December 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:17391] W1 superstation ice woes
by Bruce Frahm K0BJ 14 Dec '08

14 Dec '08

Hey board OTs -- remember that ice storm about a decade ago that turned the Rocky Hill Marriott into a Crystal Palace? I bet they're glad it was warm enough in CT to avoid ice this time. Here's a link to some pix of W1AW's antenna contractor KC1XX's QTH. At least he's in the right business to get things back in shape... > I've created an album, "2008 Ice Storm," so y'all don't have to download > them to look at them. > http://gallery.me.com/wlmyers > Bill, K1GQ And it looks like Mike K1TWF's playground at K1TTT got roughed up. Here are some pictures from K1TTT in Western MA: http://wiki.k1ttt.net/Default.aspx?Page=2008%20Maintenance%20and%20Upgrade%… (at the bottom of the page). 73 Bruce K0BJ

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QRT Until December 29
by Joel Harrison 13 Dec '08

13 Dec '08

Kim and I will be unavailable beginning Monday, December 15 until Monday, December 29. Dave knows how to reach me in an emergency, otherwise he and First Vice President Craigie will handle any routine matters that arise. I may have limited email access on occasion, but I don't plan to have nor will I have my phone with me. So, if you send an email to me in the next two weeks it will be sometime AFTER December 29 before it gets addressed. Also, this is a good time to remind those of you that will be responsible for reports for the 2009 Annual Meeting to start working on those, as they will be due no later than Sunday, January 11. I want to take this opportunity to wish each of you a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season and depending on my disposable energy you might look for ???/W5ZN xmitting from an undisclosed top secret clandestine beachfront QTH! :-) 73 Joel W5ZN

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70 MHz Amateur Allocation Request
by Joel Harrison 13 Dec '08

13 Dec '08

As reported to you in August in my trip report from the 2008 Central States VHF Society Conference held this past July in Wichita, KS, their board voted to request ARRL file a petition for the FCC to allocated a 70 MHz segment to the Amateur Radio Service. As I reported at time, there were a number of very good reasons for not doing so. On November 22, 2008, CSVHFS President Bill Caldwell, N0LNO, wrote a letter to me, as President, requesting just that. Attached is that request, along with my response I sent to their board today. 73 Joel W5ZN

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RE: FCC Meeting Regarding Enforcement
by Bill Edgar 13 Dec '08

13 Dec '08

Joel, Excellent news! This is a nice Christmas gift. - Bill N3LLR From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] Sent: Saturday, December 13, 2008 12:49 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: FCC Meeting Regarding Enforcement Greetings, There is some good news on the Enforcement front. As this has not yet been made public by FCC, and at this point a number of things could come up that could impact and delay the process, it is not in the best interest to publicize this until FCC actually makes the announcement public and identifies the person who will fill the job. Thursday Chris met with Kris Monteith, Chief, Enforcement Bureau; her deputy, Priya Shrinvasan, and George Dillon of the Enforcement Bureau, about Riley Hollingsworth's replacement. The meeting was very good and much better than Chris was anticipating. He had delivered to them in advance a copy of my October 31, 2008 letter to the Chairman and to Monteith asking them to expedite the hiring of Riley Hollingsworth's replacement. Our strategy, which Dave suggested, was to ask what ARRL could do to help expedite the process of a replacement for Riley. This was because our understanding, received from inside FCC and corroborated by Riley as well, was that the appointment had been decided upon by the EB but that the Chairman's approval was not forthcoming; so badgering the EB would have really been a mistake. Chris arrived at the conference room first, ahead of the three EB people who came in together. Kris Monteith was extremely cordial (a far cry from her attitude when Chris and I met with her and others about BPL interference cases before the Court remand). She began by thanking ARRL profusely for its willingness to help with the DTV conversion. Chris told her it was a win-win, and thanked George Dillon for helping structure this in a way that allowed ham clubs to do some community outreach and at the same time possibly showcase the value of Amateur Radio. After some discussion of that program, Chris switched to the Riley replacement issue. He provided some history about the "dark times" of no Amateur enforcement, the deterrence value, and the fact that in the 6 months since Riley retired there has been noticeable deterioration in compliance in various respects, including about a dozen Malicious Interference (MI) cases. Because the essence and the value of the Amateur Enforcement program (which Chris described as a model of efficiency and success as an enforcement plan based on deterrence rather than imposition of actual sanctions) is the apprehension by licensees of an active FCC presence, the absence of that apprehension voids the entire scheme. So Chris asked what we could do to help the EB get this vacancy filled soon. Monteith responded happily that there was nothing that we could, or need to do at this point, beyond what we had already done to expedite this matter from the time Riley had announced his retirement until now. She said that an offer has been extended to an individual (the name of whom she was unable to give at this point for obvious reasons and frankly, we don't need to know at this point) and that the offer had been accepted. There is, she said, NO roadblock to this person commencing work except the normal personnel office paperwork processing, which is ongoing. She said that there were no necessary approvals lacking, and that the person, who she described as experienced in "our issues" including Amateur Radio in particular and telecom issues in general, would be starting in January. She said that the person would be doing "the same job" that Riley did, but that "no one can replace Riley". Chris asked her (out of curiosity) whether the person would be based in Washington or Gettysburg, and she unhesitatingly said "Gettysburg". Chris advised her that we had a board meeting scheduled for January 15 and a few days thereafter, and asked whether it was likely that the person would be announced by then. She said it was likely, but didn't know precisely. Chris asked if she would please notify us if the appointment was to be delayed beyond January 15 for any significant time period. She said she would do that. George Dillon offered that while the person was indeed schooled in Amateur Radio issues, they (EB) wanted to know if they could have the person visit ARRL Headquarters early on and discuss processes and procedures with HQ staff. They said they would pay for her/his travel expenses etc. Chris assured them that this would be accommodated, and the sooner the better and we would hope they would meet with lab staff, VEC staff and regulatory information staff in particular, but that we would look very much forward to hosting the person. Monteith reiterated that the job description was to be exactly Riley's; that the person would be working essentially full time on Amateur Radio enforcement. So, this is exceptionally good news and we'll see what develops in the coming weeks. 73 Joel W5ZN

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FCC Meeting Regarding Enforcement
by Joel Harrison 13 Dec '08

13 Dec '08

Greetings, There is some good news on the Enforcement front. As this has not yet been made public by FCC, and at this point a number of things could come up that could impact and delay the process, it is not in the best interest to publicize this until FCC actually makes the announcement public and identifies the person who will fill the job. Thursday Chris met with Kris Monteith, Chief, Enforcement Bureau; her deputy, Priya Shrinvasan, and George Dillon of the Enforcement Bureau, about Riley Hollingsworth's replacement. The meeting was very good and much better than Chris was anticipating. He had delivered to them in advance a copy of my October 31, 2008 letter to the Chairman and to Monteith asking them to expedite the hiring of Riley Hollingsworth's replacement. Our strategy, which Dave suggested, was to ask what ARRL could do to help expedite the process of a replacement for Riley. This was because our understanding, received from inside FCC and corroborated by Riley as well, was that the appointment had been decided upon by the EB but that the Chairman's approval was not forthcoming; so badgering the EB would have really been a mistake. Chris arrived at the conference room first, ahead of the three EB people who came in together. Kris Monteith was extremely cordial (a far cry from her attitude when Chris and I met with her and others about BPL interference cases before the Court remand). She began by thanking ARRL profusely for its willingness to help with the DTV conversion. Chris told her it was a win-win, and thanked George Dillon for helping structure this in a way that allowed ham clubs to do some community outreach and at the same time possibly showcase the value of Amateur Radio. After some discussion of that program, Chris switched to the Riley replacement issue. He provided some history about the "dark times" of no Amateur enforcement, the deterrence value, and the fact that in the 6 months since Riley retired there has been noticeable deterioration in compliance in various respects, including about a dozen Malicious Interference (MI) cases. Because the essence and the value of the Amateur Enforcement program (which Chris described as a model of efficiency and success as an enforcement plan based on deterrence rather than imposition of actual sanctions) is the apprehension by licensees of an active FCC presence, the absence of that apprehension voids the entire scheme. So Chris asked what we could do to help the EB get this vacancy filled soon. Monteith responded happily that there was nothing that we could, or need to do at this point, beyond what we had already done to expedite this matter from the time Riley had announced his retirement until now. She said that an offer has been extended to an individual (the name of whom she was unable to give at this point for obvious reasons and frankly, we don't need to know at this point) and that the offer had been accepted. There is, she said, NO roadblock to this person commencing work except the normal personnel office paperwork processing, which is ongoing. She said that there were no necessary approvals lacking, and that the person, who she described as experienced in "our issues" including Amateur Radio in particular and telecom issues in general, would be starting in January. She said that the person would be doing "the same job" that Riley did, but that "no one can replace Riley". Chris asked her (out of curiosity) whether the person would be based in Washington or Gettysburg, and she unhesitatingly said "Gettysburg". Chris advised her that we had a board meeting scheduled for January 15 and a few days thereafter, and asked whether it was likely that the person would be announced by then. She said it was likely, but didn't know precisely. Chris asked if she would please notify us if the appointment was to be delayed beyond January 15 for any significant time period. She said she would do that. George Dillon offered that while the person was indeed schooled in Amateur Radio issues, they (EB) wanted to know if they could have the person visit ARRL Headquarters early on and discuss processes and procedures with HQ staff. They said they would pay for her/his travel expenses etc. Chris assured them that this would be accommodated, and the sooner the better and we would hope they would meet with lab staff, VEC staff and regulatory information staff in particular, but that we would look very much forward to hosting the person. Monteith reiterated that the job description was to be exactly Riley's; that the person would be working essentially full time on Amateur Radio enforcement. So, this is exceptionally good news and we'll see what develops in the coming weeks. 73 Joel W5ZN

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RE: [arrl-odv:17384] No ice in Newington
by JIM WEAVER, K8JE 13 Dec '08

13 Dec '08

Dave, It sounds like a good evening to sit by the fire roasting chestnuts - even though I don't care for them! Stay warm and stay safe to all our Nor' eastern compatriots. 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: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, December 12, 2008 6:18 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17384] No ice in Newington If you haven't already, you may see some remarkable pictures of ice damage in New England on the news. In Newington and environs the temperature stayed above freezing, so we escaped the fate of our neighbors to the north; parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine got clobbered and there is likely to be a lot of antenna damage up there. Restoring power there is likely to take days. Right now the temperature is dropping and the wind is picking up here in Connecticut, but there is no precipitation expected over the weekend. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:17384] No ice in Newington
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 12 Dec '08

12 Dec '08

If you haven't already, you may see some remarkable pictures of ice damage in New England on the news. In Newington and environs the temperature stayed above freezing, so we escaped the fate of our neighbors to the north; parts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine got clobbered and there is likely to be a lot of antenna damage up there. Restoring power there is likely to take days. Right now the temperature is dropping and the wind is picking up here in Connecticut, but there is no precipitation expected over the weekend. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:17383] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 11 Dec '08

11 Dec '08

<<121008.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 50 December 10, 2008 -- Covers the period November 30-December 6. Upcoming Meetings and Events Annual Board Meeting January 16-17, 2009 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP In a conference call Dec 2, George Dillon of the FCC requested the aid of the ARRL and clubs in distributing information about the DTV conversion coming in February 09. A plan was formed with consideration given to the lack of time available before the deadline, time of the year, local differences and easily achievable implementation. Section Managers were alerted to this on Dec 5 and announcements are going out to others this week. There are 9 Leonard Award nominees this year and packets with all the forms and materials were sent on Dec 9 to the voting members of the PR Committee. Meetings are continuing in the search for options in producing the PR-101 course for PIOs. A Web based course seems most likely and educational programmers are being sought. Meanwhile, work on the main ARRL Webpages for PR continue. The volunteer we had hoped would be the editor for the 2009 video PSA will be unable to do so due to health reasons. Matt Aaron and video engineers who work on the Financial Channel's "Dave Ramsey Show" have now volunteered. There were many good media returns for the efforts put into "Skywarn Appreciation Day" coverage. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH The Spectrum Defense Fund has reached $206,000, just 46% of its 2008 goal. Two large gifts are expected before the end of the year. The Diamond Club has reached $268,000 in gross revenue or 72% of its 2008 goal. On Friday, December 5 an email message was sent to more than 63,000 ARRL members offering a $10 coupon for publication sales to members who make a contribution of $25 or more to any ARRL fund before December 31. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 48, for December 5, 2008. It distributed to 73,027 members. She also voiced ARRL Audio News for December 5. Both The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News will be on hiatus December 26 and January 2; both services will resume January 9. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI For W1AW Bob Allison assisted Joe Carcia with installing a temporary 160 meter receiving array for the 160M contest. Product Review Bob Allison is revising and updating the ARRL Lab Test Procedures Manual. RFI Mike Gruber continues to review longstanding cases involving the FCC. Mike Gruber sent a letter involving a uV light case. TIS Statistics 12/1-12/7 Question BA MG EFH ZL AN Totals 01 What rig is best? / Prod Rev 1 4 5 02 RFI/EMI/FCC issues 2 8 2 8 20 03 How to use equipment 3 3 04 Propagation 1 1 2 05 Antenna/Feed line/Tower questions 3 1 1 16 1 23 06 Locate companies, parts/services 1 9 10 07 Software problems 6 6 08 Regulatory questions 1 3 2 6 09 Operating/amateur exam questions 1 8 9 10 Article photocopies/archive corrections 1 62 1 16 80 11 Other 2 3 3 6 11 12 BPL 3 3 13 PAVE-PAWS 2 2 14 Misdirected 1 1 11 1 14 Cumulative TIS Statistics October 20th to November 30th Question BA MG EFH ZL AN Totals 01 What rig is best? / Prod Rev 1 2 13 16 02 RFI/EMI/FCC issues 2 59 14 27 102 03 How to use equipment 1 2 22 2 27 04 Propagation 6 6 05 Antenna/Feed line/Tower questions 9 7 2 69 3 95 06 Locate companies, parts/services 2 4 42 2 50 07 Software problems 3 3 27 3 36 08 Regulatory questions 2 1 2 26 11 42 09 Operating / amateur exam questions 1 2 44 47 10 Article photocopies/archive corrections 11 526 36 102 677 11 Other 4 2 18 49 19 92 12 BPL 2 27 10 36 13 PAVE-PAWS 17 14 14 Misdirected 7 13 1 18 Totals for six week period 22 92 617 384 143 1255 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch The SS CW log deadline has passed. We have received 1,336 electronic logs and 55 paper logs to date. The deadline for SS Phone logs is still a week away; so far, we have 1,763 electronic logs and 23 paper logs. Tree, N6TR (the log-checker for Sweepstakes) ran some preliminary numbers on how many entrants worked a Clean Sweep and how many worked 75 sections. These numbers will tell us how many Clean Sweep brooms and awards magnets we will be sending out gratis. They are: CW: 247 Clean Sweeps, 696 stations with 75 or more Sections. SSB: 286 Clean Sweeps, 574 stations with 75 or more Sections. 2008 RTTY Roundup plaques went out the door last Tuesday, December 2, 2008. ARRL DX plaques will be shipped this week. Sean, KX9X, was requested by VUAC member Joe Taylor, K1JT to provide the VUAC with perspective on the administration of the EME contest. The VUAC is examining the EME contest rules and also taking another look at the Rover rules for ARRL VHF contests. We are now including a congratulatory letter with every certificate and plaque the Contest Branch sends out. In addition, Sean, KX9X, looked through the W1AW logs from the recent Sweepstakes Phone contest and discovered 74 stations with a "check" of 07 or 08, indicating a newly-licensed Amateur. With the help of W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, Sean sent each of those stations an unsolicited W1AW QSL card, along with a letter thanking them for the contest QSO and welcoming them to Amateur Radio. W1AW Thanks to Sean Kutzko, KX9X, for operating W1AW in the ARRL 160-Meter contest. He made 178 QSOs, with 41 sections, for an initial clamed score of 17,066. Thanks to Bob Allison, WB1GCM, for assisting Joe Carcia in the install of the K9AY Terminated Loop antenna (off the Satellite tower). This loop antenna was used for receive-only for the 160-Meter contest. Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also temporarily installed (for demonstration purposes) a Flex-Radio System Flex-5000A software-defined radio. (This radio will be an eventual donation to W1AW.) Joe finished constructing the support poles for the K9AY loop antenna. He also updated all the McAfee versions in every PC in W1AW. Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the first part of the month of December. Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona reports that the deadline to receive SM nomination petitions for the term beginning April 1, 2009 was December 5th at 4 p.m. SM nomination petitions that were received this week included: Thomas A. Brehmer, N0LOH - Iowa; Doug Dunn, K7YD - Montana; Robert Spencer, KE8DM - Arizona; James E. Brooks, Jr., KY4Z - Kentucky and Jay T. Urish, W5GM. She also reports that there will be two upcoming SM elections in both Arizona and North Texas: The candidates for Arizona are Thomas J. Fagan, K7DF and Robert J. Spencer, KE8DM. And for North Texas they are: Tom Blackwell, N5GAR and Jay T. Urish, W5GM. There will be a new SM in Arkansas, J. M. Rowe, N5XFW and a new SM in Iowa, Thomas A. Brehmer, N0LOH since there were no other nominees in these sections. Chuck received word back from the FCC that unidentified signals heard on 75 meters were identified as originating from overseas, the signals have since ceased. The monthly ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch report was compiled and sent to the IARU Region 2 coordinator. A number of stations reported a "numbers" station on 3528.5 and it is being investigated. OOs in California are checking on jamming occurring on 75 meters and Western Washington OOs are checking on 75 meter interference, documentation has been received on this. Interference to 2 meter repeaters was reported in Indiana, Texas, and Western Massachusetts and is also being investigated. A report of music being played to jam the Maritime net on 14.300 appears to have been a one-time occurrence. Chuck conducted a tour for two visiting amateurs and assisted in entering DX cards into the database. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Terry Dettmann WX7S is making good progress on revision of the RF Propagation course. The SCORM format of the new General license course and the new Digital EmComm courses are being tested with CTDLC. ARISS Astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, has been on the air recently. When Fincke isn't talking to students or the general ham population, he re-configures the ARISS radio into either packet or crossband voice repeater mode. The radio will be turned off during the docking and undocking for the upcoming shuttle mission. Students of Scuola Media Statale Donato Forlani in Italy participated in an ARISS contact with Fincke, who spoke a few sentences in Italian to the students. Astronaut Chris Hadfield, KC5RNJ/VA3OOG, turned his ARISS radio training session into a learning experience for students from Manordale Public School in Ottawa. Chris' training was scheduled as a QSO with the students who beforehand, had studied orbital mechanics and learned about Amateur Radio. For the terrestrial-based QSO, Chris used ARISS-flight-equivalent equipment that's installed in the ISS simulator module at Johnson Space Center. Hadfield is a back-up crew member for Expedition 19. Education & Technology Program Mark Spencer WA8SME reports that he has identified an alternative classroom location that will be suitable as a venue for the TI-2 and that he has completed the verification of the Yaesu receiver that will be used during the TI-2. Manufacturing of the modulation boards for next year's TIs is complete. A proposal for providing these boards through the ARRL was drafted and sent to HQ for consideration. Mark continues to service requests for curriculum materials from non-school educational organizations including schools from overseas and the department of the Navy. The TI announcement article for the Feb edition of QST has been drafted and sent to the editor. The revised brochure copy has been submitted to graphics. Twenty-three grant applications were submitted to the Executive Committee for their review and approval. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 12/25 Holiday `` 1/1 Holiday Kathy Allison 12/26 Vacation `` 1/2 Vacation Bob Allison 12/26 Vacation `` 1/2 Vacation `` 1/2 Vacation Dennis Dura 12/24-12/26 Vacation Mark Dzamba 12/1-12/5 Vacation Steve Ewald 12/1-12/5 Vacation Steve Ford 12/22-1/5 Vacation Norm Fusaro 12/23-1/2 Vacation Scott Gee 12/8-12/9 Vacation `` 12/24-12/26 Vacation Joel Hallas 12/24-12/31 Vacation Ed Hare 1/2 Vacation `` 1/5-1/9 Vacation Dan Henderson 11/25-12/5 ARI Headquarters Milan/Pescara Convention, Italy `` 12/18-1/5 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 12/26-1/2 Vacation Joe; Kleinman 12/3-12/9 Vacation `` 12/11 Vacation Harold Kramer 12/22-12/26 Vacation Rose-Ann Lawrence 12/8 Vacation Bill Moore 12/26-1/2 Vacation Dave Patton 12/22-12/31 Vacation Allen Pitts 12/26-1/4 Vacation Steve Sant Andrea 1/2-1/5 Vacation Alex Tara 1/2 Vacation Sharon Taratula 12/23pm-12/24 Vacation

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[arrl-odv:17382] Re: FW: House Committee Releases Report Critical of FCC Chairman
by Andy Oppel 10 Dec '08

10 Dec '08

Comes across like a skunk with a tailwind, doesn't it? -- Andy, N6AJO At 03:18 PM 12/9/2008, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ wrote: >I was just informed that this message did not go out as I had >expected when I sent it at 11:10 AM today. > >My apologies. > >Dave K1ZZ > > >---------- >From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ >Sent: Tue 12/9/2008 4:10 PM >To: arrl-odv >Subject: House Committee Releases Report Critical of FCC Chairman > >Item 6 in the attached report deals with BPL. While it is nice to >have our judicial success documented I'm not particularly happy with >the conclusion. > >Dave > ><<Deception and Distrust.pdf>> Andy Oppel andy.oppel(a)gmail.com andy(a)andyoppel.com

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[arrl-odv:17381] FW: House Committee Releases Report Critical of FCC Chairman
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 09 Dec '08

09 Dec '08

I was just informed that this message did not go out as I had expected when I sent it at 11:10 AM today. My apologies. Dave K1ZZ ________________________________ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Tue 12/9/2008 4:10 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: House Committee Releases Report Critical of FCC Chairman Item 6 in the attached report deals with BPL. While it is nice to have our judicial success documented I'm not particularly happy with the conclusion. Dave <<Deception and Distrust.pdf>>

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