April 2010 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:18826] RE: [arrl-odv:18823] N4QX to be on FCC panel
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 07 Apr '10

07 Apr '10

If you were planning on watching/listening to this workshop, it has been cancelled for today - Brennan reports that the FCC building has been evacuated this morning while an "explosive device investigation" is being conducted. Dave From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ [mailto:dsumner@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 3:51 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:18823] N4QX to be on FCC panel Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX will be on the panel for tomorrow's discussion of the FCC Consolidated Licensing System, which is intended eventually to replace the ULS (and other systems). Released: 04/05/2010. FCC ANNOUNCES PANELISTS FOR APRIL 7, 2010 DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSOLIDATED LICENSING SYSTEM WORKSHOP. (DA No. 10-596). (Dkt No 10-73 ). OMD . Contact: Pat Rinn at (202) 414-1223, email: Pat.Rinn(a)fcc.gov <mailto:Pat.Rinn@fcc.gov> or Rich Lerner at (202) 418-1495, email: Richard.Lerner(a)fcc.gov <mailto:Richard.Lerner@fcc.gov> http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.doc <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.doc> http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.pdf <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.pdf> Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:18825] Re:Searching on the ARRL website
by dick＠pobox.com 07 Apr '10

07 Apr '10

6 APR 2010 - 2306 CDT Hello Brian... A few years ago, we started using the Google search engine on our existing web site. I hope we will still be using this search engine on our new web site. - Dick, W9GIG

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[arrl-odv:18824] Searching on the ARRL website
by Brian Mileshosky 07 Apr '10

07 Apr '10

Harold -- A question for you and the others involved, as I'm not sure if this is a Fathom thing or if it's an in-house thing. Google, even for internal web searches, provides the option to do advanced searches...for example, sorting based on relevance, newest first, oldest first, within a specific date, within the last month, etc. Since ARRL's site is so full of pages and other content, can this option be turned on for the member to use? For example, a visitor who doesn't know the specifics of certain FCC action but instead tries searching for the term "petition for reconsideration" or "reallocated" (for example) will likely find (unsorted) pages that contain those terms over the last umpteen years when he's probably only interested in a specific petition or reallocation event that happened in the last 3 months. Google is the pro when it comes to searching for information within a sea of information, but effective searches are really limited if the full feature-set Google comes with isn't available for use. For some examples on what I mean, head over to http://www.nih.gov, http://www.energy.gov, or www.gatech.edu and try doing a search. When the results are shown, click on the "advanced search" link near the search box and you'll see all the different options. These sites use Google for their internal searches like ARRL does. Is this something that anyone can comment on and perhaps look into? Also, when searching on the new website, what's the purpose of the "Learn More" link that's under the title of each search result? Will the search results only contain page titles (as they do now), or will there be some sort of text excerpt from each page in the search results so people can get an idea of whether it's the page they indeed want instead of having to click on every link to see how it relates to the phrase they searched? (The searches from the websites linked above demonstrate what I'm talking about). Thanks and 73, Brian N5ZGT On Tue, 6 Apr 2010, Kramer, Harold, WJ1B wrote: > Hi, > > > > To keep everyone updated, we have just sent this email to the SMs. > > > > 73, > > Harold > > > > Harold Kramer, WJ1B > > Chief Operating Officer > > > > ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) > > 860 594 0220 > > hkramer(a)arrl.org > > > > > > From: Ewald, Steve, WV1X [mailto:wv1x@arrl.org] > Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:12 PM > To: smlist > Subject: [smlist:5861] Update on New ARRL Web Site > > > > Hello, Section Managers. > > > > I'm pleased to send along an update from Harold Kramer, WJ1B, about the > new ARRL Web site. > > > > 73, > > > > Steve Ewald, WV1X > > Supervisor, Field Organization Team > > > > ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) > > 860-594-0265 > > sewald(a)arrl.org > > > > > > > > Thanks for all of your feedback. We have made the following changes > based on your questions and recommendations. > > > > * The Field Appointment database has been corrected and updated > to show the correct Field appointments for each Section. Please verify > that these are accurate and let Katie Glass kglass(a)arrl.org know if they > are not correct. > > > > * We are creating a new on-line form for FSD-211. It will be > located here: > http://itdevel.arrl.org/fsd-211-field-organization-appointment-form > > > > * The information that you put in your profile, including your > profile photo, is the information that will be displayed about you on > your SM page. > > > > * We are adding call signs to the listed names of SMs and field > appointees. > > > > * As an SM, you get to see more of the site than a typical user. > If you want to see only what a typical user sees, just log out. > > > > * At your discretion, please pass along the test site info to > your SECs. We would like their input as well. You should already have > the log in information, if not just ask Katie. > > > > * Per your suggestions, we have changed some of the font sizes > in the editor for better readability and we are working on additional > upgrades and fixes to the editor. > > > > * Some SMs are editing their site on the current Web site. We > are in the process of moving the data from your current Web site to the > new Web site. > > > > * The SM portion is still being worked on by Fathom, so some > features may appear and disappear during the next few days. Please be > patient! > > > > * The e-store is now live. Do not use your credit card number > unless you actually want to purchase an item. > > > > * We have added the WPA Section! Sorry, John. > > > > > > Harold Kramer, WJ1B > > Chief Operating Officer > > > > ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) > > 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/> > > > > > > ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org

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[arrl-odv:18823] N4QX to be on FCC panel
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 06 Apr '10

06 Apr '10

Chief Technology Officer Brennan Price, N4QX will be on the panel for tomorrow's discussion of the FCC Consolidated Licensing System, which is intended eventually to replace the ULS (and other systems). Released: 04/05/2010. FCC ANNOUNCES PANELISTS FOR APRIL 7, 2010 DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONSOLIDATED LICENSING SYSTEM WORKSHOP. (DA No. 10-596). (Dkt No 10-73 ). OMD . Contact: Pat Rinn at (202) 414-1223, email: Pat.Rinn(a)fcc.gov or Rich Lerner at (202) 418-1495, email: Richard.Lerner(a)fcc.gov http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-10-596A1.pdf Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:18822] FW: [smlist:5861] Update on New ARRL Web Site
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 06 Apr '10

06 Apr '10

Hi, To keep everyone updated, we have just sent this email to the SMs. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org From: Ewald, Steve, WV1X [mailto:wv1x@arrl.org] Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2010 2:12 PM To: smlist Subject: [smlist:5861] Update on New ARRL Web Site Hello, Section Managers. I'm pleased to send along an update from Harold Kramer, WJ1B, about the new ARRL Web site. 73, Steve Ewald, WV1X Supervisor, Field Organization Team ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0265 sewald(a)arrl.org Thanks for all of your feedback. We have made the following changes based on your questions and recommendations. * The Field Appointment database has been corrected and updated to show the correct Field appointments for each Section. Please verify that these are accurate and let Katie Glass kglass(a)arrl.org know if they are not correct. * We are creating a new on-line form for FSD-211. It will be located here: http://itdevel.arrl.org/fsd-211-field-organization-appointment-form * The information that you put in your profile, including your profile photo, is the information that will be displayed about you on your SM page. * We are adding call signs to the listed names of SMs and field appointees. * As an SM, you get to see more of the site than a typical user. If you want to see only what a typical user sees, just log out. * At your discretion, please pass along the test site info to your SECs. We would like their input as well. You should already have the log in information, if not just ask Katie. * Per your suggestions, we have changed some of the font sizes in the editor for better readability and we are working on additional upgrades and fixes to the editor. * Some SMs are editing their site on the current Web site. We are in the process of moving the data from your current Web site to the new Web site. * The SM portion is still being worked on by Fathom, so some features may appear and disappear during the next few days. Please be patient! * The e-store is now live. Do not use your credit card number unless you actually want to purchase an item. * We have added the WPA Section! Sorry, John. Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 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:18821] Re: RE: Returning CW Nets and Digital Modes to 3600 - 3750 kHz
by Richard J. Norton 06 Apr '10

06 Apr '10

I'd like to thank Dave Sumner for making the phone call to Bill Cross and reporting on it in a detailed way that can give us insight into Cross's thinking. Whereas Cross may not be formally involved in approval of even issuing NPRMs, it appears that he plays a pretty big role in appraising these Amateur Radio sub-band boundary issues. It seems that he was the architect of moving the phone-band edge down to 3600, and is proud of it. I even wonder if anybody in the Wireless Bureau above him has any real appreciation of the impact of these sub-band mode allocations. *A Federal-Case Mountain Out of a Molehill* Although I believe that returning CW nets and digital modes to 3600 - 3750 kHz is something that should be done, I'm now convinced that attempting to get this micro-issue through the FCC bureaucracy by itself is unlikely to bear fruit. The idea that we need to mobilize the federal government to make such a trivial change upsets me as both a taxpayer and Radio Amateur. The USA is almost the only country in the world where the amateur radio bands have internal sub-bands regulated by a government. I'd like to see the ARRL work to reduce FCC sub-band micro-management and give American amateurs the same ability to dynamically allocate our band usage by mode to fit our needs. We do it quite well on 160 meters. The rest of the world does it quite well on all bands. We can do it on all bands as well. *Where Do We Start?* My initial thought would be to try to eliminate any FCC-imposed mode restrictions on 80, 15, and 10 meters. In everyday weekday use, I suspect there would be little if any change in band usage. This is borne out by mode usage worldwide. There are other relevant issues to address at this time. The symbol-rate limitation in 97.307(f)(3) is preventing us from utilizing modes proven useful in other services. It is probably also time for us to revisit "incentive licensing" allocations, at least on those bands. I see no need to keep the bottom 25 kHz of our bands for Extra Class CW to the exclusion of other classes. At a minimum, I'd allow CW operation by any class amateur in those frequencies. *Responses to Other Comments* 1) Bill Cross claimed there are more "500 Hz wide CW channels" below 3600 than "3 kHz wide SSB channels" above 3600. Realistically, most amateurs do not have ability to operate on 500 Hz wide CW channels and most do have the ability to operate in 3 kHz SSB channels. On CW traffic nets, you never hear an NCS tell stations to move up half a kHz and pass traffic. They move up 5 kHz. In the most popular contests, some CW bands will actually have stations operating 500 Hz apart who are communicating reasonably effectively, but these are stations equipped with the best of equipment, and their operation is actually impaired by their neighbors. 2) There have been comments about 75-meter phone operators being less civilized than other amateurs. This might apply to some operators in the general class bands, but the 3600-3750 portion of the band is populated only by Amateur Extra class stations, who have not been observed operating hostilely. 3) Some of you have suggested polling your membership before acting on the original proposal. The 3600-3750 issue impacts only a tiny percentage of amateurs. Most wouldn't have any idea of the impact of such a change. If you do conduct polls, note that how you word your question will impact the results, and is the reason I chose "*Returning* CW Nets etc." as the message subject for this exchange. 4) Should you be concerned about the potential adverse impact of allowing CW nets in the 3600-3750 range, remember that we have found that there are already CW nets in that spectrum upon occasion, albeit populated only by Extra Class hams. 5) If interference is frequently experienced, moving W1AW to 3600 or 3601 kHz would be a good idea. I thank those of you who have participated in this exchange. 73, Dick Norton, N6AA On Wed, Mar 31, 2010 at 8:20 AM, Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ <dsumner(a)arrl.org> wrote: > Just before she left for vacation this morning, President Craigie asked me > to call Bill Cross. As Chris has said, Bill’s observations are not binding > on the Commission and he should not be quoted outside ODV. > > To begin, a review of how we got to where we are today may be helpful. A > good place to start is the December 2006 QST editorial (attached). > > Here I’m going to use the FCC convention of referring to the phone portion > of the 3500-4000 kHz band as “75 meters” and the remainder of the band as > “80 meters.” Also, please don’t shoot the messenger. > > Bill noted that the expansion of the 75 meter phone band and consequent > reduction of the 80 meter RTTY/data band (CW being permitted throughout 75 > and 80 meters) came about in a proceeding, WT Docket No. 04-140, that > addressed (among other issues) the elimination of the 80, 40 and 15 meter > “Novice” bands. He said 3600 kHz was chosen as the dividing line between 75 > and 80 meters on the basis of comments that argued (1) 75 meters was much > more congested than 80 meters, (2) the 25 kHz expansion proposed by the FCC > (which corresponded to the ARRL’s request in RM-10413) was clearly > inadequate to address the congestion, and (3) there were more “narrowband” > (500 Hz) channels below 3600 kHz available than “wideband” (3 kHz) channels > above 3600 kHz. > > As for whether a petition would be timely, he said that it wasn’t so much a > matter of timeliness (although he later commented that subband allocations > tend to be reviewed in 10-12 year cycles) as a matter of the Commission > being reluctant to take up single-band issues unless there is a compelling > reason to do so. He made it pretty clear that based on the comments that > reach him, he doesn’t see a compelling reason in this case: phone is the > most popular operating mode, the expansion has eased congestion and reduced > confrontation, and the situation facing CW and RTTY/data operators in 100 > kHz on 80 meters is no worse than what they face in 125 kHz on 40 meters, > much of which is shared with foreign phone operators. > > I told him that we were looking for a new 80 meter CW frequency for W1AW to > resolve a problem that PSK31 operators have inflicted on themselves by > choosing to plop down where W1AW had been operating for many years prior to > the invention of PSK31, but that we’ve been unable to find a suitable > frequency that isn’t being used by a CW net; he responded that the FCC > doesn’t address voluntary band planning issues or conflicts that can be > resolved by rotating “the big VFO knob,” nothing requires CW nets only to > operate on 80 meters, and more sunspots should relieve whatever congestion > is perceived on the lower frequency bands. I told him that we have even > considered moving W1AW CW operations to 3600.0 kHz or just above that > frequency although we were reluctant to take what might be seen as a radical > step, and he agreed that given the nature of the 75 meter population (which > he observed is quite different from 160 meters, where people seem to get > along better) such a move might cause a negative reaction. > > In short, despite the fact that the selection of 3600 kHz was based on > comments that (as I pointed out to him) were relatively few in number, a > proposal to the FCC change the 75/80 meter subband allocations – whether by > moving the dividing line or by sharing between phone and RTTY/data, which is > not currently done in any HF band – would bear the burden of proving that > (1) there is a compelling problem and (2) the proposed solution has popular > support. The Commission is more likely to consider the issue as part of a > larger review rather than on a single-band basis. > > Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:18820] SM Communications re: Web Site
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 05 Apr '10

05 Apr '10

Hi, I have received some emails about issues with the SM portion of the new Web site. We are working our way through these. Here is the information that we sent this to the SMs earlier this morning. We will keep you posted. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860 594 0220 hkramer(a)arrl.org From: Ewald, Steve, WV1X [mailto:wv1x@arrl.org] Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 11:19 AM To: smlist Subject: [smlist:5859] Thanks for your feedback on new ARRL Web site. Hello, Section Managers. Thank you for your comments and questions about the new ARRL Web site. As you'll recall, last Tuesday, we invited all you to log onto the new ARRL Web site's test server to take a look around. As a refresher, here's the link: http://itdevel.arrl.org/groups/sections <http://itdevel.arrl.org/groups/sections> To log in to the test server, please use beta as the username and hiram225 as the password. Log in to the new Web site with your existing username and password. Over the last several days, many of you have also tried looking around your new ARRL Section's Web page - as well as the editing function pages of your Section's Web page. Thanks for this feedback. We note that some Section Managers have reported incorrect Field Organization appointments showing up on your Section's Web page. Our ARRL Information Technology Department, Digital Content Manager Katie Glass, and Fathom (our new Web site's designer) are continuing to work on these issues. We'll keep you informed of the progress. Some Section Managers have also learned that they are not able to gain access yet to the editorial functions of their Section Web pages. We have also been able to correct these situations, too. If you haven't had the chance yet to log onto this area of the new Web site, please do. On the upper right hand of the individual section pages, you will see a blue Edit link above the map of your section. To edit your Section news or description, you may do so in the text boxes provided under the Edit Group tab. The format is similar to Microsoft Word. You may add bold, italics, links, etc. After you have updated or made any changes to your description/announcement boxes, press the blue Save button. We encourage you to begin updating your ARRL Section Web pages on the new site. You can now add any new information to the "Description" and "Announcements" boxes and delete and/or add any photos. Thanks, again, for your feedback and comments on the new ARRL Web site. The present ARRL Web site ( www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> ) is still operating as normal, and you're still able to send out messages to members in your section. 73, Steve Ewald, WV1X Supervisor, Field Organization Team ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0265 sewald(a)arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:18819] EmComm Manager Start Date
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 05 Apr '10

05 Apr '10

Hi, Since I have had a few emails on this topic, I will respond to everyone on the list rather than individually. Mike Corey, W5MPC, the new Manager of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EmComm Manager) will be starting here at HQ on Monday April 12th. Mike stopped by last week and confirmed the date with us while he was making his final housing arrangements. We expect to hire the second EmComm position, as requested by the A & F Committee, approximately 90 -120 days after Mike starts. That will give him time to assess the situation and determine what skill sets are needed for the new position. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 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:18818] American Hospital Association Waiver, docket 10-54
by Chris Imlay 02 Apr '10

02 Apr '10

As an FYI, by the way, there are as of now (not including ARRL's comments, just filed) 301 comments filed in this proceeding, mostly by individuals. That is a relatively high number. We will see if there are any trends in filed comments shortly. 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:18817] American Hospital Association Blanket Waiver of Section 97.113 -- as-filed ARRL comments
by Chris Imlay 02 Apr '10

02 Apr '10

Easter Greetings. Today, following review by the Executive Committee, I have filed the attached comments for ARRL in response to the FCC public notice in WP Docket 10-54. These comments are perhaps more involved than what might normally be called for in a waiver proceeding, but this waiver might well be a precursor to the action that the Commission will take in Docket 10-72, the Section 97.113(a)(3) revision docket. So, we wanted to very aggressively assert the Board's language for 97.113 as a specific condition on this waiver - a "pre-sell," if you will. We have been in touch with AHA's attorneys and they have assured us that their intention is entirely consistent with the Board's proposed wording. I have nothing in writing to that effect though, so their comments will bear careful review. Reply comments, if any, are due April 19, so we will keep our eyes open after today for comments, especially those of AHA. Thanks for helpful edits on this to IVP Bellows and EVP Sumner. 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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