I guess I'll chime in too... But first off, I am being civil, so don't take any of this personally.
Unless the offense is blatant and obvious (such as operating illegally on public safety channels), the FCC gives operators/organizations an opportunity to fix the problem(s). Anyone, licensed or unlicensed, can and should contact the FCC about violations. If the airwaves are not protected and measures taken to reduce preventable interference or illegal use, then when those frequencies are needed, they may be unavailable. All services and the subsequent licensees of these services should protect their primary operating bands or else it may be rendered useless or lost to run-a-muck users or lost altogether. Essentially why the FCC dropped the CB license requirement and expanded the number of channels. Yet, people still violate the rules blatantly.
Not all ham radio operators bicker about the dumb stuff. Across all major radio services (the business pool of land radio, commercial/maritime radio, etc), you get the same kinds of people. You also find these people in the world of information technology and the various disciplines of engineering. I know quite a few radio engineers and some of them know, legitimately, more than most about commercial and ham radio and radio in general, while others don't. In both of these groups are those that are as nice as can be and will not bicker and will be happy to teach/inform you what ever you need that they can help with. Then you have others that, the moment they disagree with someone, rather than properly inform they spark up an argument, get offended, or give up (such as quiting a club, or taking down their repeater so no one can use it).
The Enforcement Bureau letter states that the complainant has attempted to resolve the issue through other means, particularly, the company it self. If interference is caused by faulty equipment, it must be dealt with. Raising an antenna, moving it, and being political (which is perhaps the unsuccessful attempts being referred to) may not alway solve the problem. Should a disaster happen somewhere and ham radio is the only operating communications system available (this happens often) and they need a repeater site near that source of interference, then what are they to do? Every situation is not the same nor are they always easily resolved.
If a power company can not afford to keep their equipment in properly working order then they don't need to be operating it. Same goes for ANYONE operating or maintaining electrical and electronic equipment. The keyword is properly. The letters do not specify exactly what the issue is. The FCC is giving the utility the opportunity to find out and report back to them and even notes the ARRL as a source for information/help to find the problem. If the problem is found to be unavoidable, such as in the case of a BPL test site (being used as an example) then there is nothing that may be done but if a transformer has faults such as exposed conductors that should be shielded, then that should be fixed or if non-spec equipment is being used it should be removed and replaced with spec equipment. Even if a co-op or organization is strapped for cash, that is NO excuse for cutting corners. That is a safety issue.
As for CB'ers and ham operators that get on the air and talk dirty talk, some of these people are caught and some are not. The FCC rarely listens for violations. The Amateur radio service is mostly self-policed and if it is not policed by someone, the abuse will continue. Not everyone polices violators but some do and some are caught, fined, or stripped of their licenses.
You're not wrong for voicing your opinions. Never say that. Get your ham ticket or don't get it. If preventable interference is occurring in a licensee's primary bands of operation then it should be dealt with. If you are a "professional communications folk" and someone's faulty lines are interfering with your means of communication then I surely hope that you would file a complaint otherwise you will lose control. The world of radio communications is getting more and more of a minefield. We ham's don't know when/if we'll lose our precious bands to companies that want to provide this service or that service. Anyone remember BPL?
So, basically any Ham licensed person can sqwak to the FCC about power lines making noise and the FCC gets to go fine the daylights out of the Line owners? What a crock of [edit]!
Unless the offense is blatant and obvious (such as operating illegally on public safety channels), the FCC gives operators/organizations an opportunity to fix the problem(s). Anyone, licensed or unlicensed, can and should contact the FCC about violations. If the airwaves are not protected and measures taken to reduce preventable interference or illegal use, then when those frequencies are needed, they may be unavailable. All services and the subsequent licensees of these services should protect their primary operating bands or else it may be rendered useless or lost to run-a-muck users or lost altogether. Essentially why the FCC dropped the CB license requirement and expanded the number of channels. Yet, people still violate the rules blatantly.
I know I aint making no friends by stating this, but Ham Radio Operators seem to bicker about dumb stuff!
Not all ham radio operators bicker about the dumb stuff. Across all major radio services (the business pool of land radio, commercial/maritime radio, etc), you get the same kinds of people. You also find these people in the world of information technology and the various disciplines of engineering. I know quite a few radio engineers and some of them know, legitimately, more than most about commercial and ham radio and radio in general, while others don't. In both of these groups are those that are as nice as can be and will not bicker and will be happy to teach/inform you what ever you need that they can help with. Then you have others that, the moment they disagree with someone, rather than properly inform they spark up an argument, get offended, or give up (such as quiting a club, or taking down their repeater so no one can use it).
There were only 3 complaints files against Texas Companies, One of which is reasonably close to me. Which is in a very rural environment, these co-op's have limited budgets where as Ham are only limited by wives and home owners insurance. If a power line is radiating too much noise, Raise your Antenna, Move your antenna or politic to have lines buried. but to file a complaint with the FCC is ridicules! But I know, the co-op is in violation of FCC law if they are causing harmful or just noisy interference.
The Enforcement Bureau letter states that the complainant has attempted to resolve the issue through other means, particularly, the company it self. If interference is caused by faulty equipment, it must be dealt with. Raising an antenna, moving it, and being political (which is perhaps the unsuccessful attempts being referred to) may not alway solve the problem. Should a disaster happen somewhere and ham radio is the only operating communications system available (this happens often) and they need a repeater site near that source of interference, then what are they to do? Every situation is not the same nor are they always easily resolved.
with regards to power lines, there is Much more pull on the lines with more and more people moving about, but Electric companies are just as strapped for cash when it comes to laying in a new rout of lines, look at both side of this, not just yours! Then some hams (yes some) will hop on HF and moan about it, talk about Politics, religion, Races and hate organizations and NO FCC comes knocking on their door telling them to knock it off and pay up!
If a power company can not afford to keep their equipment in properly working order then they don't need to be operating it. Same goes for ANYONE operating or maintaining electrical and electronic equipment. The keyword is properly. The letters do not specify exactly what the issue is. The FCC is giving the utility the opportunity to find out and report back to them and even notes the ARRL as a source for information/help to find the problem. If the problem is found to be unavoidable, such as in the case of a BPL test site (being used as an example) then there is nothing that may be done but if a transformer has faults such as exposed conductors that should be shielded, then that should be fixed or if non-spec equipment is being used it should be removed and replaced with spec equipment. Even if a co-op or organization is strapped for cash, that is NO excuse for cutting corners. That is a safety issue.
As for CB'ers and ham operators that get on the air and talk dirty talk, some of these people are caught and some are not. The FCC rarely listens for violations. The Amateur radio service is mostly self-policed and if it is not policed by someone, the abuse will continue. Not everyone polices violators but some do and some are caught, fined, or stripped of their licenses.
Yeah, I'm wrong for voicing my opinion, Y'all got your view of this, the Professional Communications folks have theirs, and that's all that matters anymore I guess. Then again maybe I'm looking at this all wrong, Maybe I should get me a ticket so I can file complaints and get the wires off my tree limbs and put under ground and boost my property value.
You're not wrong for voicing your opinions. Never say that. Get your ham ticket or don't get it. If preventable interference is occurring in a licensee's primary bands of operation then it should be dealt with. If you are a "professional communications folk" and someone's faulty lines are interfering with your means of communication then I surely hope that you would file a complaint otherwise you will lose control. The world of radio communications is getting more and more of a minefield. We ham's don't know when/if we'll lose our precious bands to companies that want to provide this service or that service. Anyone remember BPL?
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