1 JUN, 2002 - 1655 CDT Here is my reply to John Swartz's letter. 73 - Dick, W9GIG ==================================================================== Delivered-To: dick@pobox.com : :: : :: : X-Sender: grisely@mailhost.chi.ameritech.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.2.0.58 : Date: Sat, 01 Jun 2002 16:32:11 -0500 To: John Swartz WA9AQN <jswartz@eosinc.com> From: dick@pobox.com Subject: Re: Covenants, pre-emption, and League policy Cc: w5jBP@aol.com : : 1 JUN, 2002 - 1620 CDT John Swartz, WA9AQN ARRL Volunteer Council Petersburg, IL Hello John.. Thank you for your letter of concern. It's taken me a couple of days to reflect on your thoughtful and detailed letter intimating that the League may be wasting its time and money fighting private land use covenants that prohibit the use of exterior antennas. You cover all the bases in your letter and what you say is reasonable and factual - as far as you go. But I am concerned that your views may be somewhat skewed by virtue of where you live - in a small town well to the northwest of Springfield, IL. In virtually all of the large urban areas of our country, amateurs wanting to put up outside antennas - for any purpose - are limited to buying existing property in developed areas 40 or more years old, or going out in some (not all) counties and buying undeveloped farmland. They are denied the right to buy a newer home (in any price range), relatively close to their jobs, the services, and the conveniences we all take for granted. Many, many hams have abandoned their activity in this radio service when faced with these sorts of choices. I support the League's effort to have congress extend PRB-1 to cover private property conditions, covenants, and restrictions (CC&Rs) for the following reasons: 1. Antenna restrictions/prohibitions affect all amateur radio licensees, including the VHF and UHF weak signal people, satellite users, and even those whose interests lie in using only FM repeaters for public service communications - emergency and routine. Those who want to build a major HF contest and DXing palace eventually do so by moving out to a county that does not make life difficult for them. But they are a small minority of our licensees. The rest of us have to struggle with dictatorial homeowners' associations (I was an officer in one for three years),and ignorant and/or biased city council and county officials. There are new transmission modes such as PSK31 that require little power to communicate around the world. But these modes still require relatively large, exterior antennas to receive and transmit these signals. Attic antennas, regardless of the power used will always generate more RFI complaints than elevated exterior antennas transmitting the same power, or even more power. Some of the largest antenna arrays are used by QRP enthusiats. In summary; having all the spectrum in the world is virtually worthless, unless we can have efficient use of it via exterior antennas. 2. The FCC already has the power to preempt private CC&Rs, but it refuses to do so. In it's last reply to the ARRL's last petition on this issue, the Commission told us, in effect, to get Congress to to tell us to do so and we will do so immediately. Now we are taking them at their word. HR-4720 is a jewel of simplicity - only one sentence long - that, if passed tells the FCC to consider CC&Rs in the same light and legal grounding as PRB-1 has been used against governmental ordinances and laws. There are no loop-hole phrases that can be used to gut the intent of Congress. 3. The fall-out from the 9/11 atrocities is giving the amateur radio community the very rare political opportunity to control the growing restrictions on exterior antennas. The ARRL would be remiss in its long-standing policy of fighting for the Amateur Radio Service, if it let this opportunity pass without making the attempt. 4. I happen to believe that we will prevail, if we can bring a very large number of voices to speak out in our favor - not only the ham community, but those organizations it serves. These organizations happen to be most of the nation's charities, emergency services providers, and local police. If we all speak out in support of this issue, we will win. 5. If HR-4720 becomes federal law, the amateur community will not be able to walk into a homeowners' association board meeting and automatically obtain satisfaction. Reasonable accomodation will be the guiding principle, just as it always has been under PRB-1 as we now know it. But now these associations and groups would learn they simply cannot say, "Hell no!" without facing the very real probablility they will be overruled in a court of law. I understand the existing body of PRB-1 rulings would then apply to CC&Rs. It should not take too many years before these covenants and restrictions are modified, or in some cases, abolished across the land. With advent of the Internet and the League's far more proactive stance, this process will happen much faster than the first time around. Again, thank you for your thoughts on this most important issue. I certainly hope you will support our effort to insure the long-term viability of Amateur Radio: both in getting young people into it and preserving and enhancing our ability to be of service to our communities. BTW, I will be at the Starved Rock Hamfest tomorrow morning (June 2nd) and at the Egyptian Radio Club Hamfest in Granite City on June 9th. Perhaps we can discuss this issue face-to-face. 73 - Dick Isely, W9GIG