Roger wrote:
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The ARRL Letter ////SNIP////

"Riley said...," not the ARRL.

F L U S H E D

Unflushed

==RILEY HOLLINGSWORTH TO AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNITY: "LIGHTEN UP!"

FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth advised those
attending the FCC forum at Dayton Hamvention 2006 to try kindness
instead of
confrontation when problems arise on the bands. Hollingsworth spoke May

20
to a nearly full house at Hara Arena, and for the most part he praised
the
behavior of the majority of Amateur Radio operators, especially those
who
volunteered in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year. But, he
noted,
radio amateurs still could be more courteous and less inclined to fly
off
the handle at some perceived on-the-air offense.


"You need to lighten up and not embarrass the Amateur Radio Service,"
Hollingsworth advised. "All of us make mistakes, especially with the
new
features you have on radios today. It's very easy to make a mistake, to

be
on the wrong frequency or be operating split and not know it--there's a

hundred ways to make mistakes." Hollingsworth said experience has shown



him
that at least 75 percent of the interference complained about is
absolutely
unintentional.


In Hollingsworth's view, radio amateurs all too often are
hypersensitive and
rude. "We have a radar going to detect offenses at all times, we assume



the
worst in people, we rarely give people the benefit of the doubt," he
said.
He joked that if there were three amateurs in a town, there would be
two
Amateur Radio clubs.


"And there'll be two hamfests with 20 people each, because they
wouldn't
dare consolidate them," he added.


Hollingsworth acknowledged that "certain problem operators" remain,
but the
real troublemakers are rarely the newcomers to Amateur Radio. "If
there's
a
downfall in Amateur Radio, it won't be caused by no-code Technicians or

codeless anything else," he said. "It'll be caused by the
microphone--no
doubt in my mind." He advised his audience to ignore the troublesome
operators and not give them the attention they crave by engaging them
on the
air.


"Now, think about it: If what you're hearing annoys you, or angers you
or
is
stupid, use the 'stupid filter,' which is that big knob--that VFO that
will
take you somewhere else," he quipped. "It's the largest knob on the
radio."
He recommended moving to another frequency or even another band
altogether.


Hollingsworth praised the Volunteer Examiner program as "outstanding"
and
noted there had not been a single complaint in the past year stemming
from
an examination session. He also said the Amateur Radio community should

have
a greater appreciation for what the ARRL is doing on its behalf.


"Most of you have no idea how much work is done in Newington for you
and
the
Amateur Radio Service generally," he said. "I see it every day, but I
think
you have no idea of the hard work and dedication that comes out of that

office up there, and I don't think we would be there if it weren't for
[the
League]."


"This country's communications infrastructure needs Amateur Radio,"
Hollingsworth emphasized, praising Amateur Radio's overall performance
following Hurricane Katrina. "You have a tremendous amount to be proud
of."


He also suggested that radio amateurs have an obligation to stay
informed
about what's going on in Amateur Radio that might affect their
activities.
"You have to not only keep up, you have to lead the way, because it's
in
your charter," he said, pointing to §97.1 of the Amateur Service
rules.


Hollingsworth noted at the start of his talk that he could not address
any
questions dealing with the FCC's long-awaited decision on the Morse
code
requirement (Element 1), because he works in the Commission's
Enforcement
Bureau. "We don't meddle in rule making," he explained, but added that
he
didn't expect CW to decline if the FCC does drop the 5 WPM Morse
requirement
for all Amateur Radio license classes as it's proposed to do.


The FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) handles Amateur Radio
rule
makings, Hollingsworth noted, including the "Morse code" proceeding,
WT
Docket 05-235, and the so-called "omnibus" proceeding, WT Docket
04-140. The
WTB has said it will rule first on the omnibus proceeding, then tackle
the
Morse code proceeding, but it has not indicated when to expect either
Report
and Order.


No representative from the WTB was at Dayton Hamvention this year.