April 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:16673] Re: Radios On Line
by Tom Frenaye 18 Apr '08

18 Apr '08

At 01:52 PM 4/17/2008, Kramer, Harold, WJ1B wrote: > >Effective April 30, 2008, the Radios On-Line website will close. We discussed this with the A & F Committee at our meeting here last Saturday. This action was previously recommended in my Program Review document that was presented to the A & F Committee in 2006. For various reasons, we postponed taking any action at that time. If you are interested, I have enclosed my 2006 report. I was surprised to see that we basically only have one page of Ham Ads in the back of QST now. I don't usually look at them but sure remember when there were a lot more! -- Tom ===== e-mail: k1ki(a)arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444

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[arrl-odv:16672] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 17 Apr '08

17 Apr '08

<<041608.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 16 April 16, 2008 -- Covers the period April 6-12. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND We are pleased that the governor's signature on April 9th makes Kansas the 26th state to have adopted a state-level PRB-1 bill. During the week a phone call was received from a representative from the Department of Homeland Security working on the SHARES project asking for a clarification of something he had been told by a FEMA official regarding use of amateur radio in an emergency. I explained the provisions of 97.113 related to business transactions but also shared that in the case of imminent threat to life or property that 97.403 and 97.405 would come into play. At the request of the Education Department we clarified the status of emergency communications declarations since the changes to 97.401 in December 2006. The revised rules have eliminated reference to ECDs directly in Part 97, but the changes regarding emergency communications made at that time allow the amateur station to do whatever is necessary in the case of imminent threat to life or property. Also, ARRL Counsel feels that the statutory for the President to authorize an ECD still exists in the US Code. The change in the Part 97 rule may affect several test questions and will be addressed in some fashion in the EmCom course manual. We worked with Ed Hare and Mike Gruber in the Lab as well as Director Greg Sarratt on a complaint/letter received from a Florida amateur John Confrey, W4IVW, who felt his requests for assistance were not handled or even addressed by either the ARRL or FCC. After a very small amount of digging it was discovered that the FCC had on several occasions visited his location and found no problem, as well as several ARRL contacts were found, including an exchange of information with the Lab and an offer by Director Sarratt to meet with the gentleman. His "resignation" from amateur radio has apparently been shot gunned to numerous sites and individual for the past several months. Ed will be in contact with the gentleman one more time for a follow-up. Through Dennis Dura, we reviewed information on the Amber Alert venture developing in the state of Washington which would involve amateurs. While full information is not yet available, some initial concerns were raised including the issue of a violation of Part 97 if the alert was automatically re-transmitted from other services as well as an alert being initiated on the amateur bands by a non-licensed person. These concerns have been shared with the FCC and RACES officials in Washington who are developing the program. We noted that the Amber Alert programs would be similar to the SKYWARN program - while not an ARRL or ARES® program, it is a separate community service which many ARES members and other Amateur Radio operators may choose to join as individuals. Correspondence and phone calls during the week centered around reciprocal operating and traveling with radio equipment on airlines. We also worked with the EVP on preparing some grassroots legislative materials for a July QST article and for posting on the ARRL Web. At the request of the COO we worked with ISD and Web Services to address information request/update from the MDC Section Manager. By Friday April 11th all 50 states as well as 4 Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico have sites listed in the Field Day Site Location, with a total of 537 sites included in the database. We also assisted the Contest Branch on some data issues with a couple of soon to be reported contests. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Plans for the Donor Reception in May are nearing completion. Invitations have been mailed 1000 with details for the evening of the event. More than 100 guests are expected to attend. More than 150 new inscribed bricks are expected to be laid in the Diamond Terrace this week, bringing the total number to approximately 300. An update from the trust officer on the Walter Coss estate tells us that a partial distribution of approximately $600,000 will be coming soon. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE We checked printer's proofs of the May/June issues of QEX and NCJ. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 14, for April 11, 2008. It went out to 68,674 subscribers. She also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for April 11. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Staffing The Lab is pleased to announce that we have hired Bob Allison, WB1GCM, as our new test engineer. Bob is replacing Mike Tracy, who is leaving our employ on 4/25. Bob will start on 4/14, with a two week intensive training period. He comes to us with a number of years of testing experience in the broadcasting field. W1HQ The club station has just received an Icom 756 Pro III to replace the old Icom 765-courtesy of Icom America. BPL On April 4, ARRL hosted a visit from John Kremenacker, an employee of Amperion. He met with Ed Hare to discuss the ways that Amperion has improved the EMC design of its current line of BPL equipment. While employed at Amperion, John became KB3PJO, and is now an ARRL member and active ham. He told Ed that when he took HF equipment to a BPL area, he "got it," and understood just what the EMC concerns are. On the business front, BPL is far from dormant in the US. Last week, Ambient announced a new product line, the X-2000. This product uses BPL as part of a hybrid grid-control network. In an SEC filing, it also announced that it had secured a contract with Duke Power to deploy Ambient smart-grid technology and services. Interestingly, just a few short months ago, Duke had announced that it did not intend to use BPL as part of its future smart-grid plans. Current Communications also entered 19 new ZIP codes into the industry BPL database. These are all located in Colorado. Ed Hare noted that some of the required information in the database was missing. He contacted Current, who explained that the systems were to use newly certificated equipment, so at the time they entered the information, all of the details were not available. Current assured ARRL that all information needed would be entered more than 30 days in advance of the deployment and that the database entries were made early to give as much notice as possible. Current's equipment does not use the ham bands and its deployments in Cincinnati and Dallas have not resulted in interference problems involving Amateur Radio. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Membership Update Membership climbed to 154,086, exceeding forecast. We've enjoyed a first quarter gain of 551 members over year-end 2007-continuing our membership growth trend. The Warehouse crew fulfilled 1,300 packages for publication and product orders, shipped 240 free book membership premiums, and sent April QST mailing supplements. Now Shipping NEW ARRL apparel! "HAM" T-shirts, pullovers and caps are now available. And, 2008 ARRL Field Day pins, T-shirts and water bottles are in-stock. Visit www.arrl.org/new for details. Major solicitations for publications and membership will be mailed within the week. These direct marketing campaigns are expected to lift our volume of orders and applications throughout May and June. Customer Service has caught-up on a recent backlog of orders-mostly associated with fulfilling pre-orders for new products. We are currently shipping orders within our processing standard of 3 business days. Field Day has generated an influx of requests for exhibit kits (recruitment handouts). Thanks go to all of the staff who has chipped-in to help collate process and ship these materials to volunteers. We are currently up-to-date and we expect to have a sufficient inventory to support additional requests throughout the period. May QST began mailing on 4/8 and will be completed on 4/14 - on schedule. The Sales and Marketing leadership team attended a team development workshop. The workshop was led by our business consultant Bill Dunkerley. Hamvention Planning Update Our exhibit layout is completed-and we're working with Hara Arena to finalize decorating and other planning details. We're tying the ribbons on our list of exhibit personnel-staff, officials and volunteers. Shirts and badges have been ordered for the entire ARRL EXPO team. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch ARRL Phone Sweepstakes Results have been sent to QST. The 160m results will be submitted by the end of the week. We have had some difficulty with the EME results. With the help of Dan Henderson, N1ND, we believe we have the EME results in order at this time. 2008 RTTY Roundup data has been given to WS7I so he can do the write-up. January VHF data is going to K5MA and 10m data is going to WM5R this week. The next awards to be processed are the 2007 June VHF QSO Party certificates. I'm also going to review which gavels still need to be distributed since my arrival here at HQ. W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also processed two Qualifying Run certificates. Joe also processed regular QSL card requests. He installed two new UPS units in Studio Two. (These two units are attached to the PCs running the APRS and Telpac systems.) Joe also reinstalled an Icom IC-756 ProII that was returned from repair. He also uploaded W1AW logs to LoTW and eQSL. And, Scott worked on slow and fast code practice files for the middle part of the month of April. Field Organization/Public Service Team The latest IARU Region 1 monthly Monitoring System report was received and forwarded to our ARRL volunteer monitors. After receiving several reports of unidentified RTTY operation on 14201 kHz, the investigation indicates that it's likely originating from Libya. Chuck Skolaut received a request from the FCC and forwarded it to regional Official Observers asking for their assistance in monitoring a 75 meter frequency. Two new Official Observes, from Georgia and Western Washington, have come on board. A case of improper and lack of identification on an Ohio repeater has been resolved. HQ also received information about an unlicensed person operating on 75 meters and music on another 75 meter frequency. Editorial work for June QST Public Service column is underway. Steve Ewald heard from Phat, HS1WFK, Secretary General of the Radio Amateur Society of Thailand (RAST). Phat, who visited ARRL HQ last year, reports that he and RAST are making progress on several projects related to emergency communications. Phat conveys his best regards to ARRL. Southern Florida Section Manager Sherri Brower, W4STB, has been nominated to run for a new term of office as SM starting October 1, 2008. Leona Adams reports that Northern Florida SM election ballots have begun to arrive at HQ. Members in Northern Florida have until May 16 to return their ballots. Web/Software Development Reported by Jon Bloom, KE3Z Hugh Brower has essentially completed the recurring-billing system. He will write some documentation of the procedures and train the staff in the Development office during the coming week. Hugh has also been working with VEC to prepare a project plan for the new VEC data-entry application that will allow VE teams to enter test-session data directly. Micah Murray fixed some minor glitches in the on-line membership application to support recurring billing options. He also made some improvements to the system we use to post news articles on the Web site. Jon Bloom spent time fixing some small bugs in Logbook, the Web/Siebel membership system and the FD locator. He also continued work on an ExamWin replacement application. Volunteer Examiner Coordinator Reported by Maria Somma, AB1FM The VE Manual is now available for $10 through the on-line store. Shipping is included in the price. To view the information on the web see ARRL Catalog Order No. 1328 http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=1328#top. VE Patch sales are up 135% over same period last year. ($738 YTD 2008 / $313 YTD 2007). 1st Quarter Results in comparison to previous years. ARRL VEC ACTIVITY Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2006 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2007 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2008 Test Sessions Held 1,342 1,838 1,543 Candidates Served 7,392 16,552 9,484 Exam Elements Taken 9,007 20,383 11,696 New VEs Accredited 284 613 628 New and Upgrade License application forms transmitted to FCC 5,083 12,161 7,936 License Renewals and Changes transmitted to FCC 1,362 (Ø were Vanity license renewals) 2,152 (271 were Vanity license renewals) 1,953 (232 were Vanity license renewals) Club License applications transmitted to FCC 246 (Ø were Club Vanity license renewals) (98 new clubs) 364 (78 were Club Vanity license renewals) (133 new clubs) 363 (44 were Club Vanity license renewals) (132 new clubs) ALL VEC ACTIVITY Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2006 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2007 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2008 LICENSE TYPE LICENSE COUNT LICENSE COUNT LICENSE COUNT EXTRA CLASS LICENSE 935 2,180 1,423 GENERAL LICENSE 1,135 8,125 2,893 TECHNICIAN LICENSE 5,285 7,030 6,948 TOTAL 7,355 17,335 11,264 NEW AMATEURS Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2006 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2007 Jan 1 to Mar 31, 2008 1st QUARTER 5,410 7,560 7,569 2nd QUARTER 5,978 7,561 3rd QUARTER 4,381 5,431 4th QUARTER 5,343 6,176 TOTAL 21,112 26,728 7,569 Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 5/26 Holiday Kathy Allison 6/30-7/7 Vacation Shelly Bloom 4/14-4/18 Vacation Jon Bloom 4/14-4/19 Vacation `` 5/12-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Katie Breen 5/1-5/4 Midwest Division Convention, Sioux City, IA `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/30-5/31 Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, NY `` 7/10-7/14 Rocky Mt. Division Convention, Bryce Canyon, UT LouAnn Campanello 4/14-4/18 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 4/21 Vacation `` 5/12-5/16 Vacation Joe Carcia 5/23 Vacation `` 7/7-7/11 Vacation `` 7/18 Vacation `` 7/21 Vacation Steve Coffey 5/19-5/23 Vacation Jackie Cornell 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dennis Dura 4/16-4/18 National Comm. Systems meeting, Reston, VA `` 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Ann Figat 4/29-4/30 Vacation Steve Ford 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/19-5/20 Vacation Norm Fusaro 4/9-4/30 Int'l DX, Paestum, Italy & ARI Fair Pordenone, Italy `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Scott Gee 4/24-4/25 Vacation `` 5/15-5/16 Vacation `` 6/30 Vacation `` 7/1-7/3 Vacation Amanda Grimaldi 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Mike Gruber 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Joel Hallas 4/18 Vacation `` 5/14-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Penny Harts 5/2-5/6 South Carolina Convention, Spartanburg, SC/Vacation `` 5/15-5/19 Vacation Ed Hare 4/15-4/17 ANSI C63 (EMC Committee) `` 5/14-5/16 Vacation (Dayton, OH) `` 5/29-5/30 IEEE SDCom meeting, Salt Lake City, UT `` 6/2-6/9 Vacation Mary Hobart 4/23-4/29 International DX Convention, Visalia, CA `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Amy Hurtado 4/22 Vacation `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Gail Iannone 5/27-29am Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Karen Isakson 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Deb Jahnke 5/15-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Debra Johnson 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/19-5/20 Vacation `` 6/27-7/6 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Joel Kleinman 5/9-5/10 Vacation Lisa Kustosik 5/2-5/6 Vacation `` 6/20-6/30 Vacation Sean Kutzko 5/12-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Zack Lau 6/19-6/20 Vacation Rose-Ann Lawrence 5/14-5/21 Vacation Maryann Macdonald 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dave Patton 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Frankie Perez 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Allen Pitts 5/15-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Barry Shelley 4/17-4/18 Vacation Maria Somma 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dave Sumner 5/3-5/7 IARU drafting project, London, England `` 5/5-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 6/23-7/1 IARU AC Meeting/Friedrichshafen, Convention Larry Wolfgang 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH

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[arrl-odv:16671] Radios On Line
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 17 Apr '08

17 Apr '08

To: ARRL ODV/ ARRL Department Heads From: Harold Kramer Effective April 30, 2008, the Radios On-Line website will close. We discussed this with the A & F Committee at our meeting here last Saturday. This action was previously recommended in my Program Review document that was presented to the A & F Committee in 2006. For various reasons, we postponed taking any action at that time. If you are interested, I have enclosed my 2006 report. We are taking this action for the following reasons: 1. During the past year, we have experienced an increased number of complaints by members and users regarding postings and practices that do not conform to the Radios On-Line website's original intent. Despite our efforts to monitor the site regularly, these problems persist. These have included postings for guns and "personal" ads. Deb Jahnke and her staff administer this service and they have deleted items and notified the "poster", only to find the ad back two days later, placed in every category. 2. Since my 2006 report, we've seen increased instances of members accusing of us giving out their email addresses as well as asking us to intercede when a business arrangement does not turn out as planned. Obviously, anyone can harvest an email address from the on-line or printed column but, since it appears on our website, complainants think we are responsible for all related problems. 3. EBay, in particular, and, to a lesser extent, other Web sites such as QRZ.com, have taken over the majority of on-line sales of used amateur products and gear. 4. We are tying up skilled Advertising Sales staff by having them spend a disproportionate amount of time dealing with a very small number of users (600 -700 per month) less than .4% of our members). 5. Also, since these on-line ads are free, some there are no budgetary implications. 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 <mailto:hkramer@arrl.org> web: www.arrl.org/ <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:16670] April State Legislative Report
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 16 Apr '08

16 Apr '08

The April State Legislative Report from Chwat & Co. is posted at http://www.arrl.org/members-only/ODV/docs/Legislative/2008/ Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:16669] March Financial Reports
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 15 Apr '08

15 Apr '08

The financial reports for the month of March and the first quarter have been posted to the ODV section of the ARRL web site. http://www.arrl.org/members-only/ODV/docs/Financial%20Reports-2008/ . If there are any questions, please let us know. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc.--The National Association for Amateur Radio 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 Telephone: (860) 594-0212 E-mail: bshelley(a)arrl.org www.arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:16668] W3UR at the Sussex County Techfest in Delaware.
by Bill Edgar 14 Apr '08

14 Apr '08

This past Saturday morning I attended the Sussex County Techfest in Georgetown, DE. Certainly nicer weather in Delaware than back home in northern Pennsylvania. One presentation that caught my eye and that I attended was, "Return to Kosovo", a presentation given by Bernie McClenny, W3UR. Bernie had a PowerPoint presentation of their recent DXpedition to Kosovo and had some very good pictures of the county, people, Kosovo's independence celebrations, and of their DXpedition group. It was interesting to see several pictures of former ARRL staff member, Wayne Mills in the DXpedition group photos. Bernie made one comment during his presentation that CQ Magazine recognized this DXpedition for DX credit and that his group was still working with ARRL on it being recognized by ARRL for DXCC credit. One person in the audience asked if RSGB recognized this DXpedition for credit and Bernie mentioned that he wasn't certain of that. There were no comments made about this group's campaign to contact the Directors or Dave Sumner to change the rules. Approximately 8 people were in attendance for this presentation. His presentation was enjoyable and well presented. - Bill N3LLR

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[arrl-odv:16667] Fwd: FAA, CYA
by dick＠pobox.com 12 Apr '08

12 Apr '08

12 APR, 2008 - 1153 CDT Quite by coincidence, today's Chicago Tribune lead editorial says exactly the same thing that I emailed to all of you yesterday. - Dick, W9GIG ========================================================================== FAA, CYA Chicago Tribune - April 12, 2008 Be glad the Federal Aviation Administration pilots a bureaucracy and not a plane, because if it piloted your plane you'd be lunging for the air sickness bag. American Airlines canceled 3,115 flights this week, including 596 flights on Friday, to bring its fleet of MD-80 aircraft into full compliance with FAA technical directives. Another couple hundred flights could be canceled Saturday. This disruption has inconvenienced about 300,000 passengers and will cost the airline tens of millions of dollars. American's planes weren't in imminent danger. Some of them weren't compliant with an FAA airworthiness directive regarding the wrapping on a 6-foot-long bundle of wires leading to a hydraulic pump in the right wheel well. Some ties were not spaced correctly. They should all have been an inch apart; some were an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half. American acknowledges it discovered one tie spacing that measured 4 inches. Some clamps faced one way and they should have faced another. The FAA went for overkill with American after it got caught being lax with Southwest Airlines. FAA officials recently were hauled before Congress to explain why they had let Southwest slide on some maintenance inspections. The wire-spacing issue didn't catch anyone by surprise. Four years ago, American, Boeing and the FAA developed a plan to avoid chafing problems with the wire bundle. (Three such incidents worldwide had been reported; none on American's planes. Those wires rubbing against each other or anything else could cause friction and that could lead to a fire.) By the time the FAA issued the directive in 2006 and gave airlines 18 months to secure the wire bundles, American was already sheathing its bundles and securing them with ties and clamps. But there were some minor technical differences between the plan American, Boeing and the FAA developed in 2004 and the FAA's 2006 order. American insists it could have dealt with the differences over the space of a week, and avoided the major disruptions we've seen. But it didn't get the chance. This week's mess occurred because a federal bureaucracy tried to look strong after looking weak. The FAA was covering its you-know-what.

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[arrl-odv:16666] American Airlines MD-80 Fleet Grounding Problem
by dick＠pobox.com 11 Apr '08

11 Apr '08

11 APR 2008 - This is off topic for this reflector, but I think you all would like to know exactly what the problem is that requires an FAA-mandated grounding of all American Airlines MD-80s. This all started when Southwest Airlines was caught flying older model B-737s that actually had some fuselage structural cracks. An AD on this issue had been issued several years earlier. Congress angrily over-reacted and publicly threatened the FAA for its ongoing failure to closely monitor airline safety - even though it has been cutting FAA operations budgets for many years; particularly under the George W. Bush administration. Now in panic mode, the FAA is enforcing all of its ADs literally to the letter, even though most of them are not serious enough to warrant an immediate fleet grounding. Most ADs are resolved by timely maintenance action within the specified time limit. I believe this was the original type of time requirement for the electrical cable inspection AD for all MD-80s. The first grounding had American's mechanics re-checking and modifying the specific electrical (wire bundle) cable that controls the electric auxiliary hydraulic pump was in response to an FAA Airworthiness Directive (AD) originally issued in 2006. I understand this AD was originally complied to by American within the required time period in the manner prescribed. because no fine was later assessed by the FAA. However, the FAA did not directly inspect the aircraft and accepted American Airlines Inspectors' reports stating the work had been properly completed. After the Southwest Airlines problem, the FAA then randomly inspected a few American Airlines MD-80s and found one or more discrepancies. I assume the same situation exists at Delta Airlines and the few other U.S. air carriers operating MD-80s, but they have not yet been audited or re-inspected by the FAA. The attached annotated picture that goes with the comments below shows exactly what is going on at American Airlines right now. The second round of re-inspections is not rocket-science. However, it's an expensive time- consuming procedure that does not improve safety one iota. It's purpose is to allow the FAA to tell its congressional critics and the mass media that it is truly enforcing the rules, regardless how nit-picking they may be, at great cost to the airlines and the flying public. - Dick, W9GIG ========================================================================= Forwarded by another airline retiree: American Airlines MD-80 Fleet Grounding Problem This is what the FAA controversy is all about. It's about the spacing of the ties on the wiring bundle. Notice the bundle is covered in a kevlar??? sleeve and has new rubber-covered cable clamps. It's not like it's going to go anywhere, but the FAA says it has to be tied at exactly one inch intervals. This doesn't seem like it's quite in the same category as the cracks in a few Southwest B-737 Aircraft fuselages! []

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[arrl-odv:16665] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 09 Apr '08

09 Apr '08

<<040908.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 31, No. 15 April 9, 2008 -- Covers the period March 30-April 5. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND The third round of testing at the Beale AFB in connection with PAVE PAWS is scheduled to take place near the end of April. After they compile the results we will work with the FCC on the list of any new repeaters identified. If the DoD holds true to form, we will probably not have that list until sometime mid to late May. After discussing the proposal presented by the DoD for allowing the repeater coordinating group in New England to resume new coordinations, the NESMC Board has indicated they are not willing to serve as the point of emergency contact should a newly coordinated repeater be found to cause interference. Their position simply put is that their job is to allow repeaters to go on the air, not tell them the users that they need to resolve a new interference problem. This is disappointing, given the fact that their policy is that any new coordination is considered trial for a 60-day period. Based on their position, we will have to work out a new arrangement to meet the Air Force's desire to have an immediate point of contact in place in order to quickly and efficiently handle any new harmful interference which may occur when a new repeater is brought on line. I will continue to work with Chris Imlay, Dave Sumner and representatives from the Department of Defense on this procedure, keeping in mind that footnote US7 does not give the DoD the authority to approve all new transmitters in the designated area, only those seeking to operate over the 50W power level. Any agreement worked out will have to be voluntary on the amateur's side but must also meet the regulations that the amateur as secondary user bears the responsibility of eliminating any harmful interference to the primary user. The Field Day locator continues to be quite popular. As of Friday April 4, a total of 381 groups in 48 states, Puerto Rico and 3 Canadian provinces/territories have registered. There have been a couple of cases of Canadian clubs/groups wishing to register but are not ARRL-affiliates. In these cases they are asked to supply me with the necessary information and we make the posting for them. The VC/VCE databases were updates with several new applicants who have been approved by various directors. Later this year we will be in contact withal VCs/VCEs listed to verify information, with the goal of doing a complete update of the databases at least once every two years. We have begun work on providing some additional items which will be included in the reprint of the Part 97 booklets we currently sell. The reprint is scheduled to include materials from the new chapter in the ARRL Operating Manual on the rules as well as some important short items on some commonly asked issues, such as repeater control and auxiliary station operation. Working with the DLAC from the Southwestern Division, we released a Grassroots letter request from Chwat and Company for the state of Arizona. We also began reviewing some generic "form" letters for posting on the ARRL Web. Correspondence and phone calls during the week centered around clarifying a repeater control query from Virginia, a proposed ordinance in Lewiston, ME and its potential impact of amateurs, as well as the normal weekly questions and inquiries. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP The Technical Campaign brochures went to the printer, the stickers are here and the 2008 Talk on a Disk for the campaign has gone to the duplicators. The website remains to be done and a meeting with Fathom, Inc. has been set to coordinate its creation. The NAB is this week and materials have been sent to the folks representing us there. It is possible that John Kanzius, the ham who is working on the cancer issue, will be featured on CBS' 60 Minutes this weekend - we're trying to confirm that, but CBS can change their lineup at any time. Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, is getting married on April 19. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH The W1AW campaign is in the mail! First returns are expected in about 2 weeks. Next up - Education & Technology Program to raise funds for stations in schools as well as support for our ARRL education al mission. Development received an update on the Walter Coss estate and expect a partial distribution shortly. Diamond Club currently boasts 2045 donors. Net revenues through March 31 are behind 2007 by about $10,000, mostly due to fewer new Diamond Club donors. Diamond Club renewals are up over 2007 by 51 donors with a strong average contribution of $143. A new donor grant commitment of $10,000 came in this week for the Teachers Institute bringing the 2008 total contributions to $65,000. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The May/June issues of QEX and NCJ have been released to the printer, as has an update to the DXCC List. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 27, No. 13, for April 4, 2008. It went out to 68,430 subscribers. She also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for April 4. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Awards Branch Category Feb. 2008 March 2008 Year-to-Date WAS Certificates (Manual) 39 30 91 WAS Certificates (LoTW) 17 14 42 A-1 Op Nominations 14 19 49 A-1 Op Certificates 17 13 45 Extra Class Certificates 10 9 24 WAC Certificates 13 9 49 VUCC New / Grids 10 / 770 12 / 1,279 30 / 2,554 VUCC Endorsement / Grids 6 / 347 20 / 1,180 29 / 1,705 Processing Time Current Current Current DXCC Branch Category Feb. 2008 March 2008 Year-to-Date Credits Processed1 69,052 65,646 221,616 Credits Received 43,994 53,439 121,061 Apps. Returned 586 515 1,894 Apps. Received 331 415 968 Apps. Pending 897 839 839 Processing Rate 17,263 16,412 19,500 1 Processed means credits have been fully processed and completed through return mailing. Estimate. Example: 839 applications @ 120 credits per application = 100,680 credits. As of April 7, 2008, DXCC is fully processing 18,468 credits per week. Contest Branch All logs have been received for the ARRL DX Contest. Paper logs are currently being entered into the Access database. We are well over 2,500 total logs for each contest. We have about 40 Sweepstakes mugs left over from the initial order. CW pins are reasonably stocked, but we have only a handful of SSB pins left. 2008 ARRL DX Contest pins orders are coming in at a steady pace. Sean, KX9X will be speaking at the New England Weak Signal convention in Enfield, CT on Saturday, April 19 at 9 am. His talk will include the Fred Fish Memorial Award and discussion of the new VHF Rover rules. Sean will also do VUCC card checking while there. Logbook of the World Category Feb. 2008 March 2008 QSO Records Entered Into System 160,761,075 165,436,766 QSL Record Matches 12,256,571 12,843,494 Logs Processed 541,901 569,614 Active Certificates 29,630 30,477 Registered Users in System 19,422 19,995 Logbook (Email Only) Inquiries Feb. 2008 March 2008 Year-to-Date Lost Certificate 153 177 531 DXCC Status Inquiries 65 90 225 Data Not Shown 42 28 105 No TQ6 File Received from LoTW 14 20 38 Additional Certificate Requests 76 43 201 Cannot Log on to LoTW User Page 28 23 81 Can't Upload Log to LoTW User Page 21 29 68 No TQ5 File Received by LoTW 29 21 98 Incorrect Date Range 54 32 141 Lost Personal Password 12 12 44 User Email Problems 20 42 81 WAS Status Inquiries 30 30 85 Club Inquiries 19 27 69 New Callsign Changes 15 9 34 Cannot Understand Error Messages 5 7 18 Logbook Startup Inquiries 52 43 140 Can't Activate/Load TQ6 Certificate 26 5 46 Logbook Suggestions 4 3 15 QSO Downloaded 0 4 16 Additional Documents Needed 13 22 51 Need Postcard 9 18 30 Directions Not Followed 63 72 166 Duplicate Email Inquiries 40 46 87 Cannot Sign Logs 16 15 33 Other Inquiries 55 57 183 Total Inquiries 861 875 2,588 QSL Branch Feb. 2008 March 2008 Year-to-Date Cards Received 43,800 60,750 178,350 Cards Mailed 75,500 0 75,500 Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona reports that she has been working with the new Section Managers in San Diego and Virginia who are beginning to update their field organization appointments. They are all set up for section news, email, etc. She has also been updating the database with new appointments, cancellations and changes. She has been sending out supply packages to new appointees as well. Chuck compiled the monthly ARRL Monitoring System report. A 75 meter monitoring request from the FCC was forwarded to Regional Official Observers. Documentation from OOs was received regarding a 75 meter frequency and was forwarded to the FCC as well as several reports of violations which were relayed as they were occurring. An unidentified RTTY signal heard on 3872 was likely coming from a military source possibly from Russia. A report of Chinese music broadcasts interfering with nearby 60 meter channels was reported in the southeast and is being investigated. Questions handled this week dealt with Go-kits, power limits on 440, a request for the Power Squadron MOU, and Sky Command info. A tour of headquarters was given for a member from Michigan visiting the area on business. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ We are running to keep up with a high seasonal level of registration activity in the Continuing Education Program. We are struggling to find enough mentors for some courses, with some mentors stepping up to accept additional students. February March EmComm (all levels) 91 134 Technician Licensing 54 66 All other courses 29 37 We also continue to receive a steady flow of new instructor registrations. Many of the class listings we're seeing are in locations that would suggest they are motivated by interest in emergency communications, e.g. Red Cross offices, fire stations, hospitals, etc. The Church of Latter Day Saints is also heavily promoting amateur radio licensing. Progress continues on the development of the General Licensing course and the Digital Emergency Communications course, both of which will be offered on CD. We expect to complete the editorial review this week to ready the courses for some user testing. Education & Technology Program Mark Spencer completed construction of all of the activity boards needed for this year's session of the Teachers Institute. He has been juggling teacher registrations and other logistical changes involved with the Teachers Institute opening in Tampa this week. Most of the remaining TI sections have healthy enrollment except for the Dayton session, which could use a few more participants to make it viable. Hotel reservations have been made for the Tucson TI. Mark continues to address requests for assistance from volunteer instructors at an increasing rate. Lately there has been a lot of interest in Fox Hunting and the Fox Hunting controller published on the ETP web section. ARISS The Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum in Colorado is sponsoring special events in May related to space, including visits from astronauts. ARISS volunteers are setting up an exhibit including a ham station in an old FAA console. They will make HF and 2 meter QSOs under the call sign K0WAR, for Wings Amateur Radio. They will transmit audio from the ISS, SuitSat-1 and ARISS QSOs while tracking the ISS. A school in Kyoto, Japan, had a QSO on March 26, and the Shanghai Youth Centre of Science and Technology Education on April 2. Students at Central Middle School in Parsippany, NJ, have been learning and practicing on-the-air skills once a week with area hams in preparation of their mid-April ARISS QSO. ARISS Mentor Barry Cohen, K2JV, said the kids had a ball while making QSOs via the local repeater, and: "they didn't want to leave when school was out for the day. Simulated on-air training sessions were completed by the Houston ARISS Team on March 13 with Astronaut Sandy Magnus, KE5FYE, and Astronaut Nicole Stott, KE5GJN. Web/Software Development Reported by Jon Bloom, KE3Z Hugh Brower continues to support staff use of our on-line credit-card processing system as he puts the final touches on the recurring-billing option. Hugh has also been spending a fair amount of time on various member-support items. Micah Murray added some functionality to the on-line membership application to support recurring billing options, as well as keeping on top of Web updates. Jon Bloom made some requested changes to the on-line course registration system, the Web/Siebel membership application component and Logbook (adding St. Barts). Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 5/26 Holiday Kathy Allison 6/30-7/7 Vacation Shelly Bloom 4/14-4/18 Vacation Jon Bloom 4/14-4/19 Vacation `` 5/12-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Margie Bourgoin 4/3-4/9 Vacation Katie Breen 5/1-5/4 Midwest Division Convention, Sioux City, IA `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/30-5/31 Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, NY `` 7/10-7/14 Rocky Mt. Division Convention, Bryce Canyon, UT LouAnn Campanello 4/14-4/18 Vacation Joe Carcia 5/23 Vacation `` 7/7-7/11 Vacation `` 7/18 Vacation `` 7/21 Vacation Jackie Cornell 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dennis Dura 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Steve Ford 4/14-4/15 Vacation `` 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/19-5/20 Vacation Norm Fusaro 4/9-4/30 Int'l DX, Paestum, Italy & ARI Fair Pordenone, Italy `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Scott Gee 5/15-5/16 Vacation `` 6/30 Vacation `` 7/1-7/3 Vacation Amanda Grimaldi 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Mike Gruber 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Joel Hallas 4/18 Vacation `` 5/14-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Penny Harts 5/2-5/6 South Carolina Convention, Spartanburg, SC/Vacation `` 5/15-5/19 Vacation Mary Hobart 4/23-4/29 International DX Convention, Visalia, CA `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Amy Hurtado 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Bob Inderbitzen 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Karen Isakson 4/7-4/9 Vacation `` 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Deb Jahnke 5/15-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Debra Johnson 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 5/19-5/20 Vacation `` 6/27-7/6 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Lisa Kustosik 5/2-5/6 Vacation Sean Kutzko 5/12-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Zack Lau 4/11 Vacation Rose-Ann Lawrence 5/14-5/21 Vacation Maryann Macdonald 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dave Patton 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Frankie Perez 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Allen Pitts 5/15-5/19 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Maria Somma 5/14-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dave Sumner 5/5-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Larry Wolfgang 5/15-5/18 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH

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RE: [arrl-odv:16663] Re:Computers at Board Meeting
by Joel Harrison 08 Apr '08

08 Apr '08

The work I was referring to that was occurring on-line during the EPRI meeting was work specifically related to that meeting, not other things. -----Original Message----- From: WY7FD, Dwayne Allen [mailto:WY7FD@ARRL.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2008 10:28 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:16663] Re:Computers at Board Meeting Joel has a valid point. Also, some of us are not retired yet and amateur radio is a hobby. The ham radio operator creed says we are balanced. This sometimes means that an email or question asked by work colleagues should be answered in a timely manner. I am not saying that one should try to work and perform BOD functions at the same time but this slight detour will keep employers happy while they allow us time off to help shape the future of amateur radio as it pertains to the ARRL. WY7FD Quoting Joel Harrison <w5zn(a)arrl.org>: > > > While I understand the questioning, obviously this person doesn't attend, or > hasn't attended any professional organizational or society meetings but this > is almost a requirement in the business world today. > > > > In fact, at my last quarterly EPRI meeting the room was required to have > internet access as a lot of work was conducted on-line in real time. > > > > 73 Joel W5ZN > > > >

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