August 2008 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

RE: [arrl-odv:17059] RE: [arrl-odv:17057] Web Site
by K8JE 09 Aug '08

09 Aug '08

FYI, one of the GLD members who had problems connecting to the web site reported he was now able to get to it. Holding ENTER and hitting REFRESH didn't do the trick, but holding CONTROL and hitting REFRESH, did, though. 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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RE: [arrl-odv:17051] Re: NVCEC Conference Report
by K8JE 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

NCVEC MEETING REPORT Good report. Too bad the meeting wasn't quite as good. Looking at the period of time the NCVEC has functioned does not in itself give me a feeling that the folks who have been the movers and shakers during this period have everything going OK with them. On the contrary, I believe the longer any particular segment is able to exert undue degree of influence in an organization, the more likely problems will creep in. In partisan politics (and elsewhere), when this occurs we would call this corruption. I have no suggested steps to take to resolve what I view as a problem, but I am concerned over what seems to be an overly-casual manner of conduct of the latest meeting and what also appears to be a quite undemocratic atmosphere in general. 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:17061] Committee Reports
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

The committee reports that were accepted at the July meeting are posted and available to the public at http://www.arrl.org/announce/reports-2008/july/ Dave K1ZZ

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RE: [arrl-odv:17059] RE: [arrl-odv:17057] Web Site
by K8JE 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Joel and Harold, Tnx for letting me know. I've passed Jon's suggestion on how to empty the cache to my two guys. I attempted to connect to arrl.org a few minutes ago (without emptying the cache) and had absolutely no problem. 73, 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:17059] RE: [arrl-odv:17057] Web Site
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Jim, Here is the story on the web site, if you have not seen it. We received very few inquires about this problem today as most people seem to be back up fine. ARRL Internet Services Experience Network Problems (Aug 7, 2008) -- Since around 8:30 AM EDT on August 7, many users have been unable to access the ARRL Web site and e-mail. According to ARRL Web/Software Development Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, "an inadvertent network configuration error" at the site's Internet Service Provider (ISP) was to blame. An issue with the Domain Name Servers (DNS) caused many users to be routed to the wrong Web site. The problem was quickly discovered and resolved; however, due to a lag in propagation, some users could be affected for up to 24 hours. Thanks to all the members who called in to report the outage. Link to this item <http://mymail.arrl.org/?artid=8385> Jon Bloom also has offered the following advice to members with a similar situation: That sounds like a local cache problem. Just clicking Refresh isn't guaranteed to fix that. Try the refresh again, but this time hold down the Shift key as you click Refresh. If that doesn't work, you may need to explicitly clear your browser's cache. I hope that this is helpful. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington , CT 06111 860 594 0220 www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: K8JE [mailto:K8JE@arrl.org] Sent: Fri 8/8/2008 5:13 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:17057] Web Site Gentlefolk, I have one member who reports inability to log into the ARRL web site the past two days and another who was able to get into it this morning (not yesterday, though) and has subsequently been unable to make it. I was able to log in throughout yesterday, but see nothing on the screen for the several attempts I've made today. Can anyone shed light on what is happening, what is being done about it or what we as individuals need to do about it and/or when the problem will be resolved? To put it into a single word, "whasup?" Tnx 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:17058] Re: Web Site
by Joel Harrison 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

I am not having any trouble navigating any place on ARRLWeb. Everything is fine here. On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 4:13 PM, K8JE <K8JE(a)arrl.org> wrote: > Gentlefolk, > > > > I have one member who reports inability to log into the ARRL web site the > past two days and another who was able to get into it this morning (not > yesterday, though) and has subsequently been unable to make it. I was able > to log in throughout yesterday, but see nothing on the screen for the > several attempts I've made today. > > > > Can anyone shed light on what is happening, what is being done about it or > what we as individuals need to do about it and/or when the problem will be > resolved? To put it into a single word, "whasup?" > > > > Tnx > > > > *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:17057] Web Site
by K8JE 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Gentlefolk, I have one member who reports inability to log into the ARRL web site the past two days and another who was able to get into it this morning (not yesterday, though) and has subsequently been unable to make it. I was able to log in throughout yesterday, but see nothing on the screen for the several attempts I've made today. Can anyone shed light on what is happening, what is being done about it or what we as individuals need to do about it and/or when the problem will be resolved? To put it into a single word, "whasup?" Tnx 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:17056] Re:RE: NVCEC Conference Report
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Chris, Another disturbing item that Maria and I discussed is that this conference did not exactly conform to Robert's Rules of Order. There were very few formal motions and lots of informal policy making and ad hoc discussion, at least that's my understanding. Also, this business with proxies looks a bit fishy to me. We have often discussed this issue. This group has a lot of power and influence, however it is not represented proportionately and way too "anti - ARRL" and clicky (for lack of a better term). If\ we try to change things, we would most likely be through the regulatory process, we will always look like the bad guys, even though we give 70% of the exams. Maria did tell me that the principals are changing in the group and that newer people are replacing some of the old guard. Maybe there's some hope for the future. Any ideas? HK Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ________________________________ From: w3kd(a)aol.com [mailto:w3kd@aol.com] Sent: Friday, August 08, 2008 2:01 PM To: arrl-odv Cc: Somma, Maria, AB1FM Subject: [arrl-odv:17050] Re: NVCEC Conference Report Greetings. A couple of observations from reading Maria's report: 1. I think Maria's report is really excellent -- it is thorough, concise, and gives a comprehensive picture of the nature of the teleconference. 2. I am concerned about the following portion of it, despite the ultimate result: Elections of NCVEC officers and committee chairs and members for 2008/2009 resumed Nominations for NCVEC Chairman: Scotty Neustadter, W4WW, of WCARS, Mike Maston, N6OPH, of SANDARC, Larry Pollock, NB5X, of W5YI. There was a discussion about whether a representative from ARRL or W5YI could serve as chair of the NCVEC. Guin mentioned that there has been a belief among a lot of the VECs that the ARRL and W5YI do more than the rest of us. They are quite involved in a commercial venture along with the testing and that's a big part of why they ought to able to serve on any committee but not chair any committee. To nominate someone from one of those two VECs to be NCVEC Chairman is breaking new ground. Maia observed that while not making anyone from W5YI or ARRL chair of the NCVEC has been the practice, it never was adopted, never was voted on or discussed. He said there is no ruling whats oever that ARRL or W5YI could not serve as chair of QPC or NCVEC Conference. It was just felt that one VEC and one vote and 95% of all testing done by those two organizations, maybe someone else should be in charge but it has never been voted on or agreed. Fuszard commented that NCVEC has never addressed this and it's not in the bylaws. They individually or collectively are viewed as the 800 pound gorillas and could influence the group but he questions that concept. The NCVEC decides the direction of the conference and if Pollock was to become chairman and if we determine in the next 12 months we don't like that, we can replace him at the next conference so it would not be a long term experience. Wiley stated he would only be worried if one V EC held 3 or 4 positions. Guin commented that we don't know if we have a problem yet. A vote was called and the NCVEC representatives elected Pollock to his first term as chairman. John Johnston, W3BE, of LARC, was elected as vice chairman. Anders was elected as Chairman of the Question Pool Committee. Green, Pollock, Fuszard and Wiley were appointed as members of the QPC; Anders, Green, Wiley and Pollock are returning QPC members. It strikes me that the bias against ARRL exhibited here, notwithstanding the election of W5YI's Pollock as NCVEC Chair, is disquieting. It reveals that the ARRL is, even now, after all the years of active participation in the NCVEC system, still being deliberately marginalized by the NCVEC, which has historically done this on an ongoing basis. Perhaps as a result of ARRL's experience in the past, where we have had to fight just to keep ARRL representatives on the Question Pool Committee, I get the idea that the NCVEC is still very much like a homeowner's association, involving people who believe that they have a lot of power as the result of their role in it, and who, for whatever ego reasons, like to exercise that perceived dominion over (especially) the ARRL, the alpha dog of the bunch in terms of exams administered. I have always characterized the NCVEC as a creature essentially created, and very obviously nurtured by John Johnston, W3BE, when he was at FCC as a an entity that would serve as an alternative to ARRL in terms of influence in Amateur Radio regulatory matters (and that John himself could influence). To an admittedly far lesser degree now than in years past, NCVEC still se ems to serve that role. I suspect that Johnston's involvement in it now is for the same reasons. I am not suggesting that ARRL do anything affirmative about this now, and I believe that ARRL is exceptionally well-represented at the NCVEC by Maria and Perry. But the rather bizarre logic exhibited by lesser minds at the NCVEC does, I think, bear watching closely, and it is unfortunate that this foolishness continues to the present time. I had hoped it would be gone by now. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay BOOTH, FRERET, IMLAY & TEPPER, P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD(a)ARRL.ORG -----Original Message----- From: Kramer, Harold, WJ1B <wj1b(a)arrl.org> To: arrl-odv <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Cc: Somma, Maria, AB1FM <msomma(a)arrl.org> Sent: Fri, 8 Aug 2008 9:21 am Subject: [arrl-odv:17048] NVCEC Conference Report Hi, You will find attached Maria Somma's full report on the NCVEC Conference. An edited version of this information has already appeared on the Web site and will also appear in this week's ARRL Letter. If you have any questions, please feel free to refer them directly to Maria. 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/> ________________________________ It's time to go back to school! Get the latest trends and gadgets that make the grade on AOL Shopping <http://shopping.aol.com/back-to-school?ncid=aolins00050000000007> .

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[arrl-odv:17055] Re: NVCEC Conference Report
by n3llr＠earthlink.net 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Dick, thanks for the info. I thought the meeting was a teleconference rather than an 'in person' meeting in Gettysburg?? If so, any reason why they couldn't have a representative? - Bill N3LLR -----Original Message----- From: "Richard J. Norton" <richardjnorton(a)gmail.com> Subj: [arrl-odv:17051] Re: NVCEC Conference Report Date: Fri Aug 8, 2008 2:19 pm Size: 2K To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> I'd like to put in a few good words about GLAARG, the Greater Los Angeles Amateur Radio Group. GLAARG is basically run by R. C. Smith, W6RZA. "Smitty" is an 86-year old, retired Hughes Aircraft Company engineer. GLAARG was formed to be a VEC. It is not a radio club. Initially GLAARG collected operating expenses from donations, but the FCC apparently instructed them to collect from those taking the test. They collected $4 per exam starting in 1988, and still charge $4. They give exams to many of the local disaster and public service groups. They classically give the exams to large groups of high school students. The examiners get the test results to Smitty asap. and he gets the licenses promptly. Because of Smitty's rapid response, people often get their callsigns the next day. I once asked Maria Somma about Smitty. Her response was positive and she told me Smitty was something like the grand old man of the VECs. You can ask her directly. I suspect GLAARG wasn't at the meeting in person because Smitty is 86 and that the meeting is on the other side of the country. It's easy for local groups like Laurel to drive to the meeting. It's not easy for GLAARG. I suspect that the meeting agenda was adequately handled by those in attendance. After the number of years the National VEC has functioned, I suspect they have things under control. I view GLAARG simply as a vehicle that Los Angeles area hams can use to volunteer to test prospective hams. The dedication and attention to honest test-taking is the same as ARRL VECs. The difference is the cost, basically because Smitty is doing the work of the paid ARRL staffers as a volunteer. Smitty and chief tester, K6YXH, are both ARRL members, as are most of the GLAARG group I think. GLAARG guys are our friends, working in their way to advance Amateur Radio. 73, Dick, N6AA On Fri, Aug 8, 2008 at 10:09 AM, Bill Edgar <n3llr(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > I've got to wonder why some VEC 's didn't have anyone from their VEC team > represent them and they had to have a proxy represent them and why one VEC > didn't have anyone representing them? > > It would be interesting to see the numbers of sessions and examinees each > VEC has held/tested over the last several years. > GLAARG > > Win Guin, W2GLJ, of WCARS, had GLAARG VEC proxy

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[arrl-odv:17054] Re: NVCEC Conference Report
by K0GW 08 Aug '08

08 Aug '08

Richard J. Norton wrote: > I suspect GLAARG wasn't at the meeting in person because Smitty is 86 > and that the meeting is on the other side of the country. It's easy > for local groups like Laurel to drive to the meeting. It's not easy > for GLAARG. > Dick, It was a teleconference. -- 73, Greg, KØGW Vice Director, Dakota Division

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