For some reason, the FCC continues to pour money into its hell-bent roundup of FM pirate broadcasters! I suspect much of this 'tough stance' is more politically motivated than for the reasons that they state, but the FCC seems to have plenty of will-power and the necessary funding ... it's too bad that they couldn't put the same zeal into getting on top of or making a start on the huge growing noise problem throughout the radio spectrum. I guess rounding up pirates is much easier than tackling the far more important noise issues, now growing so rapidly that many radio amateurs just throw up their hands in surrender and close up shop for good. Even commercial users of the spectrum are being negatively affected by the growing noise floor, as the growing Internet of Things connected devices produce even more radio crud.

It now seems that the FCC may get a further boost in its crackdown if a new bipartisan proposed federal law becomes reality. A May 9, 2018, article in Radio World reports the tabling of the new bill in the US Congress called the PIRATE Act or "Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement Act". It would also be nice to see the PAIN Act (Preventing All Illegal Noise) in the RF spectrum but I see no Washington appetite for this much-needed FCC oversight.

The continued obsession for rounding up FM pirate broadcasters is fascinating in its own right. "It is time to take these pirates off the air by hiking the penalties and working with the Federal Communication Commission on enforcement", stated Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ).

"As reported in Radio World, the PIRATE Act proposes to hike the fine for violations to as much as $100,000 per day, with a maximum fine of $2 million. The rules currently allow the FCC to impose a maximum daily penalty of about $19,200 per day. At a Congressional hearing on the bill in March, New York State Broadcasters Association President David Donovan told lawmakers that illegal operators are undermining the nation’s Emergency Alert System, causing invasive and insidious interference, pose potential public health problems due to overexposure to radio frequency radiation, and interfere with airport communications."

It is apparent from reading investigative reports, that each acted-upon complaint requires a substantial investment of time and money as in the April 24 Notice of Apparent Liability for a case in Paterson, New  Jersey ... it seems that NJ and NY are 'pirate hotbeds'. By the end of the investigation, a team of fully-equipped FCC field agents had visited the pirate's site(s) on eight different occasions, a considerable investment in time, energy and money. In the end, a $25,000 penalty has been proposed for the offender.

I am not a fan of illegal pirate radio broadcasting in any form but the reasons stated by the FCC for the ongoing pirate purges seem somewhat shaky. In all of the investigative reports that I've read, I have yet to find any that were reported to cause "interference with airport communications" and I question the assertion that the low power levels used by most pirates are going to "pose potential public health problems due to overexposure to radio frequency radiation". One more likely reason may be the strong lobby pressure from broadcasters who see the possible loss of advertising revenue. I'm sure that many Washington electees receive healthy campaign donations from state broadcasters as well.

Although many pirate radio ops seemingly solicit advertising revenue, overall it can't be much of a threat to mainstream broadcasters. Is it just the NAB Washington lobby that is fuelling the FCC pirate craze or is it muscle-flexing from the new administration, wanting to look tough on "crime" and radio-pirates are just easy low-hanging fruit? I suspect that it may be more of the latter.

The FCC's 'Pirate Action' postings make for interesting reading as does the fascinating Westword article on pirate radio activity in Ward, Colorado, and the recent attempted FCC take-down of stations in operation since 1997!

There's no question that a lot of FCC resources are being used to eliminate unlicenced QRM. What will it take to see the same attack on unlicenced QRN as well?
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 117 is now available for download.

How would you describe a particular artifact in someone’s transmit audio so they understand what you are hearing? In Sounds of the Studio, we listen to some common audio problems and effects to see what everyone calls them.
Peter shows us some new microcontroller boards designed especially for python. Emile catches a ride on the Ham Shack Hotline, and it’s cheap too.

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George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

Welcome to another exciting episode of the most terrific podcast on the Internet today. In this episode, the hosts discuss using gpredict for satellite tracking, rig control and rotor contol. They also delve into some of the complexities of and rewards to satellite communication in amateur radio. Thank you for listening and see you in Xenia.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2018 May 07 0147 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 30 April – 06 May 2018

Solar activity was very quiet throughout the reporting period. Region 2706 (N03, L=281, class/area Dao/130 on 22 Apr) produced the strongest event of the past week, a B1 flare on 01/2115 UTC. Activity on the farside of the Sun produced a halo CME signature first observed in LASCO C2 imagery at 03/1712 UTC; however, no Earth-directed CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit ranged from normal to moderate levels from 30 Apr to 05 May. Influence from a negative polarity CH HSS caused an increase to high levels on 06 May with a peak flux of 11,500 pfu observed at 06/2305 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity was mostly quiet until 05 May, when enhancements in the solar wind from the onset of a negative polarity CH HSS increased geomagnetic activity to G1 (Minor) storm levels. A further increase to G2 (Moderate) geomagnetic storm levels were observed early on 06 May. Solar wind speeds peaked at just over 700 km/s and persisted just below 700 km/s through the end of the reporting period. Total field peaked during the CIR, with a maximum of 17 nT observed at 05/1340 UTC. The maximum southward value of Bz was -14 nT which was observed 05/1327 UTC.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 07 May – 02 June 2018

Solar activity is expected to remain at very low levels over the next 27 days.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at moderate to high levels from 07-26 May and 02 Jun. Normal to moderate levels are expected over 27 May – 01 Jun. All enhancements in electron flux are attributed to the anticipation of influence from multiple, recurrent CH HSSs.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to range from quiet to G2 (moderate) geomagnetic storm levels. G2 (Moderate) storm levels are likely on 17 May; G1 (Minor) storm levels are likely on 07 May and 02 Jun; active conditions are likely on 08-09 May, 18 May and 01 Jun; unsettled levels are likely on 10 May and 19 May. The remainder of the outlook period is expected to be mostly quiet. All enhancements to geomagnetic activity are due to multiple, recurrent CH HSSs.

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George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.