November 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:17318] RE: [arrl-odv:17304] FW: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 18 Nov '08

18 Nov '08

Thanks, Jim. 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: JIM WEAVER, K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, November 17, 2008 4:00 PM To: arrl-odv Cc: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:17304] FW: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING Harold, I finally made a couple of minutes of time to look at the new banner. It appears to be well done and well priced! It certainly appears to beat the banner of similar size that I had made from two-colored vinyl sign stock. A tap of the key to Bob, Amy and any others involved in the project. 73, Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL; 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040 Tel.: 513-459-0142; E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio Is! MEMBERS: The reason ARRL Is! -----Original Message----- From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11:10 AM To: arrl-odv Cc: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Subject: [arrl-odv:17304] FW: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING FYI >From Bob. 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: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 9:41 AM To: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Cc: Hurtado, Amy KB1NXO; Cornell,Jacqueline, KB1PWB Subject: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING Harold, One of our department goals this year was to introduce some higher-quality display materials for use by volunteers. We're particuarly interested in supporting volunteers that want to use ARRL branded materials for use at hamfests and conventions, club meetings, local recruitment opportunities, or at events where ham radio is used in public service. Following a survey we conducted earlier this year, we found that the most frequently requested items are banners, tabletop exhibits, and trinket give-aways. We intend to have all of these items available for ordering before the end of the year. We've just introduced a new ARRL banner. It's 3 x 8 feet, and printed on a high-quality fabric (nylon). Amy identified a vendor that was able to keep down the manufacturing cost--which I think is suprisingly reasonable for the quality of this banner. It's similar in design to the banners used by ARRL at our exhibit in Dayton each year. The retail price is $50 plus shipping. We've included no profit margin in this product, so there are no discounts. You'll find it on the web in 2 locations...the e-store and our event exhibit materials site: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1302 http://www.arrl.org/brochures/ Bob

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RE: [arrl-odv:17304] FW: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING
by JIM WEAVER, K8JE 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Harold, I finally made a couple of minutes of time to look at the new banner. It appears to be well done and well priced! It certainly appears to beat the banner of similar size that I had made from two-colored vinyl sign stock. A tap of the key to Bob, Amy and any others involved in the project. 73, Jim Jim Weaver, K8JE Director, Great Lakes Division ARRL; 5065 Bethany Rd., Mason, OH 45040 Tel.: 513-459-0142; E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org ARRL: The reason Amateur Radio Is! MEMBERS: The reason ARRL Is! -----Original Message----- From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B [mailto:wj1b@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11:10 AM To: arrl-odv Cc: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Subject: [arrl-odv:17304] FW: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING FYI >From Bob. 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: Inderbitzen, Bob, NQ1R Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 9:41 AM To: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Cc: Hurtado, Amy KB1NXO; Cornell,Jacqueline, KB1PWB Subject: new ARRL banner - NOW SHIPPING Harold, One of our department goals this year was to introduce some higher-quality display materials for use by volunteers. We're particuarly interested in supporting volunteers that want to use ARRL branded materials for use at hamfests and conventions, club meetings, local recruitment opportunities, or at events where ham radio is used in public service. Following a survey we conducted earlier this year, we found that the most frequently requested items are banners, tabletop exhibits, and trinket give-aways. We intend to have all of these items available for ordering before the end of the year. We've just introduced a new ARRL banner. It's 3 x 8 feet, and printed on a high-quality fabric (nylon). Amy identified a vendor that was able to keep down the manufacturing cost--which I think is suprisingly reasonable for the quality of this banner. It's similar in design to the banners used by ARRL at our exhibit in Dayton each year. The retail price is $50 plus shipping. We've included no profit margin in this product, so there are no discounts. You'll find it on the web in 2 locations...the e-store and our event exhibit materials site: http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1302 http://www.arrl.org/brochures/ Bob

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[arrl-odv:17316] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

<<111208.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 46 November 12, 2008 -- Covers the period November 2-8. Upcoming Meetings and Events Ballot Counting for Director/Vice Director Elections November 21 in Newington, CT Administration &Finance Committee November 22 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Media Hits for January QST is done. The biggest stories came from JOTA, Halloween and R. Garriott on the ISS. Aid was requested by several local groups lately in writing special announcements and releases, such as an early S.E.T. release, a museum special event in Syracuse, editing an editorial letter, a Skywarn radio announcement, etc. Work is being done with Wm Sabin to restructure his QEX article for web site use. Recent linkages made with T. Randall and and Hap Holly have led to some excellent interviews lately on their shows. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Returns from the Spectrum Defense mailing are starting to come in. So far we have more than $11,000 received with a healthy $73 average contribution. We expect to mail the follow up to major donors by the end of this week. We received interest in the renewed Pension Protection Act charitable giving provision from about 5 donors. A third distribution of $5,05 received for the ARRL Endowment from the Stoner Estate. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE We ordered a reprint of RF Exposure and You. The 2008 ARRL Periodicals CD has been released to the programmer. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 44, for November 7, 2008. Bob Allison, WB1GCM, helped voice ARRL Audio News, giving listeners a peek inside the ARRL Lab and product testing. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI ARRL Audio News Bob Allison got to help Krystyne by doing a one minute ad lib about his job in the Lab-he got to use his years of experience in broadcast. ARRL Auction Bob Allison assisted Joel Hallas with the shipping of antennas and boat anchors. RFI Mike Gruber completed a first draft of an IEEE recommended practice for locating power line noise. TIS Statistics Question BA MG EFH ZL NA Totals 01 What rig is best? / Prod Rev 0 1 1 02 RFI/EMI/FCC issues 7 2 6 15 03 How to use equipment 4 4 04 Propagation 3 3 05 Antenna/Feedline/Tower questions 1 1 12 14 06 Locate companies/parts/services 2 7 9 07 Software problems 5 5 08 Regulatory questions 7 3 10 09 Operating / amateur exam questions 1 13 14 10 Article photocopy/archive corrections 92 5 17 114 11 Other 1 1 7 5 14 12 BPL 3 0 3 13 PAVE-PAWS 3 0 3 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch 953 logs have been received for CW Sweepstakes as of Monday, November 10. Orders for Clean Sweep mugs have started coming in and are being processed. 2008 DX Plaques are scheduled to arrive at HQ on Tuesday November 11. Staff will be getting those out as fast as possible. W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He processed two Qualifying Run endorsements and one certificate. Joe created the texts for the W1AW November Qualifying Runs. He also installed the new Ameritron AL-1200 amplifier in the Harris racks. (It is used for the 20-meter broadcast equipment complement.) Joe also made final preparations for the Autumn scheduled visit of W1AW's antenna contractor. Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the first part of the month of November. Field Organization/Public Service Team Steve Ewald and Chuck Skolaut hosted a teleconference on Thursday evening for the Section Managers of the Roanoke and the Southeastern Divisions. SKYWARN Recognition Day will be Saturday, December 6, and the announcement about this ARRL and National Weather Service co-sponsored event is in December QST, on the ARRL Web and in Section Managers' Monthly Summaries, too. Chuck compiled and sent the monthly ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch report to the IARU Region 2 coordinator. Three radio amateurs from Western Washington successfully completed their exams to become an Official Observers. Regional Official Observers are checking on reports of an excessively wide signal that is heard repeatedly on 40 Meters. They also have noted several stations on 75 meters that do properly identify. Pertinent documents of an operation by a persistent rules violator on 75 meters were forwarded to the FCC. Malcolm Keown, W5XX, Section Manager of Mississippi has been nominated to run for another term of office that begins in April 2009. Leona Adams has already received and acted on many replies received from Section Managers who responded with updates and revisions to their Field Organization appointment roster reports. She continues to work on section-related expense reports while keeping track of the annual section budgets. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 11/27-11/28 Holiday `` 12/25 Holiday Leona Adams 11/21 Jury Duty Steve Capodicasa 11/24-11/26 Vacation Joe Carcia 11/26pm Vacation Steve Ford 12/22-1/5 Vacation Scott Gee 12/8-12/9 Vacation `` 12/24-12/26 Vacation Dan Henderson 11/14-11/16 Indiana State Convention, Ft. Wayne, IN `` 11/21-12/3 ARI Headquarters Milan/Pescara Convention, Italy `` 12/18-1/5 Vacation Joe; Kleinman 12/3-12/9 Vacation `` 12/11 Vacation Bill Moore 11/24-11/26 Vacation `` 12/26-1/3 Vacation Brennan Price 11/7-11/25 Vacation Dave Sumner 11/10-11/21 IARU Reg.1 Conference, Cavtat, Croatia/Vacation

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[arrl-odv:17315] FW: USDA Rural Utilities Service on BPL
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Here is some old information about BPL and the RUS grant/loan program. Dave K1ZZ _____________________________________________ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 2:55 PM Subject: USDA Rural Utilities Service on BPL Last summer it came to our attention that the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Community Connect Grant Program was soliciting grant applications to bring broadband service to rural communities. I wrote a letter to Administrator Hilda Gay Legg (copy attached) accompanied by a copy of the Cedar Rapids test report prepared by Director Walstrom and his colleagues. As you can see, I stressed the fact that a sound business plan for BPL must allow for significant potential costs of interference mitigation. A couple of months later I received a phone call from Ed Cameron, Director of the RUS Advanced Services Division. He said I would eventually be receiving a letter in reply, but there were things he could tell me over the phone that he couldn't put in a letter. Ed told me that he was a EE and was well aware of the BPL interference issues, including its potential contribution to rising noise floors in telephone lines strung along the same rights of way as the power lines. He said he had detected little interest in BPL among the 900 electric cooperatives that receive USDA funding, and that in fact they had received no Community Connect applications proposing BPL. However, he offered to share my letter with his colleagues who handle the Broadband Loan Program. Unlike the Grant Program, the Loan Program is concerned about the ability of the recipient to pay back the loan, and therefore the potential costs of interference mitigation could be a significant factor. Today I received a letter in reply to mine. Note the sentence: "Whenever a loan or grant application proposes broadband service delivery via BPL, we will consider the cost of interference mitigation in our financial analysis." It's a small but possibly important victory. Dave K1ZZ <<usda.doc>> <<usda.pdf>>

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[arrl-odv:17314] Re:RE: RE: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Sorry, I meant to include the link: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/11/12/10449/?nc=1 Dave ________________________________ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Fri 11/14/2008 10:44 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17313] Re:RE: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas In my absence, staff put up a good article about this development. We have had good experience with IBEC. Dave 4O/K1ZZ (taking a short break before the IARU Region 1 Conference in Croatia) ________________________________ From: Andy Oppel [mailto:andy.oppel@gmail.com] Sent: Thu 11/13/2008 3:26 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17310] Re: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas Should we check to see if Michael Powell or Kathleen Abernathy have joined IBM? At 06:10 AM 11/12/2008, Cliff Ahrens wrote: >The BPL saga continues. Here's a link to a report on Yahoo Finance that IBM >is partnering with a small newcomer to offer BPL to 340,000 homes in rural >areas of Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and >Wisconsin. > >http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/tec_broadband_over_power_lines.html?.v=4 > >Cliff K0CA Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com andy(a)andyoppel.com

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[arrl-odv:17313] Re:RE: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

In my absence, staff put up a good article about this development. We have had good experience with IBEC. Dave 4O/K1ZZ (taking a short break before the IARU Region 1 Conference in Croatia) ________________________________ From: Andy Oppel [mailto:andy.oppel@gmail.com] Sent: Thu 11/13/2008 3:26 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17310] Re: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas Should we check to see if Michael Powell or Kathleen Abernathy have joined IBM? At 06:10 AM 11/12/2008, Cliff Ahrens wrote: >The BPL saga continues. Here's a link to a report on Yahoo Finance that IBM >is partnering with a small newcomer to offer BPL to 340,000 homes in rural >areas of Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and >Wisconsin. > >http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/tec_broadband_over_power_lines.html?.v=4 > >Cliff K0CA Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com andy(a)andyoppel.com

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[arrl-odv:17312] 4O/K1ZZ Now On
by Joel Harrison 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Dave is now on 7015.8 KHz from 4O for those interested. 4O/K1ZZ 73 Joel W5ZN

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[arrl-odv:17311] FW: CQ acquires WorldRadio Magazine
by Andy Oppel 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

> > >(Hicksville, NY and Sacramento, CA, November 12, 2008) > >CQ Communications, Inc. has acquired WorldRadio magazine, CQ Publisher Dick >Ross, K2MGA and WorldRadio Publisher Armond Noble, N6WR, announced jointly >today. CQ, based in Hicksville, New York, currently publishes CQ Amateur >Radio, CQ VHF and Popular Communications magazines. > >WorldRadio, based in Sacramento, California, has been published monthly >since July, 1971, with a primary focus on the human side of ham radio. CQ, a >general-interest ham radio magazine best known for its support of DXing and >contesting, has been in print since January, 1945. > >Armond Noble, N6WR, Publisher of WorldRadio, said that at the age of 74 the >time had come for him to retire. "I wanted to be sure that WorldRadio found >a good home, and that our readers would continue to be served by an >independent voice in amateur radio," Noble said. > >CQ Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, said, "WorldRadio has filled an important >niche in our hobby for nearly four decades. We welcome WorldRadio's readers >to the CQ family, and we look forward to meeting their needs for many years >to come." > >Current plans call for WorldRadio to continue to be published online as part >of the CQ family of magazines, with Editor Nancy Kott, WZ8C, continuing in >that position. WorldRadio subscribers will also have their subscriptions >transferred to CQ magazine. Readers will be notified of details as plans are >finalized. > Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com andy(a)andyoppel.com

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[arrl-odv:17310] Re: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas
by Andy Oppel 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

Should we check to see if Michael Powell or Kathleen Abernathy have joined IBM? At 06:10 AM 11/12/2008, Cliff Ahrens wrote: >The BPL saga continues. Here's a link to a report on Yahoo Finance that IBM >is partnering with a small newcomer to offer BPL to 340,000 homes in rural >areas of Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and >Wisconsin. > >http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/tec_broadband_over_power_lines.html?.v=4 > >Cliff K0CA Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com andy(a)andyoppel.com

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RE: [arrl-odv:17308] Re: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas
by John Bellows 12 Nov '08

12 Nov '08

It is great to see how quickly this story was spotted. Still, peeling away some of the puffery, IBEC proposes to charge $29.95 a month in sparsely populated rural areas for a BPL system that requires a repeater every half mile and provides data speeds just a few times faster that of dial-up. That doesnt sound all that appealing. The concept sounds similar to what was tried in Rochester, MN where the provider proposed to sell the equipment to the municipal power company and let the Muni operate the system in conjunction with the provider. After two extended trials the Muni concluded the potential interest of members did not warrant the financial risk and said thanks but no thanks. Assuming we keep an eye on the IBEC/IBM partnership to see if it gets beyond the press release stage, we can wait and see if installation of a real system is proposed. At that point we will be able to look into and address the specific concerns raised by that system. 73, Jay, KØQB -----Original Message----- From: Andy Oppel [mailto:andy.oppel@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2008 2:01 PM To: arrl-odv Cc: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17308] Re: IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas Bob and I have already received at least one e-mail regarding this one (from a Section Manager) and more queries from members (particularly in the proposed service area) are sure to follow. Personally, I have a lot of trouble remembering which technology providers are good guys vs. bad guys vis-a-vis amateur spectrum pollution. Perhaps we should have a simple list of providers somewhere along with what we know about their threat to amateur communciations (something like "high", "low", "unknown"). It would make responding to queries that sometimes come weeks after an announcement easier to field. -- Andy Oppel, N6AJO On Wed, Nov 12, 2008 at 9:32 AM, <w3kd(a)aol.com> wrote: Cliff, thanks for that. That story apparently was picked up by the Wall Street Journal as well. At least it is IBEC, which is not one of the toxic BPL companies.... Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay BOOTH, FRERET, IMLAY & TEPPER, P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD(a)ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: Cliff Ahrens <cahrens(a)mywdo.com> To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Sent: Wed, 12 Nov 2008 9:10 am Subject: [arrl-odv:17305] IBM now partnering with BPL provider for rural areas The BPL saga continues. Here's a link to a report on Yahoo Finance that IBM is partnering with a small newcomer to offer BPL to 340,000 homes in rural areas of Alabama, Indiana, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081112/tec_broadband_over_power_lines.html?.v=4 Cliff K0CA _____ Instant access to the latest & most popular FREE games while you browse with the Games Toolbar - Download Now! <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1212904500x1200818240/aol?redir =http://toolbar.aol.com/games/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000004> -- ----- Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com

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