ARCC DEVELOPING WEB HOME PAGEMaripat Pressler, the wife of Gene Pressler, W3ZXV, our Vice President for Administration, is recovering from double lung transplant surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The procedure itself was performed last September and the road to recovery has been marked with many detours along the way.
We hope that Maripat continues making good progress and they will both be back in the area very soon for some of Gene's home cooking and continued TLC.
ANNUAL REPORT TO MEMBERSHIPThe ARCC's Internet home page can now be reached on the World Wide Web at WWW.ARCC-INC.org. While still in development, much useful information can be found already, including the ARCC Handbook; applications; public repeater directory database information; officers; ham radio links and other related materials.
ARCC sincerely thanks John LaMartina, K3NXU and RESUBA, an Internet Service Provider, for their generous support of ARCC by designing and maintaining the home page and donating the required computer access.
Visit the site and drop us an E-Mail to let us know how we can make the ARCC web page more valuable to you.
ARRL REPEATER DIRECTORYWith ARCC approaching its first "birthday" on February 1st, this is a fine time to review our substantial progress, along with a few rookie year growing pains.
Since ARCC assumed responsibility for Amateur Radio frequency coordination in Eastern Pennsylvania and Southern New Jersey, much work has been needed to validate the prior TPARC database and to conduct surveys of actual repeater utilization in many areas of the region.
Certain housekeeping tasks also had to be developed to manage the flow of application paperwork and database information between the various ARCC officers, coordinators and adjacent coordination groups.
These procedures were vitally important to make sure that all coordination decisions would be based upon the most accurate and complete data available and also so no applications would "fall between the cracks".
While this "learning curve" produced some delays in processing, the modest investment in time was well worth the result in the long run. Your collective patience has been sincerely appreciated.
To date, ARCC has completed processing 266 "grandfathered" and new repeater coordination applications and 54 "grandfathered" and new link coordination applications. These included 91 new repeater coordinations or modifications and 23 new link frequency coordinations or modifications.
Our total current database includes 328 coordinated repeaters and 66 coordinated links.
This was a very large volume of work and we are quite pleased to be essentially current on new applications. The processing of future applications should have a significantly reduced "turnaround time".
Our Executive Board met in early December in Warrington, Bucks County, PA to consider a number of important issues. These included hearing its first appeal of an initial coordinator's decision involving competing applications by two groups for rights to hold the future coordination of an existing 2 Meter repeater in Doylestown, PA.
ARCC has a series of options, in addition to the Board Appeal, to help resolve disputes between applicants and third-parties. These include both mediation and arbitration.
We hope that by building such procedures into our organization, we can resolve even serious coordination disputes entirely within the Amateur community (which is our tradition) and avoid the need to resort to FCC involvement or the specter of litigation which might otherwise occur.
See the discussion of a pending FCC investigation elsewhere in this Newsletter for an example of what can happen when these remedies are not utilized.
FCC AFFIRMS IMPORTANCE OF ARCC COORDINATIONThe data submitted to the ARRL for inclusion in the League's 1997 Repeater Directory was submitted on time by our Database Manager, Jeff DePolo, WN3A last December.
As TPARC handled 1996 data, we are very pleased to provide this information for the first time from our current database.
Also new this year is a formal Licensing Agreement with the ARRL in which they will pay ARCC an annual fee for the use of our data under a Memorandum of Understanding negotiated with the National Frequency Coordination Council "NFCC"), of which ARCC is a full member.
Because of some apparent misunderstandings about the role of ARRL and regional frequency coordinators, it's important to understand that copies of individual coordinations are never sent to the ARRL; only an annual database in electronic form each December.
Neither the ARRL nor the FCC receives notice of particular coordinations, unless confirmation of a coordination is requested.
Other than publishing the Repeater Directory as an ARRL product, the League has no role in the approval of coordinations or the determination of frequency coordination policies.
Some future administrative support is expected to be provided to the NFCC in performing its duties on behalf of Amateurs at the National level, but ARCC is an independent non-profit corporation and 501(c)(3) educational and scientific foundation which has its own Executive Board.
1997 REGIONAL MEETING SCHEDULEThe FCC Bureau in Langhorne, Pennsylvania has recently ordered an uncoordinated repeater in Pennsylvania to cease its operations except during emergencies due to complaints of harmful interference to a properly coordinated repeater in Northern New Jersey.
ARCC was asked by the FCC to verify the coordination status of the Pennsylvania repeater according to its official database.
Because the FCC investigation is continuing, details are being withheld. However, a copy of an FCC "Congressional Response" provided to ARCC confirms that the local FCC office places great weight on the issuance of formal coordination by the area's recognized frequency coordinator in resolving mutual interference complaints among Amateur repeaters.
Section 97.205(c) of the Commission Rules and Regulations, 47 C.F.R. - 97.205(c), provides that: "Where the transmissions of a repeater cause harmful interference to another repeater, the two stations licensees are equally responsible for resolving the interference unless the operation of one station is recommended by a frequency coordinator and the operation of the other station is not. In that case, the licensee of the non-coordinated repeater has the primary responsibility to resolve the interference."
Owners of uncoordinated repeaters are cordially urged to apply to ARCC for formal coordination of their repeaters to at least maintain an equal footing in the event of an interference complaint by a coordinated repeater, and to be in a stronger position should the other repeater be itself uncoordinated.
BANDPLANNING COMMITTEE BEING FORMEDARCC will be visiting its various regions again next year. Acting on suggestions by the members, future regional meetings will be generally held to coincide with major hamfests in the local area.
While final arrangements are still being made, we tentatively expect to have regional meetings to discuss frequency coordination at the Warminster ARC Hamfest on May 4, 1997; York Hamfest in August; South Jersey Radio Assoc. Hamfest in September; and Penn Wireless Assoc. Hamfest on October 19, 1997.
Additional sites are still be investigated to better serve members in the Northwest and Northeast regions.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALWith the increasing impact of digital modes and ever increasing awareness of other users on the VHF/UHF ham bands (including space shuttle and satellite operations), it is important that ARCC examine the future bandplanning needs of Amateur in these bands. Our adjacent coordinators and the National Frequency Coordination Council are also examining these issues.
ARCC is therefore establishing a Bandplanning Committee, currently being chaired by Jeff DePolo, WN3A, ARCC Database Manager, to obtain input from all interested band users and to advise the Executive Board on establishing bandplanning policy.
All interested hams, including all digital users (e.g. Packet, TCP/IP, ATV, Digital Voice, etc.), are cordially invited to join this committee, as well as representatives of the FM voice repeater community.
To join, send an E-Mail to Jeff DePolo - WN3A
or send in a written request to the ARCC office address.
ARCC SEEKS 2/220 FREQUENCY COORDINATORARCC has been doing much work behind the scenes to bring the coordination process up to date and resolve some very thorny interference and application problems.
We appreciate the patience of the membership while this transition process from TPARC to ARCC was completed. As you can see, many positive steps are being taken to protect the integrity of coordinated repeaters.
In addition, efforts are being made by the Technical Assistance Committee to investigate and resolve some interference problems at the hardware level which may avoid the need for more onerous steps being required to resolve mutual interference problems.
ARCC needs the ongoing support of the membership to fund its operations for the upcoming year. Photocopies; postage; travel; and other incidental expenses are incurred sparingly, but when necessary to do the professional quality job expected by the membership.
Please send in your renewal forms and membership fees now to keep the momentum going as ARCC moves forward to take on many challenges and opportunities in the future. Digital coordination; more aggressive FCC enforcement action; balanced bandplanning; Internet web page; and other steps to improve membership communications are all part of the agenda for next year. Thanks for your ongoing support.
A FINAL WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ARCCARCC is seeking candidates for the position of 2 Meter/220 MHz Band Frequency Coordinator. At the present time this band is being coordinated on an acting basis by Ron Raymond, K3LPR, Vice President for Coordination.
Candidates should have experience in determining anticipated repeater coverage area for 2 meter/220 MHz repeaters based upon relevant engineering factors, including Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) and Effective Radiated Power (ERP).
If you have an interest in helping ARCC coordinate repeaters on these Ham bands, please let Ron know at his E-Mail address raymond@oasis.ot.com or apply through the ARCC office address.
As ARCC President, I wish to sincerely thank the following people for their friendship, mutual support, and fine efforts this past year in establishing this new organization and making many difficult decisions based always on the highest ethical standards and objective technical criteria:
Steve White, WA3IAO, President
Gene Pressler, W3ZXV, Vice Pres. for Administration
Ron Raymond, K3LPR, Vice Pres. for Coordination
John Sichert, KA3LAO, Secretary
Vince Bardsley, KB3OM, Treasurer
Jeff DePolo, WN3A, Database Manager
John LaMartina, K3NXU, ARCC Web Page Manager
Dick Stewart, K3ITH, EPA-SE Regional Representative
John Shaffer, W3SST, EPA-SW Regional Representative
John Winkler, WB3GPY, EPA-NW Regional Representative
Don Curtis, W3LR, EPA-NE Regional Representative
Matt Mazziotta, SNJ Regional Representative
Evan Resnikoff, WE3E, 10/6 Meter Coordinator
Ron Raymond, K3LPR, 2 Meter & 220 MHz Coordinator
George LeNoir, WR3B, 440/+ Coordinator
ARCC, INC.
P.O. Box 244
Plumsteadville, PA 18949