If the Board considers filing a petition for reconsideration, I'd like to propose that the following be considered. Essentially all of the complaints about the scheduled new bands concern the activities that have been using 3600 to 3700. Rather than petition that the new extra-class phone band edge be moved upwards, to say 3650, I suggest we might consider simply permitting general, advanced, and extra class licensees to continue to operate CW and digital modes from 3600 to 3700, along with extra-class phone. 1) This somewhat avoids confronting Mr. Cross' conclusion that phone privileges should go down to 3600. 2) It shows concern for the traffic net and digital groups. If needed digital use can expand up above 3600 in contests, or other periods of high activity. 3) Outside of contests, there is little activity in the present 3750 to 3775 extra phone bands. To spread this out into a 100 kHz wide region will result in another particularly unused group of frequencies. 4) As has been said previously, Radio Amateurs in essentially every other country than the US presently share all their frequencies with all the modes. The amateurs themselves sort out where they will operate. There is no group more capable of understanding and sharing than the extra-class licensees. 5) All USA amateurs have shown ability to share on 160 with few problems, resulting in more efficient use of the spectrum. Thank you for consideration of this idea. 73, Dick Norton. N6AA presently in Aruba as P40T On 11/16/06, Jim Weaver <k8je@arrl.org> wrote:
As a result of the recent web story, I've had a few members ask me just what we are planning by way of an appeal to the R&O. The stimulus to the questions is the comment, "The ARRL Board is discussing the possibility of a petition to reconsider several items in the R&O."