Thanks for the tip, Don. I read it; I am saddened to see such
self-rightous hams as W0YR and W6FDR put out this petition to the
FCC, obviously having been chaffed over the use of HiFi SSB. However,
as it, as written, has the potential to restrict AM bandwidth to
about 2.3 KHz of audio, it must be either modified or struck down
completely.
Any ham who has listened to AM over the years knows that restricted
BW AM is quite intelligible, through static, QRN and QRM, and that
adding audio presence is one of the ways to imrove this situation.
Power is the other way, which is already crippled by the 1kW Peak
power restriction which lowers the carrier power to a significant
handicap. Yet, AM is one of the areas where much tinkering and
experiments are being done again, after nearly vanishing from the
amateur's workable technologies. Homebrew AM transmitters, at least,
are one of the more enjoyable aspects of the hobby for some of us.
Conversion of surplus military and broadcast gear is another avenue
which has enhanced the hobby of ham radio for many. Reworking old
technology equipment to put it into service on the ham bands is a
practice which must not be restricted by someones idea of fixing
everybody with their notion of what rules should be made.
Hi Fi SSB does seem to be a bit of a paradox: On one hand, SSB was
developed to save bandwidth and add more uses to the same telephone
circuits many years ago. When it was adopted to the radio bands, this
became a great advantage of SSB, and hams flocked to it. Yet, in
intelligibility, distortion, and listener fatigue, SSB has problems
which are inherent to the design. Adding Hi Fi is one modification
which has been tried. I am not sure of the solution. Many SSB users
in the states and worldwide seem to prefer Japanese transceivers,
which have been designed without so much concern for audio quality.
AM transmission is a mode which has natural advantages for improved
audio, and we are practicing and experimenting with this. It is
bringing new interest in the HF bands, and in building equipment and
systems, which should not be discouraged by the FCC.
I am preparing my own comments to this end, and I heartly encourage
hams and others, whether they use AM, CW, SSB, FM, PK31, Packet,
Digital Voice, SSTV, ATV, or whatever, to comment to the FCC on this
petition to help guide our federal government on fair and responsible
stewardship of the radio spectrum.
73
John Lyles
K5PRO
From: "Donald Chester" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [email protected]
Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2003 20:33:08 +0000
Subject: [AMRadio] Bandwidth petition assigned RM-10740
Reply-To: [email protected]
The following information appeared on the AM Window Bulletin Board. Tnx
Phil, K2PG.
The FCC has assigned an RM number, RM-10740, to the petition that seeks to
ban high-fidelity SSB, and
to cripple AM below 28 MHz with a 5.6 kHz bandwidth limit. Comments may be
filed through the ECFS page on the FCC Web site.
Here is the URL to the FCC ECFS search page:
http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi
To view the bandwidth petition, type RM-10740 in the PROCEEDING window. Then
go to the DOCUMENT TYPE window, scroll through the pull-down menu, and
select PU, for Petition for rUlemaking. Click on the RETRIEVE DOCUMENT LIST
button. You should see some information on the petition, the two clowns who
filed it in May, and a link for viewing the document. When you click on the
link, you will see the petition as a .pdf file.
To view the comments that have been filed, type RM-10740 in the PROCEEDING
window, then select CO (for COmment) from the pull-down menu in the DOCUMENT
TYPE window. After clicking on the RETRIEVE DOCUMENT LIST button, you will
see a list of all comments filed to date. To view them, click on the link at
the bottom of each listing.
Here is the URL for electronically filing comments.
http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi
When you click the URL, you will be taken to a cover sheet. Enter RM-10740
in the PROCEEDING window, fill out the other blanks as directed, then type
your comments. As an alternative to typing your comments directly on this
page, you may write them as a Microsoft Word document, using the standard
formatting for legal documents, then you may upload your Word document.
Do not use macros in the Word document. Since macros are popular places for
planting viruses, the FCC software will automatically discard documents that
contain macros.
Don K4KYV
_
