Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C)
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Dec 22 2017 01:48 pm
DISTRACTED-DRIVING LAW EXEMPTION EXTENDED IN ONTARIO
JIM/ANCHOR: In more distracted-driving newss -- In Ontario, officials are
giving ham radio operators a break behind the wheel. With those details,
here's Heather Embee, KB3TZD.
HEATHER: Mobile ham radio operators in the Canadian province of Ontario,
are going to get the break they were seeking: Ontario's Ministry of
Transportation has announced that it is extending the current exemption
from its distracted-driving law for another three years, beginning
January first. This means that amateurs will be able to drive while making
use of handheld two-way radios in Ontario. Until now, that right was
granted under a five-year exemption that would otherwise have expired on
the first day of the new year.
RAC Directors Phil McBride, V-A-3-Q-R, told Amateur Radio Newsline on
December 15th, that the extension was granted after much hard work, and
negotiation. Phil and Allan Boyd, V-E-3-A-J-B had been working with
Ontario Transportation officials to see that some kind of exemption was
preserved.
It will now stay in place until January first, 2021.
Although the RAC's goal is to achieve a permanent exemption, the group
praised the MTO's action as being helpful. The RAC said it was nonetheless
committed to achieving a more permanent solution for the province. It is
important to note, however, that the use of handheld two-way radios by
drivers is a permission granted by governments in each province, and is
does not fall under Canada's overall regulatory system.
For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD.
(RAC)
**
NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR YOUNG WISCONSIN HAMS
JIM/DAMRON: If you're young, smart, and live in Wisconsin - or know of
a young ham who is - this next story from Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN, is for
you.
GERI'S REPORT: The Ozaukee Radio Club, W9CQO, in Wisconsin, has funded
a new ARRL Foundation scholarship, to help a qualifying amateur radio
operator, who is a full-time undergraduate at a four-year degree-granting
school. Applicants should be younger than 26, and must be U.S. citizens,
and residents of Wisconsin. The students applying should show a high
academic level of performance in their studies, which can be in any
field. The $2,000 scholarship from the Cedarburg, Wisconsin club will be
administered by the ARRL foundation, and can be used toward books,
tuition, on-campus housing, school fees, and any other costs related to
the winner's college education. Applicants also need to submit
recommendations and personal statements.
The ARRL Foundation was established in 1973, and administers programs
funded by radio amateurs and friends.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN.
**
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO COURT CRACKS DOWN ON UNLICENSED OPERATION
JIM/ANCHOR: An amateur radio operator in Trinidad and Tobago, will learn
in just a few weeks what the courts have in store for him, as we hear
from John Williams, VK4JJW.
JOHN: The courts in Trinidad and Tobago, are expected to rule in a little
more than a month, on sanctions being taken against a ham radio operator
there, who was transmitting without a license.
The courts found Desi-Lee Bonterre guilty of operating without a license,
from his home in Point Cumana, in Carenage in 2007. He was charged in
September of that year. The Telecommunications Authority, TATT, eventually
did grant him a license, and his attorney Sastri Roberts requested
leniency on behalf of Bonterre, saying that he was active in radio
emergency response. Southgate Amateur Radio News notes that Bonterre is
listed as an Extra class licensee in the U.S., and that he is a member of
Radio Emergency Association Citizen Team, or REACT, and an American Red
Cross volunteer. There is also a record of him holding a U.S. call sign
in 2008.
His QRZ profile lists him as an ARRL member, a resident of Brooklyn,
New York, and a master certified electronics technician.
During his trial, Bonterre testified that he had told police, when they
visited his home, and found the transmitters, that he was repairing some
of them at the time. The courts are set to make their ruling on his
punishment in February.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW.
(SOUTHGATE)
**
FCC PROPOSES FINE AGAINST MANUFACTURER
JIM/ANCHOR: An Atlanta company faces a stiff penalty from the Federal
Communications Commission, for failing to comply with technical
regulations. Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, has those details.
SKEETER: The FCC has proposed a $25,000 fine against a Georgia-based
maker of fluorescent lighting ballasts, for failing to label them as
required by Part 18 rules in effect at the time of manufacture. The FCC
said that the ballasts, two models in 2006 and one since 2009 - were
required to have the FCC logo attached.
At the time the models were manufactured, the logo was mandatory as a
way of letting buyers know that the device had undergone compliance
testing. Compliance with the rule has since become voluntary.
The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability against Acuity Brands Inc.
of Atlanta on November 21st.
The FCC said it raised its initial proposed penalty, because Acuity
continued to sell two of the models for a six-month period after it
first notified the company of alleged noncompliance.
The FCC noted that devices that are not in compliance with the agency's
technical rules are capable of causing unwanted interference.
A report on Southgate Amateur news said Acuity did submit test reports
showing two of the ballast models met technical requirements, but the
company did acknowledge that for nearly a decade, three models of the
ballasts were missing the FCC logo.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH.
