The FCC has proposed fining a California ham $25,000 for alleged
intentional interference to a net on 75 meters this past August. But the FCC's
history with William Crowell, W6WBJ (ex-N6AYJ) goes back 15 years and his 2007
license renewal application was put on hold and then designated for hearing in
2008. To the best of our knowledge, no hearing has been held and Crowell's 2007
renewal application is still listed as "pending."
In the current case, the Commission responded to
complaints that Crowell was deliberately interfering with the Western Amateur
Radio Friendship Association net on 3908 kHz on multiple occasions in August
2015. Agents reportedly tracked the source of interfering transmissions to
Crowell's station in Diamond Springs,
California, and noted that the
transmissions included music as well as "racial, ethnic, and sexual slurs
and epithets." It proposed fining him $25,000.
Curiously, the Notice of Apparent Liability makes
only a single reference in a footnote to the fact that Crowell's license renewal
application was designated for hearing seven years ago. Reasons for that
designation included allegations of intentional interference, transmitting
music, indecent language and one-way communications on amateur frequencies.
When a renewal application is listed as pending,
the licensee may continue to operate even though his/her license has
technically expired. There is no indication in any publicly-available FCC
documents as to why the hearing process is dragging on nearly through the
entire term of the license renewal that the Commission has thus far denied.
