The 20-channel transceiver sold by DSE is the
first such transceiver and the latest in a range of low powered
devices that are permitted under a class licence
to operate on part of the 70-cm band - an allocation shared by a
number of radio services including the amateur
service.
WIA Federal President, Peter Naish VK2BPN,
said the first the WIA heard about the transceiver was through
a magazine advertisement and it then contacted
Chris Ayres of DSE to seek clarification of the matter.
Mr Naish said, "In talking with Chris Ayres
I expressed the WIA's surprised that this product had been launched
without prior discussion considering the good
relations that exist between the WIA and DSE.
"We need to work together to foster our separate
but complementary interests in amateur radio and avoid the
possibility of damage to those interests.
"I advised Mr Ayres that I could foresee some
antipathy towards DSE if the impact of this product's availability
in the general market was not properly understood."
DSE has advised the WIA that the transceiver is:
A product meeting a demand for short haul (intra-building)
wireless communications, and an alternative to the very
cluttered 40MHz band also used for this purpose
under a class licence
Priced at $150 to suit the non-commercial and residential market
A 20-channel hand-held set with 20mW EIRP output
power and is spectrally clean with no provision for an external
antenna
Made in Asia to DSE specifications which include
channels in the simplex section of the WIA band plan
(433.750-434.250MHz) so as to be clear of
the amateur radio service repeater input frequencies
Chris Ayres told the WIA that he is very conscious
of the WIA's concern but believes that the product as sold
will not (unless abused) be a source of interference
to other services outside the narrow range of frequencies
programmed into it.
The WIA has agreed to keep him informed about
the WIA's concern and let him know about any substantiated
cases of interference to amateur radio services
due to this product.
Mr Naish said, "If the ACA had taken note of
the WIA's complaints regarding the establishment of a class
licence in the 70-cm band, none of this potential
for interference would have occurred."
The Amateur Service is a secondary user of
the band. The Australian Communications Authority (ACA)
advised the WIA in 1996 that it would declare
a class licence for low powered devices on the band.
The WIA at the time expressed its concerns
about the compatibility of low powered devices on the band, and in
particular those frequencies in the Amateur
Repeater sub-band and the Amateur Satellite Service sub-band.
The ACA's declaration of the class licence
was seen as a move in response to pressure from commercial
interests wanting to legitimise European products
on the Australian market, such as wireless headphones,
wireless speakers, and radio controllers such
as RF key locks for vehicles.
Mr Naish said the WIA's concerns about the
class licence being "open" in terms of types of emission were
raised unsuccessfully with the ACA in 1996/97.
Peter Naish said, "The class licence makes
no constraint on the type of emission. The only restriction is a
limitation in output power.
"It is therefore entirely legal to sell and
operate devices for two way communication under this class licence,
making it a defacto citizens band.
The class licence allows for 20 mW ERP in a
band 433.050-434.790 MHz. Users of equipment are not able to
claim protection from interference they may
experience from other users of the band which are the Amateur
Service, Radiolocation Service and Department
of Defence.
First to take advantage of the class licence
were devices used for the transmission of data, and radio control
devices including RF key locks for vehicles.
In October last year 130 imported European
cars landed at Elizabeth in South Australia fitted with 70-cm radio
key locks that suffered interference from
an Amateur repeater.