March 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

RE: The Root of All Evil
by Kay Craigie 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

I love it. Hard to know who would agree more vociferously with the padre's theme -- the CW Taliban or the AM Wackazoids. 73 - Kay N3KN

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The Root of All Evil
by John Bellows 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

I have often wondered what is the root of all evil. Perhaps the attached will provide a hint. 73, Jay, KØQB

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[arrl-odv:16584] Re: Buckmaster Announcement
by K0GW 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

K8JE wrote: > > I accept everything you have said about current issues of > news/information publications as regards older birds such as us. On > the other hand, would it be desirable and, maybe, even fiscally > responsible to post past issues of our major publications online? I > don't know how far back doing this would be a relatively simple > operation, but to the extent it would be an easy task to post existing > digital copy on the ARRL web site, it might be a decent member service > to initiate. > I agree that posting "archival" digital documents is a far different thing than providing current editions that way. In considering this, some may argue that the (recently deceased) program of publishing QST and other journals via multi-year CD-ROM could not be sustained. To forestall this, I'd like to point out that the interface provided for these issues was a severe impediment to actually using them. Also, on some of the very old versions, the scans were quite atrocious. I think a casual user would be deterred from further purchases by the lack of user-friendliness. An important dimension for a technical subject, such as ham radio, is that if the documents are in PDF or similar formats (i.e., not images), they can be made full-text searchable. There are times when this can be a great benefit. Even though we are limited in how many years our electronic copies go back, we could at least begin from that time forward, then continue to add with each new year of publications. Obviously, the revenue model will be critical here. -- 73, Greg, KØGW Vice Director, Dakota Division

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RE: [arrl-odv:16582] Re:Buckmaster Announcement
by K8JE 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

Dick, I accept everything you have said about current issues of news/information publications as regards older birds such as us. On the other hand, would it be desirable and, maybe, even fiscally responsible to post past issues of our major publications online? I don't know how far back doing this would be a relatively simple operation, but to the extent it would be an easy task to post existing digital copy on the ARRL web site, it might be a decent member service to initiate. Extending the thought further, would posting QST, QEX, etc. be something that Buckmaster, for example, may be interested in doing? I've not looked beyond there announcement that they are posting CQ online to know if there are charges for viewing the CQ online, but they appear to have gone much farther back than posting only digital copy. They have scanned hard copy to include in their postings. The question to me is whether Buckmaster is doing all this out of the kindness of their heart or if there is a fiscal benefit to them and to CQ as well. If such benefits exist for Buckmaster and CQ, shouldn't we review if we might capitalize on the same benefits in one way or another? One further point. Keep your bloody snow up there. We rarely have a single snowfall that exceeds about 3-4 inches. This last one dropped about 18 +/- inches of snow and a half inch of ice on the area. This is particularly troublesome for the Cincinnati area because we aren't equipped to handle it as well as northern cities and we also have so many southern drivers who have moved here and don't know how to drive on snow and ice. Jim 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: dick(a)pobox.com [mailto:dick@pobox.com] Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2008 12:12 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16582] Re:Buckmaster Announcement 12 MAR 2008 - 2311 CDT My thoughts on electronic publications... For my age, I'm probably one of the heaviest users of computers on the ARRL board and I fully support using electronic data technology whenever and wherever it's practical to do so. The under 30 computer users probably think that electronic magazines and books (E-zines and E-books) are the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, this type of publication does have it limitations. Most of the time the publication has to be either read on-line or down-loaded from a web site. Picking up the hard copy from a shelf, a chair, or the floor is easier, faster, and much more convenient. Reading a publication more than 4 or 5 pages long on a computer screen is not a convenient way of reading for those of us who grew up in the paper age. It's not easy to move and use the electronic reading device on a trip, in the bathroom, at the kitchen table while eating, or even when you are watching TV. You have to concentrate on the small video screens, or when using a large screen, you have to move your head to see who is talking to you and and answering the phone is more of a hassle. The overall cost is larger depending on how much you invest in a good dedicated portable reading device, and how often you feel the need to buy a newer one. My University Alumni Association, the University itself, and my fraternity are now using electronic publications to replace most of their paper ones. I, and a lot of other alumni in my age range offered to pay a bit more to keep receiving the paper publications, but we were ignored. Maybe this is the wave of the future, but I have dropped all financial support for these organizations because they no longer provide the paper publications I have received for over 40 years. I'm out of the loop and I will not donate money to an organization whose activities I can no longer easily follow. In the commercial world, I know of only one newspaper that has managed to make money from the electronic publication of its premier paper publication: the Wall Street Journal. I have an idea that most of their electronic readers are under the age of 30. As a paper subscriber to several newspapers, I have access to their electronic editions which is handy for obtaining electronic copies of various articles. But I doubt if I will ever read one of these electronic newspapers page by page. - Dick, W9GIG

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[arrl-odv:16582] Re:Buckmaster Announcement
by dick＠pobox.com 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

12 MAR 2008 - 2311 CDT My thoughts on electronic publications... For my age, I'm probably one of the heaviest users of computers on the ARRL board and I fully support using electronic data technology whenever and wherever it's practical to do so. The under 30 computer users probably think that electronic magazines and books (E-zines and E-books) are the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, this type of publication does have it limitations. Most of the time the publication has to be either read on-line or down-loaded from a web site. Picking up the hard copy from a shelf, a chair, or the floor is easier, faster, and much more convenient. Reading a publication more than 4 or 5 pages long on a computer screen is not a convenient way of reading for those of us who grew up in the paper age. It's not easy to move and use the electronic reading device on a trip, in the bathroom, at the kitchen table while eating, or even when you are watching TV. You have to concentrate on the small video screens, or when using a large screen, you have to move your head to see who is talking to you and and answering the phone is more of a hassle. The overall cost is larger depending on how much you invest in a good dedicated portable reading device, and how often you feel the need to buy a newer one. My University Alumni Association, the University itself, and my fraternity are now using electronic publications to replace most of their paper ones. I, and a lot of other alumni in my age range offered to pay a bit more to keep receiving the paper publications, but we were ignored. Maybe this is the wave of the future, but I have dropped all financial support for these organizations because they no longer provide the paper publications I have received for over 40 years. I'm out of the loop and I will not donate money to an organization whose activities I can no longer easily follow. In the commercial world, I know of only one newspaper that has managed to make money from the electronic publication of its premier paper publication: the Wall Street Journal. I have an idea that most of their electronic readers are under the age of 30. As a paper subscriber to several newspapers, I have access to their electronic editions which is handy for obtaining electronic copies of various articles. But I doubt if I will ever read one of these electronic newspapers page by page. - Dick, W9GIG

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[arrl-odv:16581] RE: [arrl-odv:16562] Buckmaster ann0uncement
by Brian Mileshosky 13 Mar '08

13 Mar '08

I'm replying to this a little late, but this is something we should investigate at a few different levels for a few different applications, including: 1) Archived QST, QEX and NCJ issues (complete) for sale (such as what CQ is doing to generate another revenue stream) 2) A searchable archive of these publications similar to IEEE Xplore (http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/guesthome.jsp) where - in our case - a member can download past articles in PDF format. This may be a bit problematic for the ancient issues of QST, but I believe articles in recent issues may already be in PDF format. Or, they can be sold for a modest fee (a buck or two, much like songs on I-Tunes.though not quite at the volume I-Tunes enjoys). 3) A new and improved way to provide these publications on CD or DVD (which I understand the League is investigating now since the previous method had compatibility problems) 4) A way to provide these current publications on the web for members who wish to receive them in that fashion. This may present some savings to the League in the way of reducing printing costs. A great example is the alumni magazine from my alma mater Georgia Tech. Check out the really cool way they provide it (free example) in addition to a printed format at http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/gatech/alumni-winter07/ Of course the biggest challenge is security so user-names and passwords aren't shared by many, though there's always a dishonest person out there. But I'm sure other organizations like IEEE have found a solution to that since they provide their publications electronically. Food for thought! 73, Brian N5ZGT ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division www.RockyMountainDivision.org <http://www.rockymountaindivision.org/> _____ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Friday, February 29, 2008 1:01 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16562] Buckmaster ann0uncement Ladies and Gents, Some or you may already be aware of the following announcement by Buckmaster Publishing (I use their Ham Call service so get occasional news releases from them). I don't recall having seen any previous note about them putting CQ Magazine online, but they've obviously been working on the project for a while. It will be interesting to see how near "currency" they will come with this effort. "We've been working a long time on scanning CQ magazine and making it available on the Internet. As of now we are complete from the first issue in January 1945 up through 2003, 58 years worth! See it all at http://hamcall.net/cq." For any who do not receive these announcements, this was one of three services (and a commercial) they announced. The other two regarded posting of the number of sunspots and of calls of new hams on their web site. Jim 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:16580] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

<<031208.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 11 March 12, 2008 -- Covers the period March 2-8. Upcoming Meetings and Events Executive Committee March 15 in Memphis, TN Zoomerang Survey: Here are the survey results of our Zoomerang Poll. Based on the survey results, we continue to publish IN-News weekly. Thanks to all those who responded and we will be taking some of your recommendations in the near future. Harold IN-News Survey Results Overview 1. How frequently do you read the ARRL IN-News? Every week 75% Every other week 8% Once a month 9% Never 8% 2. How often would you prefer the ARRL IN-News be sent out? Every week 53% Every other week 25% Once a month 21% 3. How valuable a resource do you find the ARRL IN-News? Extremely valuable 27% Somewhat valuable 60% Not valuable at all 8% No opinion 5% 4. I am a(n)... HQ Staffer 75% Board Member 25% A total of 75 people responded to the survey. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP We have contracted with Fathom for the coming Technology campaign website. Most of the initially planned web materials are now in hand and the goal of having the campaign ready for Dayton is on track. Kevin O'Dell of the PRC is editing the topical video clips for us. New topics and submissions continue to come in. Working with Sue Fagan, the brochure is almost complete. Logo stickers have been ordered for the campaign. A relationship has been begun with the RAC's (Canada) new Vice President for PR and we look forward to meeting in person before long. We are getting the video and the rights to use a video spotted on YouTube about tornados and Skywarm which is very good. The March edition of Contact! has been posted. Suggested edits have been made for the DHS website page about Amateur Radio and have been accepted. Requests for the Swiss Army Knife 08 have been coming in about a steady 5-8 a day since the announcement of its availability. More are being sent to representatives for use in hamfests and conventions. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH The W1AW campaign letter is in progress. Solicitation letters for individual donor grants to the 2008 Teachers Institutes were mailed February 23. The first response - a $10,000 contribution - has been received. Three donor grants were received in support of the 2008 Tis were received in late 2007. Letters seeking permission from major donors for listing in the ARRL Annual Report, in QST and on the web were mailed and responses are coming in. The mailing included a save the date postcard for the annual donor reception in May in Dayton. Member loyalty letters to members of 50 years or more have been mailed along with certificates and pins. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 9, for March 7, 2008. It went out to 67,624 subscribers. She also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for March 7. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R New membership brochures were designed and produced and are now included in all Hamfest kits and renewal mailings - revisions include a more detailed Membership application in one version and more focused content on membership benefits. Bob and Amy attended a tradeshow sponsored by Barker Specialty last week and came back with some great ideas for Dayton. Mary Ann and Margie also attended to glean ideas for their department. A direct mail piece featuring ARRL's spring publications line-up is in the works. It includes ARRL's VHF Digital Handbook, ARRL's Hands-On Radio Experiments, the 2008-2009 Repeater Directory and TravelPlus for Repeaters CD-ROM. An initial meeting last week of an interdepartmental group discussed; Hamfest and Convention Kit packaging, Inventory management, Forms and printed material distribution. We have started the process of moving our kit fulfillment to the warehouse and looking at better solutions for inventory management. A survey is being sent to Hamfest/Conference organizers to review and refine the content of material sent to support the events. Long term goals of a forms and media warehouse on the web for automated ordering were discussed. In this past week the warehouse crew processed 985 packages of fulfillment orders and processed 321 free books. The new Instructor's Manual and the 2008 Field Day Shirts have arrived and are now shipping. Field Day pins are expected to arrive the first week of April. Thank you to Volunteer Tour Guide Grant Warner, AA1T and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q for helping Katie with a large tour group of 20 graduate students from Southern CT State University. This group of secondary science and math teachers enjoyed an extended tour of ARRL HQ and W1AW. Many positive comments were received, interest generated in ham radio, and hopefully some applications for the teachers institute! Business Services Reported by Deb Jahnke, K1DAJ Although May QST will not leave for press until March 26, we have already exceeded our goal by a small margin and are still soliciting advertising. The May Hamvention theme advertising tear-out is also full and has met our goal. LDG and Flex Radio have renewed their present level of advertising for the next 12 months. In addition, LDG is on our "stand-by" list for a third page per month should a page open up in the front section. DX Engineering has expanded their advertising to a two-page spread each month for the next year. Our year-to-date scheduled new advertisers are: Super Bertha, Magnetics & Controls, Inc., TW Antennas, Kintronic Labs, Inc., hambid.com, Byonics Corporation and Satellite Sam. Returning advertisers in addition to the advertisers who come in once a year for the May issue, include Maha Energy and QSO Wizard. A promotion has been emailed to ARRL dealers offering a "pre-Dayton" sale on ARRL Publication orders received during the next 4 days, using a promotion code. This sale proved very popular last year. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team Official Observers sent in pertinent information to HQ on a specific case that the FCC is working on. Chuck Skolaut reviewed the material and forwarded it on the FCC. Bad language on the air and improper identification cases are getter closer looks by the OOs. We also learned that there is a potential bootlegger in Knoxville, Tennessee. The monthly Intruder Watch report from the IARU Region 3 coordinator has also arrived in Newington. Steve Ewald has been working on May QST's Public Service column. Meanwhile, potential future articles for the column have also been reviewed for consideration. For the SM election cycle that results in new terms starting on July 1, ARRL HQ received Section Manager nominating petitions from these incumbent Section Managers: Bill Dale, N2RHV (Santa Clara Valley) and Paul Gayet, AA1SU (Vermont). In addition, Richard Krohn, N2SMV, of Manalapan, NJ, has been nominated to become SM of Northern New Jersey for a term of office that was re-solicited. As reported earlier, there will be a three-way SM election in Northern Florida this spring. Leona Adams sent out training materials for six Official Observer candidates and sent more than a dozen information and supply packages to new Field Organization appointees. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List Kathy Allison 6/30 Vacation `` 7/3-7/7 Vacation Shelly Bloom 4/14-4/18 Vacation Margie Bourgoin 4/3-4/9 Vacation Joe Carcia 5/23 Vacation `` 7/7-7/11 Vacation `` 7/18 Vacation `` 7/21 Vacation Jackie Cornell 3/17 Vacation Steve Ewald 3/28-4/4 Vacation Scott Gee 5/15-5/16 Vacation `` 6/30 Vacation `` 7/1-7/3 Vacation Dan Henderson 3/7-3/16 NC Section Convention, Charlotte, NC/Vacation Mary Hobart 4/23-4/29 International DX Convention, Visalia, CA `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention Bob Inderbitzen 3/27-3/28 AES Superfest / Milwaukee, WI Debra Jahnke 3/17-3/18 Vacation Lisa Kustosik 3/14-3/18 Vacation `` 3/20 Jury Duty Maryann Macdonald 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention Dave Sumner 3/14-3/16 Executive Committee Meeting, Memphis, TN `` 4/4-4/8 IARU Reg. 1 EC Meeting, London

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[arrl-odv:16579] FW: Letter to ODV
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 12 Mar '08

12 Mar '08

Hi, Katie asked me to pass along this document to you about your participation in Dayton this year. 73, 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/> ________________________________

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Joel's Dad - Information
by k5ur＠aol.com 11 Mar '08

11 Mar '08

Hi All: ? Here?is the information on Joel's Dad, Barney?Harrison: ? Visitation: ? Wednesday,?March 12 - 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Powell Funeral Home 2602 West Beebe Capps Expy Searcy, AR? 72143 501-268-7220 Funeral?Service: Thursday, March?13 - 10:00 a.m.? Bethel Grove Church of Christ 2956 Hwy 157 North Judsonia, AR? 72081 Let's keep Joel, Kim and their?family in?our thoughts and prayers. 73, Rick - K5UR

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Joel's Dad
by k5ur＠aol.com 10 Mar '08

10 Mar '08

Hi All: Sad news. Joel's Dad passed away this morning. I'll let you know when we have details about the arrangements. Please remember him and his family in your thoughts and prayers. 73, Rick - K5UR

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