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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."
Cell phone base stations go dead after a few hours of power loss.
Have gnu, will travel.
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!
So the rule of an HOA matters more than emergency communications?
I saw some Democrats supporting this bill. Therefore, as a Republican, I'm going to have to oppose this bill on principle.
No, I'm kidding, of course. I'm not a ham radio operator myself, but it seems like this is some common-sense legislation. Homeowner's associations can be remarkably priggish at times. I think some people just enjoy lording nitpicky rules over others, and that's the only mechanism they have, other than making family members miserable.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
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.
Why not just use a cell phone?
Cell phone communication (voice, text, videocall, location tracking) is fine and preferred for one-on-one communication. When there is a mass event (community bicycle race or marathon, and the oft-overused example of disaster scenario or improbable zombie apocalypse) then 2-way site radio can be as effective as the skill of the radio operators. It's not enough that licensed amateur radio operation has historically existed, there must be protections for operators to practice their skills and remain as effective as they would like to be. You might not like the 40ft antenna mast in your neighbor's back yard, but you'd be totally daft to scream "LA LA LA LA NOT LISTENING TO YOU LA LA LA NO YOU CAN'T BE A RADIO OPERATOR LA LA LA" covering your ears and rolling your eyes back at that same neighbor; as HOAs have been doing on your behalf for years.
SIGERR: laziness exceeds quota
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.
Ok, that should have been "the biggest geeks around were the HAM operators"
I think some people just enjoy lording nitpicky rules over others, and that's the only mechanism they have, other than making family members miserable.
Or, people would like to be able to own homes in areas unblighted by rooftop antenna towers.
I guess, if you're a fairy princess....
Or, people would like to be able to own homes in areas unblighted by rooftop antenna towers.
Chimneys, satellite TV or ISP dishes, HDTV antennas, wind vanes, flag poles, roof-mounted security lights, rain gutter systems, skylights, solar panels.
You forgot these things we should also get rid of, just to be fair.
SIGERR: laziness exceeds quota
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.
because Hams make a sport out of creating links where "mere mortals" would curl up in a screaming ball.
with a good rig and even half decent materials you could get a relay setup to reach a couple hundred miles station to station (assumes presence of a suitable hill to put your relay).
All Else Failing the ARC has the local Hams "stand down" when they get there ( those Hams that are not staff of ARC)
Or, people would like to be able to own homes in areas unblighted by rooftop antenna towers.
You must have missed the early satellite TV/Internet day where some neighbor had a satellite dish that took up most of the backyard.
How does that effect you? It's your neighbor's property; they should be able to erect a 30ft statue of Buddha if they want to. We (used to) have many rights in the USA, but the right not to be offended isn't one of them.
"Or, people would like to be able to own homes in areas unblighted by rooftop antenna towers."
Or on the third hand, they might want to move into a neighborhood and then inveigh against existing ham antennas. This happens all the time.
The ham service is already regulated in the way I describe, in this case by the FCC and in conformance to international treaties. What you describe would be strictly illegal under the existing rules.
It's you NIMBYs who see the world as an unending series of Pandora's boxes.
It's your neighbor's property; they should be able to erect a 30ft statue of Buddha if they want to.
If your 30-foot statue of Buddha overshadows my backyard victory garden, it wouldn't take much to convince a court that you're interfering with the enjoyment of my backyard. That was a common complaint about satellite dishes back then.
We (used to) have many rights in the USA, but the right not to be offended isn't one of them.
You must not be from California. My roommates and I rented a duplex apartment with a front yard. One day a little old lady told us that the dead petunias in our front yard caused the value of her house down the street to drop by $25K. I asked her if she was selling her house. She said no. I told her she doesn't know the true value of her house until she sells it. She walked away in a huff.
Or, people would like to be able to own homes in areas unblighted by rooftop antenna towers.
Do you seriously think this will lead to your neighbors putting up something like this rather than this?
What about a modest radio antenna makes it a "blight" in your neighborhood? Besides which, as soon as there's some sort of disaster or emergency, your neighbor in that "blighted" house is going to become your new best buddy. That's the entire point of this: having some ham operators in your area is a good thing for safety reasons.
Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
How does that effect you?
Most directly - what your neighbor does to their property influences the value of yours.
That certainly doesn't excuse how far some HOA's go, but do not pretend that what happens on your property does not affect others.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Nobody really knows the origin, but the consensus seems to be that it's a contraction of "amateur". Hams do not ordinarily write it in all caps.
Do you really think you could defend against hostile disruption by banning transmitting towers you can see from a block away? If a terrorist wanted to shut down your cell reception, you would never see it coming.
Pot-bellied retirees reliving their childhood pretending to matter in the modern world...
Ham radio spans the globe, not just the US.
And when the shit seriously hits the fan, the grid goes down in some 3rd-world country, it's the ham radio guys that move the news in and out. They can even tcp over it.
When the Zombie Apocalypse comes - in whatever form it may be - it'll be *our* hams moving info.
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
dit dit dit da da da dit dit dit - Pre ASCII
But not the lawn jockeys. I love the lawn jockeys and garden gnomes. They can stay. ]
I especially hate the roof-mounted security lights. I lived in a neighborhood with zero crime. I mean, the place was stupidly safe, because a Chicago alderman and the chancellor of the University of Illinois lived on the block and we were two blocks from the police academy, so there were constant police patrols, and even an unmarked at the end of the alley behind the chancellor's house. But one of my neighbors still had to put up one of the motion-controlled security lights because he was a jagoff. I verified he was a jagoff because he had a sign on his door that said, "This house protected by Smith & Wesson", even though nothing and nobody was ever going to threaten the sanctity of his house. I mean, I'm all for responsible gun ownership, and I'm a gun owner myself, but to put a sign up to announce it just means you're a raging asshole, which is his right as an American (Trump 2016). Anyway, I'd be walking the dog at night and coming home down the alley and his fucking klieg light would go on, blinding me and scaring the ever-loving shit out of my dog. I lived in the neighborhood for 25 years before this guy and his klieg light and Smith & Wesson sign moved in. All of a sudden he's got to make the place unpleasant. Fuck him. I hope on Halloween he goes out in black face and brings a gun and one of the cops in the neighborhood shoots him, thinking he's guilty of actually being black.
You are welcome on my lawn.
This thinking really bothers me, and while I know the principle you cite is generally true, I can't help but think that by far, I'd prefer to live next to a slob than someone who's going to tell me what I can and can't do on my own property. I can't speak for anyone else on this, but I, for one, would abandon any bargain on the sale of a house, upon being told that there's an HOA involved. That is a total deal breaker. If I'm going to buy a house, I'm buying a place to live. If it's an investment that I want, I'll try venture capital, trade goods or the stock market. Or comic books, as I'm already doing that.
Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
Most directly - what your neighbor does to their property influences the value of yours.
That's true, but your neighbor doesn't have any right to have the value of their property improved by what you do to your property, unless they are agreeing to share the sales proceeds with you, when they sell their property, that is.....
A "reasonable" HOA can help protect your investment, I guess, by preventing other people from massively changing the character of the area.
There really are some nasty extreme things a neighbor could do which would make things less appealing for you, and make your property hard to sell if they wanted to.
The covenants were willing agreed when they bought in though. So no, they can't put in that 200 foot tower, rent out their front yard to 5 families as a trailer park, never cut their grass, leave a bunch of broken-down cars as permanent yard ornaments, and wake up the neighborhood every morning with loud noises from their roosters, etc, etc.
I, for one, would abandon any bargain on the sale of a house, upon being told that there's an HOA involved. That is a total deal breaker. If I'm going to buy a house, I'm buying a place to live.
The trouble, is unless you go to great lengths in your due diligence, you are unlikely to discover the HOA and the HOA rules until the final stages of the transaction, when you have to sign on the dotted line, and the HOA rules are in the fine print on page 562, and you won't understand that they exist or what they mean without a consult with a real-estate attorney that has your interests at heart, and not making a quick sale.
Meaningless fodder bill in an election year.
Not at all.
This is so much better than where things stand now. For example, I have a friend who put up a wire antenna in his back yard in an HOA and was forced to take it down even though you could not even see it without trespassing on his property. How is a wire that no one can see without trespassing affecting anyone's home value? But, as things are, it can be banned. Banning a wire that no one can see certainly would not "constitute the minimum practicable restriction on such communications to accomplish the lawful purposes of a community association seeking to enforce such restriction."
Will everything immediately go smoothly and every ham operator get exactly what they want? No, of course not. Will people end up going to court to sort this out? I'm sure that will happen. But over time, an understanding of what all of this means will arise just like it has for satellite dishes and over the air antennas.
This bill certainly isn't perfect. But, it is infinitely better than where things stand right now.
I would never suggest you invest in a $200 tax stamp and a box of .22 primer-only ammo.
Not to mention that hams practice hunting down transmitters for fun. A high-power jammer would would be quickly and easily tracked down and reported to the FCC.
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.
You don't need to know Morse code anymore in the US to get any Ham license. So if that's all that was holding you back, then it shouldn't be a barrier anymore, because hardly anyone uses CW for purposes other than repeater identification.
On a good day we could shoot skip as far as some HAM operators, but didn't have as many rules. 10-7.
CB Operators have many more stringent restrictions than Ham operators do; It's not that they have fewer rules, but enforcement is a problem.... since there's no individual license, callsign, and required ID for CB operators. CB stations cannot have amplifiers. Limited to 5 watts. No repeaters, auxillary/linked stations, no automated comms. No communicating or attempting to contact a station more than 50 miles away. Must not hold a conversation longer than 5 minutes, without both stations ceasing transmission for 1 full minute.
Plus all the same restrictions on content as Hams: including No profanity/obscenity, No music, No codes/ciphers , No one-way broadcasts, No retransmitting messages from another source.
The word 'Ham' is known to come from a slang term used in the early days of radio and telegraphy.
See: http://www.arrl.org/ham-radio-...
Generally not a few hours but... The battery banks that most of the cell sites have are rather large affairs to be honest. At least 1000AH at 48V on the ones I have worked on. Not that it matters at all for the general public since they are put into emergency mode and only available to emergency responders. Also, they are linked via Fibre so that may be lost if above ground and a fair bit of it is. Ham Radio is about the best option for the general public that there is in such cases. In general metropolitan areas your average car transceiver has 50W output, into a good antenna this can translate into the equivalent of at least a couple hundred Watts of power. IE, There is a good chance that you should be able to talk to your loved ones. Allot of the repeaters are likely to have generators with good fuel reserves and you should be able to get a message through that way as well.
An inexpensive transmitter can blockout a 10 mile radius.
These frequencies being used by cell phones have ultra-short wavelength, close
to the microwave ranges, and the HOAs would never notice such a small antenna which doesn't need to be more than a few feet off the ground to effectively jam cell phones for many miles.
On the other hand, if someone's dumb enough to put an intentional jammer of any kind on a tower, they would easily be tracked down, and they would then lose the tower, their operator license, all their equipment, and go to jail.
A bonafide ham will never be intentnionally jamming anything, and the parity law does not cover CB operators or other non-licensed.
HAM radio is something Democrats hate.
I live in Everette, WA just north of Seattle. I had never been stopped by the police until I got my general license. After that, I got stopped three times by the Seattle police. On the third time, they took my daughter, and I have not seen her since.
I don't live in a HOA cause there are too many rules. If you buy a house in a HOA and agree to the rules you shouldn't go running to the government to change the agreement you made.
The feds already had jurisdiction of radio across state lines. FCC act 1934. Get over it.
Ham Radio is true geek. Even the FCC is scared of them. Nuff said.
Here's some inspiration for you: http://27bslash6.com/halogen.h...
Specialist Mac support for creative pros, Melbourne
His sign just might cause a potential burglar or home invader to instead choose your unsigned house to invade and do his rape/kill thing, which is what he's hoping to avoid for himself.
Otherwise, maybe he just wants the light to be able to walk out in the driveway at night and have a light come on so he doesn't trip over the bicycle that his kid just left laying in the driveway. My own security light is pole-mounted and not motion-sensitive, so its nice to go out and be able to walk around without having to take a flashlight to not fall over something unexpected.
You don't understand. Hams do this for enjoyment. If these restrictions ruin enjoyment, then they won't do ham radio at all. So, when the community does need emergency communications, there will be no one with a radio that is able to help. People aren't going to become hams just to spend money to be of help in an emergency, they spend the money to have an enjoyable hobby that has as a byproduct the ability to help the community when emergency communications is needed.
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.
Otherwise, maybe he just wants the light to be able to walk out in the driveway at night and have a light come on so he doesn't trip over the bicycle that his kid just left laying in the driveway.
Then the motion sensor should trip in his driveway, and not in the adjacent alley, which he does not own. At best, he's an incompetent asshole; incompetent because he can't aim a motion sensor and an asshole because of his impact on others, about which he surely does not give a shit.
I'd go over there with a can of fake snow and spray it on his floods.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
You're not paying attention. There hasn't been a crime in that neighborhood since the Roaring '20s. There are more police than squirrels in that neighborhood.
You are welcome on my lawn.
What a waist of a high school education.
Serious question:
How did the HOA know about the antenna (in order to force it being taken down) if no one could see it?
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."
This opens up pandoras box
Then the world must have ended by now given we've had hams for the best part of since the technology was first created.
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.
What's "normal" in an emergency?
Also, no.
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.
I sent my reps the email.
I am glad that it may have helped.
(Amature Radio Service Operator).
There are more police than squirrels in that neighborhood.
That's just nuts.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
This is very good news for the RAYNET guys in the USA.
73's
Come on guy, the American way to solve that problem is to ask the woman for $10,000, get some Mexican to water your petunias for $500. She sells the house, gets out of your hair and everybody wins.
That's what Trump would do.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
You should have demanded $20 from her. Since your lowering her home value saved her money in taxes!
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
You're a silent key (SK, aka dead person)? Radio from the grave? Did they bury you with your rig?
And how do you get on the Internet?
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
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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How did the HOA know about the antenna (in order to force it being taken down) if no one could see it?
Good question. HOAs are unfortunately too often enablers for busybodies. My friend has a real jerk of a neighbor who has entirely too much time on his hands and goes around looking for HOA rule violations basically as a hobby. And frankly, I'm not sure how the neighbor saw the antenna. Because it really was not visible unless you were in my friend's back yard. But nobody asks about that. They just point to the rules and say take it down.
In this case, it is a real shame. My friend is a Morse code buff and to see and hear him operate is truly amazing. It is like music. He handles a set of CW paddles like Eric Clapton handles a guitar. It looks completely effortless.
This person also was the emergency coordinator in our area for the Amateur Radio Emergency Service group at one time. He is one of the guys that you would truly want to have access to a working station if something major bad happened.
I'm so glad I'm not in an HOA myself. But that is getting harder and harder to pull off. And that is why we need things like this bill.
Try it in an emergency. I bet you'll be wishing you had a dual band hand held in your pack.
The trouble, is unless you go to great lengths in your due diligence, you are unlikely to discover the HOA and the HOA rules until the final stages of the transaction, when you have to sign on the dotted line, and the HOA rules are in the fine print on page 562, and you won't understand that they exist or what they mean without a consult with a real-estate attorney that has your interests at heart, and not making a quick sale.
For the house I'm currently in the process of buying, we were notified up front of the existence of an HOA, and requested and reviewed its covenants prior to continuing with the purchase.
Stop! Dremel time!