March 2003 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:8602] Re: HF Digital Committee Report
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 31 Mar '03

31 Mar '03

I apologize for sending this to you separately. It had been my intention to provide in one package everything you would need to review the Ad Hoc Digital Committee's report. However, I have received the good suggestion that since both the report and the dissenting recommendations reference the IARU Region 1 band plan, it might be useful for you to have it for reference. As it may also be helpful for you to have the original charge to the committee, I am including that as well. Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Monday, December 30, 2002 10:16 AM To: hfdigital Subject: [hfdigital:13] Charge to the committee Paul Rinaldo is taking a few days of well-earned vacation over the holidays. Here is the charge to the committee that was prepared just before he left. 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ _____ Gentlemen: Thank you for your willingness to serve on the ARRL Ad Hoc HF Digital Committee. As a reminder, here is the text of the motion that authorized the creation of the committee: "Minute 63. On motion of Mr. Frenaye, seconded by Mr. Bodson, it was unanimously VOTED that the President is authorized to appoint an ad hoc working group to study the new HF data modes in the Amateur Radio Service. The Terms of Reference are to develop recommendations for introduction of voice-bandwidth data modes and to advise the board on amateur-Internet linking and HF automatic control with a final report to the Board by January 2003." The following have been appointed to serve: Victor D. Poor, W5SMM, Chairman Howard Teller, KH6TY Steve Waterman, K4CJX Melvyn Whitten, K0PFX Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU Peter Martinez, G3PLX Board Liaison: Tom Frenaye, K1KI Staff Liaison: Steve Ford, WB8IMY To begin with, through no fault of yours the committee is getting off to a late start. Obviously, no meaningful final report can be completed prior to the Board Meeting of January 17-18, 2003, and the Board will have to be asked for additional time. The next Board Meeting after January will be July 18-19, 2003. The task that is before you can be broken down into three parts: 1. Develop recommendations for introduction of voice-bandwidth data modes. At the present time RTTY and data emissions below 28 MHz are limited to symbol rates not to exceed 300 bauds, "or for frequency-shift keying, the frequency shift between mark and space must not exceed 1 kHz." Clearly this language predates modern digital techniques and requires updating. Three specified digital codes are permitted. Fortunately, in addition amateur stations using these codes are authorized to "use any technique whose technical characteristics have been documented publicly, such as CLOVER, G-TOR, or PacTOR, for the purpose of facilitating communications." CLOVER, G-TOR, and PacTOR are simply examples; additional techniques have been documented publicly to the satisfaction of the FCC. Rather than get bogged down in drafting proposed changes in the FCC Rules, it is preferable for the committee to focus on desired operational outcomes: what should be permitted, and what shouldn't be? By the way, the committee's responsibility does not extend to the introduction of HF digital voice. Another group is working on that issue. Your mandate is for the introduction of voice-bandwidth data modes. However, the signal characteristics may be similar and you may wish to consider whether there should be an operational overlap between the two. 2. Advise the Board on amateur-Internet linking. Again, this is in the context of data rather than voice modes. The rules governing message forwarding systems, Section 97.219, were written to permit the interfacing of Amateur Radio with the Internet while ensuring that the amateur stations involved are held appropriately accountable. The committee is invited to review these provisions and identify any changes that would be desirable. 3. Advise the Board on HF automatic control. At the present time automatically controlled HF digital stations are limited by Section 97.221 of the FCC Rules. Communication between two automatically controlled stations is confined to the specific band segments of 3.620-3.635, 7.100-7.105, 10.140-10.150, 14.095-14.0995, 14.1005-14.112, 18.105-18.110, 21.090-21.100, 24.925-24.930, and 28.120-28.189 MHz. Communication by an automatically controlled station in response to interrogation by a station operating under local or remote control can take place anywhere RTTY or data emissions are authorized, provided that the occupied bandwidth does not exceed 500 Hz. The committee should consider what changes, if any, to recommend. It may be useful for you to have the revised IARU Region 1 HF Band Plan that was adopted in San Marino last month, so I am attaching it for your information. Note that the Region 1 Band Plan is voluntary, so they are free to treat such things as "maximum bandwidth" as guidelines rather than as a black-and-white line of demarcation between what is legal and what is not. This is Region 1's first attempt to define HF operations in terms of bandwidth in addition to type of emission and is generally regarded as evolutionary rather than as revolutionary. Even so, in the context of your committee's work it is significant that certain segments were identified for "digimode" with bandwidths of up to 2700 Hz: 1840-1842, 3600-3620, 7040-7045, and 14101-14112 kHz. The ARRL Technical Relations Office staff stands ready to assist the committee as a technical resource. 73, Paul Rinaldo, W4RI Technical Relations Manager <<HFC 54 annex 1.rtf>>

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[ARRL-ODV:8601] Re: Banner
by W5JBP＠aol.com 29 Mar '03

29 Mar '03

Director Weavers comment reminds me when I ask K5EVI (a good friend of mine) why a coffee pot on the B-1 cost $2,800 and would with stand a 120 G impact why, he said: "So I can make coffee when I am investigating the crash." He is a crash investigator for the F-16 and B-1. Jim Haynie

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[ARRL-ODV:8600] Re: Banner
by Jim Weaver 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

Dave, First, please understand I was not questioning the abilities of your staff. Certainly, one (even a Director, hard as this may be to believe!) can "over engineer" many things. Evidence of this is the proverbial hammer or toilet seat for the military. Then, again, in certain applications, what would otherwise be considered to be over engineering might be precisely what is needed. Having said this, I accept that I went into the search for a banner willing to accept a "good" quality job, but not demanding the highest possible quality. This decision was based upon my intended use of the product. I frankly believe it is as good as needed for any hamfest or swapfest. It is quite adequate for our Division convention as well. Whether is would be considered adequate for use in the HQ display at the National Convention could be debated. I would expect the National Convention to warrant more than a mere banner for this matter. As one unit of a total display, the banner could be acceptable, depending upon how the total display is designed. As to cost based upon multiple units, there is no doubt that most jobs warrant and receive higher fees for "singles." I did not price a single banner; however, when purchased even in twos, the price we received was somewhat over half the singles price I would interpolate for a comparable size banner based upon the prices you listed. I must admit that I recall hearing costs in the $350 range from my earlier inquiries. Maybe my memory focused on the extreme and ignored the practical. In addition, maybe the price that stuck with me represents a produce required only in a few applications. Dave, if you'd like to check with the folks I'm dealing with, this would be fine. I am sure they would enjoy the interest. The company is CDS Signs, 11123 Reading Rd., Sharonville (Cincinnati PO), OH 45241, tel. 513-563-7446, FAX 513-563-7448, www.cds-signs.com. Dan Conrad is one of the people with whom I've worked. Tnx, 73, Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL -- The reason Amateur Radio is! GREAT LAKES DIVISION CONVENTION, September 6-7, 2003: See http://greatlakes.arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:8599] Central Division Website Cost
by dick＠pobox.com 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

28 MAR, 2003 - 1645 CST For the record, the messages below illustrate how the cost of setting up the Central Division Website was determined. Dave Sumner is probably correct. What I wanted was probably down in the noise level for Interbridge Communications. FWIW, my web host has been very reliable and it's business is growing, one step at a time. So now I wonder how many division and section websites are hosted by ARRL's vendor when they could be hosted, with the same reliability, at considerably lesser cost? 73 - Dick, W9GIG ====================================================================== From: dick(a)pobox.com [mailto:dick@pobox.com] Sent: Wednesday, August 21, 2002 12:32 PM To: Jon Bloom KE3Z; Don Durand Cc: dsumner(a)arrl.org; nt1n(a)arrl.org; k9km(a)arrl.org Subject: Central Division Web Site 21 AUG, 2002 - 1115 CDT Jon Bloom, KE3Z ARRL IT Services Hello Jon... It has been my plan to develop an interactive Central Division web site ever since I took office over eighteen months ago. After a series of stops and starts, it looks like I will be able to get it started in the very near future. (I have a third party doing the programming, and I decided to wait until after the just completed SM election cycle in this division.) What are the technical parameters for such a web page hosted by the ARRL. For reference, I have looked at the Great Lakes Division page and will use links to other related ARRL pages and non-ARRL sites of interest to Central Division members. Also, is there a fee for this service that is charged against my director's budget? Thanks & 73 - Dick, W9GIG ====================================================================== Delivered-To: dick(a)pobox.com Received: from mail.ARRL.ORG (unknown [209.140.206.215]) by cali-2.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id BBEF93E6D2 for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Wed, 21 Aug 2002 14:56:43 -0400 (EDT) content-class: urn:content-classes:message Subject: RE: Central Division Web Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 14:54:42 -0400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.0.6249.0 Message-ID: <721D3436A7C2B344A301FD4A413C71A90A1DE5(a)kosh.ARRLHQ.ORG> X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: Central Division Web Site Thread-Index: AcJJL1Cmv408pLjCReyjrKramUG2ZwAFUltA From: "Durand, Don" <ddurand(a)arrl.org> To: <dick(a)pobox.com> Dick, I arranged for Gary to host his site with our network services vendor, Interbridge Communications. The cost is $300/year, charged against your budget. If you are interested, I will put you directly in touch with them and you can work out the necessary details. Please let me know how you want to proceed. Don ====================================================================== Delivered-To: dick(a)pobox.com Received: from mailhost.chi1.ameritech.net (mailhost1-chcgil.chcgil.ameritech.net [206.141.192.67]) by dolly1.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4E05B2BFC4 for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Wed, 21 Aug 2002 22:25:20 -0400 (EDT) Received: from maintower ([65.43.253.134]) by mailhost.chi1.ameritech.net (InterMail vM.4.01.02.17 201-229-119) with ESMTP id <20020822022519.QXNS18992.mailhost.chi1.ameritech.net@maintower>; Wed, 21 Aug 2002 21:25:19 -0500 Message-Id: <4.2.0.58.20020821212402.03254380(a)mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> X-Sender: grisely(a)mailhost.chi.ameritech.net X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Pro Version 4.2.0.58 Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 21:28:43 -0500 To: Scott Neader KA9FOX <ka9fox(a)QTH.com> From: dick(a)pobox.com Subject: Re: Possible Additional Business For You Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed 21 AUG, 2002 - 2120 CDT Hello Scott... When you send me a quote for hosting the ARRL Central Div. web site, please give me your annual rate (still $120 plus domain name registration fee of $20?) and a rate that would provide service until 31 DEC, 2003. This would then match the expiration of my current term in office and all annual renewals would match the calendar. 73 - Dick, W9GIG ====================================================================== Delivered-To: dick(a)pobox.com Received: from mail.centurytel.com (corphost1.centurytel.com [63.172.100.22]) by cali-1.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id B6A1A3E63C for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 00:36:55 -0400 (EDT) Received: from C00031026.QTH.com ([10.0.249.252]) by mail.centurytel.com (Switch-2.0.1/Switch-2.0.6) with ESMTP id g7M4b4D01593 for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Wed, 21 Aug 2002 23:37:05 -0500 (CDT) Message-Id: <5.1.1.6.2.20020821231546.03fb3cc8(a)mail.qth.com> X-Sender: ka9fox(a)mail.qth.com X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 5.1.1 Date: Wed, 21 Aug 2002 23:20:35 -0500 To: dick(a)pobox.com From: Scott Neader KA9FOX <ka9fox(a)QTH.com> Subject: Re: Possible Additional Business For You In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20020821104427.030a2210(a)mailhost.chi.ameritech.ne t> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed Hi Dick! The info below would be used by your other party to develop a web site quote for you. As far as hosting, there is nothing but the basics listed below, so certainly any of my web hosting packages would foot the bill. Certainly the $10 per month plan would take good care of your needs. You may need to come up with some type of domain name... or I suppose the arrl could point a sub-domain to one of my IPs. Like http://central.arrl.org ? Not sure if they'd do that, or what you think about that. If you want to register something new, like arrl-central.org or whatever, that would run an extra $19.95/year. If you use http://something.arrl.org then there would not be the $19.95 charge... but you would have to get cooperation from the league to set up an "A" record in their DNS server (not hard). So..... to answer your question... $10 per month, for as long as you want to sign up for... no set up fee... optional domain name registration fee of $19.95/yr. Any other questions, just yell! Thanks for thinking of me! - Scott ====================================================================== Delivered-To: dick(a)pobox.com Received: from mail.ARRL.ORG (unknown [209.140.206.215]) by wormwood.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 61C3972638 for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 13:32:28 -0400 (EDT) content-class: urn:content-classes:message Subject: RE: Central Division Web Site MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 13:30:24 -0400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft Exchange V6.0.6249.0 Message-ID: <721D3436A7C2B344A301FD4A413C71A90A1DF0(a)kosh.ARRLHQ.ORG> X-MS-Has-Attach: X-MS-TNEF-Correlator: Thread-Topic: Central Division Web Site Thread-Index: AcJJ/ysTWw1wc7omSx29q5fJA9sGDAAAuUPg From: "Durand, Don" <ddurand(a)arrl.org> To: <dick(a)pobox.com> Dick, You'll need to verify with Jon Bloom, but I believe that linking to a given division site from arrl.org is not a problem. He would be the one to talk to on that. Don -----Original Message----- From: dick(a)pobox.com [mailto:dick@pobox.com] Sent: Thursday, August 22, 2002 1:20 PM To: Don Durand Subject: Re: Central Division Web Site 22 AUG, 2002 - 1205 CDT Hello Don... I have located an alternative (QTH.COM) service provider owned by a ham who will do the same things for me for $120 a year plus $20 for domain name registration. I have experience with this outfit as they provide hosting services for the Illinois Repeater Association (ILRA.NET) the Society of Midwest Contesters, and I am subscribed to a couple of reflectors that they host. I know that Interbridge Communications does a great job, but I'm not certain I can justify spending a bit more than double for what appears to be the same level of service - with the possible exception of server redundancy. This leads to another question; does current policy allow a link to a Central Division web site (controlled by the director) on the ARRL site? 73 - Dick, W9GIG ====================================================================== Delivered-To: dick(a)pobox.com Received: from p1k.arrl.org (p1k.arrl.org [209.140.206.201]) by dolly1.pobox.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 2CBB52C04E for <dick(a)pobox.com>; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 14:39:46 -0400 (EDT) Received: from localhost.localdomain (hq-135 [10.1.120.135]) by p1k.arrl.org (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id OAA28776; Thu, 22 Aug 2002 14:39:42 -0400 Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 14:40:44 -0400 From: "Bloom, Jon, KE3Z" <jbloom(a)arrl.org> To: <dick(a)pobox.com> Subject: Re: Fwd: Re: Central Division Web Site Message-Id: <20020822144044.670dce8f.jbloom(a)arrl.org> In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20020822133654.030a4730(a)mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> References: <4.2.0.58.20020822133654.030a4730(a)mailhost.chi.ameritech.net> X-Mailer: Sylpheed version 0.8.0 (GTK+ 1.2.10; i686-pc-linux-gnu) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Dick, Yes, we provide links to the division Web sites. They appear at: http://www.arrl.org/divisions/ http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/org/smlist.html and on the section pages at: http://www.arrl.org/sections/ Just let me know once your division site is up and running and we'll add the links for the Central Division. 73, Jon ======================================================================

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[ARRL-ODV:8598] Re: Banner
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

Dick (and Jim W.) ask: Why is it cheaper for us as indviduals to search out products and services of at least the same quality, than to use the vendors that headquarters is using? To start with Dick's example, our ISP, Interbridge, is not in the "retail" business. Their business is geared to serving business clients, so their pricing structure probably has a higher floor for greater capacity than Dick requires. However, that's just a guess since I don't have specifics on which to make an apples-to-apples comparison. With regard to banners, we have several options depending on materials and size: 3' X 2' Vinyl $50.00 Nylon $70.00 5' X 2.5' Vinyl $120.00 Nylon $140.00 7' X 3' Vinyl $155.00 Nylon $185.00 These are the single copy prices. The pricing for multiple banners would be less per unit. These prices are based on very specific artwork designed by the Graphics Department along with our specific PMS colors, not simply "red, white and blue." One early order required redoing a couple of times to meet the standards of one Director; ultimately a different and more expensive process had to be used. Since we're trying to project a professional and consistent image, some additional expense is worthwhile if it turns out to be necessary to achieve the desired effect. Again, one needs to be certain the comparison is apples-to-apples. We'd be glad to get a quote based on our specifications from the company Jim Weaver used, or anyone else's suggestion of a reliable vendor. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:8597] Re: Banner
by Jim Weaver 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

Dave, Thanks. I assume as much regarding HQ and knew as much regarding the vendor. I've heard of more bizarre things happening, though, elsewhere and wanted to know. CU, Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL -- The reason Amateur Radio is! GREAT LAKES DIVISION CONVENTION, September 6-7, 2003: See http://greatlakes.arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:8596] Re: Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK
by Dennis Bodson 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SKDave: This is indeed sad news. Al was a great person and made numerous contributions tothe league. Dennis -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 4:19 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:8595] Re: Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK I should have said, sometime after leaving work Wednesday. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 3:59 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:8593] Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK This afternoon we received word that Technical Information Service Coordinator Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, passed away suddenly sometime after leaving work yesterday. I had hoped to obtain some additional information on what happened prior to making an announcement to confirm this sad and unexpected news. However, we have not been able to get in touch with Al's family; his brother is probably in transit to Connecticut. All we can say at this time is that the news of his passing has been confirmed by a reliable source. We will share further information as soon as we are able. This was a shock to everyone here on staff. Al was a quiet, friendly person who genuinely enjoyed being of service to our members and to his fellow staff members. It's a very sad day. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:8595] Re: Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

I should have said, sometime after leaving work Wednesday. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Friday, March 28, 2003 3:59 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:8593] Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK This afternoon we received word that Technical Information Service Coordinator Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, passed away suddenly sometime after leaving work yesterday. I had hoped to obtain some additional information on what happened prior to making an announcement to confirm this sad and unexpected news. However, we have not been able to get in touch with Al's family; his brother is probably in transit to Connecticut. All we can say at this time is that the news of his passing has been confirmed by a reliable source. We will share further information as soon as we are able. This was a shock to everyone here on staff. Al was a quiet, friendly person who genuinely enjoyed being of service to our members and to his fellow staff members. It's a very sad day. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:8594] Re: Banner
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

Jim, if you mean does ARRL HQ add some markup to the price that is quoted, the answer is no. What's charged to the division account is the cost to the ARRL. Of course, the vendor is a for-profit business. 73, Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Weaver, Jim K8JE (DIR, GL) Sent: Thursday, March 27, 2003 5:03 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:8585] Re: Banner The banner stock being used on the ones being made for us is 13 oz. reinforced vinyl. This sounds essentially the same as Greg described for his banners. It certainly is pro-quality and the work the outfit here does is equally professional. As Coy suggested, I will send a photo of the actual product when I have it. Question for Dave or Mark: I'm curious about one thing. Are the prices we've been provided for banners their cost or are these cost plus some handling charge or "profit?" If they are cost plus some sort of factor, what is the "plus" amount or percent? 73, Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL -- The reason Amateur Radio is! GREAT LAKES DIVISION CONVENTION, September 6-7, 2003: See http://greatlakes.arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:8593] Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, SK
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 28 Mar '03

28 Mar '03

This afternoon we received word that Technical Information Service Coordinator Al Alvareztorres, AA1DO, passed away suddenly sometime after leaving work yesterday. I had hoped to obtain some additional information on what happened prior to making an announcement to confirm this sad and unexpected news. However, we have not been able to get in touch with Al's family; his brother is probably in transit to Connecticut. All we can say at this time is that the news of his passing has been confirmed by a reliable source. We will share further information as soon as we are able. This was a shock to everyone here on staff. Al was a quiet, friendly person who genuinely enjoyed being of service to our members and to his fellow staff members. It's a very sad day. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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