June 2003 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:8907] Brief update from Geneva
by david.sumner＠ties.itu.int 20 Jun '03

20 Jun '03

Many of you will be heading to the National Convention this weekend, so I want to give you a brief update on where things stand on our major issues at WRC-03. If you receive this before leaving home you might print a copy and take it with you to share with anyone on the Board who may have left yesterday or didnt have time to check their email Friday morning. On the most important issue for us, 7 MHz realignment, discussions began in earnest on Tuesday, June 17 in Sub Working Group 4C1. Bear in mind that there are several levels in a WRC: Plenary, Committee, Working Group, and in some cases Sub Working Group and Drafting Group. As of Friday morning, June 20, progress has been made in a Drafting Group toward resolving differences between various formulations for a 300-kHz solution for amateurs although some differences remain. If those differences can be worked out over the weekend there will be a large group of countries from Europe, Africa, the Americas, and some in other parts of the world supporting this solution and it will be so reported to the Sub Working Group on Monday. However, there is another large group of countries that prefer no change, and a few who favor some improvement for amateurs but do not support a full 300-kHz solution. The deadline for Sub Working Groups to complete their work is the close of business Monday, at which point the remaining unresolved issues float up to the Working Group level. It becomes progressively more difficult to achieve agreement as you move up the chain and the meetings become larger, so there is a lot of pressure to reach agreement as early and at as low a level as possible. The best thing to say to members about where things stand on 7 MHz is that progress has been made toward an outcome that will be an improvement over the status quo, but theres still a long way to go and not much time remaining to get there. It would be very dangerous to speculate on exactly what the outcome will be and we certainly cant guarantee that success can be achieved. Also, success (if were able to achieve it) will not lead to instant improvement; implementation is likely to occur in two or more stages over a period of more than a decade. Anyone who remembers how long it took for us to get access to 18 MHz after WARC-79 will not be surprised at this, but it would be a good idea to calibrate members expectations. On the other popular issue, the Morse requirement, while matters are still at Sub Working Group 4C3 level its pretty clear that the outcome will be to leave it to administrations discretion whether or not to have a Morse receiving and sending requirement. No administration participating in the Sub Working Group spoke in favor of retaining the treaty requirement. Other parts of Article 25 are not yet entirely resolved. Another issue that seems well on its way to being resolved is satellite-borne synthetic aperture radars (SARs) at 432-438 MHz. While it appears very likely that there will be an allocation, it will be secondary and will also be subject to limitations spelled out in Recommendation ITU-R SA.1260. The IARU has maintained its opposition because of the possibility of interference to the amateur-satellite service at 435-438 MHz (whose status is even below secondary) but the tide is running against us. Even so, we have achieved a lot through six years of work on the issue, mainly by Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, and our Technical Relations Office. We managed to get protections for the amateur service included in SA.1260, and if the allocation is secondary and the limits in SA.1260 are mandatory the potential for interference to amateurs in the US should not be too great since SARs will not be permitted to interfere with the primary radiolocation service. One amateur issue that has made its way through first reading in Plenary is call signs. In the future, administrations will have more flexibility in assigning call signs to amateur stations. We are relieved that this minor issue was resolved early and without using up too many conference resources, which are very limited owing to the ITUs budget crisis. The budget crisis is creating great pressure to limit agenda items for future conferences. There is even talk of the next one being pushed back from its present schedule, the first half of 2007, into 2008. Have a great time at the National! 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:8906] 60 Meters
by Wilson, Mark K1RO 19 Jun '03

19 Jun '03

Several of you have forwarded questions from members about using the new 60-Meter band that opens for amateur use July 3. Rick Lindquist, Ed Hare, John Hennessee and Dave Hassler have collaborated on a 60-meter FAQ to address the concerns. There's a story at the top of the news crawl on the front page of the Web site that links to the FAQ, which is here: http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/faq.html#sixty The FAQ was also mentioned in a 60-Meter Update bulletin that went out last night, and will be in the ARRL Letter. This is a work in progress, and we encourage everyone to forward additional questions or suggestions to Rick or John. 73, Mark K1RO

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[ARRL-ODV:8905] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 18 Jun '03

18 Jun '03

IN-Newsletter Vol. 26, No. 24 June 18, 2003 Development The final report on the United Technologies Connecticut grant has been submitted. A progress report on the 3-year $150,000 national grant will be submitted by the June 20 deadline. The Spectrum Defense special campaign for WRC-03 has generated $33,984 from 751 donors for an average contribution of $45.25. These figures reflect a correction of inaccurate results present in the June 4 In-News. The Education & Technology Fund campaign for 2004 has produced $76,655 from 1435 donors for an average contribution of $ 53.42. The campaigns for Historic Preservation and Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) have not yet produced responses. The Historic Preservation campaign was mailed last week and the BPL mail will be sent out next week. The Diamond Club has received a boost from the test mailings coordinated with member renewals. The Diamond Club now numbers more than 614 supporters who have produced $92,489 in revenue since the program's inception in late September 2002 for an average contribution of $150. The average contribution skews lower due to the number of Life Members who have taken advantage of the special $50 entry level contribution. Other donors to the program number 308, contributing more than $77,000 for an average of $250. The Diamond Club renewal process will begin in July 2003 for those donors who first contributed in September 2002. The renewal program will include an incentive gift for donors who increase their annual support for the next year. Copies of the 2002 Annual Report were mailed to donors whose annual contributions total $1000 or more in 2002. Media Relations With input from the PR staff at the Department of Homeland Security, Jennifer prepared a media advisory to publicize the upcoming SoA signing between ARRL and DHS at Ham-Com. The advisory was sent to the two major newspapers in the Dallas area, and three television affiliates. We've already received interest from the CBS station in Fort Worth, including the possibility of preliminary interviews before the event. ARRL member Bill Cunningham, N5VVS, has been assisting with the PR effort on ARRL's behalf at the FOX station where he works. The 2002 Annual Report has been mailed to all members of the ARRL Board, and is available to members upon request. It's also available online as a PDF document at http://www.arrl.org/announce/annualreport/02ar.pdf. Jennifer was interviewed by a Detroit Free Press reporter who is working on a local Field Day story. Jennifer assisted a ham in Indiana whose club repeater is no longer welcome on a local radio station antenna tower. Efforts to keep the repeater in place may come down to educating the new station owners about the benefits of ham radio, and the contributions the club has made to the community. She also provided PR materials to a member who was making a presentation to his city council about the benefits of Amateur Radio in his city. We received three nominees for this year's Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award. The nominations have been duplicated and sent to members of the PR committee for judging. Final details for the upcoming PR forum at Ham-Com are being worked out. Production/Editorial The 2002 Annual Report has arrived from the printer. Congratulations to Sue Fagan on a nice layout. Dave Hassler was among those who reviewed the text as it was being produced. Shelly Bloom and her team got the July/August issues of QEX and NCJ off to the printer. Rick Lindquist collaborated with President Haynie and General Counsel Imlay to develop remarks for President Haynie's delivery June 11 before the US House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (in support of our Spectrum Protection Act legislation--HR 713). He also assisted Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM, the new Web youth column editor, in preparing her first column, which will be posted this week. In addition to writing a story on President Haynie's testimony (and that of others who spoke in favor of HR 713), Rick also compiled The ARRL Letter, Vol 22, No 24, which circulated to 65,726 (up 183 from a week earlier), and, with voiceover assistance from Jennifer Hagy, produced ARRL Audio News. Brennan Price submitted the Product Review column for August QST and spoke at the Convention in Sioux City, Iowa, over the weekend. Sales & Marketing The Advertising crew continued to work on insertions for the August QST. We already have several new and returning advertisers lined up: Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society; Nantenna; Fallfest (a ¼ page Hamfest ad); Better RF, a returning advertising and The Mast Company. TMC planned ran a one-time run ad but the results were so good they are running again in August. Deb Jahnke spent time teleconferencing with our Donnelley rep to procure pricing for a yet another exciting specialty ad for one of our regular advertisers. She also worked with advertisers and ISD staff to produce an invoice that properly depicts the various fees and charges. This has been a problem since the change-over to Siebel. In addition, detail reports for May publication sales and royalty payments were produced. Backordered Technician Video Courses came into stock. Fulfillment staff shipped them via 2-day shipping to ensure customers would receive them as quickly as possible as the current course is valid through June 30, 2003. At the request of the Development Department, QST delivery for five Maxim Society members was upgraded to overnight status. ARRL's standard membership application and renewal notices meet postal requirements as designated in the Domestic Mail Manual after months of working with the USPS. If you use the standard application (this is the two-sided application with the antenna on the front side), these will be reprinted soon. You may contact Kathy Capodicasa or Mark Dzamba for new forms. In addition to our printed applications, the postal changes have been made to our on-line applications. These changes included our US, International and Canadian forms as well as .pdfs for our life and standard applications. On a suggestion made by Mike Tracy, we're considering a special reprint of the L/C/F and Single-Layer Coil Winding Calculator offered by ARRL quite a few years ago (around 1969). Janet has been in contact with the original manufacturer, and she's presently studying costs and retail pricing schemes. Janet Rocco has submitted details for our most current conference proceedings to InterDok for their Directory of Published Proceedings (www.interdok.com <http://www.interdok.com>). Diane Szlachetka is developing a comprehensive document that details QST advertising specifications. Once complete, the document will help our advertisers and advertising agencies take advantage of our present production and graphic design capabilities. Di also compiled a list of the time requirements for July QST advertising--allowing our group to audit the production and graphic design requirements necessary to assemble the month's-worth of advertising. Bob Inderbitzen prepared drafts to update a handful of ads for August QST. Included among these is an ad covering all of the current RSGB titles carried by ARRL, and a second ad featuring ARRL offerings produced by third parties. He also distributed an email solicitation to boost subscriptions of NCJ and QEX magazines during the week. Our "product announcement" email distribution list is around 45,000 members. Results from our recent survey of 2003 Handbook buyers contributed to a constructive planning meeting for the 2005 Handbook. Dennis and Bob gathered with members of the Book Team for the discussions. Now available via the ARRLWeb catalog: QRP Basics (RSGB) <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9031> Microwave Projects (RSGB) <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9022> RSGB Prefix Guide--6th edition <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=9046> Ham University--Technician Edition <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8956> Membership Services Awards Branch WAC Certs. (72 QSLs ES/C) 12 5-BWAC Certs. (30 QSLs ES/C) 1 L/T Member Inquiries 15 A-1 Operator Noms. 4 VUCC Initial Apps. 3 Grids 318 VUCC End. App. 2 Grids 147 Awards Mailed 39 Also compiled the latest VUCC award recipient list for August QST. Processing Status: Current or up to three weeks. For the coming week-WAS and WAC QSL card checking, WAS Specialty awards, Extra Class certificates, and continued filing chores associated with all LTMA correspondence from this year to date. Contests Final additions to the 2003 RTTY Roundup Web report were made and opened to Members. The QST version of the 2003 January VHF Sweepstakes was received from the author, prepared and sent to Production. The September VHF QSO Party announcement for QST was prepared and sent to Production. The 2003 Field Day message was written, edited and sent to W1AW for preparation. Numerous Field Day requests and questions continue to be handled. The databases for the June VHF QSO Party, Field Day and IARU HF World Championships were copied and initialized for 2003. The robot was updated and tested for June VHF and IARU. 2003 DX Contest pins arrived and were shipped. 2002 November CW Sweepstakes certificates were printed and mailed. DXCC Branch Weekly Report June 15, 2003 Beginning Cards 97,430 Cards Received 6,066 Cards Processed 13,990 Ending Cards 89,506 Applications Pending 727 Processing Time 6 Weeks Year-to-date (2003) Cards Received 240,328 Cards Returned 354,104 QRPs Issued this week 1 QRPs Issued total 296 DXCC is currently mailing applications received on May 2, 2003. DXCC is currently entering cards received on May 8, 2003. One (1) card checker was appointed this week representing Switzerland and Liechtenstein. QSL Bureau QSL Service Status: Current. Cards mailed as of 06/15/003: 681,400. No cards were mailed this week. Heather Dzamba spent 5 hours conducting tours around HQ. W1AW Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the month of June and continued work on the K2 transceiver. W1AW Telephone Sales year to date (2003): $12,193 Field & Educational Services Rosalie gave material to FEMA for inclusion in a summary of emergency response to the 2002 tornadoes in La Plata, MD. She participated in a meeting to discuss updates for the Instructor Manual. She prepared a form for use by tellers in the Oregon SM Recall count. (Ballots will be opened and counted the week of June 23.) NASA is working with ARISS in yet another way -- the leader of their NASA Explorer Schools (about 50 in the USA) are looking at ways to incorporate ARISS into their program. This week saw two successful ARISS QSOs. Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona Adams worked with SMs starting their term October 1; there were no contested elections. Incumbents are: Jettie Hill (Sacramento Valley); Hal Turley (West Virginia); Ray Taylor (South Texas); Phineas Icenbice (Los Angeles); Jeff Ryan (Colorado); Susan Swiderski (Georgia). Those who will be SM for the first time are: Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV (San Francisco); Ed Bruette, N7NVP (Western Washington); Mark Tharp, KB7HDX (Eastern Washington). Leona handled SM expense forms and 30 appointments and initial supply packages. We completed cleanup to much of the data in the Field Organization database. Steve Ewald reported this to the SMs via their reflector. Steve wrapped up the Public Service column for August QST, and prepared for travel to the Tennessee State Convention. Chuck Skolaut caught up on work after his vacation; he logged OO reports and handled grading a few OO exams. He received more information regarding possible illegal 2-Meter operations in the New Jersey/New York area and also in California where unlicensed hang glider pilots have been heard on the air. Chuck has collected reports of intruders on 10 meters, 30 meters and 2 meters. Amateur Radio Education & Technology Program Mark Spencer developed a scope and sequence for The Big Project curriculum, and began work on more hands-on lessons that are needed. He prepared a commemorative album for Joe Walsh to thank him for his generous contribution. Mark participated in an ARISS USA teleconference meeting. Field & Education Support Team Mary Lau notes that the ARRL Foundation has received a bequest from the estate of Richard Keller, W7TWU, an avid ATVer who passed on in December of 2002. Margie Bourgoin reports one new SSC, and 4 new affiliated clubs have been added to our programs this week. She also worked with Tom Hogerty to get the "Active Club Online Primer" on a beta area, and thanks Tom for his progress with formatting on this project. She participated in a NASA telecon. Gail Iannone wrote 43 hamfest and 9 convention announcements for the August issue of QST. She also sent 3 hamfest approval letters to the sponsoring committees confirming the Division Directors' approval of the events as ARRL-sanctioned, processed 1 label request and co-coordinated travel for Mark Spencer, WA8SME, to be the HQ rep at the Georgia Section Convention, November 1-2. Linda Mullally updated 63 club records. She also registered 8 Volunteer Instructors and 2 schoolteachers, and sent out 25 Exhibit kits and 2 JOTA Kits. Linda also compiled the May Field Organization Reports for August QST. Jean Wolfgang has been working on the beta youth page called "HARMONICS." She received free original clipart, developing links, puzzles, and educational coloring pages. Although these pages are targeted at youth who don't know anything about ham radio, there will also be a link for young hams (under 17) to write about their experiences as a ham. Eventually these comments can be read by other young people who visit "Harmonics." C-CE Howard Robins reports that Ward Silver has completed the drafts of the very first two learning units for the Antennas 101 course. Ian Poole continues to work on the RF Propagation course. Howard sent reminders to interested students of the Level III course. Jerry Ellis and Howard revised information posted on the Web about how in-person C-CE classes and field exams should be conducted. They are trying to provide direction to ensure procedures are consistent. Jerry processed results from field exam sessions received recently. CNCS, UTC, and field exam grads were mailed their printed certificates, ID cards and refund checks (where appropriate). EmComm Grants Dan Miller prepared materials for his emcomm course seminar at the SeaPac convention. SeaPac always has seminars, so we expect a good crowd. Regulatory Information John Hennessee received a number of questions about 60-meter operation. John worked with Rick Lindquist, Ed Hare and Dave Hassler on 60-meter primer and FAQ that will appear on the Web page as well as in August QST. John assisted an amateur in Munster, IN (W9MAQ) with a local government zoning problem, and several amateurs facing covenant restrictions. John received questions on the recent arrest of a Northern New York ham stopped for possessing an amateur transceiver which can receive police frequencies; he was taken to court despite the FCC preemption for amateurs with "receive only" capability and the New York state statute specifically preempting amateurs from scanner statue. John referred the amateur to volunteer counsels in his area. VEC Department Explosion reported in VE Session (the good kind); Our ARRL VE Team in Tucson AZ recently tested had a blind candidate who needed Braille tests in order to be assisted for taking the Amateur Extra class license exam. All other efforts of accommodation had failed. With the Brailling assistance HANDI-HAMs, we were able to provide Braille test booklets to the VE Team. ARRL VE team liaison Virgil Pattin, K7VP sent us an e-mail message noting that the candidate "was so excited we could not contain her; when we told her she passed, she exploded (the good kind). Honore "Nonie" Madone has completed her first course in American Sign Language. As her course final, Nonie did a demonstration of the alphabet through "finger spelling" giving the phonetic alphabet used in the Amateur Radio service. After a very enthusiastic and animated presentation of "The ABC's of Ham Radio", her instructor noted that, while the sign language that she was learning was for use in America, the phonetic alphabet is worldwide in its usage--to make letters of the alphabet more understandable. Great going, Nonie; we think your adaptation was "Bravo Romeo India Lima Lima India Alpha November Tango"! ARRL "ExamWin" VE software will be duplicating at the vendor shortly for VE dissemination. An update will also be available (without our unique grading templates {answer patterns}) on the ARRL VEC page at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examwin/. ARRL VEC new Technician class printed test booklets are at the printer this week for (distribution to VE team before July 1). 73, Sincerely, Mark Wilson, K1RO Chief Operating Officer MW: lk Staff Absentee List Name Date(s) Reason All Staff 7/4 Holiday Dave Sumner 6/3-7/6 WRC 2003, Geneva Mary Hobart 6/20-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention Jennifer Hagy 6/20-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention `` 7/7-7/11 Vacation `` 7/18-7/22 Vacation Rick Lindquist 6/20-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention `` 6/27 Vacation Dan Miller 6/19-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention Steve Ewald 6/16-6/20 Vacation Jon Bloom 6/13-7/7 Vacation Monique Levesque 6/30-7/3 Vacation Kristy Perillo 7/7-7/18 Vacation Rosalie White 6/18-6/23 San Francisco Convention/Vacation AnnMarie Pinto 6/26-7/8 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 6/19-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention `` 6/24-7/1 Friedrichshafen, Germany `` 7/2 Vacation Dennis Motschenbacher 6/19-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention `` 6/24-7/1 Friedrichshafen, Germany Debra Jahnke 6/30-7/3 Vacation Jo-Ann Arel 6/18 Vacation Wayne Mills 6/20-6/22 HamCom/ARRL Nat'l Convention 6/25-6/30 Friedrichshafen, Germany Margie Bourgoin 6/18 Vacation Jean Wolfgang 6/30-7/1 Vacation

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[ARRL-ODV:8904] ARRL National Convention Information 2
by W5JBP＠aol.com 18 Jun '03

18 Jun '03

Greetings. Several Board Members had asked that a list of attendees be distributed and in error, I neglected to include this earlier in the day. Attached is a Word document that was provided to DHS on the 16th identifying all Directors, noting that those in BOLD print were planning to attend National. We also identified Vice Directors who mentioned they'd be attending National. Also, I meant to mention the weather forecast for the DFW area. Currently the weather guessers are predicting low to mid 90's all weekend with no rain. Unfortunately, in Texas this means almost nothing but we'll keep our fingers crossed. Finally, Coy asked me to provide to you local cell numbers in case you encountered any problems and needed quick assistance. Please make a note: Jim's cell phone: 214-384-9422 Stacy's cell phone: 817-919-9067 If anyone can think of anything we're forgetting, please do not hesitate to let me know. Thanks, Stacy

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[ARRL-ODV:8903] ARRL National Convention Information
by W5JBP＠aol.com 17 Jun '03

17 Jun '03

Attached is a Word document that will give you lots of information regarding the National convention in Arlington this weekend. Please let Coy, David or myself know if you have any questions. Thanks, Stacy

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[ARRL-ODV:8902] Re: ARRL-ODV:8901
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 17 Jun '03

17 Jun '03

Well, there's nothing like correcting an error that wasn't there in the first place! My Release #2 says ZL2MT's call sign was wrong in Release #1. But it wasn't in Release #1. It was in another document I generated here for amateur delegates. Sorry for any confusion. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[ARRL-ODV:8901] IARU WRC-03 News Release #2
by david.sumner＠ties.itu.int 17 Jun '03

17 Jun '03

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[ARRL-ODV:8900] Re: ARRL National Convention!
by Henry R. Leggette 17 Jun '03

17 Jun '03

President Haynie, Director Roderick, Director Day, Vice Director Woolweaver and others: I will not be attending the ARRL National Convention due to a medical problem. I hope to have it corrected in order to attend BoD meeting in July. 73, Henry - WD4Q

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[ARRL-ODV:8899] CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION
by W3KD＠aol.com 16 Jun '03

16 Jun '03

Greetings. The following is absolutely confidential, and subject to the attorney-client privilege against disclosure. Some of you may soon have referred to you, or you may read yourself, an article that appears at page 10 of the July, 2003 issue of 73, Amateur Radio Today, entitled "Inside the ARRL - the Real Story". This article was allegedly authored by John J. Phillips, K2QAI, a former employee of the ARRL. Mr. Phillips was employed by the ARRL from May 7, 2001 to October 18, 2002 as a member of the laboratory staff. He resigned from this position. He was not terminated. He subsequently filed an administrative complaint against ARRL with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities. That complaint is now pending. It asserts, in essence, treatment which constituted wrongful termination of employment. The complaint is viewed by senior staff as meritless and it is being vigorously defended by Connecticut counsel. The Administration and Finance Committee has been updated on this matter. It is urgent that you not discuss Mr. Phillips or his employment with ARRL in any comment you are asked to make, or choose to make, about this article or otherwise. The article is not complimentary to ARRL, to the Board, the Executive Committee, or ARRL's policies. It is inaccurate in all material respects, and the opinions stated in it are without any factual basis or foundation. Nevertheless, it does not, in our view, contain actionable statements. Rather, it contains certain admissions that may be helpful to our attorney in Connecticut. However, any discussion of, or references to, Mr. Phillips by any of our official family could be used against ARRL, and could have very serious repercussions. Please, therefore, make no statement to anyone regarding Mr. Phillips whatsoever or respond to any question regarding Mr. Phillips. Indicate, instead, that, on advice of counsel, you are unable to comment regarding Mr. Phillips. In case anyone should encounter Mr. Phillips, please do not discuss ARRL with him. It is fine to respond to specific questions about the points made in the article that do not deal with Mr. Phillips, to agree or disagree with the substance of it, and to indicate that the article is inaccurate in some respects, as long as none of your remarks address Mr. Phillips, the portions relating to his employment, or his motivations in writing the article. Thank you. To the extent that this article may have been written to provoke some response from ARRL that could be used against ARRL, your careful attention to the above is critical, and we all have a fiduciary duty to ARRL to avoid any statements which might be harmful in this respect. 73, Chris W3KD

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[ARRL-ODV:8898] Tuning Into the World
by Art Goddard 14 Jun '03

14 Jun '03

NPR program, "The Connection" featured Amateur Radio during the June 12th broadcast. You can get the details and the streaming audio at: http://www.theconnection.org/shows/2003/06/20030612_b_main.asp

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