Ladies Home Journal Article

Wed May 15 08:05:45 EDT 1996

     >lhj at mdp.com wrote:
     >This information was given to us by a spokesperson for the
     >Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), during a
     >telephone interview. She said, in effect, "There is little you can do
     >about static, except to report those who cause it--illegal airwave
     >users, such as amateur radio stations--to the FCC." 

     The CEMA Staff Director of Communications is Lisa Fasold 
     (lfasold at eia.org).

     de Charley Shaffer, K7NW
     Charley.Shaffer at ci.seattle.wa.us

>From tomf at neca.com (Tom Francis)  Wed May 15 15:53:19 1996
From: tomf at neca.com (Tom Francis) (Tom Francis)
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 10:53:19 -0400
Subject: BIG bolts
Message-ID: <199605151453.KAA22550 at orion.neca.com>

At 07:55 AM 5/15/96 -0500, you wrote:

Well, they recommend a product they are developing--somewhat 
similar to their adaptation of Desenz for Beverage antennas--
called "tower condoms." 

             ----snip----cut----trash----edit----

Oh, they supposedly prevent the CQ, CQ, CQ, virus so
>rampant on 160 this contest year.

        Joe:

        According to my in-house infectious control 
        expert who wrote the famous study "RF Pathogens -
        the CQ CQ CQ VIRUS and it's impact on 160
        Meters", the virus cannot be prevented as it
        is the direct exchange of RF emissions that
        causes the viral infection.  It cannot be
        prevented by the mere use of tower condoms, 
        stubby or otherwise.

        The only known and accepted method of prevention 
        of the CQ CQ CQ Virus is the practice of chasity
        and abstinence - which is to say, don't CQ..

        Just thought you'd like to know....

        73

        Tom, NM1Q (tomf at neca.com)

        "Polka 'til you puke!"
                Wierd Al Yankovic

>From larrytx at SSD.intel.com (LarryX Tyree contractor for brentc)  Wed May 15 17:34:40 1996
From: larrytx at SSD.intel.com (LarryX Tyree contractor for brentc) (LarryX Tyree contractor for brentc)
Date: Wed, 15 May 96 09:34:40 PDT
Subject: Amateur Radio and static
Message-ID: <9605151634.AA00267 at tensor.SSD.intel.com>

Dear Lisa,

You have probably heard some fallout from the following comments:

     >lhj at mdp.com wrote:
     >This information was given to us by a spokesperson for the
     >Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA), during a
     >telephone interview. She said, in effect, "There is little you can do
     >about static, except to report those who cause it--illegal airwave
     >users, such as amateur radio stations--to the FCC." 

What you may not of received are some comments pointing out the technical
error of this quote.  Simply put, static isn't caused by other transmitters.

Static results from insufficient signal strength at the receiver.  This is
typically caused by having the receiver too far from the transmitter, having
the antennas improperly orientated, or by objects near the antennas causing 
reflections that cancel out the desired signal.

Most transmitters I know of do not transmit static.  Amateurs either 
transmit morse code signals (very easy to tell from static) or voice 
signals which again are easy to tell from static.

Our family has used cordless phones for five years now, and have never had
any problems with interference from my transmitted signals.  This actually
surprised me, as I run the maximum power level allowed by my FCC license of
1500 watts.  This is probably over 1500 times the power level of the 
cordless transmitter.  

We recently replaced our old phone with a new one (with ten channels) and 
we have had to change frequencies 3 times in the two weeks we have had it.
The interference was being caused by other cordless phones in our area.  
Again, this surprised me, as I live in the country and have less than
100 neighbors within a mile of me.

It is obvious to me that true interference is much more likely to be caused
by another cordless phone than an licensed Amateur Radio operator, a 
unlicensed Citizen Band operator or even the very rare unlicensed station
not falling into these two categories.

I encourage you to improve the technical accuracy of your comments.  This 
will not only give the consumer better information so they have a better
chance of actually solving their problem, but it will eliminate unnecessary
conflicts between Amateur Radio operators and cordless phone users.

The FCC is a good source of useful information on interference situations.
They have a booklet they send to people who do complain about interference
problems.  Perhaps this would be a useful document for your editors to 
become familar with.

I hope you can find some way to undo the damaged reputation to Amateur
Radio these incorrect comments have generated.

Larry Tyree N6TR
Senior Systems Engineer - Intel Corp.
larrytx at ssd.intel.com

>From n4bp at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us (Bob Patten)  Wed May 15 17:47:02 1996
From: n4bp at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us (Bob Patten) (Bob Patten)
Date: Wed, 15 May 1996 12:47:02 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: DX-Reflector address needed
Message-ID: <Pine.3.89.9605151226.A28903-0100000 at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us>

Can someone please send me the address for the DX-Reflector?  Also need 
the subscription address..
				Tnx
Bob Patten
n4bp at bcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us