March 2004 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:10223] FW: re wa8cwd
by James Weaver 07 Mar '04

07 Mar '04

WA8CWD was the primary station op between ISS and the Glenwood School in Perrysburg, OH (Toledo suburb). He became an SK. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:10222] What has to happen?
by James Weaver 06 Mar '04

06 Mar '04

All, FYI, I've invited input from GLD members on regulating by transmitted bandwidth. I realize this possibility had been brought to the attention of members, but I was interested in their perspective on this issue. Clearly, opinion - both informed opinion and uninformed opinion - is greatly divided in this Division. The bottom line takeaway I have from member input essentially is that we should go slowly - yes, more slowly than we have already. I believe the need for moving more slowly is the need to educate the membership to the desirability of the proposed change. I suggest that now is not the time to dump another new-to-them change on top of the restructuring proposal. My sense is that greater education of our membership should be done and that more listening to the membership by us is likely to be prudent. In short, I see no need to rush to introduce this additional petition to the FCC for their consideration concurrent with the restructuring petition. If nothing else, I'm not interested in pumping gasoline on the existing flame when there is no need to do it. As always, I am open to discussion/debate over my position. Comments? 73, Jim W. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:10221] Update on Wade
by Wade Walstrom 06 Mar '04

06 Mar '04

When I went to pick Wade up this morning to bring him home, he said he did not feel good. The Dr. ordered a bunch of tests and it looks like he has pneumonia and will be spending a couple more days in the hospital. Solveig

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[ARRL-ODV:10220]
by James Weaver 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

You may be interested in the expanded coverage SM Joe Philips, K8QOE (of Cincinnati suburb, Fairfield, OH) and other local amateurs achieved in broadening the discussion on BPL into the technical arena for readers of the Cincinnati ENQUIRER. The ENQUIRER is the largest circulating daily/Sunday newspaper in this area. The item you will see by going to the link I'm including appeared in our Friday (morning) editions. I believe if one looks very closely we just might see a fingerprint or two of Dave and of our new Technical Director in the background information. Joe and company, and Dave, Ed and Paul have done very well with their contributions to this article. Not everything was printed, but when one considers the "hooray for BPL" coverage gained by Cinergy a couple of days ago, this ought to give readers a cause to think. The article is at: http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/03/05/biz_cinergy05.html All kudos for getting the article printed go to Joe and company who is at k8qoe(a)arrl.net. I will accept any donations - on his behalf, of course! 73, Jim W. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:10219] Wade
by Wade Walstrom 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

Hello, Wade asked me to send out this e-mail. His surgery went very well, and he is doing fine. He should be out of the hospital tomorrow and back to work in a week to 10 days. Thank you all for your concern and well wishes. Solveig

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[ARRL-ODV:10218] Re: Proposed Restructuring (long)
by Andy Oppel 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

A most excellent response. -- Andy Oppel, N6AJO At 12:49 PM 3/5/2004, you wrote: >5 MAR, 2004 - 1445 CST EAN > >Thomas Collen, KG0AG >836 Hidden Lake Rd >Roberts, MN 54023-8348 > >Dear Mr. Collen, > >Thank you for your comments on the ARRL's license restructuring proposal. >I'm assuming you have read my latest Central Division Newsletter which >outlines the board's rationale for this proposal. Therefore, I will try >to not repeat myself too much here. > >Our proposal that you state was "cobbled together" was developed over the >last six months of 2003 in response to the removal of the Morse code amateur >radio licensing requirement at the World Radio Conference (WRC-03) last >summer, the findings of two professional Readex surveys (2000 and 2003), >and the FCC's statement in its last amateur license ruling that says >something to the effect that further restructuring/streamlining of the >Amateur Radio Service license structure is desirable. > >At the ARRL board meeting last July, the ARRL Executive Committee was >tasked with drafting a license proposal for presentation at the January >2004 board meeting. The entire board spent one evening informally hashing >through this proposal and then took the better part of an hour in formal >session discussing amendments before finally voting to approve it. Our >proposal was definitely not cobbled together. > >It's understood the FCC wants to see the number of license classes reduced, >now that the Morse code treaty requirement has been removed. The ARRL >proposal was crafted so as to not remove privileges from existing license >classes (there are minor exceptions in the proposed Novice license) when >they are merged. This would result in some people being given additional >privileges without taking a test for them. > >Your proposal would generate a lot of clerical cost for the FCC, more >than we envision in the ARRL proposal. It's my understanding the >commission will not look favorably upon amateur radio licensing proposals >that generate a great deal of maintenance cost. You may construe this as >being a trivial issue and, in my mind, I agree with you. However, our >perspective on how the FCC should spend it's funds, counts for very little >in the commissioners' deliberations. > >It remains to be seen what the FCC will eventually approve. As you know, >there have been several other petitions on various aspects of this issue >filed. The board believes the commission will put most, if not all of >them into one combined proceeding. Hopefully, this will happen within the >next couple of months, but the FCC does not appear to be in a hurry. > >I see you have already filed comments in response to the NVEC's license >petition, and I expect you will file similar comments on the ARRL >petition, once it has been assigned a docket number. I expect to see >several thousand comments filed on this combined proceeding. I also think >we will not see >any FCC ruling until late this year, at the earliest. And I will not take >any bets on how it's going to turn out. :) > >You may, or may not receive replies from the other directors and officers >as they usually wait to see what the director of the member's division has >to say first. > >Again, thank you for your input and your long membership in the ARRL. > >73 - George R. (Dick) Isely, W9GIG > ARRL Central Division Director > > dick(a)pobox.com > w9gig(a)arrl.org Andy Oppel andy(a)andyoppel.com andy_oppel(a)earthlink.net andy_oppel(a)comcast.net

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[ARRL-ODV:10217] Re: Cinergy Broadband LLC News Release
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

Actually, their disclaimer doesn't extend far enough. It doesn't address the risk of selling a service that has to be terminated when it inevitably causes interference. Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: dick(a)pobox.com [mailto:dick@pobox.com] Sent: Friday, March 05, 2004 4:00 PM To: arrl-odv Cc: Imlay, Chris (ARRL Counsel) Subject: [ARRL-ODV:10216] Cinergy Broadband LLC News Release 5 MAR, 2004 - 1455 CST This item comes to you courtesy of the Indiana Section Manager. I love the italicized disclaimer statement. Looks like Cinergy Broadband LLC is disclaiming a lot of the English language. :) Investor beware. 73 - Dick, W9GIG ============================================================================ Cinergy News Release Cinergy and Current Communications to Offer Broadband Services Over Power Lines CINCINNATI, March 2, 2004 - Cinergy Broadband, LLC, a subsidiary of Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN), and Current Communications Group, LLC announced today they are beginning to offer broadband over power line (BPL) services in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. A subsequent expansion is planned for Northern Kentucky and Indiana. Cinergy Broadband and Current have formed a joint venture that will roll out broadband services under the brand Current Communications(tm). Initially, these services will consist of high-speed internet and will eventually be bundled with voice over IP (VoIP). Current will manage the venture, which will build and operate the BPL network and provide marketing, customer support and back office functionality. The BPL network will be deployed on electric distribution infrastructure using proven, proprietary BPL equipment and technology from Current's subsidiary, Current Technologies, LLC. The companies have also created a second joint venture to pursue the deployment of BPL to targeted municipal-owned power companies and rural electric cooperatives across the United States. This joint venture will be managed by Cinergy Broadband and will market Current's BPL technology to its target customer utilities. In addition to the joint ventures, Cinergy has made an investment in Current as part of a larger round of financing. In the financing, Current's existing investors, Liberty Associated Partners, LP and EnerTech Capital, LP, have each contributed additional capital. The aggregate amount of financial commitment to Current and the BPL ventures by all parties in these transactions exceeds $70 million. The decision to roll out broadband services, initially in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, follows a trial of the technology and broadband service offering with more than 100 residential customers and several business customers in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati. The trial produced high customer satisfaction and a strong interest in enrolling in the commercial service. For Internet users, Current's BPL service offers: * "Always on" high speed Internet access from power outlets throughout the home or business * Upload and download access at the same speeds using readily available, off- the-shelf HomePlug® power line modems * Local area networking from all power outlets over existing electrical wiring * Faster speeds (in excess of 3 mbps) at lower monthly cost than other broadband services * Multiple speeds and pricing plans to meet individual needs and budgets * Truly "Plug and Play" installation and activation within minutes * All with no need to add any in-home wiring "Customers will be amazed at the speed, low cost and reliability of BPL, as well as its ease of use," said William J. Grealis, executive vice president of Cinergy and president of Cinergy Broadband. "We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to partner with Cinergy and provide consumers with the newest generation of broadband services," said Ronald Boillat, President and COO of Current Communications Services, LLC, Current's broadband services subsidiary. Broadband services are being offered to consumers and small businesses initially in Hyde Park. Other areas where the service will be offered over the next six months are expected to include Wyoming, Delhi and Terrace Park, as well as other communities in and around Cincinnati. Customers will receive mailings announcing availability in their area as the service is rolled out. Cinergy and Current also will use Current Technologies(tm) BPL equipment to implement important new services that will provide improved reliability and increased efficiency for Cinergy's utility subsidiaries and their customers. BPL technology can enable a variety of enhanced power distribution applications, including: * Automated outage detection and restoration confirmation * Remote monitoring and operation of switches and transformers * Remote capability to connect and disconnect electric service * More efficient demand-side management programs * Automated meter reading Cinergy has a balanced, integrated portfolio consisting of two core businesses: regulated operations and energy merchant. Cinergy's regulated delivery operations in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its Indiana regulated operations own 7,000 megawatts of generation. Cinergy's energy merchant business is a Midwest leader in low-cost generation owning 6,300 megawatts of capacity with a profitable balance of stable existing customer portfolios, new customer origination, marketing and trading, and industrial-site cogeneration. The "into Cinergy" power- trading hub is the most liquid trading hub in the nation. Current Communications Group, LLC is a privately held company based in Germantown, Maryland. Current develops innovative power line equipment and technology for delivering broadband services over power lines. Current is backed by Liberty Associated Partners, LP, Enertech Capital and Cinergy. Liberty Associated Partners is a private investment fund focusing on private equity investments in telecommunications, media, Internet and related technology companies and is managed by the Associated Group, LLC. Enertech Capital is a private equity firm that invests exclusively in service and technology companies emerging from and capitalizing on the reshaping of the energy, utility, and telecommunications markets. Many of the investors in Enertech Capital's funds are major U.S. and international utilities. Click <http://www.currentgroup.com> here to visit the Current Communications web site. This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "continue", "should", "could", "may", "plan", "project", "predict", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, unanticipated weather conditions; unscheduled generation outages; unusual maintenance or repairs; unanticipated changes in costs; environmental incidents, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements; electric transmission or gas pipeline system constraints; legislative and regulatory initiatives; additional competition in electric or gas markets and continued industry consolidation; financial or regulatory accounting principles; political, legal, and economic conditions and developments in the countries in which we have a presence; changing market conditions and other factors related to physical energy and financial trading activities; the performance of projects undertaken by our non-regulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; availability of, or cost of, capital; employee workforce factors; delays and other obstacles associated with mergers, acquisitions, and investments in joint ventures; and costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, and claims. Please refer to the company's SEC filings for additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information contained herein. Back <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/News/default…> to Press Releases Cinergy Corp., 139 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1-800-544-6900 Copyright © 1996-2004 Cinergy All Rights Reserved. <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/terms_of_use…> Terms of Use. <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/privacy_poli…> Privacy Policy.

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[ARRL-ODV:10216] Cinergy Broadband LLC News Release
by dick＠pobox.com 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

5 MAR, 2004 - 1455 CST This item comes to you courtesy of the Indiana Section Manager. I love the italicized disclaimer statement. Looks like Cinergy Broadband LLC is disclaiming a lot of the English language. :) Investor beware. 73 - Dick, W9GIG ============================================================================ Cinergy News Release Cinergy and Current Communications to Offer Broadband Services Over Power Lines CINCINNATI, March 2, 2004 Cinergy Broadband, LLC, a subsidiary of Cinergy Corp. (NYSE:CIN), and Current Communications Group, LLC announced today they are beginning to offer broadband over power line (BPL) services in the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area. A subsequent expansion is planned for Northern Kentucky and Indiana. Cinergy Broadband and Current have formed a joint venture that will roll out broadband services under the brand Current Communications. Initially, these services will consist of high-speed internet and will eventually be bundled with voice over IP (VoIP). Current will manage the venture, which will build and operate the BPL network and provide marketing, customer support and back office functionality. The BPL network will be deployed on electric distribution infrastructure using proven, proprietary BPL equipment and technology from Currents subsidiary, Current Technologies, LLC. The companies have also created a second joint venture to pursue the deployment of BPL to targeted municipal-owned power companies and rural electric cooperatives across the United States. This joint venture will be managed by Cinergy Broadband and will market Currents BPL technology to its target customer utilities. In addition to the joint ventures, Cinergy has made an investment in Current as part of a larger round of financing. In the financing, Currents existing investors, Liberty Associated Partners, LP and EnerTech Capital, LP, have each contributed additional capital. The aggregate amount of financial commitment to Current and the BPL ventures by all parties in these transactions exceeds $70 million. The decision to roll out broadband services, initially in southwest Ohio and northern Kentucky, follows a trial of the technology and broadband service offering with more than 100 residential customers and several business customers in the Hyde Park area of Cincinnati. The trial produced high customer satisfaction and a strong interest in enrolling in the commercial service. For Internet users, Currents BPL service offers: * "Always on" high speed Internet access from power outlets throughout the home or business * Upload and download access at the same speeds using readily available, off- the-shelf HomePlug® power line modems * Local area networking from all power outlets over existing electrical wiring * Faster speeds (in excess of 3 mbps) at lower monthly cost than other broadband services * Multiple speeds and pricing plans to meet individual needs and budgets * Truly "Plug and Play" installation and activation within minutes * All with no need to add any in-home wiring "Customers will be amazed at the speed, low cost and reliability of BPL, as well as its ease of use," said William J. Grealis, executive vice president of Cinergy and president of Cinergy Broadband. "We are extremely excited to have the opportunity to partner with Cinergy and provide consumers with the newest generation of broadband services," said Ronald Boillat, President and COO of Current Communications Services, LLC, Currents broadband services subsidiary. Broadband services are being offered to consumers and small businesses initially in Hyde Park. Other areas where the service will be offered over the next six months are expected to include Wyoming, Delhi and Terrace Park, as well as other communities in and around Cincinnati. Customers will receive mailings announcing availability in their area as the service is rolled out. Cinergy and Current also will use Current Technologies BPL equipment to implement important new services that will provide improved reliability and increased efficiency for Cinergys utility subsidiaries and their customers. BPL technology can enable a variety of enhanced power distribution applications, including: * Automated outage detection and restoration confirmation * Remote monitoring and operation of switches and transformers * Remote capability to connect and disconnect electric service * More efficient demand-side management programs * Automated meter reading Cinergy has a balanced, integrated portfolio consisting of two core businesses: regulated operations and energy merchant. Cinergys regulated delivery operations in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky serve 1.5 million electric customers and about 500,000 gas customers. In addition, its Indiana regulated operations own 7,000 megawatts of generation. Cinergys energy merchant business is a Midwest leader in low-cost generation owning 6,300 megawatts of capacity with a profitable balance of stable existing customer portfolios, new customer origination, marketing and trading, and industrial-site cogeneration. The "into Cinergy" power- trading hub is the most liquid trading hub in the nation. Current Communications Group, LLC is a privately held company based in Germantown, Maryland. Current develops innovative power line equipment and technology for delivering broadband services over power lines. Current is backed by Liberty Associated Partners, LP, Enertech Capital and Cinergy. Liberty Associated Partners is a private investment fund focusing on private equity investments in telecommunications, media, Internet and related technology companies and is managed by the Associated Group, LLC. Enertech Capital is a private equity firm that invests exclusively in service and technology companies emerging from and capitalizing on the reshaping of the energy, utility, and telecommunications markets. Many of the investors in Enertech Capitals funds are major U.S. and international utilities. Click <http://www.currentgroup.com>here to visit the Current Communications web site. This document includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements are based on management's beliefs and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by terms and phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect", "continue", "should", "could", "may", "plan", "project", "predict", "will", and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from the results predicted. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in any forward-looking statement include, but are not limited to, unanticipated weather conditions; unscheduled generation outages; unusual maintenance or repairs; unanticipated changes in costs; environmental incidents, including costs of compliance with existing and future environmental requirements; electric transmission or gas pipeline system constraints; legislative and regulatory initiatives; additional competition in electric or gas markets and continued industry consolidation; financial or regulatory accounting principles; political, legal, and economic conditions and developments in the countries in which we have a presence; changing market conditions and other factors related to physical energy and financial trading activities; the performance of projects undertaken by our non-regulated businesses and the success of efforts to invest in and develop new opportunities; availability of, or cost of, capital; employee workforce factors; delays and other obstacles associated with mergers, acquisitions, and investments in joint ventures; and costs and effects of legal and administrative proceedings, settlements, investigations, and claims. Please refer to the company's SEC filings for additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update the information contained herein. <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/News/default…>Back to Press Releases Cinergy Corp., 139 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 1-800-544-6900 Copyright © 1996-2004 Cinergy All Rights Reserved. <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/terms_of_use…>Terms of Use. <http://www.cinergy.com/news/default_corporate_news.asp?news_id/privacy_poli…>Privacy Policy.

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[ARRL-ODV:10215] Re: Proposed Restructuring (long)
by dick＠pobox.com 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

5 MAR, 2004 - 1445 CST EAN Thomas Collen, KG0AG 836 Hidden Lake Rd Roberts, MN 54023-8348 Dear Mr. Collen, Thank you for your comments on the ARRL's license restructuring proposal. I'm assuming you have read my latest Central Division Newsletter which outlines the board's rationale for this proposal. Therefore, I will try to not repeat myself too much here. Our proposal that you state was "cobbled together" was developed over the last six months of 2003 in response to the removal of the Morse code amateur radio licensing requirement at the World Radio Conference (WRC-03) last summer, the findings of two professional Readex surveys (2000 and 2003), and the FCC's statement in its last amateur license ruling that says something to the effect that further restructuring/streamlining of the Amateur Radio Service license structure is desirable. At the ARRL board meeting last July, the ARRL Executive Committee was tasked with drafting a license proposal for presentation at the January 2004 board meeting. The entire board spent one evening informally hashing through this proposal and then took the better part of an hour in formal session discussing amendments before finally voting to approve it. Our proposal was definitely not cobbled together. It's understood the FCC wants to see the number of license classes reduced, now that the Morse code treaty requirement has been removed. The ARRL proposal was crafted so as to not remove privileges from existing license classes (there are minor exceptions in the proposed Novice license) when they are merged. This would result in some people being given additional privileges without taking a test for them. Your proposal would generate a lot of clerical cost for the FCC, more than we envision in the ARRL proposal. It's my understanding the commission will not look favorably upon amateur radio licensing proposals that generate a great deal of maintenance cost. You may construe this as being a trivial issue and, in my mind, I agree with you. However, our perspective on how the FCC should spend it's funds, counts for very little in the commissioners' deliberations. It remains to be seen what the FCC will eventually approve. As you know, there have been several other petitions on various aspects of this issue filed. The board believes the commission will put most, if not all of them into one combined proceeding. Hopefully, this will happen within the next couple of months, but the FCC does not appear to be in a hurry. I see you have already filed comments in response to the NVEC's license petition, and I expect you will file similar comments on the ARRL petition, once it has been assigned a docket number. I expect to see several thousand comments filed on this combined proceeding. I also think we will not see any FCC ruling until late this year, at the earliest. And I will not take any bets on how it's going to turn out. :) You may, or may not receive replies from the other directors and officers as they usually wait to see what the director of the member's division has to say first. Again, thank you for your input and your long membership in the ARRL. 73 - George R. (Dick) Isely, W9GIG ARRL Central Division Director dick(a)pobox.com w9gig(a)arrl.org

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[ARRL-ODV:10214] Re: April edition of QST
by James Weaver 05 Mar '04

05 Mar '04

Heck, folks, my copies -- both of them -- came three days ago! I didn't even have to drive down to the fulfillment plant in KY to get them! You all ought to live in the "Midwest" where things get done rapidly and our governor-types don't tear other people apart limb by limb. AMATEUR RADIO: The only fail-safe communications system in the world. ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio is! Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040-9660, Tel. 513-459-0142, E-mail k8je(a)arrl.org

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