Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Dec 22 2017 01:48 pm DISTRACTED-DRIVING LAW EXEMPTION EXTENDED IN ONTARIO JIM/ANCHOR: In more distracted-driving newss -- In Ontario, officials are giving ham radio operators a break behind the wheel. With those details, here's Heather Embee, KB3TZD. HEATHER: Mobile ham radio operators in the Canadian province of Ontario, are going to get the break they were seeking: Ontario's Ministry of Transportation has announced that it is extending the current exemption from its distracted-driving law for another three years, beginning January first. This means that amateurs will be able to drive while making use of handheld two-way radios in Ontario. Until now, that right was granted under a five-year exemption that would otherwise have expired on the first day of the new year. RAC Directors Phil McBride, V-A-3-Q-R, told Amateur Radio Newsline on December 15th, that the extension was granted after much hard work, and negotiation. Phil and Allan Boyd, V-E-3-A-J-B had been working with Ontario Transportation officials to see that some kind of exemption was preserved. It will now stay in place until January first, 2021. Although the RAC's goal is to achieve a permanent exemption, the group praised the MTO's action as being helpful. The RAC said it was nonetheless committed to achieving a more permanent solution for the province. It is important to note, however, that the use of handheld two-way radios by drivers is a permission granted by governments in each province, and is does not fall under Canada's overall regulatory system. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Heather Embee, KB3TZD. (RAC) ** NEW SCHOLARSHIP FOR YOUNG WISCONSIN HAMS JIM/DAMRON: If you're young, smart, and live in Wisconsin - or know of a young ham who is - this next story from Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN, is for you. GERI'S REPORT: The Ozaukee Radio Club, W9CQO, in Wisconsin, has funded a new ARRL Foundation scholarship, to help a qualifying amateur radio operator, who is a full-time undergraduate at a four-year degree-granting school. Applicants should be younger than 26, and must be U.S. citizens, and residents of Wisconsin. The students applying should show a high academic level of performance in their studies, which can be in any field. The $2,000 scholarship from the Cedarburg, Wisconsin club will be administered by the ARRL foundation, and can be used toward books, tuition, on-campus housing, school fees, and any other costs related to the winner's college education. Applicants also need to submit recommendations and personal statements. The ARRL Foundation was established in 1973, and administers programs funded by radio amateurs and friends. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Geri Goodrich, KF5KRN. ** TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO COURT CRACKS DOWN ON UNLICENSED OPERATION JIM/ANCHOR: An amateur radio operator in Trinidad and Tobago, will learn in just a few weeks what the courts have in store for him, as we hear from John Williams, VK4JJW. JOHN: The courts in Trinidad and Tobago, are expected to rule in a little more than a month, on sanctions being taken against a ham radio operator there, who was transmitting without a license. The courts found Desi-Lee Bonterre guilty of operating without a license, from his home in Point Cumana, in Carenage in 2007. He was charged in September of that year. The Telecommunications Authority, TATT, eventually did grant him a license, and his attorney Sastri Roberts requested leniency on behalf of Bonterre, saying that he was active in radio emergency response. Southgate Amateur Radio News notes that Bonterre is listed as an Extra class licensee in the U.S., and that he is a member of Radio Emergency Association Citizen Team, or REACT, and an American Red Cross volunteer. There is also a record of him holding a U.S. call sign in 2008. His QRZ profile lists him as an ARRL member, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and a master certified electronics technician. During his trial, Bonterre testified that he had told police, when they visited his home, and found the transmitters, that he was repairing some of them at the time. The courts are set to make their ruling on his punishment in February. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW. (SOUTHGATE) ** FCC PROPOSES FINE AGAINST MANUFACTURER JIM/ANCHOR: An Atlanta company faces a stiff penalty from the Federal Communications Commission, for failing to comply with technical regulations. Skeeter Nash, N5ASH, has those details. SKEETER: The FCC has proposed a $25,000 fine against a Georgia-based maker of fluorescent lighting ballasts, for failing to label them as required by Part 18 rules in effect at the time of manufacture. The FCC said that the ballasts, two models in 2006 and one since 2009 - were required to have the FCC logo attached. At the time the models were manufactured, the logo was mandatory as a way of letting buyers know that the device had undergone compliance testing. Compliance with the rule has since become voluntary. The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability against Acuity Brands Inc. of Atlanta on November 21st. The FCC said it raised its initial proposed penalty, because Acuity continued to sell two of the models for a six-month period after it first notified the company of alleged noncompliance. The FCC noted that devices that are not in compliance with the agency's technical rules are capable of causing unwanted interference. A report on Southgate Amateur news said Acuity did submit test reports showing two of the ballast models met technical requirements, but the company did acknowledge that for nearly a decade, three models of the ballasts were missing the FCC logo. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Skeeter Nash, N5ASH. (SOUTHGATE) --- SBBSecho 3.03-Win32 * Origin: RdoWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS - wx1der.dyndns.org (802:2/3) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .