January 2003 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:8183] Re: Getting New Hams (and members)
by Jim Weaver 09 Jan '03

09 Jan '03

One of my election platform planks involved new Ham recruiting, new Ham training/licensing and new Ham retention. Of these three, important steps, the easiest is training/licensing, the next is recruiting folks (young or old) to become licensed and the most difficult, I believe, is the retention. I also actually place retention at least on a par with recruiting. The reason is that my gut reaction from teaching classes is that something up to 50% of new licensees "fall on fallow ground" and die away within about a year. There are many reasons for this, but I suggest it is important to the overall goal of increasing League membership to be able to hit each of the three member-generating/maintaining activities with cohesive, intelligently-developed and pursued programs. There are enough "silent majorities" in this country. We don't need one of these in Amateur Radio which, itself, will become silent without recruitment/licensing/retention. Some reasons for loss of interest among licensed amateurs lies within themselves. Much of it; however, lies within we, the active Hams who are largely indifferent to the full "joining up" process. We need to find triggers that activate new Hams and triggers that motivate active Hams to become Elmers in the broad sense of the word. Let's face it, I know from experience that my favorite soap/detergent/OTC drug/house care/etc., company is able to sell products consumers have no idea they need. They do this by finding the "triggers." 73, I am anxious to meet you all next week, Jim, K8JE Neophyte Director, GL Division Jim Weaver k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:8182] Re: Getting New Hams (and members)
by dick＠pobox.com 08 Jan '03

08 Jan '03

8 JAN, 2002 - 1420 CST Tom makes interesting points about our apparent failure to recruit new hams. However, I think the emphasis may be on the wrong syllable. I believe our ultimate long range goal must be the recruitment and retention of ARRL members. If we really do this, all the other things like getting more hams, greatly increased funding for the ARRL, a larger impact within our society, a bigger voice in government (at all levels), become positive collateral results. Yes, we need to reallocate resources and supervise activities designed to achieve this goal. But we first have to agree on what is our ultimate goal and then devise a sustainable plan to get there. Jay is correct when he says the management of this objective has not been assigned to a standing committee. Perhaps it's important enough to merit it's own standing committee? I think we need to make a go, no-go, decision on this issue (decide on the goal and create the committee or assign the task) next week. Then we should use the next six months to develop a workable plan for board approval in July. 73 - Dick, W9GIG

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[ARRL-ODV:8181] Food Choice
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 08 Jan '03

08 Jan '03

Hello, Please let me know your choice for meals. Please respond to me and not ODV. Thursday Evening: Grilled NY Sirloin Steak--black pepper cognac sauce (on the side) or Pecan Encrusted Chicken Breast-coated with chopped pecans Friday Evening: Roast Prime Rib of Beef--creamed horseradish & natural juices or Grilled Trio--Tuna, Salmon & Swordfish--lime butter Please RSVP by January 10. TNX

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[ARRL-ODV:8180] Re Getting New Hams and Members
by John Bellows 08 Jan '03

08 Jan '03

Before we decide to reallocate $200K to recruiting new hams and members I would like to see us commit to the following: 1. Assign the task of oversight of Membership retention and recruitment to a Board Committee. At present this crucial task is an orphan. We say every ham is responsible, but we havent committed to an ongoing effort by assigning it to a committee. 2. Finding a successful approach to attracting new hams to the ARRL. The only growth in Amateur Radio has been among Technician Class Amateurs. For the most part changes in the HF ranks have resulted from movement to broader privilege licenses by Amateurs who already have HF privileges. Our efforts to attract members for Technicians without HF privileges have not been very successful so far. We need to know why. What would motivate them to become members? Are they passing on joining the ARRL because they dont know or understand the benefits and resources of membership or because they dont see value in what we offer and do? If we need to change in order to attract these new Amateurs can we do so without so changing the ARRL as to significantly impact current membership? We need to answer these questions. As noted by VP Craigie the pending survey is a step in the right direction, as long as we turn the resulting data into information and turn that information into strategies for increasing membership. I would like to have a reasonably solid idea of what would be a successful message and approach before committing to such a re-allocation of funds. A significant part of the problem has been that new Amateurs have not joined ARRL in the same percentages as in the past. If we focus on new recruiting new Amateurs without figuring out how to attract them to join ARRL we will have fewer and fewer dollars to spend on the matters of interest to our members. If we dont address member needs we are going to lose members. If we are considering reducing the amounts allocated in the Budget Plan to Governance by 20%, to Membership Services by 10%, and to Executive Management and General Administrative Support by 5%, it is important to know those are real dollars. The 2003/2004 Budget Plan allocates funds to Governance based upon ACTUAL AMOUNTS expended in 2002 not the budget numbers used in the past. For example most Divisions have expended about 50% of the amount budgeted for that purpose. The impact in the 2003/2004 Plan of a 20% reduction in a Division that has traditionally used about 50% of the budgeted amount for that Division would be that the 2003 Division Budget would be 30% of the 2002 Division allocation.(100-50=50 and 50-20=30) Depending upon whether or not a Director has used the entire Division Budget in the past the impact of a 20% reduction could be between 20% and 40% of the amounts actually used. If we as a board feel that a reallocation of resources is for Board directed activities appropriate, we need to have a clear idea of what we want to accomplish and how we intend to accomplish that goal. Additionally, if we are going to reallocate resources we need to make some hard choices about our priorities. If Membership Services and Administrative Budgets are to be cut, we ought to be deciding which programs or activities to eliminate rather than making an across the board cut. The 2003/2004 Budget Plan is not carved in stone it is a proposal to the Board for its consideration. It should is fair to say the 2003/2004 Budget Plan is the product of a considerable amount of thought and effort by those Staff and Board members tasked with this responsibility and that it is consistent with our Board directed priorities and the three year plan to bring the budget into balance. 73, Jay, KØQB Tom Frenaye wrote>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> After some digging into the plan/budget document, and some conversations with a couple of Board members, I've come to the conclusion that we're still not putting enough effort (time and money) into promoting ham radio to non-hams. I believe that the 2003/2004 Plan/Budget has not given that critical task enough funding. In particular, I'm thinking about two things: 1) educating the general public about Amateur Radio 2) promoting ham radio to potential licensees There are two parts of HQ that seem to be involved - Public Relations and the Support Team within Field and Educational Services. Surprising (to me) is that the Marketing Department (p.31) apparently has little to do with promoting to external audiences - their focus is on getting existing hams to become members and to anyone who might buy our publications (mostly hams). The Public Relations area (p.66) has one staff member and a budget of $84K. The focus is on media relations, support of the PR reflector (for F&ES PIOs and PIAs), and HQ support for the Board's Public Relations Committee. The Field & Education Services Support Team (p.94) has a budget of $216K. I can't tell how many staff members are in that area, and not all of their work supports educating the general public or promoting ham radio to potential licensees. The work that does support those two functions is responsible for the support of affiliated clubs, volunteer instructors, new ham recruitment (via clubs and the Field Organization), and scout/youth programs - maybe 50-75% of their focus. In talking to Dave Sumner and Art Goddard (Industry Advisory Council liaison), one of the key ingredients for a successful drive on the two goals noted above has to be industry involvement. That was the case 5-10-15-20-25 years ago and is apparently still the "missing" ingredient today. I suspect industry will never get itself organized, though I know AARE is making an effort, after several similar groups failed in previous years (and decades). Is that our only option? Can we do more ourselves? If we don't, Amateur Radio will be history in 20 years. I'm not satisfied with the funding we have allocated in the past (or plan for this next year), nor the way HQ is organized to accomplish those goals. New hams are our only lifeblood. We can't last forever on existing hams (who average about 50 years old) or members (who average about 60 years old). We have a $14M organization and only about $200K is being directly spent on the recruitment of new hams and public education (external marketing). Isn't spending 1.5% a bit too small? Can't we double that amount for this year? How about increasing it by $200K for each of the next five years? Yes, it would certainly hurt in the short term because some programs would have to be cut. We "only" plan to have about $3.6M in discretionary spending ($2.4M from Net Available Income; $1.2M from charitable donations) - why not take 5% of it to increase our external education and promotion efforts? (If the Siebel/accounting/DXCC/LOTW systems are ever finally installed and working, we ought to see some efficiency improvements from them that should increase the NAV...) Anyhow, I'm interested in whether anyone else feels strongly about this subject. Maybe there are better ideas or suggestions out there. Obviously what I've left out is how we might use that extra $200K (and what would be cut to get it). Room for lots of discussion... -- Tom PS: As an example: Moved, that the motion to approve the 2002 budget be amended to say: "Moved that the 2002 budget is approved with a reduction of the net amounts allocated to Governance by 20%, to Membership Services by 10%, and to Executive Management and General Administrative Support by 5%, and that same amount be applied to programs for educating the general public about Amateur Radio and promoting ham radio to target groups of potential licensees." Cost: None - but $205K would be reallocated within the current budget. The amount of reductions could be offset by contributions from external sources - donations from individuals, grants, or contributions from industry...

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[ARRL-ODV:8179] Re: getting new hams (and members)
by Kay Craigie 08 Jan '03

08 Jan '03

Tom raises excellent points and I plan to read his message several times over. However, I wonder if a budget revision motion at this meeting is the best way to go. Allocating money ad hoc doesn't amount to a coherent overall policy about what's important or a well-thought-out plan for how to get those important things done. I am looking forward to the report of Coy's strategic planning committee. The expertise in that group should help us make sure we have our carts and our horses in the right order. 73 - Kay WT3P --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com) Version: 6.0.438 / Virus Database: 246 - Release Date: 1/7/2003

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[ARRL-ODV:8178] getting new hams (and members)
by Tom Frenaye 08 Jan '03

08 Jan '03

After some digging into the plan/budget document, and some conversations with a couple of Board members, I've come to the conclusion that we're still not putting enough effort (time and money) into promoting ham radio to non-hams. I believe that the 2003/2004 Plan/Budget has not given that critical task enough funding. In particular, I'm thinking about two things: 1) educating the general public about Amateur Radio 2) promoting ham radio to potential licensees There are two parts of HQ that seem to be involved - Public Relations and the Support Team within Field and Educational Services. Surprising (to me) is that the Marketing Department (p.31) apparently has little to do with promoting to external audiences - their focus is on getting existing hams to become members and to anyone who might buy our publications (mostly hams). The Public Relations area (p.66) has one staff member and a budget of $84K. The focus is on media relations, support of the PR reflector (for F&ES PIOs and PIAs), and HQ support for the Board's Public Relations Committee. The Field & Education Services Support Team (p.94) has a budget of $216K. I can't tell how many staff members are in that area, and not all of their work supports educating the general public or promoting ham radio to potential licensees. The work that does support those two functions is responsible for the support of affiliated clubs, volunteer instructors, new ham recruitment (via clubs and the Field Organization), and scout/youth programs - maybe 50-75% of their focus. In talking to Dave Sumner and Art Goddard (Industry Advisory Council liaison), one of the key ingredients for a successful drive on the two goals noted above has to be industry involvement. That was the case 5-10-15-20-25 years ago and is apparently still the "missing" ingredient today. I suspect industry will never get itself organized, though I know AARE is making an effort, after several similar groups failed in previous years (and decades). Is that our only option? Can we do more ourselves? If we don't, Amateur Radio will be history in 20 years. I'm not satisfied with the funding we have allocated in the past (or plan for this next year), nor the way HQ is organized to accomplish those goals. New hams are our only lifeblood. We can't last forever on existing hams (who average about 50 years old) or members (who average about 60 years old). We have a $14M organization and only about $200K is being directly spent on the recruitment of new hams and public education (external marketing). Isn't spending 1.5% a bit too small? Can't we double that amount for this year? How about increasing it by $200K for each of the next five years? Yes, it would certainly hurt in the short term because some programs would have to be cut. We "only" plan to have about $3.6M in discretionary spending ($2.4M from Net Available Income; $1.2M from charitable donations) - why not take 5% of it to increase our external education and promotion efforts? (If the Siebel/accounting/DXCC/LOTW systems are ever finally installed and working, we ought to see some efficiency improvements from them that should increase the NAV...) Anyhow, I'm interested in whether anyone else feels strongly about this subject. Maybe there are better ideas or suggestions out there. Obviously what I've left out is how we might use that extra $200K (and what would be cut to get it). Room for lots of discussion... -- Tom PS: As an example: Moved, that the motion to approve the 2002 budget be amended to say: "Moved that the 2002 budget is approved with a reduction of the net amounts allocated to Governance by 20%, to Membership Services by 10%, and to Executive Management and General Administrative Support by 5%, and that same amount be applied to programs for educating the general public about Amateur Radio and promoting ham radio to target groups of potential licensees." Cost: None - but $205K would be reallocated within the current budget. The amount of reductions could be offset by contributions from external sources - donations from individuals, grants, or contributions from industry... ===== 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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[ARRL-ODV:8177] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 07 Jan '03

07 Jan '03

IN-Newsletter Vol. 26, No. 1 January 7, 2003 Upcoming Meetings January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am A & F Committee January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am Volunteer Resources Committee January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am Membership Services Committee January 17-18, 2003 in Windsor, CT Board Meeting Next week is the Board of Directors meeting at the Hartford/Windsor Marriott, with orientation for the new Great Lakes Director Weaver and Vice Director Mondro starting on Tuesday here in Newington. If you see unfamiliar faces roaming the building, they are our Officers, Directors and Vice Directors, who always look forward in visiting League Headquarters and staff. Development Reports on Development work in 2002 and 2003 are being prepared for the Board meeting, pending final annual giving reports from Siebel. The 2003 Defense Fund has reached $257,000, well below the 2002 results for the same period. In an effort to boost response a postcard was mailed in late December to all 2002 donors who had not responded in 2003. Development met with Sue Fagan and Bob Boucher to outline plans for the 2003 Education & Technology Program. The campaign will be mailed to the active ARRL member file and a test segment of recently lapsed members. The follow up solicitations for this campaign will test a postcard follow up in March rather than a full letter. This new tactic should save expenses in printing, production and postage while providing a nudge to select groups of donors. New gifts may include a special lanyard and tee shirt plus other items. The Diamond Club contributors now number 420, attracting more than $65,000 in unrestricted income for ARRL in just two months. This will be a key program in 2003 that will be promoted to target groups of the ARRL database. Development will work with Dan Miller and Rosalie White to prepare the first progress report on the federal ARECC grant from CNCS that is due at the end of January. A full report on the successful completion of the UTC/CT grant was sent to UTC offices complete with photos from the June press conference. The program in CT saw 276 hams licensed in Level 1 and Level 2 training against a goal of 250. We expect to receive the second half of the funds --$16,500 -- when the report is approved. Word on the new national grant from UTC may come in January 2003. The first grant from the Radio Club of America for the Education & Technology Program is expected in a couple of weeks. The first grant is $6500 with hopes for $10,000 a year indefinitely. Thanks to ARRL staff who volunteered to answer telephones at the local PBS television station in CT. With nearly 40 staffers, family and friends, ARRL and Amateur Radio received some positive public relations exposure. Media Relations We received 10 eligible nominations for the 2002 Bill Leonard, W2SKE, and Professional Media Award. The nominations have been copied (including two video tapes) and sent to the members of the PR Committee. The group's recommendation will be shared (most likely in person) with the appropriate division director prior to the Board meeting. We're already receiving requests for the 2003 McGan Award nomination forms. Although a full-page article always runs in the February issue of QST, we did some advance publicity via the Web news crawl this time around. Jennifer has completed the PR section of Dave Sumner's report to the Board. The final edits are being done. She also coordinated with PRC Chairman Diane Ortiz, and Derek Riker of Chwat & Company to get their respective reports ready for the Board books, and the report mailing sent prior to the meeting. We received permission to duplicate and distribute a 30-second Amateur Radio spot produced by the San Francisco chapter of the International Television Association (ITVA). ARRL member Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, worked with a video production person in California so that ARRL's contact information now appears at the end of the spot. The tape is at the duplication house and should be ready for distribution (on request) shortly. The tape will be in Beta format. Production/Editorial The new book "Experimental Methods in RF Design" by Wes Hayward, Rick Campbell and Bob Larkin has gone to the printer. We anticipate delivery in late January or early February. This has been a long, difficult project and the Book Team, Graphics, Electronic Media and Production personnel are to be congratulated on a job well done. Sales & Marketing Membership and Publications fulfillment continue to play catch-up after the Holiday. We conducted a year-end warehouse inventory that confirmed that our stock level records are indeed accurate. The Sales & Marketing team teleconferenced with ICOM's Ray Novak for some advertising planning. ICOM has increased its insertion commitment for upcoming issues. The ARRL Advertising Department staff finalized changes to the text and layout of the January/February 2003 issue of the Advertising Matters newsletter. The advertising mailing list--now including more than 500 past, present and perspective advertisers and agencies--was updated. We are pleased to report that W7FG Vintage Manuals will be resuming advertising in the March 2003 issue onward. A new advertiser, Pulver.com, has signed up for a 12-month campaign. This company offers a long distance telephone service over broadband Internet (see: www.freeworldialup.com/) While a bit of a departure from the usual ham-related-only QST advertising, the A&F Committee has encouraged staff to seek non-ham advertising opportunities to boost revenue. Carol Patton sent out billing invoices for advertising that appeared in the January 2003 issue of QST, January/February QEX and December banner ad invoices and began collecting Ham Ads advertising for the March 2003 issue. February "Ham Ad" charges have been submitted to accounting. Joe Bottiglieri made a brief field trip to a local Amateur Radio equipment retailer. The proprietor reports that sales have been very brisk over the last couple of weeks. He's nearly cleaned out his entire inventory of mobile and handheld transceivers, put a significant dent in his pile of HF transceivers, and is anxiously awaiting shipments of replacement stock. This increase in sales immediately following the traditional holiday buying season is not unusual. However, it is a bright spot in what has been a difficult period for companies serving the ham community. A mailing to all ARRL publication dealers was completed on January 3. The post-Holiday ARRL Publications catalog has arrived. The cover is similar to the Fall/Winter catalog but without any holiday marketing content. The piece makes a great ride-along, and we are happy to supply staff and departments with copies to include with small mailings and regular correspondence. Copies have been distributed to include in VEC exam session mailings, hamfests, and the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters convention. Among the new publications covered in this edition is "Experimental Methods in RF Design." The catalog also includes a registration schedule for CCE courses through June. The Sales & Marketing Department is seeking a Graphic Designer/Production Specialist to fill a new position. The job opening is presently posted on bulletin boards throughout the building. New publication offerings available for sale: 802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, by Matthew S. Gast. Creating and administering wireless networks. Copyright 2002 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. ARRL Order No. 8884 -- $44.95 <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8884> 2003 Super Frequency List CD-ROM -- 39,000 entries cover all broadcast and utility stations on short-wave. 215 screenshots! <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8841> 2003 Shortwave Frequency Guide -- Seventh Edition. Covers the latest 2003 schedules of clandestine, domestic, and international broadcast stations worldwide. <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8856> ARRL Periodicals CD-ROM 2002 -- Shipping in February -- All of the 2002 issues of QST, QEX, and NCJ on a fully searchable CD-ROM. <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8802> Membership Services Awards Branch WAS QSL Cards Checked 50 WAS Certificates (Walk-in) 1 WAC QSL Cards Checked 60 WAC Certificate (Replacement) 1 25-Year Member Awards 17 40-Year Member Awards 8 L/T Member Inquiries 4 A-1 Operator Nominations 1 L/T Member Awards Mailed 25 Extra Class Certs. Mailed 14 Processing Status: Current or within three weeks. For the coming week-Basic WAS awards for December, OTC, Friendship, and VUCC award processing and mailing. DXCC Branch Weekly Report January 5, 2003 Beginning Cards 198,276 Cards Received 7,209 Cards Processed 6,111 Ending Cards 199,374 Applications Pending 1,824 Processing Time 13.4 Weeks Year-to-date (2003) Cards Received 1,543 Cards Returned 30 For Calendar Year 2002 Cards Received 750,659 Cards Returned 625,560 QRPs Issued this week 4 QRPs YTD 266 DXCC is currently mailing applications received on September 27, 2002. There are approximately 60 applications waiting credit card charges in Comptrollers. There are approximately 120 applications waiting to be out-processed in the mailroom. (Due to the computer problems, the mailroom was not able to out-process DXCC mail). The computer problems appear to be resolved as of Friday. Andy contacted ATS and a solution was reached and appears to be working. Minor bugs seem to remain but we are able to process applications. Due to this, the estimated time to complete September work may be pushed back to January 30. In all, DXCC had to re-enter all applications entered and all applications activated on Friday December 20. This, in addition to not being able to do much of any processing the last 2 weeks in December, caused further set backs. DXCC is currently entering cards received on September 30, 2002. QSL Branch QSL service status: Current. Cards mailed year to date as of 12/31/2002 - 1,963,165. This is an increase of 30,850 over the same time in 2001. Cards mailed on 12/31/2002 - 148,050. Heather Dzamba spent 5 hours conducting tours around HQ on Monday Contest Branch. November SS paper log data entry was completed. Data entry continued for the 160-Meter paper entries. A partial order of 2002 DX Phone plaque plates were received and shipped. International DX Contest plaques were re-ordered. The 10 GHz article for QST was finished and sent to Production and the Web version was revised and prepared for WSDD. The proof of the long-awaited June VHF plaque re-design was received, approved and ordered (they should be shipped by the first week in February). Data entry of the November SS Cups and Pins orders was begun. W1AW Thanks to Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Dan Henderson, N1ND and Brennan Price, N4QX for operating W1AW in the 2003 ARRL RTTY Roundup. They made 400 QSOs, with 40 states and 31 DX stations, on 80 to 10 meters, for a claimed score of 31,600. On December 30, 2002, W1AW was visited by Scouts associated with the "Venture Crew DX" pack from Massachusetts. On the same day, the "3 Steves and a Kurt" group from New Jersey also made their yearly visit. (This is the 10th year in a row that the New Jersey group has visited W1AW during the Christmas season.) All total, both groups made 300+ QSOs using CW and SSB on 20 to 10 meters, including 30, 12 and 6 meters. Joe Carcia mailed out the reply letters to all 2002 FMT participants. The Certificate of Participation for the FMT has also been sent to the printer. Joe Carcia updated the web code practice files and also processed year-end QSL card requests. Scott Gee worked on slow and fast code practice files for the latter part of the month of January. He archived all the 2002 bulletin files and reset the Bulletin ID (BID) generator programs for 2003. W1AW telephone sales year to date (2003): $0. Field & Educational Services Rosalie sent materials about ARES to FEMA, at their request, for their Learning Resource Center at the National Emergency Training Center in Maryland. She finalized the minutes from the three-day ARISS meeting last month, and completed a few remaining action items from the meetings. We've received word that the Expedition 5 crew has made at least one random QSO. Field & Education Support Team Jean Wolfgang assisted a member in VA who is going to work with a group of Girl Scouts. KB4LIF will be encouraging the girls to explore the world of ham radio and what it might mean for their future. Jean has also been updating the files on F&ES annual awards and the databases to accommodate the next round of nominations. Margie Bourgoin sent two sets of paperwork from new clubs for affiliation approval to the appropriate Director/SM, and noted one SSC renewal this week. She has conversed with volunteer instructors starting classes, and has been assisting Leona with appointments and Jean with awards. Linda Mullally completed the F&ES Monthly Inventory, EAD Video Inventory and the Monthly Revenue Report. Linda reports last month's revenue to be $1124.49. She updated 49 club records with 4 club re-activations, plus registered 9 Volunteer Instructors and 2 schoolteachers. Mary Lau continues with preparations for the upcoming Foundation Annual Meeting and is monitoring the level of scholarship applications now coming into HQ. Regulatory Information John is nearing completion of The FCC Rule Book. He thanks Brennan Price and Steve Ewald for being "on call" for messages which couldn't wait until John returned from vacation. John has noticed an increase in calls from hams wanting information on operating from the Caribbean on vacation; the cold winter in the US seems to be having a definite impact. John assisted amateurs with local zoning problems in Enumclaw, WA (K7JAL) and Bemidji, MN (W9NT). All insurance matters will now be handled by Barry Shelley rather than in F&ES. Field Organization/ Public Service Team Leona Adams thanks the Mailroom for sending SM election ballots for North Texas, Oklahoma and Montana. Leona and Steve helped incoming SMs from SC, KS and NV in starting their new terms. Initial supplies were assembled for 40 field appointees, thanks to Kathy Kostek from DXCC while DXCC software was being worked on. Chuck Skolaut graded four OO exams and did background work on two other candidates. More and more OO reports are arriving by e-mail these days. Chuck reviewed and sent to the FCC a recording of transmissions made on 20 meters, associated with several complaints. Steve Ewald was able to assist Assistant News Editor Dave Hassler, K7CCC, with an article that he is preparing for March QST about the ARRL Field Organization. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been 20 SM newsletter/announcement relays via e-mail sent by 15 different sections. CCE Jerry Ellis opened a new on-line class of Satellite Communications, and assigned students to mentors. He prepared and submitted new Level l exams to be printed, and processed Level l and 2 exams completed after in-person classes in Michigan and South Dakota. He updated forms for in-person classes, and submitted these for posting on the Web. EmComm Grants Dan Miller reports the final tally for Connecticut UTC-sponsored graduates is 251 for Level I and 25 for Level II. Thank you letters were sent to all UTC Mentors. As we begin the fifth month of CNCS-sponsored nationwide EmComm training, we have 520 Level I graduates. On January 6, registration will open for 200 seats at a new hour -- 12:01 AM Eastern Time -- instead of at 4 PM. Interest has picked up for details about hybrid courses that combine online study with on-the-air meetings and in-person tutoring. 73, Sincerely, Mark Wilson, K1RO Chief Operating Officer MW:lk Staff Absentee List Name Date(s) Reason Dave Sumner 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Mark Wilson 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Dave Patton 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Lisa Kustosik 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Mary Hobart 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Barry Shelley 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Rosalie White 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Wayne Mills 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting Joel Kleinman 1/7 & 1/14 Vacation

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[ARRL-ODV:8176] IAC Board Report
by Art Goddard 07 Jan '03

07 Jan '03

Folks, here's the IAC report for our January meeting. Much thanks to Jim Haynie, Dave Sumner, Dennis Motschenbacher, Ed Hare Bob Inderbitzen, and Doug Smith for their support to the recent IAC teleconference. 73, Art W6XD

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[ARRL-ODV:8175] German PSK31 receiver on-line
by Jim Maxwell 07 Jan '03

07 Jan '03

For an interesting few minutes, go to http://www.hamradio-portal.com/psk/ The page includes a waterfall display and a PSK31 receiver tunable around 14.070. The receiver is located in Germany. 73. Jim, W6CF

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[ARRL-ODV:8174] Re: LoTW First test
by sysop＠bfdin.com 06 Jan '03

06 Jan '03

Dave, Thanks for the reply! I also talked with Dave Patton earlier today and he suggested trying to delete the tQSL software and downloading the new version of it and re-installing that. I'll do that tonight and let you know. Hear you got some good snow this weekend. <grin> - Bill N3LLR AR>I passed Bill's question on to Jon Bloom. Here is Jon's explanation. Dave K1ZZ No, those are two separate passwords. The one you select when requesting your certificate will be used by you when you are signing your log to submit it to LOTW. Its purpose is to "unlock" (decrypt) the private key that is generated during creation of the certificate request and then stored on your computer. The password mentioned in the message, on the other hand, is one that US amateurs receive by mail and then have to supply to us in order to get their certificate issued. However, that requirement is not in force during this test phase. There is yet another password, which is what you use to access the Web site. As it stands at present, that password is assigned to you when you get your certificate. Yes, I know this proliferation of passwords is confusing, but each password is used for a different purpose. We may be able to make the postal password and the Web site password the same eventually. And maybe we should choose different terminology to describe each of the passwords to make them readily distinguishable. But I'm not smart enough to come up with anything suitable. Much of this will be made more clear, I imagine, when Dave P. finishes the FAQ he's working on. Jon -----Original Message----- From: Edgar, William (SM, Western PA) Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 6:30 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:8162] [ARRL-ODV:8160] LoTW First test Dave, I had a chance to test this out. And for others testing this out, I offer this advice, when the certificate generator asks you to select a password to protect your certificate, DO NOT DO IT. Downloading the program was a breeze. Installing the program was equally as simple. Requesting the certificate generator to issue a certificate went well until it asked me to select a password, which I did. I sent the certificate request out to the requested email address and received a prompt reply back. The reply essentially told me that since I requested a password that my password would be printed on a postcard in the mail. Above that text, I was told that no passwords are being mailed out and that "Either your certificate is automatically sent to you (in a separate message) or it's not." Assuming that if one sends the certificate request with the requested selection of a password, that they will not be able to test this system. Is this correct? - Bill Edgar N3LLR AR>This afternoon I had an opportunity to try out Logbook of the World. If you have a log in ADIF or Cabrillo format, you can, too! The "greetings" message from Dave Patton, NT1N, that follows this note provides the instructions on how to download the beta version of the program. Further instructions are included in the download. For test purposes the DX logs submitted for the 2002 ARRL CW DX Contest are in the database. Converting my Cabrillo log of about 4,000 QSOs into "TQSL" format took about 90 seconds. Uploading and matching with the QSOs already in the database took another 97.6 seconds and yielded 1,675 confirmed QSOs. As they say, your mileage may vary. Note that at this stage the "query handler" is a bit primitive. The critical elements to be tested right now are the certificate generation and data conversion/uploading functions. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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