Bruce Perens, K7BP a well know open source advocate and proponent of Codec2 filed FCC comments to the on-going petition for rules chance to allow TDMA used by MotoTrbo.
Some back ground:
The KA9FLX repeater in Chicago, IL was the first Mototrbo Amateur Radio Repeater. It was put on the air in 2008.
In March 2011, some overly concerned fellow Amateurs brought a emission rule technicality to the forefront. Apparently the classified emission type doesn’t match those specifically allowed for ham radio.
At the time of the petition, there are more that a dozen Mototro repeaters in service on amateur frequencies. Since then, over 90 repeaters have been reported as up and running.
The processing time of requested FCC rule changes for all services is enormous. For example, the request to Eliminate the Spread Spectrum Automatic power control Requirement took 4 years to be approved.
For the past several years, all the ARRL initiated petitions for FCC rule changes have been very narrow requests.
In Bruce’s comments he points out that the regulatory framework continued by this NPRM would not handle software-defined radio well.
The point is that development is already rapid, and will only increase. The current regulatory framework will not keep up with this development.
This contrasts starkly with Amateur Radio's mission to advance the state of the art.
The present system that FCC must approve each significantly different modulation type to reach Amateur Radio only causes Amateur Radio to fall further and further behind in terms of developments.
Continuation of this piecemeal process of authorization would place severe regulatory hurdles and hinders the capability of Radio Amateurs to experiment and innovate.
I wrote Bruce to thank him for his comments. A major rule revision like he is proposing is long over due in my opinion.
Why the ARRL hasn’t gotten behind a major rule re-write like he is proposing is beyond me.
Apparently, their ideology on getting more amateur activity has focused on consolidating the license classes, instead of helping enable new technologies that might help foster more interest in the hobby.
5 comments:
The rules do need to be re-written.
But what does Bruce Perens have to do with it?
He's the guy who spear-headed the No-Code International effort. And then the moment the code requirement was lifted, amateur radio heard nothing else from Perens until now.
I suspect this is just another publicity play. I believe his initial efforts in this regard was during an interview with Leo LaPorte. He likes publicity but I've seen no evidence that K6BP is at all active on the bands. And even if I agree with the need for the rule change, I don't like "outsiders" championing their cause inside our tent.
Am I wrong about Perens? Is he active on the air and I'm simply unaware?
Jeff, KE9V
I don't care if he is on the air. I know plenty of hams who are very inactive on the air, or may not even own a radio these days, but are making contributions to the hobby using their talents.
He has been active with the Codec 2 project, and is really the only one promoting a big rules re-write. Both are good concepts for the hobby. So I applaud him for that.
He may like publicity, but there are plenty of hams like that (think ARES), so I am not going to fault him for that.
Bottom line, I like what the guy stands for and is trying to do.
Your logic escapes me.
How can those who have no interest in communicating stridently propose rule changes as though they know what's "best" for a hobby they don't participate in?
Proposing rule changes is best left to those who actually have a stake in the game...
Well in my own case, my on air activity has decreased over the years as my interest in the existing technology has.
When something new comes along it tends to drag me back out on the air to mess with it.
Keep in mind those who are active were/are also welcome to propose rule changes.
The ones who are sick of the present state of affairs are more likely to; 1.) not be as active, and 2.) seek some changes
It makes sense to me. I am guessing there is something you don't like about what Bruce proposed, else why would you be in a tizzy about it all?
If you have a license, you have just as might right as the next guy to make a proposal. And if you don't like it, you can always file comments to indicate that.
Going to have to side with Bruce Perens and Steve on this one. Everyone gets into Amateur Radio for different reasons. I personally don't enjoy nets, nor do I want to join the yammering that seems to dominate the airwaves.
Bring on the digital! Bring new people into the hobby! I want to get Hams back to being the experimenters pushing the envelope and not the followers of whatever the manufacturers decide to give us.
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