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Vol. 34, No. 13
March 30, 2011 -- Covers the period March 20-26.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Administration & Finance Committee
April 9 @ 8:30am - ARRL HQ
Technical Relations
Reported by Brennan Price, N4QX
Washington staff are evaluating candidates for the vacant administrative
position and preparing for upcoming CITEL and ITU Working Party 5A
meetings in May and June, respectively.
Regulatory Information
Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND
The letter-writing campaign on HR 607 continues to go full steam.
During the week, we received reports of hamfest-letter campaigns in both
Connecticut and Nebraska. Chwat & Co. reported 778 usable letters
received the week of March 7. (They are running about two-weeks behind
in their reporting totals.) There continues to be a significant number
of letters that either are addressed to members of the Senate or are not
usable - about one in six that Chwat is receiving.
A teleconference was held at the request of General Counsel Chris Imlay,
W3KD, and included Imlay, Utah Section Manager Mel Parkes, HQ Field
Organization supervisor Steve Ewald, WV1X, HQ Emergency Preparedness
Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC, and the HQ Regulatory Information Manager
concerning an ongoing problem related to an unaffiliated EmComm group in
Utah that continues to use the ARRL ARES logo and name. It was decided
that a follow-up letter to the February letter would be sent to all
officers of the group. Director Mileshosky and Vice-Director Allen were
unable to participate in the teleconference but are aware of the problem
and the status.
Several queries asking for information on the recent emission type
filing were handled, as were several basic questions on reciprocal
licensing. We received a copy from Ryan Cairnes, K3XC of his zoning
denial written decision and made sure he is aware that he is welcome to
contact the ARRL Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee
through ARRL General Counsel should he and his attorney wish to seek
support if they take the case forward to the NC courts.
The Field Day station locator is up and running with 173 stations
already listed in the queue. We also are working with a volunteer
provided through Allen Pitts, W1AGP, on preparing a version of the Field
Day rules in Spanish, which will be added to our website. (Thanks
Allen!)
Media & Public Relations
Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP
HR 607 continues to be a hot media topic and more articles have appeared
pointing out the problems of Section 207 of that bill. Among these have
been USA Today and Homeland Security Today's daily briefing. There also
have been TV and radio spots about it. Creating and maintaining cordial
and informative relationships with the reporters involved is paying off.
Meanwhile, the ongoing work of writing the monthly issues of Contact!
(to come out April 1) and responding to requests for information and
promotional materials continues. Text for the 2010 annual report is
almost completed and a good selection of illustrations has been gathered
from many sources for Graphics to use in layup work. While cleaning out
closet storage, Lisa found old audio and video promo tapes which I am
having digitized as they may be useful in the centennial.
Development
Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH
Diamond Club revenues have topped $87,000 or 31% of the 2011 revenue
goal. Responses are coming in from the large mailing that was sent out
in early March.
The ARRL Defense Fund has topped $37,000 so far this year. The first
issue of Spectrum Defense Matters is complete and printed. It will mail
on April 5 to 33,000 donors and be posted on the ARRL web site. A small
group of donors who have requested electronic mailing will receive this
issue at the end of this week. More than 100,000 ARRL members will
receive a link to the newsletter after the paper copies are mailed.
Thanks to CEO Sumner, CTO Price and Dan Henderson for their considerable
efforts to fill this issue with so much information on a variety of
Spectrum Defense related topics.
An invitation letter for campaign committee members for the Second
Century Campaign has been drafted and sent to Chairman Brandenburg and
President Craigie for approval.
Production/Editorial
Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE
The May 2011 issue of QST has been released to the printer.
Production, editorial and web support staff reviewed the videos
submitted for the first ARRL Video Contest. The three top entries will
receive a prize.
Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed the ARRL Letter and produced and
voiced ARRL Audio News for March 24, 2011.
Lab
Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI
Lab Renovation
The lab has temporarily moved to the attic of W1AW. The Lab's
renovation and asbestos abatement continues. The tiling of the floor
has been started.
RFI
Initial U-Verse complaints have been filed using the new AT&T process.
Thanks to Gordon Beattie, W2TTT for his help in developing this process.
The Sounds of RFI Page is now completed on the ARRL's RFI page. Thanks
to volunteer Craig Miller, KA1GYB for getting it back online.
Two RFI cases of interest include:
Interference from Pacific Gas & Electric's Smart Grid to an operator in
the 902 MHz band. Although this is also an ISM band under Part 18, the
Smart Grid operates under Part 15. Under the FCC rules, a Part 97
operator would have protection from a Part 15 operator. Given the
extent of PG&E's Smart Grid deployment, this case may present some
unique challenges.
Interference from a Phillips LED light bulb. Typically, CFL bulbs
operate under Part 18 as a residential RF lighting device. These bulbs
have the tightest absolute emissions limits of any Part 15 or 18 device.
The new Phillips bulb, however, operates under Part 15. Bob Allison
reports it does cause harmful interference on 160 and 80 meters when he
uses it at home. While the FCC made special provisions for Part 18
bulbs, there is no special classification for Part 15 bulbs.
Product Review
The yearly calibration of all test equipment used for Product Review has
been completed. The calibration cycle was coordinated during Lab
renovations. All test equipment has been re-installed and is up and
running with no impact on the test schedule due to renovations.
Web
Zack Lau updated the propagation forecast for April. It takes about an
hour to extrapolate the solar flux for the upcoming month and to choose
the forecast that best matches that prediction.
Membership & Volunteer Programs
Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N
Field Organization/Public Service Team
Thanks to the Mailroom Staff, the Nevada Section Manager election
ballots and candidate statements were mailed to members in Nevada this
past week ahead of the scheduled April 1 mailing deadline.
Leona Adams has been in touch with all Section Managers to share
electronic copies of their Field Organization appointment rosters for
their review. As of last week, thanks to the IT Staff, Section Managers
are now able to use the report generator on the Section Managers' ARRL
Web page to download copies of their Field Organization appointment
rosters in HTML, CSV and text formats.
Steve Ewald continues to work closely with the Mike Corey and Ken Bailey
of the Emergency Preparedness Team on a few projects.
Chuck Skolaut noticed that a number of interference cases were dealt
with this week. To summarize, we received an update on a long-standing
repeater case in California, and another California case involved
jamming to a 2 meter repeater. Jammers have also hampered several Long
Island repeaters. We received progress reports on an Eastern
Massachusetts repeater case and more information on continued
interference to a nightly 75 meter net.
Official Observers in Alaska followed up on a report of military
communications that was heard on 6 meters. An Official Observer in
Arkansas reported hearing a station transmit WWV every 10 minutes on
3990 kHz. This is under investigation. Complaints were received about
language and interference on 14313 kHz, 14250 kHz, and 14272 kHz.
These, too, are being checked out. We also received reports regarding
unlicensed truckers operating on 10 meters. This was forwarded onto the
FCC along with reports about fishing boats that are using 2 meters
around the San Francisco area.
Sincerely Compiled by,
Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ
Assistant to the CEO
Staff Absentee List
All Staff 4/22 Holiday
Leona Adams 4/1 Vacation
Margie Bourgoin 3/28-4/1 Vacation
Steve Ewald 4/18-4/25 Vacation
Steve Ford 4/20-4/22 Vacation
Scott Gee 3/30-4/1 Vacation
Mike Gruber 4/29 Vacation
`` 5/31-6/3 Vacation
Dan Henderson 4/25-4/29 Vacation
Mary Hobart 4/4-4/6am Vacation
Gail Iannone 3/30-4/1 Vacation
Joel Kleinman 3/31 Vacation
Zack Lau 5/6 Vacation
`` 6/16-6/17 Vacation
Maryann Macdonald 4/13-4/15 Vacation
Brennan Price 3/30-3/31 Vacation
John Proctor 6/22-7/8 Vacation
Dave Sumner 4/4 Vacation
Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings
Bob Inderbitzen 3/31-4/2 AES Superfest, Milwaukee, WI
Mary Hobart 4/14-4/17 International DX Convention,
Visalia, CA
Allen Pitts 4/15-4/18 Communications Academy, Seattle,
WA
Dan Henderson 4/22-4/24 Louisiana State Convention,
Monroe, LA
Bob Allison 5/18-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Margie Bourgoin 5/18-5/23 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH/Vacation
Jackie Ferreira 5/18-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Steve Ford 5/19-5/24 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton,
OH/Vacation
Mike Gruber 5/19-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Dan Henderson 5/19-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Mary Hobart 5/18-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Sabrina Hughes 5/18-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Amy Hurtado 5/18-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Diane Petrilli 5/19-5/22 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH
Bob Allison 6/8-6/11 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Jackie Ferreira 6/8-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Mike Gruber 6/9-6/10 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Dan Henderson 6/9-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Mary Hobart 6/9-6/11 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Amy Hurtado 6/8-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Bob Inderbitzen 6/8-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Diane Petrilli 6/8-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano,
TX
Brennan Price 4/1 ARRL HQ
