while I make long-term plans to replace it with a "stealth" antenna as this posts calls out. I can only hope that it passes and I can install a much better setup capable of long-range communication without RF/RFI bleed and wasted power. In the event of a natural disaster its HAM radio operators that can send news more than 20 miles away.
This opens up pandoras box - how do you regulate and prevent scramblers and jamming devices from interfering with hundreds of thousands of peoples cell phones? An inexpensive transmitter can blockout a 10 mile radius. What's being touted as an emergency service will cause real emergencies itself - when the cell phone platform becomes wide open to many attack vectors.
Well, we know what FCC and GSM stand for, since they are acronyms, but what in the world does HAM stand for?
I wish I had mod points. I would give you +10 if I could.
All this intrusive behavior against personal rights began in the 1960's when people flooded out of New England westward. They brought their eastern European socialist/communist/fascist mentality with them. When I first got my ham license in Texas in 1965, no one would dare complain about someone erecting a tower and beam or quad in their own backyard. My mother bragged about my being a ham at a bridge party once saying, my son is a ham. One of the people at the party immediately said, "We know.". I had no idea that I was causing them tv interference because they were too nice to say anything. If they had, I would have put a filter on their tv to fix it.
Unanimous house voice vote? I'm surprised the two parties can agree on anything, but to unanimously pass a bill that helps citizens? This is hard to believe. Maybe someone can make it a partisan issue in the senate or something, get things back to normal. Or better yet, the Senate could strip out the entirety of the text and replace it with a bill about national parks or whatever, and send the slightly revised bill back to the house. I won't even know what to do if this common sense totally reasonable thing goes through the senate and the whitehouse without someone coming along and whipping out their dick on it.
Likely has to do with bad grounding, causing conducted RFI in other devices. Radiated interference is unlikely because the equipment is tested quite well for that. Unless of course the transmitter is defective and broadcasting on the wrong frequencies.
I don't know if the US has any regulations regarding to the maximum field strength generated by HAM stations. Here it is regulated in the same way as a normal broadcasting station is, which kind of makes sense IMHO. It used to be much less regulated, but idiots were blasting kilowatts using attic installed long wires. This caused peoples fluorescent lights to light up a little bit. Apparently this was against some green energy adoption regulation forcing the telecom regulator to tighten the rules.
dit dit dit da da da dit dit dit - Pre ASCII
We had a CB operator neighbor that used to let his wife play the organ over the air for an hour at a time.
At times his voice would come through our record player when listening to records, and I'll never forget when we heard his voice in the kitchen coming through the filaments in our toaster.
Call bullshit all you want, I was there.
That was not a HAM.
It was a CB'er....
No, truckers with CBs can do the same. What does HAM stand for? Is it an acronym for something? Highly Antiquated Material?
The initial bill provided that anyone having control over a piece of real property could install an antenna structure that was effective for the use of the Amateur service, PERIOD.
The amended bill provides that anyone having control over a piece of real property can install an antenna structure that is effective for the use of the amateur service subject to the approval of the governing political subdivision. The amended bill states that the political subdivision should "try" to accommodate the operator, but that it really doesn't have to if it doesn't like the aesthetics.
Meaningless fodder bill in an election year.
Nothing you say here is true. In fact, HOAs can still enact reasonable restrictions on satellite and TV antennas. My HOA requires satellite antennas be pole mounted not more than 3 feet above the ground, not more than 75cm in diameter, mounted within 12 inches of the side of the house, and painted the same color. All perfectly legal.
There are already rules requiring "reasonable accommodation" for ham radio operators. This bill does absolutely nothing to expand them or to provide enforcement. This bill in fact strengthens the HOA's ability to restrict ham radio antennas based on aesthetic standards.
This is yet another bill that does the exact opposite of the title. You've been trolled by Congress once again. You have lost. Have a nice day.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_ham_radio
Truckers with CB radios have their 11m band.. with legal amplification they can transmit a few miles and with some "optional amplifiers" it goes 50+ miles. At the same time, amateur band operators can transmit around the world. Both have a purpose and can work together to stitch the fabric of society back together after a catastrophic loss of cellular communication.
Why won't someone please think of the children?!
Ah, so it's "ham" radio and all you have are unsubstantiated urban legends for "HAM"?
In fact, HOAs can still enact reasonable restrictions on satellite and TV antennas.
Only the rules that do not impair installation, maintenance, use, or reception of a high-quality signal are allowed.
Around here, mounting the antenna so close to the ground for Satellite, over the air TV reception, or Fixed wireless reception for internet (Which the rule also applies to), would prevent getting a quality signal.
hahahaha.. nothing like organ music through your toaster at 8am..
and want us to die4. They just keep going around and shooting us in the head. They hate HAM radio, and here in Seattle, they have shot nearly every single HAM radio operator in the head. In the head.
nned to mjoin the
I think that all amateur radio operators should be able to use parity bits.
While I think it is a good idea to protect HAM radio operators I think this is another federal incursion into states rights and therefore cannot support it. It may be inconvenient to fight this state by state, but that is the best way. The more we invite the feds into our lives the harder it will be to get rid of them later.
There are already rules requiring "reasonable accommodation" for ham radio operators. This bill does absolutely nothing to expand them or to provide enforcement. This bill in fact strengthens the HOA's ability to restrict ham radio antennas based on aesthetic standards.
This is yet another bill that does the exact opposite of the title. You've been trolled by Congress once again. You have lost. Have a nice day.
Those reasonable accommodations are under PRB-1 which does not extend to those properties under and CC&R's or deed restricted properties. This bill is a small step in the direction of getting those reasonable accomodations.
You can get Yagi antennas for the 11m band even when not breaking the 4W maximum power rule, but people can and do DX with CB. They won't be able to do that very effectively now that the high bands are closing up due to the current solar cycle but you'll still probably be able to get out on occasion.
A trucker with a CB can send critical information 40 or 50 miles on the 11m band on a good day. Legally they are limited to 5w output. Even with a yagi, this is going to be tough.
HAMs (Skilled QRPers) on the other hand regularly communicate to other continents with 5w of power. Your typical 100-150W HF rig is going to be able to communicate anywhere in the world--or worst case, anywhere in the continental US. Some HAMs are also trained in emergency communications and/or formal traffic handling (to verify the accuracy of messages.) HAMs can use modes like SSTV (Slow Scan TV) to send an image of a piece of damaged infrastructure or a damaged building so engineers or rescuers can come in properly prepared. APRS mode is designed to update a real-time map of mobile and stationary transmitters using GPS. Information like this can also be critical in a disaster information. Rescuers won't have to guess where to look to find an injured person, etc... HAM radio is much more than Morse Code (CW) and people talking to each other like on CBs.
"Frequently wrong, never in doubt."
Much as I hate such limits on use of private property ("painting permit" anyone?), is not such Federal overwrite of local laws and rules against the spirit and even the letter of the 10th Amendment?
It would seem, for a State or a lesser entity to lose a right — such as a right to ban antennas — a mere act of Congress is insufficient and a new Amendment is necessary.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
when they invent a way to make radio waves stop at state borders. Until then, federal (and international) regulations are the only ones that make sense.
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and the biggest "attack vector" against cell phones would be the "stingray" being deployed by your local police department.
But sure, we have to crack down on ham radio so you can feel safe. Because somebody who wants to secretly jam communications is going to put up a big, obvious antenna installation in order to do so.
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Exactly right. HOA's can impose all kinds of restrictions on what you do with your own property.
From my POV, the chain of logic that says "we can prevent you from buying if you don't sign our agreement" is invalid on first principles.
And I would not sign anything of the sort. But I have the ability to choose where I live. Not everyone does (jobs, family, illness, infirmity); and that makes this a problem. So a bill like this (not this version of the bill, certainly, because it is toothless) is needed to push back on the important things, of which this is one, until or unless the entire idea of "we can prevent you from buying if you don't sign our agreement" is somehow put down like the anti-liberty, oppressive POS it is.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
No, the chimneys the HOAs put in despite no one having an actual fireplace and you are legally obligated to not remove despite them making a situation where the section leaks because it adds just that bit of charm.
For better or worse, most ham operators these days use commercially made equipment, which is tested for spectral purity, so any significant output on broadcast or cellular bands is highly unlikely.
What often causes amateur band RFI/TVI nowadays is lack of filtering/shielding in cheap consumer electronics, to allow them to reject signals outside of their operating bands. Such "frills" are among the first design features eliminated in order to lower the selling price at WalMart.
If the ham operator is putting out a clean signal, within legal power limits, then this type of interference is strictly the problem of the person being interfered with. Most hams are more than willing to lend a hand resolving the problem just to be a good neighbor, but they have NO legal responsibility to go off the air or repair design deficiencies in your TV, router, or whatever. And the FCC will simply point out the Part 15 regs that lay this all out. Your consumer electronics cannot interfere with any licensed service (like ham radio), and must accept any interference FROM a licensed service.
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Unfortunately, that is a wholly optional construct, valid only in the context where those who hold power agree it is true.
Rights are things that are enforced by those with the power to enforce them. The instant that the power to enforce them is lacking or withheld, they are not rights - they are extra-societal acts, quite often crimes. You can elect to try to exercise what you perceive as a right, but if you are constrained, coerced, or killed when those in power become aware of it, you had nothing worth having.
The idea that government should respect rights as you describe them, as inherent to the human condition, is written into the US constitution. That defined the power that was, top-down, to codify and respect various important rights. The US congress and the supreme court have been working in concert, quite successfully, to water down or explicitly remove those inferences and stipulations.
The public has, and continues to, put up with it. That, in a nutshell, is how the constitutional intent for rights to be treated as inherent in the US became "just a piece of paper." There is no longer any power behind the idea; it is dead. The only right you have is the right to do what you're told. Because that, the government is consistently enforcing.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Playing music over the CB bands is a clear violation of the applicable rules, and voices coming through your toaster is a pretty clear indication that the CB is putting out considerably more than the allowable RF power level. of 4 watts AM or 12 watts for SSB.
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Only works if your family and friends constitute a majority. And since that is almost never the case, what you're saying here is basically nonsensical.
"Government is (among other things) a bunch of busy-bodies deciding what color you can paint your bike shed, and taking your money or throwing you in jail so they can play like they're doing something important."
FTFY
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
My great-grandfather operated a ham radio illegally. He was afraid of getting caught so he designed his antenna to be raised and lowered as needed. I'm not knowledgeable about the larger antennas but would this be a possible solution? I've had my ham license for over 20 years but I've only operated on 2m and even that has been a long time ago.
Uh....
The Eleven Meter Band is right next to the Ten Meter Ham Band, and when conditions are right, (Sunspots...), CBers can also transmit around the world. They shouldn't, but that's another issue.
Radio transmission is (Almost...) always line-of-sight, but there are certain conditions that allow reflection or refraction of signals back to ground. Even the Moon can be used to bounce signals back to Earth. Note that this reflection/refraction can be artificial- they are called Repeaters.
Transmitter power isn't really that important for long distance communications, Antenna height and gain are. At six feet, the horizon is about three miles away; at 300 feet, about 20 miles way. So for local direct communications, pretty much without regard to frequency, your horizon is the limit unless the person on the other side also has a tall antenna. But as the Frequencies get higher, Antenna designs get smaller, so it is possible to pack more Gain in. A Parabolic Dish is the simplest way to get a lot more gain, but they get very large at lower frequencies. 20dB of antenna gain means a 100 Watt Ham Radio has the equivalent effective radiated power of 10KW; an amplifier of this size is very expensive and very illegal, but CB Clowns do it all the time- they just don't care.
Hams have actually gone in the other direction, called QRP Operation, where the object is to make contacts with as little power as possible, right down to a Milliwatt and lower. The secret of course is the Antennas, and this is why Hams have been pushing to get Tower restrictions removed.
While disaster communications is one of the reasons cited for continuing to support Hams, it started out as an Experimental hobby, and it continues in this tradition. I used the skills acquired in building equipment, with much success, at a Research Cyclotron, which is basically a very big Tube Transmitter, (250KW, RCA 4648), feeding about the worst possible Antenna imaginable. I made some modifications to limit Skin Effect losses for instance. The Engineer who originally designed it wasn't a Ham, and this showed in the Schematics; his Resonating Regulator was garbage. (His Solid State designs were much better, but Power Tube design hasn't been taught in EE courses for decades.)
I still have most of my Ham gear from my youth, including the rather rare Swan 250 Six Meter CW/SSB transceiver used for DXing when the conditions were right, and a Ten-Tec Power-Mite transceiver that was lucky to put out a watt on 15 Meters. And I am well prepared for emergencies. My Boat has a complete ICOM setup, with Marine frequency modifications which are not technically illegal- as long as I don't transmit on Marine frequencies _except_ in Emergencies. I have food, water, and fuel for a month, and if things don't start looking up locally towards the end of the month, I can simply sail elsewhere.
One last thing- there are some three times the number of Hams now in the US as there were when I started out. The perception that Ham Radio is a "Rich Old Man's" hobby is utterly wrong. Admittedly, most of the recent Hams stick to VHF and UHF, because of the cheap Chinese handhelds sold by Amazon among others. I paid ~$50 for the Ten-Tek new in 1970, (~ $300 in today's dollars...); the new Chinese Handhelds start at around $40. And since the FCC dropped the Code requirement, which I disagree with, the technical barrier has been lowered.
BTW, I'm almost exclusively CW, with both Morse and International Code. It's fun.
I sent my reps the email.
I am glad that it may have helped.
(Amature Radio Service Operator).
This is very good news for the RAYNET guys in the USA.
73's
Congress often votes in a bi-partisan and broadly supportive manner when the actual effect of a bill is zero. That's the case here. The watered-down version of the bill they passed changes nothing significant to the HOAs, and offers nothing significant to those in the amateur radio service. HOAs can still arbitrarily say no, and when they do, you can get a lawyer, take them to court, and they can still say no, leaving you poorer and still without the antenna system you wanted. Hence... the "support."
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
Although it would generally be overscored when written, and sent as one long character (...-.-) Use as a reference to a deceased operator is secondary.
Per Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosigns_for_Morse_code
The end of contact turn-over prosign is usually sent in lieu of the prosign K or the prosign at the very end of the last transmission from the transmitting station, to indicate the termination or end of a particular contact (conversation) between two stations, thus turning the communications channel over to other users. The prosign may be interpreted in English as, this station will be "silencing key". Often when terminating a contact with the prosign, a transmitting station may continue listening on the communications channel for calls from other stations.
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To late. Here (in Serbia), ether is so congested by chinese power adapters and routers, that MW and SW in urban area is unusable. And so is VHF, with mere patches of clean spectrum. Portable work is only exit... and I live in a _small_ town.