February 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:16525] Staff Absences
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Hi, Just for everyone's information, we have had a larger than usual number of staff absences this week due mostly to illness. We are aware of this situation and we are compensating for it as best we can. Hopefully, everyone will be feeling better by next week. If you were trying to contact any of these folks directly, this is the reason that they have not gotten back to you as promptly as you would normally expect. I am going to the Monterey CA Radiofest www.radiofest.org <http://www.radiofest.org/> starting tomorrow and I will return to the office on Wed. I will also be checking my email, but if anything is urgent, please refer it to Dave. Tnx and 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: 860 594 0220 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:16524] FW: Swiss Knife - ODV
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

>From Allen: Harold ----Original Message----- From: Pitts, Allen W1AGP Sent: Thursday, February 21, 2008 9:26 AM To: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B Subject: Swiss Knife - ODV could you please send out a note on the ODV reflector? Text: -------------------- The Swiss Army Knife for PIOs CD, version 2008, is now available. This is the "all in one" toolkit on a disk for Amateur Radio public relations. Contact Apitts(a)arrl.org to get copies. ------------------- Thanks! Allen G Pitts, W1AGP Media & PR Manager ARRL - the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main St. Newington CT 06111 (860) 594-0328 apitts(a)arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:16523] RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early
by Andy Oppel 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

I think we're being unfair here. We don't know how the Georgia SM got hold of the e-mail and there is no evidence that the candidate is campaigning in Georgia. I knew Mickey Cox, K5MC, when he became Louisiana SM (roughly the same time I became East Bay SM) as we were in SM Training together. Trust me, he's nobody's fool. His stuff is also posted on QRZ. That aside, in my opinion, we shouldn't be discussing elections at all in this reflector. -- Andy Oppel, N6AJO Pacific Division Vice Director At 07:01 PM 2/20/2008, K8JE wrote: >Joel, > >I thought competency tests were against the law for voting or >running for office in the US. ;-) > >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 >ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! >Members - The Reason ARRL Is! > > >---------- >From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] >Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:55 PM >To: arrl-odv >Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early > > >First thing he needs to do is look at an ARRL Division map. If he >sent that to the Georgia SM he's campaigning in the Southeast >Division where votes don't count for Delta Division Director! > > > > > > >---------- >From: w4ru(a)bellsouth.net [mailto:w4ru@bellsouth.net] >Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 5:06 PM >To: arrl-odv >Subject: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early > >This was forwarded to me by the Georgia SM 73 Sandy, W4RU >--------------------------------------------------------------------- >I believe the ARRL needs new leadership if we truly want it to be the >"National Association of Amateur Radio" in the future. In recent years the >ARRL Board of Directors has shown poor judgment in a number of ways. >Perhaps the most obvious example is the "regulation by bandwidth" proposal >(RM-11306) submitted by the League to the FCC. A large majority of the >comments submitted by hams to the FCC on RM-11306 were negative; the League >then tried to salvage part of RM-11306 by submitting an ex-parte revision >which included an "erratum" that supposedly conveyed the ARRL's true >desires. Finally, in the face of massive opposition, the ARRL asked the FCC >to withdraw RM-11306 from further consideration. > >I have decided to run for Delta Division Director this year. Fred AA7BQ has >given me permission to post my campaign platform on QRZ.COM. Although the >election ballots will not be mailed to the ARRL members in the Del ta >Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) until late >September, I would like to hear now from both Delta Division members and any >other amateur radio operators who have constructive ideas on how we can >improve the ARRL. Depending upon the suggestions I receive here and by >other means (emails, discussions at hamfests, etc.), I will "fine tune" my >platform in the coming months. > >Among the changes I plan to pursue if I'm elected the new Delta Division >Director are the following: > >1. ARRL members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. >A number of League members have complained in recent years about the lack of >technical content, contest reporting, etc., in QST. If the content in QST >cannot be improved, then the members should have the choice of receiving >QST, QEX, or NCJ. Other organizations (e.g., the National Rifle >Association) offer similar options to their members and the A RRL should do >likewise. > >2. The ARRL Board meetings should be open to a limited number of members, >including those who write for non-League publications such as CQ Magazine >and WorldRadio, as long as personnel issues are not under discussion. >The ARRL Board needs to be more "open" in making League policy; one way to >do that is to permit a limited number of League members to attend Board >meetings (at their own expense) unless personnel matters are under >discussion. These "guests" would be observers only. It is particularly >important that members who write news articles for non-ARRL publications >(e.g., CQ Magazine, WorldRadio) be permitted to attend Board meetings. > >3. An independent committee of technically qualified hams should carefully >determine the advantages and disadvantages of "regulation by bandwidth" >through spectrum efficiency studies, etc., to determine if a new proposal >should be subm itted to the FCC. >The recent ARRL petition included essentially no documentation (engineering >studies, band plans, or other data) that justified changing from the current >scheme of regulation by mode to regulation by bandwidth. Before we ask the >FCC to make such a dramatic change in the Part 97 rules, the ham community >needs to be reasonably sure that such a change is warranted and that the >Amateur Radio Service will be improved. > >4. The ARRL Board should achieve a reasonable degree of consensus within >the ham community before submitting any future proposals to the FCC. >The ARRL Board should post drafts of its proposals on the ARRL Web site for >comments by hams, both members and non-members. All of the posted comments >should be available for everyone to review. Some proposals may have to be >revised several times over many months before a consensus is achieved. If a >reasonable consensus cannot be achieved, th en that proposal should not be >submitted to the FCC. This policy will prevent future fiascoes similar to >RM-11306. > >5. All petitions released by the FCC for comment that concern the Amateur >Radio Service should be made known to the ham community in a timely manner >by the ARRL. >In late 2007 the FCC invited comments on RM-11392, a proposal asking the FCC >to limit the maximum bandwidth of data transmissions to 1.5 kHz on all HF >bands except 10 meters. In addition to not filing any comments itself, the >ARRL apparently never even mentioned the existence of this particular >petition on the ARRL Web site. There is no excuse for the ARRL not to >inform the ham community of the existence of such petitions. In addition, if >the ARRL chooses not to comment officially to the FCC, the League should at >least discuss within the ham community the various advantages and >disadvantages of any submitted petitions. The ARRL once again showed a >serious lack of leadership in its failure to do anything regarding RM-11392. > > >6. The ARRL should increase its support of the National Traffic System and >should quickly move on the recommendations of the National Emergency >Response Planning Committee. >The current national leadership undervalues the training opportunities in >emergency communications offered by the League's own National Traffic System >(including NTSD, the digital "arm" of NTS) in such fundamental skills as >formal message handling and operating in directed nets. The ARRL Board >should support the use of all appropriate modes and networks in providing >backup communications to the public during emergencies. In addition, since >Hurricane Katrina there has been little apparent progress by the ARRL >regarding the recommendations of its own National Emergency Response >Planning Committee (NERPC). For example, little or no action appears to >have be en taken by the ARRL Board so far on such issues as credentialing, >establishing a national emcomm database of responders, or identifying Major >Disaster Emergency Coordinators (MDECs). > >I want the ARRL to once again be a membership organization that we all can >be proud of, newcomers and old timers alike. If elected, I will work >diligently to have the Board adopt the changes described above. Thank you >for your support. > >73, > >Mickey Cox K5MC >k5mc(a)arrl.net Andy Oppel andy(a)andyoppel.com andy_oppel(a)alamedanet.net

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[arrl-odv:16522] Memo to SMs in re future Director Candidate
by K8JE 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

FWIW, the future-candidate memo from the Delta Division apparently was not sent to all SMs. Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org; Tel.: 513-459-0142 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is!

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[arrl-odv:16521] RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early
by William Sawders 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Unbelievable. Bill, K7ZM -------Original Message------- From: Joel Harrison Date: 02/20/08 18:30:29 To: arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early First thing he needs to do is look at an ARRL Division map. If he sent that to the Georgia SM hes campaigning in the Southeast Division where votes dont count for Delta Division Director! From: w4ru(a)bellsouth.net [mailto:w4ru@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 5:06 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early This was forwarded to me by the Georgia SM 73 Sandy, W4RU --------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe the ARRL needs new leadership if we truly want it to be the "National Association of Amateur Radio" in the future. In recent years the ARRL Board of Directors has shown poor judgment in a number of ways. Perhaps the most obvious example is the "regulation by bandwidth" proposal (RM-11306) submitted by the League to the FCC. A large majority of the comments submitted by hams to the FCC on RM-11306 were negative; the League then tried to salvage part of RM-11306 by submitting an ex-parte revision which included an "erratum" that supposedly conveyed the ARRL's true desires. Finally, in the face of massive opposition, the ARRL asked the FCC to withdraw RM-11306 from further consideration. I have decided to run for Delta Division Director this year. Fred AA7BQ has given me permission to post my campaign platform on QRZ.COM. Although the election ballots will not be mailed to the ARRL members in the Del ta Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) until late September, I would like to hear now from both Delta Division members and any other amateur radio operators who have constructive ideas on how we can improve the ARRL. Depending upon the suggestions I receive here and by other means (emails, discussions at hamfests, etc.), I will "fine tune" my platform in the coming months. Among the changes I plan to pursue if I'm elected the new Delta Division Director are the following: 1. ARRL members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. A number of League members have complained in recent years about the lack of technical content, contest reporting, etc., in QST. If the content in QST cannot be improved, then the members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. Other organizations (e.g., the National Rifle Association) offer similar options to their members and the A RRL should do likewise. 2. The ARRL Board meetings should be open to a limited number of members, including those who write for non-League publications such as CQ Magazine and WorldRadio, as long as personnel issues are not under discussion. The ARRL Board needs to be more "open" in making League policy; one way to do that is to permit a limited number of League members to attend Board meetings (at their own expense) unless personnel matters are under discussion. These "guests" would be observers only. It is particularly important that members who write news articles for non-ARRL publications (e.g., CQ Magazine, WorldRadio) be permitted to attend Board meetings. 3. An independent committee of technically qualified hams should carefully determine the advantages and disadvantages of "regulation by bandwidth" through spectrum efficiency studies, etc., to determine if a new proposal should be subm itted to the FCC. The recent ARRL petition included essentially no documentation (engineering studies, band plans, or other data) that justified changing from the current scheme of regulation by mode to regulation by bandwidth. Before we ask the FCC to make such a dramatic change in the Part 97 rules, the ham community needs to be reasonably sure that such a change is warranted and that the Amateur Radio Service will be improved. 4. The ARRL Board should achieve a reasonable degree of consensus within the ham community before submitting any future proposals to the FCC. The ARRL Board should post drafts of its proposals on the ARRL Web site for comments by hams, both members and non-members. All of the posted comments should be available for everyone to review. Some proposals may have to be revised several times over many months before a consensus is achieved. If a reasonable consensus cannot be achieved, th en that proposal should not be submitted to the FCC. This policy will prevent future fiascoes similar to RM-11306. 5. All petitions released by the FCC for comment that concern the Amateur Radio Service should be made known to the ham community in a timely manner by the ARRL. In late 2007 the FCC invited comments on RM-11392, a proposal asking the FCC to limit the maximum bandwidth of data transmissions to 1.5 kHz on all HF bands except 10 meters. In addition to not filing any comments itself, the ARRL apparently never even mentioned the existence of this particular petition on the ARRL Web site. There is no excuse for the ARRL not to inform the ham community of the existence of such petitions. In addition, if the ARRL chooses not to comment officially to the FCC, the League should at least discuss within the ham community the various advantages and disadvantages of any submitted petitions. The ARRL once again showed a serious lack of leadership in its failure to do anything regarding RM-11392. 6. The ARRL should increase its support of the National Traffic System and should quickly move on the recommendations of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee. The current national leadership undervalues the training opportunities in emergency communications offered by the League's own National Traffic System (including NTSD, the digital "arm" of NTS) in such fundamental skills as formal message handling and operating in directed nets. The ARRL Board should support the use of all appropriate modes and networks in providing backup communications to the public during emergencies. In addition, since Hurricane Katrina there has been little apparent progress by the ARRL regarding the recommendations of its own National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC). For example, little or no action appears to have be en taken by the ARRL Board so far on such issues as credentialing, establishing a national emcomm database of responders, or identifying Major Disaster Emergency Coordinators (MDECs). I want the ARRL to once again be a membership organization that we all can be proud of, newcomers and old timers alike. If elected, I will work diligently to have the Board adopt the changes described above. Thank you for your support. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC k5mc(a)arrl.net

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RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early
by K8JE 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

Joel, I thought competency tests were against the law for voting or running for office in the US. ;-) 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 ARRL - The Reason Amateur Radio Is! Members - The Reason ARRL Is! _____ From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:55 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early First thing he needs to do is look at an ARRL Division map. If he sent that to the Georgia SM he's campaigning in the Southeast Division where votes don't count for Delta Division Director! _____ From: w4ru(a)bellsouth.net [mailto:w4ru@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 5:06 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early This was forwarded to me by the Georgia SM 73 Sandy, W4RU --------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe the ARRL needs new leadership if we truly want it to be the "National Association of Amateur Radio" in the future. In recent years the ARRL Board of Directors has shown poor judgment in a number of ways. Perhaps the most obvious example is the "regulation by bandwidth" proposal (RM-11306) submitted by the League to the FCC. A large majority of the comments submitted by hams to the FCC on RM-11306 were negative; the League then tried to salvage part of RM-11306 by submitting an ex-parte revision which included an "erratum" that supposedly conveyed the ARRL's true desires. Finally, in the face of massive opposition, the ARRL asked the FCC to withdraw RM-11306 from further consideration. I have decided to run for Delta Division Director this year. Fred AA7BQ has given me permission to post my campaign platform on QRZ.COM. Although the election ballots will not be mailed to the ARRL members in the Del ta Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) until late September, I would like to hear now from both Delta Division members and any other amateur radio operators who have constructive ideas on how we can improve the ARRL. Depending upon the suggestions I receive here and by other means (emails, discussions at hamfests, etc.), I will "fine tune" my platform in the coming months. Among the changes I plan to pursue if I'm elected the new Delta Division Director are the following: 1. ARRL members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. A number of League members have complained in recent years about the lack of technical content, contest reporting, etc., in QST. If the content in QST cannot be improved, then the members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. Other organizations (e.g., the National Rifle Association) offer similar options to their members and the A RRL should do likewise. 2. The ARRL Board meetings should be open to a limited number of members, including those who write for non-League publications such as CQ Magazine and WorldRadio, as long as personnel issues are not under discussion. The ARRL Board needs to be more "open" in making League policy; one way to do that is to permit a limited number of League members to attend Board meetings (at their own expense) unless personnel matters are under discussion. These "guests" would be observers only. It is particularly important that members who write news articles for non-ARRL publications (e.g., CQ Magazine, WorldRadio) be permitted to attend Board meetings. 3. An independent committee of technically qualified hams should carefully determine the advantages and disadvantages of "regulation by bandwidth" through spectrum efficiency studies, etc., to determine if a new proposal should be subm itted to the FCC. The recent ARRL petition included essentially no documentation (engineering studies, band plans, or other data) that justified changing from the current scheme of regulation by mode to regulation by bandwidth. Before we ask the FCC to make such a dramatic change in the Part 97 rules, the ham community needs to be reasonably sure that such a change is warranted and that the Amateur Radio Service will be improved. 4. The ARRL Board should achieve a reasonable degree of consensus within the ham community before submitting any future proposals to the FCC. The ARRL Board should post drafts of its proposals on the ARRL Web site for comments by hams, both members and non-members. All of the posted comments should be available for everyone to review. Some proposals may have to be revised several times over many months before a consensus is achieved. If a reasonable consensus cannot be achieved, th en that proposal should not be submitted to the FCC. This policy will prevent future fiascoes similar to RM-11306. 5. All petitions released by the FCC for comment that concern the Amateur Radio Service should be made known to the ham community in a timely manner by the ARRL. In late 2007 the FCC invited comments on RM-11392, a proposal asking the FCC to limit the maximum bandwidth of data transmissions to 1.5 kHz on all HF bands except 10 meters. In addition to not filing any comments itself, the ARRL apparently never even mentioned the existence of this particular petition on the ARRL Web site. There is no excuse for the ARRL not to inform the ham community of the existence of such petitions. In addition, if the ARRL chooses not to comment officially to the FCC, the League should at least discuss within the ham community the various advantages and disadvantages of any submitted petitions. The ARRL once again showed a serious lack of leadership in its failure to do anything regarding RM-11392. 6. The ARRL should increase its support of the National Traffic System and should quickly move on the recommendations of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee. The current national leadership undervalues the training opportunities in emergency communications offered by the League's own National Traffic System (including NTSD, the digital "arm" of NTS) in such fundamental skills as formal message handling and operating in directed nets. The ARRL Board should support the use of all appropriate modes and networks in providing backup communications to the public during emergencies. In addition, since Hurricane Katrina there has been little apparent progress by the ARRL regarding the recommendations of its own National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC). For example, little or no action appears to have be en taken by the ARRL Board so far on such issues as credentialing, establishing a national emcomm database of responders, or identifying Major Disaster Emergency Coordinators (MDECs). I want the ARRL to once again be a membership organization that we all can be proud of, newcomers and old timers alike. If elected, I will work diligently to have the Board adopt the changes described above. Thank you for your support. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC k5mc(a)arrl.net

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RE: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early
by Joel Harrison 21 Feb '08

21 Feb '08

First thing he needs to do is look at an ARRL Division map. If he sent that to the Georgia SM he's campaigning in the Southeast Division where votes don't count for Delta Division Director! _____ From: w4ru(a)bellsouth.net [mailto:w4ru@bellsouth.net] Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 5:06 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early This was forwarded to me by the Georgia SM 73 Sandy, W4RU --------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe the ARRL needs new leadership if we truly want it to be the "National Association of Amateur Radio" in the future. In recent years the ARRL Board of Directors has shown poor judgment in a number of ways. Perhaps the most obvious example is the "regulation by bandwidth" proposal (RM-11306) submitted by the League to the FCC. A large majority of the comments submitted by hams to the FCC on RM-11306 were negative; the League then tried to salvage part of RM-11306 by submitting an ex-parte revision which included an "erratum" that supposedly conveyed the ARRL's true desires. Finally, in the face of massive opposition, the ARRL asked the FCC to withdraw RM-11306 from further consideration. I have decided to run for Delta Division Director this year. Fred AA7BQ has given me permission to post my campaign platform on QRZ.COM. Although the election ballots will not be mailed to the ARRL members in the Del ta Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) until late September, I would like to hear now from both Delta Division members and any other amateur radio operators who have constructive ideas on how we can improve the ARRL. Depending upon the suggestions I receive here and by other means (emails, discussions at hamfests, etc.), I will "fine tune" my platform in the coming months. Among the changes I plan to pursue if I'm elected the new Delta Division Director are the following: 1. ARRL members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. A number of League members have complained in recent years about the lack of technical content, contest reporting, etc., in QST. If the content in QST cannot be improved, then the members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. Other organizations (e.g., the National Rifle Association) offer similar options to their members and the A RRL should do likewise. 2. The ARRL Board meetings should be open to a limited number of members, including those who write for non-League publications such as CQ Magazine and WorldRadio, as long as personnel issues are not under discussion. The ARRL Board needs to be more "open" in making League policy; one way to do that is to permit a limited number of League members to attend Board meetings (at their own expense) unless personnel matters are under discussion. These "guests" would be observers only. It is particularly important that members who write news articles for non-ARRL publications (e.g., CQ Magazine, WorldRadio) be permitted to attend Board meetings. 3. An independent committee of technically qualified hams should carefully determine the advantages and disadvantages of "regulation by bandwidth" through spectrum efficiency studies, etc., to determine if a new proposal should be subm itted to the FCC. The recent ARRL petition included essentially no documentation (engineering studies, band plans, or other data) that justified changing from the current scheme of regulation by mode to regulation by bandwidth. Before we ask the FCC to make such a dramatic change in the Part 97 rules, the ham community needs to be reasonably sure that such a change is warranted and that the Amateur Radio Service will be improved. 4. The ARRL Board should achieve a reasonable degree of consensus within the ham community before submitting any future proposals to the FCC. The ARRL Board should post drafts of its proposals on the ARRL Web site for comments by hams, both members and non-members. All of the posted comments should be available for everyone to review. Some proposals may have to be revised several times over many months before a consensus is achieved. If a reasonable consensus cannot be achieved, th en that proposal should not be submitted to the FCC. This policy will prevent future fiascoes similar to RM-11306. 5. All petitions released by the FCC for comment that concern the Amateur Radio Service should be made known to the ham community in a timely manner by the ARRL. In late 2007 the FCC invited comments on RM-11392, a proposal asking the FCC to limit the maximum bandwidth of data transmissions to 1.5 kHz on all HF bands except 10 meters. In addition to not filing any comments itself, the ARRL apparently never even mentioned the existence of this particular petition on the ARRL Web site. There is no excuse for the ARRL not to inform the ham community of the existence of such petitions. In addition, if the ARRL chooses not to comment officially to the FCC, the League should at least discuss within the ham community the various advantages and disadvantages of any submitted petitions. The ARRL once again showed a serious lack of leadership in its failure to do anything regarding RM-11392. 6. The ARRL should increase its support of the National Traffic System and should quickly move on the recommendations of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee. The current national leadership undervalues the training opportunities in emergency communications offered by the League's own National Traffic System (including NTSD, the digital "arm" of NTS) in such fundamental skills as formal message handling and operating in directed nets. The ARRL Board should support the use of all appropriate modes and networks in providing backup communications to the public during emergencies. In addition, since Hurricane Katrina there has been little apparent progress by the ARRL regarding the recommendations of its own National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC). For example, little or no action appears to have be en taken by the ARRL Board so far on such issues as credentialing, establishing a national emcomm database of responders, or identifying Major Disaster Emergency Coordinators (MDECs). I want the ARRL to once again be a membership organization that we all can be proud of, newcomers and old timers alike. If elected, I will work diligently to have the Board adopt the changes described above. Thank you for your support. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC k5mc(a)arrl.net

1 0

[arrl-odv:16518] silly season starts early
by w4ru＠bellsouth.net 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

This was forwarded to me by the Georgia SM 73 Sandy, W4RU --------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe the ARRL needs new leadership if we truly want it to be the "National Association of Amateur Radio" in the future. In recent years the ARRL Board of Directors has shown poor judgment in a number of ways. Perhaps the most obvious example is the "regulation by bandwidth" proposal (RM-11306) submitted by the League to the FCC. A large majority of the comments submitted by hams to the FCC on RM-11306 were negative; the League then tried to salvage part of RM-11306 by submitting an ex-parte revision which included an "erratum" that supposedly conveyed the ARRL's true desires. Finally, in the face of massive opposition, the ARRL asked the FCC to withdraw RM-11306 from further consideration. I have decided to run for Delta Division Director this year. Fred AA7BQ has given me permission to post my campaign platform on QRZ.COM. Although the election ballots will not be mailed to the ARRL members in the Delta Division (Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) until late September, I would like to hear now from both Delta Division members and any other amateur radio operators who have constructive ideas on how we can improve the ARRL. Depending upon the suggestions I receive here and by other means (emails, discussions at hamfests, etc.), I will "fine tune" my platform in the coming months. Among the changes I plan to pursue if I'm elected the new Delta Division Director are the following: 1. ARRL members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. A number of League members have complained in recent years about the lack of technical content, contest reporting, etc., in QST. If the content in QST cannot be improved, then the members should have the choice of receiving QST, QEX, or NCJ. Other organizations (e.g., the National Rifle Association) offer similar options to their members and the ARRL should do likewise. 2. The ARRL Board meetings should be open to a limited number of members, including those who write for non-League publications such as CQ Magazine and WorldRadio, as long as personnel issues are not under discussion. The ARRL Board needs to be more "open" in making League policy; one way to do that is to permit a limited number of League members to attend Board meetings (at their own expense) unless personnel matters are under discussion. These "guests" would be observers only. It is particularly important that members who write news articles for non-ARRL publications (e.g., CQ Magazine, WorldRadio) be permitted to attend Board meetings. 3. An independent committee of technically qualified hams should carefully determine the advantages and disadvantages of "regulation by bandwidth" through spectrum efficiency studies, etc., to determine if a new proposal should be submitted to the FCC. The recent ARRL petition included essentially no documentation (engineering studies, band plans, or other data) that justified changing from the current scheme of regulation by mode to regulation by bandwidth. Before we ask the FCC to make such a dramatic change in the Part 97 rules, the ham community needs to be reasonably sure that such a change is warranted and that the Amateur Radio Service will be improved. 4. The ARRL Board should achieve a reasonable degree of consensus within the ham community before submitting any future proposals to the FCC. The ARRL Board should post drafts of its proposals on the ARRL Web site for comments by hams, both members and non-members. All of the posted comments should be available for everyone to review. Some proposals may have to be revised several times over many months before a consensus is achieved. If a reasonable consensus cannot be achieved, then that proposal should not be submitted to the FCC. This policy will prevent future fiascoes similar to RM-11306. 5. All petitions released by the FCC for comment that concern the Amateur Radio Service should be made known to the ham community in a timely manner by the ARRL. In late 2007 the FCC invited comments on RM-11392, a proposal asking the FCC to limit the maximum bandwidth of data transmissions to 1.5 kHz on all HF bands except 10 meters. In addition to not filing any comments itself, the ARRL apparently never even mentioned the existence of this particular petition on the ARRL Web site. There is no excuse for the ARRL not to inform the ham community of the existence of such petitions. In addition, if the ARRL chooses not to comment officially to the FCC, the League should at least discuss within the ham community the various advantages and disadvantages of any submitted petitions. The ARRL once again showed a serious lack of leadership in its failure to do anything regarding RM-11392. 6. The ARRL should increase its support of the National Traffic System and should quickly move on the recommendations of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee. The current national leadership undervalues the training opportunities in emergency communications offered by the League's own National Traffic System (including NTSD, the digital "arm" of NTS) in such fundamental skills as formal message handling and operating in directed nets. The ARRL Board should support the use of all appropriate modes and networks in providing backup communications to the public during emergencies. In addition, since Hurricane Katrina there has been little apparent progress by the ARRL regarding the recommendations of its own National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC). For example, little or no action appears to have been taken by the ARRL Board so far on such issues as credentialing, establishing a national emcomm database of responders, or identifying Major Disaster Emergency Coordinators (MDECs). I want the ARRL to once again be a membership organization that we all can be proud of, newcomers and old timers alike. If elected, I will work diligently to have the Board adopt the changes described above. Thank you for your support. 73, Mickey Cox K5MC k5mc(a)arrl.net

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PSC minutes 17 January 2008 (final '07 committee meeting)
by Bruce Frahm K0BJ 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

These minutes cover the Thursday (pre-board) PSC meeting. PSC minutes 17 Jan 2008 Houston members K0QB K0BJ K1TWF N2FF N6AA K8JE Observing K0CA W3TOM occasional WJ1B K5UR W5ZN A FIELD SVCS NTS K0QB's 13 Jan. email to K6YR (Attachment 1) implementing language curtailing certain volume traffic was distributed. Section governance SM budget use for publication purchases (esp. calendars) was discussed. K0QB suggests - don't adjust overspent budget if it involves publications. It would be good to write expectations and hints on spending the budget in SM manual (like put charitable mileage IRS rule in manual). Only a few SMs are quite disenchanted with the publications policy. It would be desirable to have N1VXY produce a document with advice on addressing allocation of small capital expenses. The committee will study proportionate allocation of SM budgets (not on calendar year basis, but coinciding with SM term). Another fix would be commencing all SM terms on 1 January. The next PSC Committee should formulate a zoomerang-type web survey with specific questions as a followup on orig. governance survey. B MEMBER SVCS Awards The committee took no action on the informal, untimely Algerian, or any other, International Humanitarian nominations. DXCC The inaugural FJ operation with an OH club call and CEPT-related issues was discussed. There is continued realization that FS COULD be viewed as a new country, but this is complicated by inability of software to delete countries now. K0CA NN1N and K0BJ were appointed as an ad hoc committee to investigate the possibility of reestablishing 'new' deleted entities, and associated software ramifications. Use of volunteers at Hq has alleviated some of the staff crunch and DXCC backlog. Instances of unusually long DXCC turnaround times (over 3 months) seem to be caused by individual hang-ups on certain credits in "problem" applications, and not a systemic problem(per NN1N/WJ1B). NN1N mentioned MSD is looking at offering pricing breaks for smaller LoTW applications, in order to get away from the massive, infrequent submission scenario that aggravates the backlog. By acclamation, the committee approved the concept of having certain field checkers do 160M checking. DXAC Should we ask them about reestablishing deleted countries? CAC NN1N and K0BJ will send the tasking on remote operation to CAC. VUAC There is conflict between VUAC and Awards Committee re whether a single-op should be able to view rover APRS data. VUAC 10/6 yes Awards Committee No Current PSC tied 3-3 philosophically. This will be deferred to the new committee. A Single Op Assisted category is a possible solution. The VUAC term expires soon. K0QB moved, N6AA 2nd for a 2 year extension motion to go to the board. Carried. N6AA - should we task VUAC with problem of unlimited rovers? Field Day FD committee K1TWF and K0BJ discussed N1ND's idea of 3 FD changes. They supported "demo mode" change, to an "activity" not necessarily linked to modes, and eliminating the free VHF station, and allowing the GOTA station to do VHF as well as HF. They were neutral to negative on the second proposal, giving 100 point bonus for a VE exam session associated with FD. After discussion: Votes: demo modes eliminated and Educational activity established PASS Free VHF station elimination FAIL define GOTA to include VHF & people licensed since last FD, and generally inactive for ~ a year PASS VE exam bonus -- FAIL C EDUCATION SERVICES No updates D VEC VE manual is on track for 1st qtr release, AB1FM and WB8IMYmust review E 2008 PLAN MVP OPRNL GOALS WJ1B discussed and fielded questions regarding the 2008 plan as pertaining to MVP. F SILENT KEY DATABASE Some SK data will be sent to the N6AA-identified list operator as a beta test. G OTHER ISSUES OO ISSUES OOs now send reports insulated from Newington vetting. FCC can also request OO projects through K0BOG. N6AA has a constituent who thinks OOs should send notices thru Newington. Uploading certain contest logs to LoTW N6AA suggestion. This would involve 3rd parties uploading, after obtaining permission from owners of 'juicy' logs, and TQSL certificates. May need a subcommittee to look at all issues. PSC generally in favor. N2FF is concerned about public perception. It was noted that this is already occurring to a limited extent by private arrangement. LoTW consulting via web control of host computer N6AA suggests we could have a volunteer cadre to do so. This would be mainly to do initial set up of the TQSL certificate.

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FW: [ps-com:773] Kosova
by Joel Harrison 20 Feb '08

20 Feb '08

If you are asked questions pertaining to the DXCC status of Kosova, from which an operation is now taking place and reporting to be a future "new one", the link below should address any inquiries. 73 Joel W5ZN _____ From: Patton, David NN1N [mailto:nn1n@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2008 3:58 PM To: ps-com Subject: [ps-com:773] Kosova http://www.arrl.org/blog/DXCC%20Dialog

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