Next Meeting. The next meeting will be Tuesday, September 8, 1998, 9:30 a.m., at KLSY/KIXI Studios, 12011 N.E. First Street, Bellevue.  Directions.

After partaking of scrumptious goodies provided by KLSY Studios, George Bisso called the meeting to order at 10:00. The minutes of the May 12 meeting were reviewed and approved.

Checking Account Balance: $4,188.14

WWCIC/WCTC Meeting. Members present discussed how pleased they were with this joint meeting on June 17 at Hazelmere and how much they appreciated the opportunity to informally discuss issues with their Canadian counterparts. Of particular interest was the new 800 trunking system that is being installed in British Columbia for approximately 75 cities. One minor glitch was that WCTC was eager to learn about issues raised in the APCO meeting; however, due to a misunderstanding about the APCO meeting in Wenatchee, there was nothing significant to report. It was thought to have been a major meeting but turned out to be a local training session. WCTC would like the WWCIC/WCTC meeting next year to occur after the national APCO meeting. We received favorable comments and inquiries from the Canadians about our web site including the fact they are including our standards in some of their interference problems. Overall, the meeting was thought to be a very positive learning experience. The question of whether or not to publish minutes of the joint meeting was raised since we don't want anything to deter from the openness and somewhat informal discussions. It was motioned and seconded to go ahead with minutes to include a list of contacts and general information about the topics discussed.

Dues for Retired Members. Shirley received a suggestion from one retired member that dues be restructured for retirees. A motion was made and seconded that in the future, active members who retire from the industry may apply to have their dues reduced to $5.00.

Navy Items of Interest. CPO Draper introduced Mr. Russ Potter who replaced RM1 Washington as frequency coordinator for Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station (NCTS) Puget Sound. Mr. Potter is a civilian employee and has 30 years experience in Navy communications. CPO Draper and Mr. Potter briefed on the effects that a lack of funding has had on Navy communications. They also briefed about problems in narrowband and a new Navy trunking system. There was additional discussion about military and non-military entities sharing trunking systems and the push to 800 systems.

Harbor Island Broadcasters. Mention was made that broadcasters on Harbor Island will probably relocate by next year because the Port of Seattle is acquiring most of that land. This could result in interference problems for the broadcasters.

IX on Tiger Mountain. George reported that broadcasting was receiving interference on Tiger Mountain, possibly from PCS operating on 440-442 MHz. It would go off and on, then disappeared altogether while he was trying to track it down.

Cougar Mountain. Ratelco and Intercom have built 300 ft. towers on Cougar Mountain. Each broadcaster operating on Cougar will be required to sent their broadcasting through minimum 3-port band pass filter or antenna combiner filter.

FCC Items of Interest. Dennis Anderson provided the following information:

• Status of 138-144 Mhz Band Activities. In response to an inquiry from the U.S. Navy about the potential impact to them of the 138 to 143 MHz spectrum auction, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) answered that 139.0-140.5 and 141.5-143 are scheduled to be transferred by auction to mostly non-government use by January 2008. The public safety community is also interested in these bands for nationwide interoperability of Federal, state and local public safety services. FCC will be gathering information on these and other bands to be be transferred and will submit a plan for allocation and licensing early in 1999. FCC is required to license these bands by September 2002.
• Changes in RF Marketing Rules. FCC has amended the marketing regulations that apply to radio frequency devices such as radio receivers, computers, video cassette recorders, and radio transmitters. These changes respond to a Petition for Reconsideration and Clarification filed by Ericsson, Inc. and provide marketing parity for products that are domestically manufactured and those that are imported.
• Dunifer Judgment. On June 16, 1998, a California judge ruled that FCC rules against unlicensed radio operations are constitutional and issued a permanent injunction against continued operation of "Free Radio Berkeley" by Stephen Dunifer. This case began in July 1993 when FCC fined Dunifer for his unlicensed operation. It attracted national attention last year when the California judge denied FCC's request for temporary injunction and ordered briefs.
• Y2K and Public Safety. WTB held a roundtable discussion to raise awareness of the Year 2000 (Y2K) date change problem to share ideas and to assess efforts by public safety entities to meet the Year 2000 challenge.
• Complaint From Washington State Patrol. A frequency coordination error by AASHTO Washington DC office resulted in harmful interference to Washington State mobiles and aircraft from the City of Moscow, Idaho on frequency 159.075 MHz. A temporary authorization was issued to the City of Moscow in June 1998 despite the fact that Washington State has been licensed on that frequency for many years. The problem was elevated to WTB which directed Moscow to discontinue operation pending investigation.

The meeting adjourned at 11:20.

Shirley Perry