Lou Harris, N1UEC, NESMC UHF Coordinator writes:
There has been a lot of mis-information going around about the afflicted UHF machines related to the PAVE PAWS interference issue raised by the United States Air Force.
Let me start by saying, at the moment, nothing has yet been passed down from the FCC regarding this issue, and, to that end, we are asking the trustees of the affected machines to be sure that their machines are still operating on their original frequencies. I fully expect that a decision from the FCC will be forthcoming within the next six to eight weeks.
Specific information as to what machines are currently under scrutiny will only be released to the trustees of those machines. They have all been contacted, and, have complied to date with all requests from the USAF.
Suffice it to say that there are 13 machines in the New England area that are being scrutinized. There is apparently no logical rhyme or reason as to the machines that have been singled out from a distance, bearing, power, coverage, topographical or frequency perspective. Any questions to the USAF for technical information as to why these machines were targeted was met with typical statements regarding classified details that could not be released.
The other point that we must all remember is that we are the SECONDARY allocation in the UHF spectrum from 420 to 450 and that the USAF is the primary user of the spectrum. To that end, we must attempt to mitigate the interference to the satisfaction of the primary user.
We should all be thankful that we are not in the Sacramento, CA area, as they have about 60 machines under scrutiny.
This sensitive matter has been brought to the attention of all the powers that be; the ARRL, and the FCC are seemingly on our side.
If I have not contacted you as the trustee of a machine that has been targeted by the USAF, your machine is not under scrutiny and you may continue to operate it normally.
Thanks again to the trustees for their expeditious compliance in these tough times.
Lou Harris
UHF Frequency Coordinator, NESMC