[SunRescue] [OT] - FCC phone number?

[Ron Wickersham]

i believe the FCC field office for Chicago is in the federal building.
(at least it was in 1963 when i took my first-class operator's license,
at 17, the youngest to pass at that time).  but don't bother to go
to the FCC for interference, typically it takes them months/years to
respond.  contact the station directly, talk to the chief engineer and
the rules say it's up to him to try to resolve the problem.  only if
you get blown off, file a complaint with the FCC.  the FCC load is
enormous with complaints like "my washing machine broke after they
installed the tower a few miles away."

so i'm also one of the old ones here, 60. i started with the 4004 chip
and then got one of the first Altair 8080 kits, ran it with a KSR33
teletype, loading the bootstrap loader with the switches, then ran
the short bootstrap tape, and finally the 20-minutes-to-load Micro
Soft BASIC punched tape (their first product).  flirted with the
Apple I (it was sold as a kit only) then settled in with commordore
PET's (still using two 64's to run NC machines and a SuperPET as the
programming station).  built a Novix computer (hardware Forth machine).
also the Rockwell 65F11 forth-on-chip-in-rom and the 68HC11F forth
machines from NewMicros. 

ran a MicroVAX II running Patterson Std MUMPS as the operating system/
application language. then got a real computer, a 4/470 Sun which is
the main box here.  later also run SS1+, Tatung SS2 clone, IPX with 
power-up, SS-20, a Voyager, and a couple of months ago, an Ultra5 with
SCSI drives.

-ron

Ron Wickersham
rjw at rfo.org                              rjw at alembic.com
Robert Ferguson Observatory project      Alembic, Inc.
Valley of the Moon Observatory Assn.     The best Basses in the world

> Message: 12
> Subject: [SunRescue] [OT] - FCC phone number?
> 
> I know this is OT but how do I find the local branch of the FCC?  I like in
> the Chicagoland are.
> 
> There's a local Spanish radio station that I have to report for
> over-deviation or over-output - not sure which. They appear on all the TV
> harmonics and come through totally clearly on channel 11.  (Not having cable
> bites!)
> 
> On the HAM subject I'm thinking about at least a beginning license next year
> when I can afford to "play" with the equipment. I would like to do the HAM
> satellite thing - pardon me for not having the correct terminology - it
> sounds really interesting using my computer to communicate with a satellite.
> 
> Mike Hebel