Of Note...

The November 11, 2006 edition of Radio World has published a Commentary written by Don Schellhartd of Hams For Action.

Read it here.

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FOR RELEASE ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1

For information, contact:

Don Schellhardt, President

HAMS FOR ACTION

pioneerpath@hotmail.com

(719) 310-0394

2617 East Uintah Street, #D

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

New Ham Group Honors Antenna Allies In Congress,

Urges Hams To “Lobby More Assertively”

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, November 1 -- A new group of Amateur Radio operators, HAMS FOR ACTION (HFA), has taken two new steps toward partial overrides of total bans on Amateur Radio antennas by Homeowners’Associations (HOAs). First, the group, which is simultaneously seeking action by either the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) or Congress, thanked 42 Congressional legislators who have supported overriding HOA antenna bans through legislation. Second, HFA released ratings of incumbents in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, based on how often each one has supported one or more of 3 bills endorsed by THE AMERICAN RADIO RELAY LEAGUE (ARRL), which represents the ham community as a whole.

Don Schellhardt KI4PMG, President of HFA and former Vice President of the NATIONAL ANTENNA CONSORTIUM, announced that HFA is sending letters of commendation to the 42 Congressional supporters of HOA antenna reform. He singled out for special praise those 9 Representatives who have sponsored or co-sponsored antenna ban override legislation at every opportunity during the last 3 Sessions of Congress. The list starts with Reps. Steven Israel, D-NY, who introduced the first two bills, and Mike Ross, D-AR, who joined him in introducing the latest bill. The other 7 are Reps. Stephanie Herseth, D-SD; Mike McIntyre, D-NC; Michael McNulty, D-NY; John Olver, D-MA; Todd Platts, R-PA; David Price, D-NC; and Rob Simmons, R-CT.

“These are not endorsements,” Schellhardt said. “These are acknowledgements.

HFA is recognizing steadfast service on the issue which HFA was created to address.”

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Schellhardt also mentioned 12 Representatives who backed the bill in 2002, and again in 2003, but did not support it in 2005. They are Reps. Tammy Baldwin, D-WI;

Roscoe Bartlett, R-MD; Marion Berry, D-AK; Rick Boucher, D-VA; Ken Calvert, R-CA; John Duncan, R-TN; J.D. Hayworth, R-AZ; Zoe Lofgren, D-CA; Carolyn McCarthy,

D-NY; Pete Sessions, R-TX; Patrick Tiberi, R-OH; and Greg Walden, R-OR. “We don’t know why these legislators changed their minds,” Schellhardt commented, “but we hope they will return to the fold if they are re-elected.”

• · Another 21 Representatives supported the legislation once, in 2003 or 2002. More detailed information is being posted on HFA’s Web Site at
• · www.hamsforaction.net. Electronic copies of relevant documents can also be obtained directly from Don Schellhardt at pioneerpath@hotmail.com

• HFA also released its ratings of Congressional legislators, based on their support for ham radio in general. HFA found that, over the past 6 years, only a handful of Senators, and less than a third of House Members, have supported any kind of legislation to promote or protect the Amateur Radio Service. HFA studied legislators’ positions on 3 ARRL-endorsed bills: HOA antenna reform, plus proposals to protect ham radios from interference by certain Broadband Over Powerlines (BPL) technologies and to block the re-allocation of Amateur Radio frequencies for use by commercial interests.

No Senator supported HOA antenna reform during any of the last 3 Sessions of Congress. Only 12 of 100 incumbent Senators supported any pro-ham legislation at all.

Hams had more supporters in the House. 134 of 438 incumbents took at least

one action to support pro-ham legislation during the past 6 years. However, most of the 134 supported only spectrum protection, not HOA antenna reform or BPL restraint.

“Clearly,” said Schellhardt, “hams need to be more assertive in contacting their legislators. HFA was formed to provide a voice for those hams who want to supplement ARRL’s lobbying with their own, more intensive efforts, focused on antenna bans.”

In the House, many top supporters of HOA antenna reform also led the pack in overall support for ham radio. Reps. Israel and Ross joined Reps. Bartlett and Walden in the top group, with an overall score of 50%. Other leading antenna reformers were in

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the second tier, where Reps. Boucher, McNulty, Olver and McIntyre joined Rep. Michael Bilirakis, R-FL, with 44%. Maryland Democrats “Dutch” Ruppenberg and Chris Van Hollen each scored 40%, but 3 more of the top antenna reformers took the next 3 slots: Reps. Price, 37%; Herseth, 33%; and Simmons, 30%.

Scoring 29% were Reps. Baldwin and Calvert, plus Reps. Marion Berry, D-AR; Sherrod Brown, D-OH (now a U.S. Senate candidate); Dennis Moore, D-KS; and Pete Sessions, R-TX. Behind them, at 22%, were Reps. Platts, Lofgren and Hayworth, plus Reps. Neil Abercrombie, D-HI; Jo Ann Davis, R-VA; John Duncan, R-TN; Sam Farr,

D-CA; Paul Gilmor, R-OH; Ralph Hall, R-TX; Mike Honda, D-CA; and Mark Udall, D-CO.

Of the 33 incumbent U.S. Senators whose seats are up for re-election this year,

only 3 of them received HFA ratings above zero: Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-HI, with 44%; Conrad Burns, R-MT, 22%; and Olympia Snowe, R-ME, 7%.

Among the 67 Senators who seats are not up for re-election in 2006, 9 received HFA ratings above zero: Sens. Michael Crapo, R-ID, 44%; Larry Craig, R-ID, 37%; Max Baucus, D-MT, 22%; Christopher Dodd, D-CT, 22%; Christopher Bond, R-MO, 15%; Susan Collins, R-ME, 15%; Blanche Lincoln, D-AR, 15%; Thad Cochran, R-MS, 7%; and Carl Levin, D-MI, 7%.

“Congressional under-responsiveness to the ham community affects the general public,” Schellhardt said. “The public counts on hams for emergency communications when everything else is down. If hams can’t get On The Air due to antenna bans, or can’t stay On The Air because of interference from BPL or spectrum-grabbing by commercial interests, our communities will be much less protected from disasters. Also, our nation may lose the kind of technological innovations and learning opportunities that ham radio has provided in the past.”