Many of you, as ARRL members, received an email letter from ARRL President K5UR urging you to encourage your Senators and Representatives to vote in favor of the Amateur Radio Parity Act (S.1534/H.R. 555).

Based on email from attorney K1VR, copied below with permission, I plan to do the opposite. 

The bill, which I once favored, has since been revised significantly just to satisfy HOA demands, and now it could do far more harm than good, giving HOA's rights to restrict antennas, backed by Federal Law, that they never had before.

I've posted Fred's Dayton PowerPoint slides, in both PowerPoint and PDF formats, here:



73,
Bob, N6TV
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Fred Hopengarten <Fred@antennazoning.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 7:37 PM
Subject: RE: S 1534 - Yay or Nay
To: "Bob Wilson, N6TV" <n6tv@arrl.net>


It is my personal opinion, and I do not represent the views of ARRL or any other organization, that S.1534 is not worth supporting, and I am not in favor of it.

 

You may share my PowerPoint (attached), which is more thorough than what I presented at Dayton (more time to edit).

 

One thing that is new, since Dayton, is that I’ve added a slide on the word “or.” Those thoughts didn’t occur to me the first 25 times I read through the bill.

 

Comment:  A few slides are not understandable without the speaker’s notes.

 

Query:  Do you think that the ARRL will seek to revoke my Life Membership? Or stop accepting my annual contribution to the Diamond Club?  I am a loyal member, but I disagree with the League on this one issue.

 

See my comments interspersed in the K5UR letter below.

 

73,

 

Fred Hopengarten, Esq.    K1VR     hopengarten@post.harvard.edu

Six Willarch Road

Lincoln, MA 01773                        antennazoning.com

781.259.0088

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: ARRL Web site <memberlist@www.arrl.org>
Date: Wed, Jul 26, 2017 at 10:23 AM
Subject: ARRL Request to Contact Your US Senators Supporting S 1534 - the Amateur Radio Parity Act

Dear ARRL member,

 

I am writing to you today because we are at a crossroad in our efforts to obtain passage of The Amateur Radio Parity Act.


(snip)


If you want to have effective outdoor antennas but are not currently allowed to do so by your Home Owner’s Association, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!! 

-What if the HOA allows a 440 MHz whip as the allowed “effective outdoor antenna”? 

•       If you already have outdoor antennas, but want to support your fellow hams, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

-If you live in an HOA and already have a stealth outdoor antenna, you will now be violating federal law, for lack of “prior approval.” 

•       If you want to preserve your ability to install effective outdoor antennas on property that you own, SEND THESE EMAILS TODAY!!

                -As written, this urging conflates “all hams” with HOA hams. Non-HOA hams are unaffected by S.1534.


(snip)


73,
Rick
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Rick Roderick, K5UR
President