Focus on Competition - 2004/12

168 MODEL AVIATION
months ago an apparent interference issue
was reported to AMA HQ at Darby Dan
Airport just outside of Columbus OH during
a large flying event. A couple of high-end
aircraft had been lost, and the organizers of
the event were searching for answers.
Because of the interference being
encountered, the organizers made the tough
choice to close the event down. This cost
them several thousand dollars, yet it was the
right choice to make from a safety
standpoint. I applaud them for making this
tough call. I worked with the organizers early
on to try to help them locate the source of the
interference. Unfortunately there was not too
much that could be done remotely, and
decisions had to be made quickly.
Roughly two weeks after the cancellation
of the event, we decided to take the
opportunity to monitor the Darby Dan site
and see if it could be determined what took
place at the event. AMA Special Services
Director Carl Maroney and I went to Darby
Dan along with Frequency Committee
member Dan Williams. He has a great deal
of technical expertise; District II is very
lucky to also have him as its frequency
coordinator.
Dan brought a couple of different
antennas and an ICOM scanning receiver. I
brought AMA’s spectrum analyzer. We also
brought a trainer aircraft and an FMA FS-8
receiver with viewer software. We’d like to
thank Fred and Tim Marks from FMA Direct
for supplying this equipment for our use.
To make a long story shorter, after a
whole day of monitoring and flying the FS-8
receiver, we found nothing. The Darby Dan
site is very clean. A complete report of our
findings is available on the AMA Web site at
www.modelaircraft.
org/comp/Frequency%20Report-
Darby%20Dan-ver3.htm.
We did make a contact that relayed a
possible problem with another person flying
RC less than one mile from the Darby Dan
site. We are currently trying to confirm that,
which leads me to the next point.
When a member calls about a possible
interference issue, one of the first things I ask
is, “Have you checked the local area [at least
a two-mile radius] for other people flying
RC?” Nine times out of 10 they tell me they
have. Unfortunately, the majority of the time
they have not checked closely enough for
what we currently have flying.
Simply stated, aircraft are now available
that did not exist even five years ago that are
capable of flying almost anywhere. This
means that driving around looking for
runways is no longer a valid method. Heck, I
have an electric helicopter I fly in the house;
how’s that for a nonstandard flying site?
The point is that we have to be more
careful than we had to be five years ago.
Someone may be a half mile from your
flying site with a half-acre yard. He pops out
for 10 minutes one Sunday afternoon for a
quick flight. He never gets the aircraft more
than 50 feet from himself while flying, so
operations at your flying site don’t bother
him.
In the meantime, someone at your flying
site crashes a 60-size sport aircraft. It bothers
this aircraft because it is 1,000 feet or more
from the transmitter. By the time you go
looking for an interference source, the person
who flew the yard-size aircraft is back in his
house watching TV.
So you must now be much more diligent
than you ever were when looking for this
type of thing. I also suggest traveling around
with a scanner at times to look for sources of
interference.
So what else do you do? I wish I had a
really good answer to that question. One
thing you can do is work hard to involve
everyone in your area with models in your
club’s activities. Work with your local hobby
shop if you have one. Have them help you
educate customers they sell this type of
model to. Have some sort of flyer about your
club, its location, its services, etc. at the
hobby shop for clerks to distribute. This will,
if nothing else, let people know where you
are.
The popularity of this type of aircraft
continues to increase and is a boon to our
hobby. However, it is also creating some
interesting problems in some areas. Keep
your eyes open!
The 2005-2006 Competition Regulations
(rule book) will appear on the AMA Web
site on roughly January 1, 2005. As I
mentioned a few months back, several
significant changes have taken place in the
way the rule book is produced. One of the
most significant is that the Web version—not
the printed version—of the book is official.
This was done to assure that all off-cycle
amendments, such as urgent changes, are
immediately incorporated and available in
the online rule book.
Also, rule books will no longer
automatically be mailed with sanction
certificates. We will still have printed copies
F o c u s o n C o m p e t i t i o n
Technical Director Steve Kaluf
[email protected]
I’M SORRY I’ve missed a couple of
months worth of columns. (Did you even
notice they were gone?) I’ll try to fill you in
on a few important topics that you may need
to be aware of.
Broadband Over Powerlines (BPL):
We’ve talked about this quite a bit in the last
year or so. First and foremost, it’s important
for me to say that to the best of our
knowledge (and we have done a great deal
of research), BPL sites are not causing any
interference issues with RC systems
currently, nor do we expect them to.
As you probably know, AMA has filed
comments with the FCC regarding the
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that was
issued on the topic. AMA is also closely
aligned with the Amateur Radio Relay
League (ARRL) and other
organizations/agencies in this matter.
Many AMA members have asked me
why BPL could be so injurious to amateur
radio (ham) operations and not bother radio
control much or at all. This is a concept I
struggled with early on. However, if you
look at it from the standpoint that ham
operators listen for a signal from (typically)
a remote radio station—a signal that is very
weak in power because of the long distance
it has had to travel—things begin to make
more sense.
In contrast, our RC systems operate in
relatively close proximity to each other
(transmitter to receiver). The signal is also
line of sight, so that too increases the
strength of the signal hitting the receiver. In
the case of ham radio, it does not take much
to interfere with the signal.
AMA continues to monitor BPL. We
look for new test and operational sites to
monitor. Additionally, the legal firm that
represents AMA before the FCC continually
looks for information on our behalf.
On a BPL-related matter, a couple of
K e y D a t e s
(Events attended by AMA HQ staff and/or
officers)
January 7 - 9, 2005
AMA Convention 2005
Ontario CA
12sig6.QXD 10/22/04 1:15 PM Page 168
available. However, they will not be in the
form we have been used to. They will be
available in sections (e.g., RC Aerobatics),
produced on decent-quality paper by a copy
machine at HQ.
Again, it is important to understand that
the books will only be current at the time
they are sent to you. If a new urgent rules
change goes into effect, your hard copy will
be obsolete the next day.
Our rules-change cycle is now only two
years instead of three. The new cycle starts
January 1, 2005. Basic rules-change
proposals will be accepted until the end of
September 2005. If you want more
information on the whole process, the
complete Contest Board procedures are
available on the AMA Web site at
www.modelaircraft.org/comp/Contest%20Bo
ard%20Procedures%20Changes_v2final.pdf.
If you are in the northern areas of our great
country, winter is closing in on you; it’s
time to get your equipment winterized.
However, if you are from the South, why
are you not flying? Burn some fuel, wind
that rubber motor, or do whatever you do to
fly; it is the only way you will reach the top
of the competition ladder.
’Til next time ... MA