July 2009 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:17981] DRAFT Board Meeting Minutes
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Here, thanks largely to Dave Patton and Brennan Price, are the draft minutes of last week's Board meeting. Please call any errors and omissions to my attention. I will hold public distribution until next Monday afternoon. Thanks. Dave K1ZZ <<2009 Second Meeting Minutes DRAFT Rev 2.doc>>

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[arrl-odv:17980] Withdrawal of Petition for Writ of Mandamus
by Chris Imlay 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Greetings. After some drama this week, we have filed with the Court of Appeals today the attached Motion to Withdraw our Petition for Writ of Mandamus. Dave Sumner wisely stood fast in response to FCC's telephonic?request that we withdraw the?petition earlier in the week (based on the?issuance of the Further NPRM by FCC last Friday night late). The reason was that the newly released information that FCC released for the first time?last Friday was?released in an 870-megabyte zip file, which for those with?reasonably fast DSL took the better part?of two hours to download.? Dave had me call the FCC attorney and tell him that the FCC's means of releasing the data was not?a reasonable means of soliciting public comment on the new material. We weren't worried?about OUR ability to download the information, but the opportunity of those hams with perhaps slower internet connections (which in some cases could take many hours to download).?So, we weren't going to withdraw the Mandamus petition. FCC had a response due at the Court on August 3. There followed?a short?standoff, after which the FCC blinked first (because they didn't want us to drag them back to the Court and tell the Court that FCC was still trying to deep-six data that?they should have released long before. So, FCC called and said that they intended to?make the files available individually. Some are still rather large, but the most incriminating ones are powerpoints, and they are available on an FCC web site individually, and thus more accessible to those with slow internet connections.? Having done that, we agreed to withdraw the Mandamus Petition, because it is now in all respects moot.? It now remains to prepare extensive comments on the newly released documents (which clearly opens up the entire BPL proceeding again, as it draws into substantial question the propriety of the Part 15 radiated emission standard that is applied to BPL) and as well the previously released unredacted documents.?Finally, FCC?has somewhat sheepishly proposed a 30 dB/decade signal decay extrapolation factor instead of the 40 dB that they claim they?justified, but really didn't.? For some very entertaining reading, look at the 2003 powerpoint presentations that Steve Martin, an FCC engineer with a high degree of personal integrity, prepared and which, until now, FCC?buried. It shows that the FCC drew conclusions that they knew?were false in the BPL?report and order and the memorandum opinion and?order on reconsideration.? A good weekend to all. 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

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[arrl-odv:17979] FW: Section Manager Letter to Dave Sumner
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

-----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 1:05 PM To: 'Steve Early' Subject: RE: Section Manager Letter to Dave Sumner Thanks, Steve. I will share your update with the Board. 73, Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Steve Early [mailto:ad6vi@cox.net] Sent: Friday, July 24, 2009 12:06 PM To: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Subject: RE: Section Manager Letter to Dave Sumner Dave, Dave, Thanks for the feed back. A number of us are looking forward to working with the Ad Hoc Emergency Communications Subcommittee, to resolve these issues in common, that are plaguing our front-line troops. Of particular concern is our (ARRL/ARES) relevance to our local Offices of Emergency Services and local served agencies, and in particular, their Incident Commanders. Also, I believe that I should point out that the 21 original Co-Sponsor Section Managers listed had been given only 24 hours to review the final document before responding. Additionally, the document had not made it to a number of the SMs due to technical issues (bad e-mail, etc). Since the letter was sent: An additional seven SM's have signed on as Co-Sponsors: William Dale, N2RHV, SCV Joseph Giraudo, N7JEH, NV Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV, SF Robert Schneider, AH6J, PAC Edward Stuckey, AI7H, ID Jay Urish, W5GM, NTX Donald Wood, W5FHA, NM Daniel Pruitt, AE6SX, SJV has abstained, citing recent appointment and unfamiliarity with the issues. Betsey Doane, K1EIC SM CT has declined to endorse, stating that while in agreement with most of the issues, there was disagreement on the national database issue. Two more made comments, but did not state intentions. Sincerely, Steve Early, AD6VI SM, SDG ---- "Sumner wrote: ============= Dear Steve: Further to my message of July 13, I am pleased to advise you that the ARRL Programs and Services Committee has referred the joint letter from Section Managers to its Ad Hoc Emergency Communications Subcommittee. The subcommittee will be working with staff to address the issues that you have raised so constructively. Thanks again for your contributions to the work of the League. 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ ARRL Chief Executive Officer

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[arrl-odv:17978] FCC Releases Latest (Year-Old) Data on High-Speed Internet Access
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

The FCC just released its latest report on the status of "High Speed Services for Internet Access." Apparently this is the last report in this format, as the reporting requirements have changed. The most interesting statistic to me is that the number of "Power Line and Other" lines remains at about 5,000 and once again dropped slightly during the six-month period. Dave HIGH SPEED SERVICES FOR INTERNET ACCESS: STATUS AS OF JUNE 30, 2008. Action by: Chief, Industry Analysis and Technology Division, Wireline Competition Bureau by REPORT. WCB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-292191A1.pdf

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[arrl-odv:17977] Re:Ad-Hoc Committee
by n3llr＠earthlink.net 24 Jul '09

24 Jul '09

Hi Joel, How close are we in getting the commercialization committee going? Thanks! - Bill -----Original Message----- From: "Joel Harrison" <w5zn(a)arrl.org> Subj: Ad-Hoc Committee Date: Wed Jul 22, 2009 9:31 am Size: 873 bytes To: "arrl-odv" <arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org> Just an FYI that I expect to have the Ad-hoc committees that the Board created appointed today or tomorrow. I realize the commercialization group has a short time frame so we'll get it going quickly. Joel

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RE: Ad-Hoc Committee
by K8JE 23 Jul '09

23 Jul '09

The attention will be appreciated. Tnx. Jim Weaver, K8JE, Director ARRL Great Lakes Division 5065 Bethany Rd. Mason, OH 45040 E-mail: k8je(a)arrl.org, Tel.: 513-459-1661 ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio _____ From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 9:31 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Ad-Hoc Committee Just an FYI that I expect to have the Ad-hoc committees that the Board created appointed today or tomorrow. I realize the commercialization group has a short time frame so we'll get it going quickly. Joel

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[arrl-odv:17975] FW: Section Manager Letter to Dave Sumner
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

To close the loop (but not to close out the item) here is my further acknowledgment of the "SM letter" as agreed with the Programs & Services Committee last Thursday. 73, Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 3:19 PM To: 'Steve Early' Subject: RE: Section Manager Letter to Dave Sumner Dear Steve: Further to my message of July 13, I am pleased to advise you that the ARRL Programs and Services Committee has referred the joint letter from Section Managers to its Ad Hoc Emergency Communications Subcommittee. The subcommittee will be working with staff to address the issues that you have raised so constructively. Thanks again for your contributions to the work of the League. 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ ARRL Chief Executive Officer

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[arrl-odv:17974] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

<<072209.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 32, No. 29 July 22, 2009 -- Covers the period July 12-18. CEO Reported by Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ CEO staff is working on wrapping-up another successful and smooth-functioning Board meeting. A special thank you to Greg Kwasowski for driving the van; to Maryann Macdonald and Maggie Bourgoin for helping with the Board books and to Penny Harts for helping with the goodie table in the lobby. Special acknowledgement and thanks to Andy Shefrin for working with the Marriott technicians in making all presentation and computer equipment run like a charm. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND During the past two weeks, we have handled a large number queries - ranging from Field Day log submissions to reciprocal operating to license renewal. Part of the time in the office has also been spent moving into the new office (formerly occupied by the Education Manager). In preparation for the Board meeting, a large amount of time was spent working with General Counsel finalizing the presentation on commercialization that was presented Thursday evening to the Board (Thanks Chris, W3KD, and Kay, N3KN!) We also have spent time working with Director Woolweaver on his SGL proposal. We have gotten clearance from the FCC and the Air Force to begin the latest round of PAVE PAWS mitigation requests for Cape Cod. We are resuming the role of being the first contact with owners/trustees of repeaters identified as needing mitigation. We will provide specific information on the requested mitigation, answer any questions, and offer the Lab's assistance to develop successful plans to meet the identified mitigation need. This follows the Air Force's suggestion that the ARRL do the initial contact, leaving the FCC to handle any situations that remain unresolved down the road. These letters to those newly identified repeater owners will go out shortly. Working with Allen Pitts, W1AGP, we are putting together a packet of information that will be provided (upon request) to DLACs, LACs and LAAs when they have a meeting scheduled with a member of Congress back home in District. The packet contains handouts on Amateur Radio in general and more detailed information on HR 2160. We also continue to track the total number letters to members of Congress received by Chwat & Co. We have reports that K1MAN is back on the air and up to his old tricks again. The FCC is aware of these reports and is monitoring the situation. To answer the most frequently asked query in conjunction with these reports, while K1MAN is waiting on his timely filed renewal application, he is entitled to continue to operate. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP The PRC met on July 15th in phone conference just before the PSC and Board meetings. They are looking at having a patch or pin made up to give to PR-101 graduates as both a reward and also promotion of the course to others. With the FCC announcement coming out, reporters were waiting for me first thing Monday morning for comments and explanations. Meanwhile Computerworld Magazine asked for an interview, referrals and information about Amateur Radio and wireless experimentation. McGan Award winner Nate Brightman was contacted and initial arrangements and write-up were made for his presentation. Possibilities for the 2010 RTNDA convention advanced further with phone and emailed responses to their queries. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH In preparation for the Second meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors and the A & F committee Development completed a midyear report of revenues for major Development funds. Through June 30, Development has raised $356,336 or 40.3% of the 2009 target. In addition, distributions have been received from the Stoner and Coss estates totaling $62,708 for the ARRL Endowment. Since the Board meeting a new member of the ARRL Maxim Society - Henry Pownall, W4 FWR. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The September issue of QST was released to the printer July 22. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 28, No. 28, for July 17, 2009. She also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for July 17. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N W1AW It's official! W1AW will replace AMTOR and ASCII with PSK31 and MFSK16, respectively, on August 17, 2009. RTTY (Baudot) will continue to be the first mode sent in the digital transmission schedule. The decision was made to replace these two modes after a Zoomerang survey (sent to 10,000 members earlier this year) showed overwhelming support for the action. The W1AW bulletin detailing the change can be found at http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/2009-arlb027.html. Thanks to Rocky Mountain Vice Director Dwayne Allen, WY7FD for knocking off three more needed states for W1AW's "Triple Play" award. The station is up to 146 confirmed via LoTW. It's not as though the needed states/modes haven't been worked; rather these particular contacts haven't been uploaded to LoTW by the stations worked. Dwayne also operated W1AW in the North American RTTY QSO Party. Thanks to Bill Moore for covering the Friday morning shift for the vacationing Joe Carcia. Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He uploaded various W1AW/x logs to LoTW. Joe began work on reconfiguring the equipment on the main operating console in preparation for the dropping of AMTOR and ASCII. He also readied another tower PC that will be used as an EchoLink station (and off the ARRL's main network). Scott worked on slow and fast code practice files for the latter part of the month of July. He also worked the Friday early afternoon shift (in addition to his regular night shift) for Joe Carcia. Field Organization/Public Service Team Chuck Skolaut compiled and sent the monthly Official Observer summary to all OOs, Official Observers Coordinators and Section Mangers to help keep them informed of related activities across the nation. The monthly ARRL Monitoring System report was also compiled and forwarded to the IARU Region 2 Coordinator. We have new Official Observers on board from South Texas and San Francisco. A very nice response was forwarded on to HQ by a radio amateur in Northern Florida who had received an OO advisory notice. The operator expressed appreciation for the notice since he was not aware of the problem. He concluded his remarks about the Official Observer and the overall program by writing, "Such positive action is a positive reflection on the League and its many volunteers." Jim Latham, AF6AQ, Section Manager of East Bay, has been nominated to run for another term as Section Manager. Leona Adams reports that nominations for this particular election cycle remain open until September 4, and new terms will begin in January. In the meantime, members in Los Angeles and South Texas ARRL Sections continue to send in their Section Manager election ballots. Field Organization reports and Section reports continued to arrive during the past week. Steve Ewald received and worked on these monthly reports while helping with QST Public Service column preparations, too. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ The Education Department has been successfully relocated to the space formerly occupied by the IT Department. Many thanks to Greg Kwasowski and Andy Shefrin for coordinating our move and helping us to get operational and comfortable in our new space! The annual School Club Roundup and JOTA articles were prepared and submitted for September QST. CEP Program Mentor stipends were mailed to 76 mentors who supported students during the January -June 2009 period. A proposed outline for the new advanced emcomm course has been developed and circulated to the Board and SMs for comment. The course will be called "Public Service and Emergency Communications Management for Radio Amateurs." Allen Pitts W1AGP will be the handling editor, with editorial oversight from Dennis Dura K2DCD. Discussions about the format and content of the new advanced emcomm course continue. During the past two weeks we have had inquires about two sizeable quantity orders of our on line Ham Radio License Course from groups interested in licensing hospital employees in Chicago and Wisconsin. Education & Technology Program During June and July, Teachers Institute workshops were completed in Tucson, AZ, Rocklin, CA, Viera, FL and Dayton, OH. The most recent story is posted on our website at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/06/18/10894/?nc=1. Miguel Enriquez KD7RPP and Nathan McCray K9CPO both report a great experience with their first solo sessions as lead instructor, a result of the extensive effort and coordination they put into their preparation. The first ever advanced Teachers Institute session, the TI-2, was held last week. This new professional development opportunity was developed and led by Mark Spencer, WA8SME. Nine teachers participated in the inaugural session which focused on satellite communications. A story with more details will be forthcoming. ETP equipment and resource grant applications submitted for the May deadline were reviewed and the recommendation package sent to HQ for distribution to the Executive Committee. Eight applications have been approved by the Executive Committee. The Radio Telescope project developed by Mark Spencer WA8SME as part of the ETP curriculum was published in June QST. The project has been picked up by Far Circuits which will produce boards for the project. ARISS Rosalie White K1STO returned from a week of ARISS annual meetings in the Netherlands at the European Space Agency, at which a special election was held to elect ARISS Gaston Bertels, ON4WF as Chairman, and Will Marchant, KC6ROL as Vice Chairman. ARISS Team member Nick Lance, KC5KBO, who does ham radio mentoring of students at his local school was pleased to learn that his student, Andrew Koenig, KE5GDB, has won the Newsline Youth Ham of the Year Award. An experience with ARISS was one of the main motivators for Andrew to study for his license. He continued his interest in space by helping with ARISS QSOs and by being active in ham satellite operations. The members of the Suburban Radio Club, in St. Louis, Missouri, invited students from the St. Louis Charter School to take part in the club's Field Day events. The club also held a Kid's Day activity for students. The students will receive classroom demos of 2-meter repeater QSOs, satellite QSOs, how to track satellites and the ISS, and students will learn about how packet radio works. These activities will be integrated into classroom science lessons as part of preparation for a possible ARISS QSO in late 2009. Rosalie has forwarded the name of school teacher at the St. Louis (MO) Charter School so we can extend an invitation to participate in the 2010 Teachers Institute. The shuttle launched to the ISS on Wednesday, July 15. Bob Thirsk has been ensuring that the radios are turned on all of the time and has a full slate of scheduled QSOs. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List Leona Adams 7/31 Vacation Kathy Allison 9/25-9/28 Vacation Bob Allison 9/25-9/29 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 9/8-9/14 Vacation Joe Carcia 7/24 Vacation `` 7/31 Vacation `` 8/7 Vacation `` 8/14 Vacation `` 8/21 Vacation Jackie Cornell 8/6-8/10 Vacation Norm Fusaro 7/20-7/24 Vacation Scott Gee 7/30 Vacation Mike Gruber 8/24-8/28 Vacation Joel Hallas 8/3-8/14 Vacation Penny Harts 7/31-8/11 Vacation Dan Henderson 7/22-7/25 NCVEC Conference, Gettysburg, PA `` 7/27-8/10 Vacation Mary Hobart 8/12-8/14 Vacation Berta Hould 7/13-7/24 Vacation Gail Iannone 7/20-7/31 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 7/27-7/31 Vacation Debra Johnson 7/27-7/31 Vacation Sean Kutzko 7/20-7/21 Vacation `` 8/7-8/9 Pacific NW DX Convention, Spokane Valley, WA Monique Levesque 7/31-8/7 Vacation Allen Pitts 7/26-7/27 Vacation `` 8/6-8/7 Vacation Brennan Price 7/20-7/24 Vacation `` 7/27-7/29 Vacation Chuck Skolaut 7/24-8/3 Oklahoma Section Convention, Oklahoma City, OK/VC Alex Tara 8/24-8/28 Vacation

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RE: Ad-Hoc Committee
by Bill Edgar 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

Joel, thanks! - Bill From: Joel Harrison [mailto:w5zn@arrl.org] Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2009 9:31 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Ad-Hoc Committee Just an FYI that I expect to have the Ad-hoc committees that the Board created appointed today or tomorrow. I realize the commercialization group has a short time frame so we'll get it going quickly. Joel

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EC Sub-Committee
by Joel Harrison 22 Jul '09

22 Jul '09

Occasionally, and becoming more frequent, questions arise about the current status of some material in the Director's Workbook and whether it is up to date. I received questions about this at the board meeting this past weekend, so in order to ensure it is current a "sub-committee" of the EC is being appointed to review it and, if necessary, present recommendations to the Executive Committee at their next meeting on October 24. This will NOT be a review of any Standing Orders, but rather the material contained in the Workbook. The sub-committee will be chaired by First VP Kay Craigie and will include EC members Tom Frenaye and Jay Bellows. 73 Joel W5ZN

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