December 2006 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

RE: [arrl-odv:14963] Letter to the FCC Commissioiners
by Jim Weaver 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Joel, FB letter. It clearly lays the facts on the line. Time will tell if anyone in the Commissions knows there is a line, let alone where they can find it. Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: <mailto:k8je@arrl.org> k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 -----Original Message----- From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 6:10 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:14963] Letter to the FCC Commissioiners Greetings, When all of the errors in WT Docket 04-140 became apparent with the release of the Report & Order we all wanted a piece of Bill Cross because of his blatant ignorance, arrogance or just plain stupidity..whatever it was. It was disturbing to me that he did not take a brief moment out of his day, that I'm confident is anything but occupied with official business, and contact Chris just to run some things by him in an attempt to prevent the calamity of errors caused by the overexpansion of the 80 meter phone band. Even so, I was willing to concede what had been done had been done and dealing with how to prevent this in the future would be a top priority for 2007. We filed our petition for reconsideration in good faith, attempting to present the best possible resolution to the domino effect caused by the expansion. Friday morning, Chris received a phone call from Scot Stone at FCC. I know Scot from previous meetings at FCC and quite frankly I have a lower opinion of him than I do Cross. Under the current organizational structure at FCC he is above Cross in the food chain. Cross was not at work on Thursday and Friday. Stone asked Chris what he thought about FCC moving the automatic sub-band below 3600 KHz. Chris, of course, told him that was a horrible and idea and told him why. Stone ended the conversation with "Well, I just wanted to let you know where we are headed with this". At that point, it was obvious that WTB was going to once again make a bad situation worse. This continued arrogance of the Wireless Bureau burned me up, so much so that it was all I had on my mind during my trip back from D.C. Saturday morning and through Sunday. It is one thing for the FCC to ignore us on the BPL issue, which is a political matter. But for the WTB to ignore ARRL on Part 97 amateur matters is just plain inexcusable! Sunday afternoon I concluded enough was enough. It was time to let the Commissioners know exactly how bad the WTB staff screwed up this Docket regarding the 80 meter expansion and the incompetence that it exhibited subsequent to the release. One bright spot late Friday was a phone call Chris received from a representative in Commissioner Copps office. He wanted to advise us of the pending release of WT Docket 05-235 and what was contained in it was not what the League had proposed and he wanted to discuss it. At that time Chris mentioned the earlier call from Stone and expressed his concern over the handling of our petition for reconsideration. Given the desire of Copps office to discuss this matter I felt going to the Commissioners with the WTB problems was the right thing to do. It is a given fact that we will never change the Wireless Bureau by working directly with them. They have now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will ignore the League's expertise in amateur radio matters. That being understood, our first course of action is to quit beating our heads against the WTB wall and start working from the top down. Sunday afternoon I drafted a letter for Chairman Martin and each of the Commissioners. I sent it to Dave and Chris for review. After some edits we settled on a final version that has now been sent to the Chairman and each of the Commissioners. It is attached for your info. While this will become a public record since it is being sent to FCC, I do not plan any hoopla or news stories about it. This is just step one of an objective to turn this situation around. 73 Joel W5ZN

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[arrl-odv:14964] Re: Letter to the FCC Commissioiners
by Frank Fallon 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Joel, I am VERY pleased with this letter. I think it is fantastic. It is my hope that this is the first in a number of steps to create a seed change in WTB. Putting a few folks like Cross out to pasture might be a good start. I will keep a copy of this letter by my bedside. Thanks...... Frank...N2FF........... Joel Harrison wrote: > Greetings, > > When all of the errors in WT Docket 04-140 became apparent with the > release of the Report & Order we all wanted a piece of Bill Cross > because of his blatant ignorance, arrogance or just plain > stupidity….whatever it was. >

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RE: [arrl-odv:14962] VEC Readiness
by Bill Edgar 19 Dec '06

19 Dec '06

Harold and Maria, Thanks for the quick reply. Our VEC Department has been shining example of top-notch ARRL service to members and non-members. As an ARRL VE, I am speaking from experience. I appreciate your comments on this and quite frankly, I hope we get a lot of candidates for upgrades. Thanks! - Bill N3LLR _____ From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 4:34 PM To: arrl-odv Cc: Somma, Maria, AB1FM Subject: [arrl-odv:14962] VEC Readiness Hi, Here is Maria's answer to Bill's question about VEC. We are also prepared for the increased demands for license manuals and related instructional materials. A major change will occur with the adoption of the new General Question Pool and our editorial department has kept in touch with the Question Pool Committee and is well prepared for that change. Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> _____ From: Somma, Maria, AB1FM Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 2:48 PM To: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Subject: Code test being eliminated FYI: The phones have been ringing off the hook with potential candidates wanting to upgrade to General after the code is eliminated! --------------------- During this past year, a plan was prepared and implemented for the projected increased volume of work due to FCC rule changes that would eliminate the code test requirement. In anticipation of these changes, I have cross trained my staff in preparation for both restructuring and the elimination of the Morse Code testing requirement. This additional training emphasized improving their computer skills in the FCC data entry program. They have also become proficient in session fulfillment and processing. I have already increased the hours of our current part-time VEC employee. A second part-time employee will be hired and trained 3 weeks before the effective date of the rule change. Harold and I met today and reviewed the plan and my teams' readiness to implement it. I am confident in my staff's ability to execute and carry through with the plan. Maria

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[arrl-odv:14963] Letter to the FCC Commissioiners
by Joel Harrison 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Greetings, When all of the errors in WT Docket 04-140 became apparent with the release of the Report & Order we all wanted a piece of Bill Cross because of his blatant ignorance, arrogance or just plain stupidity..whatever it was. It was disturbing to me that he did not take a brief moment out of his day, that I'm confident is anything but occupied with official business, and contact Chris just to run some things by him in an attempt to prevent the calamity of errors caused by the overexpansion of the 80 meter phone band. Even so, I was willing to concede what had been done had been done and dealing with how to prevent this in the future would be a top priority for 2007. We filed our petition for reconsideration in good faith, attempting to present the best possible resolution to the domino effect caused by the expansion. Friday morning, Chris received a phone call from Scot Stone at FCC. I know Scot from previous meetings at FCC and quite frankly I have a lower opinion of him than I do Cross. Under the current organizational structure at FCC he is above Cross in the food chain. Cross was not at work on Thursday and Friday. Stone asked Chris what he thought about FCC moving the automatic sub-band below 3600 KHz. Chris, of course, told him that was a horrible and idea and told him why. Stone ended the conversation with "Well, I just wanted to let you know where we are headed with this". At that point, it was obvious that WTB was going to once again make a bad situation worse. This continued arrogance of the Wireless Bureau burned me up, so much so that it was all I had on my mind during my trip back from D.C. Saturday morning and through Sunday. It is one thing for the FCC to ignore us on the BPL issue, which is a political matter. But for the WTB to ignore ARRL on Part 97 amateur matters is just plain inexcusable! Sunday afternoon I concluded enough was enough. It was time to let the Commissioners know exactly how bad the WTB staff screwed up this Docket regarding the 80 meter expansion and the incompetence that it exhibited subsequent to the release. One bright spot late Friday was a phone call Chris received from a representative in Commissioner Copps office. He wanted to advise us of the pending release of WT Docket 05-235 and what was contained in it was not what the League had proposed and he wanted to discuss it. At that time Chris mentioned the earlier call from Stone and expressed his concern over the handling of our petition for reconsideration. Given the desire of Copps office to discuss this matter I felt going to the Commissioners with the WTB problems was the right thing to do. It is a given fact that we will never change the Wireless Bureau by working directly with them. They have now proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that they will ignore the League's expertise in amateur radio matters. That being understood, our first course of action is to quit beating our heads against the WTB wall and start working from the top down. Sunday afternoon I drafted a letter for Chairman Martin and each of the Commissioners. I sent it to Dave and Chris for review. After some edits we settled on a final version that has now been sent to the Chairman and each of the Commissioners. It is attached for your info. While this will become a public record since it is being sent to FCC, I do not plan any hoopla or news stories about it. This is just step one of an objective to turn this situation around. 73 Joel W5ZN

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[arrl-odv:14962] VEC Readiness
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Hi, Here is Maria's answer to Bill's question about VEC. We are also prepared for the increased demands for license manuals and related instructional materials. A major change will occur with the adoption of the new General Question Pool and our editorial department has kept in touch with the Question Pool Committee and is well prepared for that change. Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: Somma, Maria, AB1FM Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 2:48 PM To: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Subject: Code test being eliminated FYI: The phones have been ringing off the hook with potential candidates wanting to upgrade to General after the code is eliminated! --------------------- During this past year, a plan was prepared and implemented for the projected increased volume of work due to FCC rule changes that would eliminate the code test requirement. In anticipation of these changes, I have cross trained my staff in preparation for both restructuring and the elimination of the Morse Code testing requirement. This additional training emphasized improving their computer skills in the FCC data entry program. They have also become proficient in session fulfillment and processing. I have already increased the hours of our current part-time VEC employee. A second part-time employee will be hired and trained 3 weeks before the effective date of the rule change. Harold and I met today and reviewed the plan and my teams' readiness to implement it. I am confident in my staff's ability to execute and carry through with the plan. Maria

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[arrl-odv:14961] Year End Expenses
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

With the holidays fast approaching it means its also time for my annual admonishment about year-end expenses. So we can provide acurate financial information for the Board meeting and wrap up the books for the year, we will need all your 2006 expense reimburesement reports by no later than Tuesday, January 9, 2007. As in the past, we realize that there will probably be December administrative expenses (phone bills, etc.) which you may not have by that date. In those instances, please provide estimates where possible for the end of the year and we will make the proper accounting entries to accrue for those expenses. Then, we will reimburse you for the actual amounts when they are eventually known and submitted for reimbursement. Have a wonderful holiday season! 73, Barry, N1VXY

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RE: Clarifications
by Joel Harrison 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Bill, Not to overtake any comments Dave may have, but you will recall at the A&F meeting I asked that question just to make sure that all of the preparations we made in anticipation of the release of 05-235 earlier this year were still in place. The answer was yes, we are ready for the increased volume in the VEC Dept. Joel -----Original Message----- From: n3llr(a)earthlink.net [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 10:51 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Clarifications Dave, Will our VEC dept be ready for any increase in upgrade exams? I believe there was some thought that there would be some online entry of exam results by our VE teams to help the the VEC dept to reduce their workload. Thanks! - Bill N3LLR -----Original Message----- From: "Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ" <dsumner(a)arrl.org> Subj: [arrl-odv:14956] Clarifications Date: Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:40 am Size: 1K To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Clarifications Dan Henderson spoke with Bill Cross a few minutes ago. Bill confirms that when the Report and Order in 05-235 takes effect, presumably 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, all Technicians will have Tech Plus privileges. (This was our assumption, but the news release was ambiguously worded.) He also advises that the automatic control segment of 3585-3600 kHz is not immediate but will take effect at the same time. Dave K1ZZ P.S. Bill was not aware of the news release until he opened his email this morning.

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[arrl-odv:14959] Re: Clarifications
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Bill, We have been working on preparing for this for quite awhile. I am meeting with Maria a little later today to finalize the arrangements. I will send you a response after that discussion. Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org -----Original Message----- From: n3llr(a)earthlink.net [mailto:n3llr@earthlink.net] Sent: Monday, December 18, 2006 11:51 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Clarifications Dave, Will our VEC dept be ready for any increase in upgrade exams? I believe there was some thought that there would be some online entry of exam results by our VE teams to help the the VEC dept to reduce their workload. Thanks! - Bill N3LLR -----Original Message----- From: "Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ" <dsumner(a)arrl.org> Subj: [arrl-odv:14956] Clarifications Date: Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:40 am Size: 1K To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Clarifications Dan Henderson spoke with Bill Cross a few minutes ago. Bill confirms that when the Report and Order in 05-235 takes effect, presumably 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, all Technicians will have Tech Plus privileges. (This was our assumption, but the news release was ambiguously worded.) He also advises that the automatic control segment of 3585-3600 kHz is not immediate but will take effect at the same time. Dave K1ZZ P.S. Bill was not aware of the news release until he opened his email this morning.

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Clarifications
by n3llr＠earthlink.net 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Dave, Will our VEC dept be ready for any increase in upgrade exams? I believe there was some thought that there would be some online entry of exam results by our VE teams to help the the VEC dept to reduce their workload. Thanks! - Bill N3LLR -----Original Message----- From: "Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ" <dsumner(a)arrl.org> Subj: [arrl-odv:14956] Clarifications Date: Mon Dec 18, 2006 10:40 am Size: 1K To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Clarifications Dan Henderson spoke with Bill Cross a few minutes ago. Bill confirms that when the Report and Order in 05-235 takes effect, presumably 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, all Technicians will have Tech Plus privileges. (This was our assumption, but the news release was ambiguously worded.) He also advises that the automatic control segment of 3585-3600 kHz is not immediate but will take effect at the same time. Dave K1ZZ P.S. Bill was not aware of the news release until he opened his email this morning.

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RE: [arrl-odv:14956] Clarifications
by Joel Harrison 18 Dec '06

18 Dec '06

Not that it matters, as he probably wouldn't have known about it anyway since he's lost in space, but Bill was out of the office Thursday and Friday of last week (I'm not making excuses for him). ZN P.S. Bill was not aware of the news release until he opened his email this morning.

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