The FCC has issued a waiver to allow ham radio operators to communicate with federal stations on and around Pearl Harbor Day.
The American Radio Relay League requested the limited four-day waiver from the Mobility Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
“The waiver request is for the limited purpose of a short-term event relating to National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack, and to allow amateur licensees to practice communication techniques with the United States military from Dec. 6–9, 2023,” the commission explained.
Section 97.111(a) of its rules authorizes amateur stations to transmit specific types of two-way communications and limits communications with federal stations. (The rule does grant such authority for one such event, the Armed Forces Day Communications Test, but no other commemoration day is authorized explicitly.)
ARRL said the waiver will allow tests to help train operators and test communications capabilities between military communicators and radio stations in the Amateur Radio Service, allowing operators to demonstrate their skills in a controlled context. It said the amateur operators would follow FCC regulations including mode, maximum power and license class. ARRL added that the relevant military authorities support these cross-band operations.
The commission approved the request. It said the event “presents a unique opportunity for the amateur and military communities to practice communication skills under the guidance of military officials, which may be useful in the future and serves the public interest.” It added that “this day has a historic significance and emphasizes the importance of reliable communications and the need to be vigilant in our national defense.”
The waiver is conditioned on participating stations monitoring the three identified federal frequencies of 14.375 MHz, 18.1625 MHz and 21.856 MHz; responding on spectrum allocated to the amateur service and only at the request of event organizers; operating consistent with the privileges of their amateur licenses; and limiting communications to the period Dec. 6–9.
[Related: “FCC Replaces Many Amateur Radio Symbol Rate Limits”]
The annual commemoration remembers the 2,403 service members and civilians killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Another 1,178 people were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships and destroyed 188 aircraft. In 1994 ongress designated Dec. 7 as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, according to a summary on the National Park Service website.
