January 2002 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

Good to be back...
by Fried Heyn(3rd VP) 28 Jan '02

28 Jan '02

On CNN Headlines today I heard, "The space walkers also put up another ham radio antenna..." I checked the CNN Web site (http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/space/01/25/alpha.walk/index.html) and found, "Two crewmembers of the international space station stepped outside their orbiting home on Friday to install a ham radio antenna, ... We can use all the good PR we can get. On a personal note, it is good to be back. Since I have not received ODV traffic since the beginning of the year, I have a lot of catching up to do. I also did not receive the book of material for the Board meeting nor the proposed budget plan but will borrow a copy to review. Looks like my ARRL retirement was short-lived. Thanks for your confidence in me. Hopefully, I will prove to be deserving of the new position. Any suggestions or advice will be most appreciated. 73/Fried(ô¿ô)ONE=difference

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RE: [ARRL-ODV:6891] Re: Open Letter to the BoD Subject ARLB007
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Jan '02

28 Jan '02

I addressed this specious argument in the March 2000 QST editorial. The fact is, the difficulty of the current exams compares very favorably with that of the exams of the early '60s. Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Rod Stafford W6ROD [mailto:w6rod@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 1:14 AM To: arrl-odv(a)listserv.arrl.org; arrl-odv(a)arrl.org Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6891] Re: Open Letter to the BoD Subject ARLB007 It would appear this is an example of someone reading into a proposal what they want to read into it. Obviously, this person doesn't understand that under our proposal, the Novices and Tech Plus licensees simply have some additional spectrum to continue using the same CW privileges they have right now. Oh well. 73, Rod At 3:00 PM -0600 1/23/02, Coy Day wrote: >From: Alva Anderson W5VCJ [mailto:aanderso.cw@verizon.net] >Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 1:32 PM >To: hq(a)arrl.org >Subject: ARLB007 > > >An open letter to the Board: > > Although I have been around amateur radio almost 50 years, I am relatively >new, being first licensed as KD5LZQ in October 2000. Restructuring had taken >effect, and I was disappointed with the low requirements of licensing. My >uncle, T.W. Stevens, the former W5VCJ -- whose call I took in honor of >him -- had tried to get me involved in ham radio in the early 1960s. Back >then, one had to really learn something to be a ham. > > For years, we have seen a gradual but accelerating decline in personal >achievement and responsibility in all aspects of American life, from schools >and universities, and to the awarding of privileges from amateur radio to >aircraft piloting. Rather than cover the philosophical underpinnings leading >to this unnecessary and unwarranted decline in traditional American values, >I would like to urge the Board to reverse its decision on this item. As an >ARRL member, I should, at the very least, like to go on record as vehemently >opposing this decision for the following reasons. > > First, it is unnecessary. All of the privileges that the Novice and >Technician Plus Class licensees desire are available to them via a license >upgrade. And since many of us of all age groups have gone from no license to >Extra Class in a year or so, it simply cannot be a matter of difficulty to >upgrade. Rather, I believe this is simply a matter of convenience to the >Novice and Tech Plus licensees. > > Sadly, I think it is also a matter of laziness. It does take effort, >though certainly not very much, to upgrade to General Class, where all these >privileges are available. In addition, I think the ARRL is trying to get the >bands more active across the spectrum so that we don't lose them, and the >Board sees this as the only viable alternative. > > Finally, at least some of the old Novice Class licensees probably would >like to hold their Novice ticket as some sort of status symbol, since it is >no longer issued to new applicants, yet gain the benefits of upgrading. This >reversal of values is becoming pandemic in American society. > > No matter what the reason for the Board's action, the real effect is an >assault on the concept of class licensing as such. For example, consider >that the Extra Class has only 25 kHz of a few bands, plus the ability to >apply for VE certification to test others for their Extra Class ticket. Not >much for all the extra work, and I am sure that there would be a lot fewer >of us had the licensing requirements been what they were only a decade ago. >In other words, privilege should be earned. > > In essence, the Board's decision is yet another assault on individual >achievement, and the reward and joy that is the providence of those who make >an intense effort in life. As a consequence, I believe that the real effect >will be a decline in both amateur radio participation as such, and >membership in organizations such as the ARRL. First, it will bring a LOT >more people into the bands and effectively fill up spectrum -- spectrum that >is now has a lot of bandwidth for those of us who have earned it. Next, it >will drive away those of us who have made the effort to upgrade because the >bands will be filled effectively with advanced CB'ers -- and the result will >be a dramatic, and irreversible, increase in phone traffic. After all, what >need do the CB'ers have of the ARRL? Finally, those of us who are driven by >the desire to be the best we can be, and to instill this sense of life in >others, will once again be sabotaged by the organizations we support, just >as we are being sold out by those whom we elect to office, both public and >private. > > While you often hear opposition to changes in the rules and licensing, I >can give you the deeper philosophical -- metaphysical, epistemological, >ethical and political -- reasons in another context if you are both open to >reason and have the interest. Please do not help destroy the best within us >for a short term "fix" -- a fix that in the final analysis will not work! > >Sincerely, > >Alva Anderson, Jr. W5VCJ >219 Martin Drive >Wylie, TX 75098-4847 >aanderso.cw(a)verizon.net > > >------ >Coy Day, N5OK, ARRL West Gulf Division Director, >RR 1 Box 254, Union City, OK 73090-9726 (405) 483-5632 >mailto:n5ok@arrl.org Web: http://home.att.net/~n5ok.ok/

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RE: [ARRL-ODV:6901] Re: In-News
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Jan '02

28 Jan '02

Tom, thanks for noticing. Four weeks is still more than we would like -- two weeks was our service standard at one time although we've seldom met it in recent years -- but the DXCC staff is doing a remarkable job right now and I know we will see further improvement over the next several weeks. 73, Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Tom Frenaye [mailto:frenaye@pcnet.com] Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 10:45 PM To: arrl-odv(a)p1k.arrl.org Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6901] Re: In-News At 01:37 PM 1/23/2002 -0500, HQ wrote: >In-Newsletter > >Vol. 25, No. 3 >January 22, 2002 > >Membership Services > >DXCC Branch > >Week Ending January 21, 2002 >Beginning Cards 89,708 >Cards Received 17,928 >Cards Processed 27,024 >Ending Cards 80,612 > >Applications Pending 592 >Backlog Time 4 weeks Just in case no one noticed, 4 weeks is the smallest backlog we've had since September 1998. Congrats to Bill Moore and Wayne Mills for the effort! I guess the "hump" is over from the initial year of applications for the "DXCC Challange". -- Tom ===== e-mail: k1ki(a)arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444

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Re: [ARRL-ODV:6895] Good to be back...
by W3KD＠aol.com 28 Jan '02

28 Jan '02

In a message dated 01/25/2002 4:40:33 PM Eastern Standard Time, lucky(a)surfpage.com writes: << Looks like my ARRL retirement was short-lived. Thanks for your confidence in me. Hopefully, I will prove to be deserving of the new position. Any suggestions or advice will be most appreciated. >> Get back to work, Fried! Chris

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In-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 28 Jan '02

28 Jan '02

In-Newsletter Vol. 25, No. 3 January 22, 2002 Publications The March issue of QST, including last weekend's Board meeting report, will be released to the printer January 23. With the March 2002 issue, we are officially transitioning parts of the magazine to a computer-to-plate prepress process, which eliminates the intermediate film steps. Field & Educational Services Mary Lau reminded ARRLWeb readers that the scholarship deadline for ARRL Foundation scholarships is fast approaching -- it's Feb 1. Jean Wolfgang is seeing more inquiries on the scheduling of ARISS contacts from interested schools. She's also been receiving nominations for several ARRL educational awards. Rosalie reports that the ARISS team received word that our second antenna could be installed during January 25's spacewalk. The installation of our first ARISS antenna came off without a hitch. The installation received much good news coverage, including National Public Radio, Wall Street Journal and several NASA media venues. The antennas have been a lot of work and a long time coming! The first school QSO done by the Expedition 4 crew was a success, and got news coverage in several venues, including MSNBC. Leona Adams is still seeing a large number of SM election ballots and is separating out those for the Virginia and Pacific (Hawaii) Sections. Linda Mullally handled work for 37 C-CE students who graduated, completed data entry on 80 OO reports, and processed updates for 82 affiliated clubs. Margie Bourgoin sent hard copy letters to all affiliated clubs without e-mail who have been delinquent in updating their records. She reports a continuing high interest in publication orders from instructors. Gail Iannone completed the convention.hamfest column for March QST. She also sent 7 hamfest approval letters, 1 convention approval letter, and 3 handout packages. Steve Ewald and Mary Lau prepared an article for the ARRL Web News Page about the ARRL-sponsored Section Web Pages. Twelve more Section Leaders uploaded news and "alerts" to these pages. The newly-designed Public Service Honor Roll certificate and the NTS Service Award certificate have been added to the Section Managers' Certificate Maker Web Page. The printed versions are available. John Hennessee noted an increase in the number of questions about covenant restrictions. He heard from amateurs facing covenants in Live Oak, CA; Georgia, VT; Sterling, VA; Rockford, IL; Eagle Mountain, UT; Stone Mountain, GA; Palos Hills, IL and a local zoning restriction in Lincoln Township, MI. Brennan Price briefed Kay Craigie on some Repeater Directory issues in preparation for a meeting she had with coordinators. Volunteer Monitoring has indicated an apparent 3rd harmonic (3 x 9720 = 29160 kHz) of the Russian domestic shortwave station Radio Rossii. Jerry Hill notes that we have our logo winner for The Big Project, and it will soon be included in project communications. Membership Services DXCC Branch Week Ending January 21, 2002 Beginning Cards 89,708 Cards Received 17,928 Cards Processed 27,024 Ending Cards 80,612 Applications Pending 592 Backlog Time 4 weeks Year-to-date Cards Received 19,624 Cards Returned 244 Outgoing Mail - We are mailing applications received on December 17, 2001. Card Processing: We are entering cards received on December 31, 2001. QSL Branch QSL service status: There is a delay of approximately 1 week. Cards mailed year to date as of 01/20/2002 - 88,950. No cards mailed this week. Janet Rocco & Martin Cook spent 7 hours conducting tours around HQ. W1AW Scott Gee worked on fast and slow code practice runs. Joe Carcia handled regular W1AW QSL card requests, and has begun processing W1AW/80 card requests. He is in the process of repairing the Alpha 87A amplifier. He also updated the web code practice files. W1AW telephone sales year to date (2002): $576. Contest Branch The final draft of the 2001 IARU contest results and 10 GHz were checked and returned to production. Data entry for 2001 160 and 10 Meter Contest paper logs continued. A number of special request certificates for various contests were verified, printed and mailed. Significant time was spent assisting members and participants as the 10 Meter elog submission deadline passed during the week. The first numbers are available for how the full implementation of Cabrillo has gone. elogs elogs Total Total Total 2000 2001 Email 2000 2001 Rcvd-1 SS-CW 1000 1074 1891 1238 1273 SS-Phone 1268 1358 2341 1610 1601 160-Meter 511 652 896 668 767* 10-Meter 1759 2006 5211 2737 2300** All 2001 elogs are Cabrillo, where as 2000 were not. * - A few stragglers will be coming in the mail for the next couple of weeks. Paper logs to date have already been input into the database. ** - While the elog count is accurate, the total for 2001 is an estimate. Entry of paper has just begun. We will see more logs coming in for the next couple of weeks, primarily paper logs or postal-mailed diskettes. The implementation of the Cabrillo has not caused a decrease in the number of logs received for these contests. While other factors affect the outcome, requiring Cabrillo did not seem to cause a reduction in the number of logs received. Total logs for Sweepstakes and 160 Meters are up. We have just started processing 10 Meter logs, so a final count is not available yet. Also, these totals do not include the logs that were submitted as Checklogs, or those with which we are still working with participants to get corrected. 73, Sincerely, Mark Wilson, K1RO Chief Operating Officer MW:lk Staff Absentee List Name Date(s) Reason Steve Ford 1/28-2/1 Vacation John Proctor 1/31-2/12 Vacation

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Electronic Hamfest Registration Form
by George Race 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Ladies and Gentlemen: During our VRC Meeting in Dallas, we talked about "online" Hamfest Registration. From Rosalie we learned that it was not a high priority item and was not scheduled to be done in the near future. I have had an online electronic registration form for over 2 years now. It is neat in that there are times when a registration form comes in, I forward it to Gail, and she notifies the registrant, sometimes all within minutes. Sure does beat sending the forms through snail mail! All of the Directors are on the form and ready to go. When the form is sent, as Director you will receive a copy. At the bottom of the email form you will find the approval box and a place for you to put you name and call sign. You then forward it to Gail, cut and past her address from the form, and you are done. If you want to give it a try just go to: http://mrrace.com/ARRL/HamfestForm/index.htm Send yourself a test form. The only place the form will go is to you, providing of course you pick your name from the pull down lists. My site provider is solid and the form is available 24 hours a day. If you find it convenient, please invite your Division Members to register their Hamfests/Convention using the form. Until the real thing comes along from HQ, why keep using the paper process. This makes a lot more sense, you save trees, and it is days quicker. 73...George

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Open Letter to the BoD Subject ARLB007
by Coy Day 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

From: Alva Anderson W5VCJ [mailto:aanderso.cw@verizon.net] Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 1:32 PM To: hq(a)arrl.org Subject: ARLB007 An open letter to the Board: Although I have been around amateur radio almost 50 years, I am relatively new, being first licensed as KD5LZQ in October 2000. Restructuring had taken effect, and I was disappointed with the low requirements of licensing. My uncle, T.W. Stevens, the former W5VCJ -- whose call I took in honor of him -- had tried to get me involved in ham radio in the early 1960s. Back then, one had to really learn something to be a ham. For years, we have seen a gradual but accelerating decline in personal achievement and responsibility in all aspects of American life, from schools and universities, and to the awarding of privileges from amateur radio to aircraft piloting. Rather than cover the philosophical underpinnings leading to this unnecessary and unwarranted decline in traditional American values, I would like to urge the Board to reverse its decision on this item. As an ARRL member, I should, at the very least, like to go on record as vehemently opposing this decision for the following reasons. First, it is unnecessary. All of the privileges that the Novice and Technician Plus Class licensees desire are available to them via a license upgrade. And since many of us of all age groups have gone from no license to Extra Class in a year or so, it simply cannot be a matter of difficulty to upgrade. Rather, I believe this is simply a matter of convenience to the Novice and Tech Plus licensees. Sadly, I think it is also a matter of laziness. It does take effort, though certainly not very much, to upgrade to General Class, where all these privileges are available. In addition, I think the ARRL is trying to get the bands more active across the spectrum so that we don't lose them, and the Board sees this as the only viable alternative. Finally, at least some of the old Novice Class licensees probably would like to hold their Novice ticket as some sort of status symbol, since it is no longer issued to new applicants, yet gain the benefits of upgrading. This reversal of values is becoming pandemic in American society. No matter what the reason for the Board's action, the real effect is an assault on the concept of class licensing as such. For example, consider that the Extra Class has only 25 kHz of a few bands, plus the ability to apply for VE certification to test others for their Extra Class ticket. Not much for all the extra work, and I am sure that there would be a lot fewer of us had the licensing requirements been what they were only a decade ago. In other words, privilege should be earned. In essence, the Board's decision is yet another assault on individual achievement, and the reward and joy that is the providence of those who make an intense effort in life. As a consequence, I believe that the real effect will be a decline in both amateur radio participation as such, and membership in organizations such as the ARRL. First, it will bring a LOT more people into the bands and effectively fill up spectrum -- spectrum that is now has a lot of bandwidth for those of us who have earned it. Next, it will drive away those of us who have made the effort to upgrade because the bands will be filled effectively with advanced CB'ers -- and the result will be a dramatic, and irreversible, increase in phone traffic. After all, what need do the CB'ers have of the ARRL? Finally, those of us who are driven by the desire to be the best we can be, and to instill this sense of life in others, will once again be sabotaged by the organizations we support, just as we are being sold out by those whom we elect to office, both public and private. While you often hear opposition to changes in the rules and licensing, I can give you the deeper philosophical -- metaphysical, epistemological, ethical and political -- reasons in another context if you are both open to reason and have the interest. Please do not help destroy the best within us for a short term "fix" -- a fix that in the final analysis will not work! Sincerely, Alva Anderson, Jr. W5VCJ 219 Martin Drive Wylie, TX 75098-4847 aanderso.cw(a)verizon.net ------ Coy Day, N5OK, ARRL West Gulf Division Director, RR 1 Box 254, Union City, OK 73090-9726 (405) 483-5632 mailto:n5ok@arrl.org Web: http://home.att.net/~n5ok.ok/

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ODV Test
by R. B. Vallio 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Nothing received here since K1ZZ's response to K1IR. Bob - W6RGG

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Re: [ARRL-ODV:6887] Re: Reply to K1IR
by Tom Frenaye 25 Jan '02

25 Jan '02

Since K1IR distributed copies of the original letter on the cq-contest reflector, and I'm sure on most contest club reflectors, I sure hope he'll do the same with the response. I can twist his arm also... Prez Haynie was trying to reach him by telephone today also, since e-mail doesn't always "do the job". -- Tom At 05:02 PM 1/24/2002 -0500, Huntington Howard-CADV02 wrote: >Dave, > >Good reply as always. > >Since this input was presumably from presidents of several major contest >clubs, is it appropriate to independently distribute this letter further? > >Thanks, > >Howie, K9KM > >-----Original Message----- >From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] >Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 2:59 PM >To: arrl-odv(a)arrl.org >Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6886] Reply to K1IR > > >Here is the reply I am sending to Jim Idelson, K1IR, in response to the >letter he sent me for distribution to the Board last week. > >73, >Dave K1ZZ > > <<k1ir.doc>> ===== e-mail: k1ki(a)arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444

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RE: [ARRL-ODV:6886] Reply to K1IR
by Huntington Howard-CADV02 24 Jan '02

24 Jan '02

Dave, Good reply as always. Since this input was presumably from presidents of several major contest clubs, is it appropriate to independently distribute this letter further? Thanks, Howie, K9KM -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Thursday, January 24, 2002 2:59 PM To: arrl-odv(a)arrl.org Subject: [ARRL-ODV:6886] Reply to K1IR Here is the reply I am sending to Jim Idelson, K1IR, in response to the letter he sent me for distribution to the Board last week. 73, Dave K1ZZ <<k1ir.doc>>

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