REVIEW OF JANUARY 25, 2005 SBE 18 MEETING
The
business meeting was held at the offices and studios of Radio One in Conshohocken,
Pennsylvania with Mark Humphrey and Mike DePolo as the hosts. Snacks were
provided by Edward Stein of Sure Power. We thank the hosts and Mr. Stein
greatly.
Larry
Will stated that the FCC extended the deadline for picking DTV channels. Please
see the CDBS--open section for details.
Jim
Perry, certification chairperson, had two announcements. The first dealt with
the certification examination schedule. For information on examinations, please
see the national website at http://www.sbe.org.
Jim
also mentioned the passing of long time Chapter member Jim Dorrence. Jim, who
was nicknamed "Scoop", served as Chapter 18's Radiator
editor for several years. He was an engineer for NBC and WILM, Wilmington,
Delaware. One of the last things Jim did for the Chapter was to schedule a
guided tour of the Academy of Music for the Chapter. He will be sadly missed.
The
first presentation was made by Edward Stein, a sales representative of
SurePower discussing STATIONARY BATTERIES. His talk covered the technology and
design of batteries, application and maintenance/care.
The
second presentation was made by John Rahtes of the Federal communications
Commission who gave his annual State of the FCC address to the
Chapter.
John
mentioned that there is a new Regional Counsel in the Philadelphia office. She
is Sharon Webber.
A
demonstration on Time Difference of Arrival Direction Finding was given. This
is a newer technology that is used in the direction finding of various forms of
interference problems.
Topics
that were covered that dealt with enforcement include RF radiation, main studio
location, public inspection files, broadcast of telephone conversations without
prior notice and enhanced underwriting notices.
John
showed samples of pirate radio station search warrants. These included a pirate
radio station broadcasting with a power of 125 watts near a police station in
Pennsauken, New Jersey. Other pirates that were shown were one in Philadelphia
and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
A
demonstration of how antenna sites can exceed limits for RF exposure was done,
with various elements involved.
Direction
finding was also shown including a temporary FCC direction finding system on
the top of a building, direction finding equipment in an FCC vehicle, a
transmitter location system based on Time Difference of Arrival theory.
The
FCC can now get a sworn document. With a new Regional Counsel in each field
office, a letter and notice of inquiry, cease and desist orders and more can be
expedited without the need for contacting the Department of Justice.
Other
elements of enforcement are the following:
FAA
complained of interference to incoming flights into JFK International Airport
over Atlantic City, New Jersey. Interference was created by a CB linear
transmitting on 26.325 MHz out of band.
A
HF group in Columbia, Maryland complained of interference that was DF'd to a linear
amplifier in Northeast Philadelphia in a van. The investigation took two weeks
and the culprit's equipment was confiscated.
A
group of CB’ers used a CB to skip a signal to Puerto Rico without the benefit
of a cellular telephone.
Nextel,
the cellular telephone service provider, complained of interference to their calls
and that the calls were being knocked off the air. A leaking television cable
was the culprit emitting a signal near 800 MHz.
The
FCC is also involved in terrorist threat elements at events such as the
inauguration, political conventions and homeland security employing a
specialist for the latter area. All agencies have to devise a plan
regarding homeland security, with the FCC devising one dealing with spectrum
management. The administration is dealing with a six pillar plan. Proportionate
to the budget is how the agency performs in dealing with homeland security.
The
FCC is saying farewell to Commissioner and Chairperson Michael Powell.
The
local office announced the retirements of Serge Loginow and Barry Pehota. The
officers and membership of Chapter 18 and the local broadcast,
telecommunications and allied industries wish both Serge and Barry the warmest
of regards in their retirement years.