[RTTY] The Email Robots are coming to RTTY!

[Skip Teller]

ARRL is petitioning the FCC to allow Email Robots to take over the HF bands under 10m.

You can read about the special meeting with the FCC here:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hteller/11306-cont.pdf

I urge all of you not to be complacent about this matter!

As an invited member of the original ARRL committee from which the 
"bandwidth petition" sprang, I saw early on that the real intent of the 
committee, chaired by the originator of Winlink, was to turn control of the 
HF bands over to Winlink Email robots, and that "segmentation by bandwidth" 
was merely a guise for doing this. I even felt it necessary to issue a 
dissenting recommendation, which you may read here:

http://www.zerobeat.net/bandplan-dissent.html

Now the ARRL is trying again, and in so doing, divulging the true purpose 
behind their original "bandwidth petition", by taking advantage of the fact 
that CW has been dropped as a requirement, basically leaving only RTTY and 
Data as important modes in the eyes of the ARRL. You may notice the complete 
absence of CW as a mode in the table of HF modes attached to the ARRL's 
Ex-parte attempted modification to RM-11306, which may or may not actually 
be allowed, since it basically scraps the concept of segmentation by 
bandwidth and preserves segmentation by mode for all bands under 10m. I 
don't see how the FCC can accept this magnitude of change to RM-11306 
without requiring a totally new petition and comment period.

However, just in case they do, I have put together a simple explanation of 
how to file a comment and I strongly urge each one of you to file a comment 
NOW if you value your ability to enjoy RTTY and CW in the future. Please do not be 
complacent and assume everything will be OK! Just take a couple of minutes 
to file a comment. Here is a sample form to follow:

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/hteller/comment.htm

A flood of comments DOES influence the FCC. It worked to keep the robots off the 
phone bands, so now we must again work to keep them from taking over the 
RTTY and CW activity areas.

If you want to enjoy RTTY contesting and DXing in the future, please help by simply clicking here: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi  and commenting NOW!

73, Skip KH6TY