The FCC has invited public comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM-11826) from an Ohio radio amateur seeking to amend the Part 97 station identification rules to better accommodate and simplify station identification during an emergency net, drill, or activation. ARRL member Robert A. Dukish, KK8DX, filed the petition in December, and the FCC put it on public notice this week. Dukish seeks a change to Section 97.119(a) of the rules, which requires an amateur station to transmit its “assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication.”

He noted that during emergency networks, requiring participating stations — often portable — to use their assigned call signs during each transmission could prove “burdensome and can hinder the flow of emergency traffic on the channel.”

Specifically, he is suggesting that a simple approach would be to permit the net control station or other designated participant to announce from a single point the call signs of every station taking part in the net or exercise, when tactical call signs often are in use, at 10-minute intervals, using automatic CW identification.

Dukish suggested amending Section 97.119(a) to add, “except during a local emergency network activation or drill,” and providing that in such situations, a net control or designations station would be “authorized to announce all participating stations’ assigned call signs at no more than 10-minute intervals while the net is in progress.” The amendment would provide that participating stations “be within a 50-mile distance of the identifying station, and each individual station must self-identify by transmitting its assigned call sign at least once per hour.” CW transmission could be no faster than 25 WPM if sent automatically to satisfy the suggested amendment.

Interested parties may comment via the FCC Electronic Comment Filing Service (ECFS).