August 2004 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[ARRL-ODV:11052] ARRL 2005 Handbook Promotion
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

September's issue of QST will introduce a pre-ordering promotion for the 2005 ARRL Handbook. A bonus "First QST" reproduction (Volume I, No. 1, Dec. 1915) will be included with every book as a special incentive for pre-ordering. Orders will begin shipping on or after October 1. We're hopeful that this promotion will help build additional excitement about the new edition--the most extensively revised version of The ARRL Handbook in 10 years! Complimentary ODV copies will ship in early October, and will include the limited edition "First QST" reproduction. Keeping true to this promotion, additional copies of the reproduction will not be available for sale or sold separately. Questions about this new product rollout can be directed to Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R in the Sales & Marketing Department.

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[ARRL-ODV:11051] GB4FUN
by n5ok.ok＠att.net 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Howdy! If we had a good entry level license, something like this would be great for us to do. http://www.gb4fun.org.uk/ Coy -- ARRL West Gulf Division Director Coy Day, N5OK 20685 SW 29th St Union City, OK 73090-9726 n5ok(a)arrl.org 405-483-5632

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[ARRL-ODV:11050] Re: Hartford Courant: Preserving Ham Radio History
by W3KD＠aol.com 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

In a message dated 8/10/2004 9:12:54 AM Eastern Standard Time, dsumner(a)arrl.org writes: > > In this age of cellphones, the Internet and wi-fi connections, it's easy to > forget the technology that provided much of the basis for our plugged-in > lifestyles, but archivists, working in a dusty attic in Newington, are determined > not to let that happen. > > It isn't very dusty. Chris

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[ARRL-ODV:11049] Changes in Responsibilities
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

The recent departure of Bob Boucher, our long time Administrative Services Manager, has left a void which will not be replaced easily and not one I'm sure we can replace with one person who had all of Bob's skills. Certainly not one with all the experience Bob had regarding the ARRL. However, we are moving forward. Bob's departure does provide an opportunity to take a look at the level of staffing across his area of responsibility. That will take some time and in the meantime we have to make sure administrative services are still coordinated and delivered to the organization. Effectively immediately, LouAnn Campanello, in addition to her current responsibilities as Controller, will have responsibility for Human Resources, the Outgoing Mailroom/Shipping and the Receptionist. LouAnn will have overall responsibility for coordinating all the activities of the Human Resource function and will be getting support from both Monique Levesque and myself. While these are new responsibilities for her within the ARRL, this is not the first time LouAnn has managed these areas in her career. In her tenure at the Science Center of Connecticut she was responsible for these same functions so she has the background to effectively manage these new responsibilities. In addition to these changes, I will be taking over the direct responsibility for the management of the facilities and the purchasing function. This will not change anything in regard to issues you would normally bring directly to either Greg Kwasowski, Building Manager or Kim Rochette, Purchasing. As we move forward, LouAnn and I will be assessing the overall staffing requirements and the skills needed to provide support to the HQ operations and will make changes where necessary. If anyone has any questions please let me know. 73, Barry, N1VXY

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[ARRL-ODV:11048] Cincinnati Enquirer article
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

Here's another front opening in the BPL battle. Dave Tuesday, August 10, 2004 Cinergy offers 'Net to co-ops Broadband technology marketed to utilities By Mike Boyer Enquirer staff writer Cinergy Corp. on Monday launched the second prong of its broadband-over-power-lines initiative by signing on a new company to market the technology to electric cooperatives. The company, ACcess Broadband LLC, launched with partner Current Communications Group LLC, is among the first to market the emerging technology to other utilities. Last spring, Cinergy joined with Germantown, Md.-based Current to become the first electric utility to offer high-speed Internet services to customers via its power lines, essentially turning every electric outlet into a Web connection. The technology avoids the need to rewire or recable an area for high-speed Internet - an expensive proposition in rural areas. Cinergy and Current estimate that municipal utilities and rural electric cooperatives represent about 25 million potential customers. Cinergy has been marketing the service in Hyde Park and Mount Lookout. It won't disclose how many customers it has. But a spokesman said the service is available to about 8,000 customers and is seeing about a 15 percent "take rate,'' which would translate to about 1,200 customers for the service that starts at $29.95 a month. Cinergy spokesman Steve Brash said the partners plan to expand the offering to Pleasant Ridge and Delhi Township in the near future. Cinergy has said it hopes to have as many as 55,000 subscribers in the first year in Cincinnati. It plans to expand to Northern Kentucky and the rest of its Southwest Ohio service area in 2005. Cinergy has also invested $10 million in Current Communications as part of a new round of venture funding of more than $70 million, along with Current's other investors Liberty Associated Partners and EnerTech Capital LP. Cinergy's investment is part of the utility's nonregulated business and isn't funded by electric or gas rates. The growing national interest in broadband over power lines has triggered a flurry of concern among ham radio operators, who fear widespread deployment could generate extensive radio interference. Cinergy and Current say the ham operators' fears are unfounded. But the Ohio section of the American Radio Relay League has set up a local committee headed by Kirk Swallow of Colerain Township to monitor possible interference issues. Joe Phillips of Fairfield, section manager for the radio league, said the monitoring committee is just getting started and doesn't think the broadband program has enough of a footprint locally yet. He said the group hopes to provide engineering data Cinergy will find useful. Michael J. Pristas, formerly vice president, utility solutions business, for the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative in Herndon, Va., was named senior vice president, business development for ACcess and will manage its marketing to municipal and rural electric cooperatives. Initially, the partners said they will focus on the larger electric utilities with enough customer density and fiber-optic cable and other telecommunications infrastructure to make broadband feasible. Brash said Cinergy and Current also plan to offer Internet-based telephone service, known as Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, over their system locally. He said they are testing the technology but aren't ready to launch it commercially. --- E-mail mboyer(a)enquirer.com <mailto:mboyer@enquirer.com>

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[ARRL-ODV:11047] Hartford Courant: Preserving Ham Radio History
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 10 Aug '04

10 Aug '04

The following article appeared in today's Hartford Courant. It's a nice piece, if (as we should) you set aside the unfortunate substitution of Hiram Walker for Hiram Maxim. Dave K1ZZ -------------------- Preserving Ham Radio History -------------------- By KORKY VANN Special To The Courant August 10, 2004 In this age of cellphones, the Internet and wi-fi connections, it's easy to forget the technology that provided much of the basis for our plugged-in lifestyles, but archivists, working in a dusty attic in Newington, are determined not to let that happen. The project is taking place at the headquarters of the American Relay Radio League, the 90-year-old national association for amateur - or non-commercial - radio enthusiasts. The organization predates the FCC, which licenses amateur radio operators, by 20 years, and ARRL's attic is filled with artifacts from the early days of "ham" radio, as it is better known, says Tom Frenaye, chairman of the organization's Historical Committee, which oversees the archive project. "Over the past 90 years, ARRL has collected a lot of valuable, and in some cases irreplaceable, historic paper archives and artifacts," says Frenaye, a retired insurance analyst who got his first amateur radio license at age 13. "The collection had been stored haphazardly in a space with no climate control and had never been catalogued. We decided it was time to look in the attic and get things properly organized and stored before we lost them." What Frenaye and volunteer archivists Perry Williams and Charles Griffen found when they began the project was close to 5,000 artifacts, including early vacuum tubes, prototypes of transmitters and receivers and dozens of file cabinets filled with photographs, articles, catalogs and early radio logs. Some of the items are newer acquisitions, but much of the material is original to the early days of radio and the association's existence. "Hartford was an important area in the advent of early amateur radio," says Frenaye. "ARRL was found by Hiram Percy Walker, a Hartford engineer, inventor of the Maxim gun silencer and an early amateur radio pioneer." According to Frenaye, the archive project is more than a walk down memory lane. Currently, the archives are available to scholars and researchers. Eventually, the group hopes to create a museum to display the collection and highlight the stories of the early days of radio, amateur radio operators and ARRL. "Our purpose is to promote technology," says Frenaye. "We can learn a lot from the past." Besides its historical relevance, the hobby also has important applications for the present and future, says Jennifer Hagy, ARRL's media relations manager. "People who think amateur radio has gone the way of the horse and buggy are mistaken," says Hagy. "New technology such as the Internet hasn't dampened enthusiasm or need for the hobby." After the 9/11 terrorist attack, for example, much of Lower Manhattan lost electrical power and cellphone signals. Amateur radios were the only means of communication, and ham operators assisted the Red Cross and other disaster workers in coordinating rescue efforts. "Things have changed since the advent of computers, but the more we depend on the newer communication technology, the harder it is when it breaks down," says Frenaye. "Amateur radio is often the primary method of communications in the first 24 to 36 hours following an emergency." There are about 675,000 ham radio operators in the U.S. (8,000 in Connecticut) and more than 2.5 million around the world. ARRL has more than 150,000 members. Some operators enjoy communicating with radio enthusiasts around the world, says Hagy, while others are motivated by the opportunity to provide a public service during emergencies. The hobby has particular appeal to older individuals, many of whom began their hobby with homemade single-tube transmitters and receivers. Close to 60 percent of all ham operators are 55 or older - a third are older than 65. "Ham radio is a great leveler in terms of class and age," says Frenaye. "One ham talking to another really doesn't relate to how old someone might be." As the early pioneers in the hobby age, though, ARRL's archive project becomes even more important. "It's important to save the history," says Frenaye. "Amateur radio is a link to the beginnings of modern communications technology.' Copyright 2004, Hartford Courant -------------------- Visit www.ctnow.com for Connecticut news updates, sports stories, entertainment listings and classifieds.

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[ARRL-ODV:11046] Re: Beware the BPL Buzz
by W3KD＠aol.com 06 Aug '04

06 Aug '04

In a message dated 8/5/2004 9:05:04 AM Eastern Standard Time, w6xd(a)comcast.net writes: > > > http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1630521,00.asp > > The author Peter Coffee is AC6EN > > Excellent article, Art. Coffee did a great job. Chris

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[ARRL-ODV:11045] Re: Re: Interesting Info.
by W5JBP＠aol.com 05 Aug '04

05 Aug '04

No, and thanks. We are playing radio quiz on one of the local repeaters. Jim

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[ARRL-ODV:11044] Re: Interesting Info.
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 05 Aug '04

05 Aug '04

Jim, did you get the answer to your original question? It has to do with the fact that the initial SSB transmitters used filters around 5 MHz and a VFO around 9 MHz. Adding the two put you on 20 meters. Subtracting the two put you on 75 meters, but with the sideband inverted. Dave -----Original Message----- From: Haynie, Jim (President) Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 4:57 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:11043] Re: Interesting Info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio I found this while trying to determine why hams use LSB on 75 and 40 and USB on 20,15 and 10. Jim

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[ARRL-ODV:11043] Re: Interesting Info.
by W5JBP＠aol.com 05 Aug '04

05 Aug '04

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio I found this while trying to determine why hams use LSB on 75 and 40 and USB on 20,15 and 10. Jim

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