The FCC revised its Part 90 rules to...
The FCC revised its Part 90 rules to allow end-of-train devices (EOT), which transmit brake pipe pressure readings on the rear car to the lead locomotive, to operate with up to eight watts transmitter output power. The FCC made the…
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change acting on a petition from the Association of American Railroads. AAR said the change would improve train safety, providing the engineer with information that could be needed in an emergency. The FCC said it sought comment and no one opposed the change. “As a practical matter, EOT devices must be mounted on the coupling knuckle behind the last car in the train, but the path from the end of the train to the front of the train is always blocked by intervening train cars, and also can be adversely affected by variable terrain factors,” the order said. “AAR, which is the Commission’s certified frequency coordinator, ... argued that the current two-watt power limit offers little margin for degradation of the communications link, especially on longer trains (some of which are 7,000 to 8,000 feet long), and that the proposed increase in power was unlikely to cause interference to railroad operations.” The order also modifies Section 90.187 of the commission’s rules on trunking in the private land mobile radio bands below 800 MHz. A trunked system uses technology that can search two or more available channels and automatically assign a user an open channel. The commission said it sought comment on various amendments “intended to simplify or clarify the trunking rules,” most of which were not controversial. “In particular, we amend Section 90.187 to clarify that it neither requires applicants for decentralized trunked systems to obtain consent from affected licensees nor permits decentralized trunked systems to operate without monitoring,” the agency said. The report and order (http://bit.ly/ZCuTHY), which was adopted by the commission Tuesday and released Thursday, makes a number of other minor tweaks to the Part 90 rules.