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SFM ARC On-Air Net Meetings

Please join us for our club’s 8:00 PM Tuesday Night on-air Net Meetings held at 3.545 MHz
Or you can listen and watch the CW to text translation HERE using our Live Feed!

The ARRL has filed a Petition for Rulemaking (PRM) asking the FCC to amend its Part 97 Amateur Service rules to incorporate the provisions of the Amateur Radio Parity Act. The Petition has not yet been assigned a rule making (RM) number and is not yet open for public comment. In the past, the FCC has said that it would not take such action without guidance from the US Congress, but, as ARRL’s Petition notes, Congress “has overwhelmingly and consistently” offered bipartisan support for the Amateur Radio Parity Act.

“Private land use regulations which either prohibit or which do not accommodate the installation and maintenance of an effective outdoor antenna in residences of Amateur Service licensees are unquestionably the most significant and damaging impediments to Amateur Radio Service communications that exist now,” ARRL said in its Petition. “They are already precluding opportunities for young people to become active in the avocation and to conduct technical self-training and participate in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] learning activities inherent in an active, experiential learning environment. Without the relief in this Petition, the future of Amateur Radio is bleak indeed.” The proposed amendments would have no effect on the FCC’s limited preemption policy in §97.15(b), which pertains to state and municipal governing bodies, ARRL said.

Specifically, ARRL is proposing that the FCC amend Part 97 by adding a new subsection under §97.15 that prohibits and ceases the enforcement of “any private land use restriction, including restrictive covenants and regulations imposed by a community association,” that either fails to permit a licensee to install and maintain an effective outdoor antenna capable of operation on all Amateur Radio frequency bands; on property under the exclusive use or control of the licensee; precludes or fails to permit Amateur Service communications, or which does not constitute the minimum practicable restriction on such communications to accomplish the lawful purposes specifically articulated in the declaration of covenants of a community association seeking to enforce such restriction. ARRL’s proposed rule would not affect any existing antenna approved or installed before the effective date of a Report and Order resulting from ARRL’s petition.

The proposed provisions reflect the accommodation reached in the ultimate version of the Parity Act bill at the urging of federal lawmakers between ARRL and the Community Associations Institute (CAI), the only organization representing homeowners’ associations. “That legislation was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives four separate times and has the support of the Senate Commerce Committee and the current Administration,” ARRL stressed.

“Private land use regulations are not ‘contracts’ in the sense that there is any meeting of the minds between the buyer and seller of land,” ARRL said. “Rather, they are simply restrictions on the use of owned land, imposed by the developer of a subdivision… They bind all lots in the subdivision.” ARRL noted in its Petition that an increasing number of homes available for purchase today are already subject to restrictive covenants prohibiting outdoor antennas.

In addition, ARRL pointed out that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 gives the FCC jurisdiction “to preempt private land use regulations that conflict with federal policy…”

“It is now time for actual and functional parity in the Commission’s regulations in order to protect the strong federal interest in Amateur Radio communications,” ARRL said. Read more.

New Slow Code Net Hits The Airwaves!

Former W6SFM CW Beginners course student has put his skills to work creating an all new Sacramento area Slow Code CW Net. The group will be working speeds as slow as 5 WPM for all those interested in getting in some practice and on-air experience!

The net will be held on an easy to get to 28.055 MHz every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10 AM Pacific time.  Be sure to join them and work some slow code!

 

W6SFM Bug Roundup Event

Please be sure to join us for the W6SFM’s twice yearly Bug Roundup event. This on-air event is held each May and November on the third weekend of the month.  Please be sure to click HERE to visit our “CQ BR” webpage. Participants  can register their station for the event, and to also receive a reminder email  twice per year just before the event begins.  Find more information, including times, frequencies and  Bug Roundup Event rules by using the “Club Activities” link at the top of this website.  We hope to hear you on the air!

N6MQL Presents the RigExpert Antenna Analyzer
This month Mike, N6MQL presented the new features of the RigExpert Antenna analyzers to members of both N6NA (River City ARC) and our own group at W6SFM. Below is the entire presentation.

Next Month’s In-Person Meeting        

Our next SFM ARC in-person meeting will be held at its normal time and location Feb 7th (followed by our March. 5th meeting). The SFM ARC in-person meeting will be held in the Howard Crowley room upstairs at the Carmichael Presbyterian Church. Directions, including a Google Map, are available at the bottom of this page.

At our February meeting, we will be discussing ARRL news and events. We will also be recapping our North American QSO Party event held at member Bob, N6PGQ’s home QTH. We will also have a presentation on the different aspects of the Buddipole portable antenna system.  As always, we will have our Tech (show and tell) portion. Members and visitors are welcomed to share their Ham Radio related items they find of interest.

Solar Report by Tamitha Skov (A real report everyone can understand)