May 2011 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:19984] Letter to State Department re HF Oceanographic Radar
by Price, Brennan, N4QX 31 May '11

31 May '11

Attached is a letter from President Craigie, drafted with input from CEO Sumner, General Counsel Imlay and me, to Decker Anstrom, the Head of the United States Delegation to WRC-12. The letter formally conveys our substantive and procedural concerns regarding the United States proposal to allocate 5250-5450 kHz to radiolocation for oceanographic radar purposes. Both Chris and I have made informal inquiries into what happened here. We understand that the NTIA did not timely release its proposal for vetting before the final meeting of the WAC had occurred. This left the State Department to act as it saw fit. Because the May 17-20 meeting of CITEL PCC.II was the last meeting at which proposals for most WRC-12 agenda items could be introduced and considered as potential Inter-American proposals, State made a rushed decision. I think it is somewhat likely that State made the decision considering only the international table of allocations, which does not reflect our privileges on 60 meters. While we await a response, my next step will be to approach the domestic public and private sector proponents, NOAA and CODAR. At least NOAA, and perhaps CODAR, will be in attendance at the Working Party 5B meeting in Geneva starting June 13. So will I. Both proponents have been unusually receptive to amateur concerns during preparatory work, and I'd like to get their perspective on what happened. It's entirely possible they changed their minds, but given that the US is proposing to allocate substantially more than the 100 kHz they indicated they needed between 3-6 MHz, I have a feeling something was lost in the rushed process of determining a proposal to send to Santo Domingo. I understand that an appropriate news story for ARRL Web is being developed. 73 de Brennan HB9/N4QX Brennan T. Price, N4QX Chief Technology Officer American Radio Relay League 3545 Chain Bridge Road Suite 209 Fairfax VA 22030-2708 Tel +1 703 934-2077 Fax +1 703 934-2079

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[arrl-odv:19983] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 26 May '11

26 May '11

<<052511.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 34, No. 21 May 25, 2011 -- Covers the period May 15-21. Upcoming Meetings and Events Programs & Services Committee: June 18 @ 8:30am - ARRL HQ Technical Relations Reported by Brennan Price, N4QX Brennan Price attended CITEL PCC.II in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where three more countries--Ecuador, El Salvador, and Costa Rica--formally supported the supportive Inter-American Proposal on WRC-12 Agenda Item 1.23, proposing to allocate 461-469 and 471-478 kHz to the amateur service on a secondary basis. The three countries join Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. A proposal from the United States to allocate several bands, including the surprising and unwelcome band 5250-5450 kHz, to radiolocation on a primary basis did not garner any support. We are seeking appropriate and quiet ways to improve the proposal. Brennan Price is currently attending the Working Party 1ABC meetings in Geneva, where a variety of regulatory topics are being addressed, including PLT. Contributions from IEEE and IARU have been presented and were incorporated without objection into reports relevant to the protection of radiocommunication services from PLT. Jon Siverling remains on medical leave, but is home and doing better. Well wishes may be sent to siverling(a)mindspring.com. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND It has been a busy and productive two-week period. The majority of the week leading up to Hamvention was spent in final preparations for Dayton. All three presentations went well at Hamvention - and special thanks to three Vice Directors - David Norris, K5UZ, Andrea Hartlage, KG4IUM and Kermit Carlson, W9XA - SC Section Manager Mark Tarplee, N4UFP, and EmComm Manager Mike Corey, W5MPC, for their presentations during the Field Day forum. The Legislative Update forum went well. Thanks to CEO Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, for participating and addressing the current federal legislative efforts. Approximately 1,000 letters opposing H.R. 607 in its current form were signed during Hamvention. Thanks to Great Lakes Division Director Jim Weaver, K8JE and Vice-Director Gary Johnston, KI4LA, and their volunteers for their tremendous efforts in staffing the Legislative and Regulatory Booth. The Field Day station locator count is up to 719 stations, with sites listed in 49 states (none from Delaware), as well as six Canadian provinces/territories and Puerto Rico. This is somewhat behind the totals listed the past two years at this stage of the process. As Field Day approaches in June, we will be doing several web stories to highlight the locator as well as an increased emphasis on VHF/UHF operating in FD 2011. Several reciprocal operating queries were received during the week, and an update on an antenna problem in Pennsylvania was received. A query about interference to home electronics was received and it turned out to be a CB operator. The non-amateur complainant was referred to the ARRL Lab for information on mitigating interference into their electronics. After returning to the office from Dayton, stories on Russia implementing both CEPT reciprocal arrangements (CEPT Recommendation T/R 61-01 and ECC Recommendation (05)06)) were vetted and released. A draft story on the testimony of ARRL General Counsel before the US House of Representatives and the meeting of NLI section officials meeting with Congressman Peter King was written and sent to the CEO for editing and released for the web. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Dayton Hamvention 2011 was a success for Development on several levels. The annual Donor Reception on Thursday evening went smoothly (with the exception of some audio challenges). ARRL welcomed 150 guests who applauded the remarks of CEO Sumner, ARRL President Craigie, N3KN and Second Century Campaign (SCC) Chairman, David Brandenburg, K5RQ. Brandenburg introduced members of the SCC Committee, Mike Valentine, W8MM; Frank Donovan, W3LPL; Ken Byers, K4TEA; and Bob Allphin, K4UEE. Committee member Dennis Shapiro, W1UF was not present and Glenn Johnson, WØGJ joined the committee later in the weekend. Many thanks to Development Assistant Margie Bourgoin for making all the arrangements for a fantastic reception and to Amy Hurtado for taking wonderful photographs. A video was taken by Gary Pearce, KN4AQ. During the reception ARRL officially welcomed 15 new members to the ARRL Maxim Society. The reception generated a great deal of interest in the Maxim Society and in the SCC. The SCC Committee met informally on Friday afternoon in Dayton. An all-day meeting is planned at ARRL HQ for Thursday, August 11. ARRL received a generous contribution of $25,000 from DARA on Saturday in Dayton to fund the TI-2 which will be held in Dayton this summer. Upon return from Dayton, Development began the design of internal processes to manage commitments and contributions to the SCC. Conversations are planned with accounting, IT and our prospect review firm, Wealth Engine on details for the campaign. The screening process for the ARRL membership/donor file for the SCC is nearly complete. There will be an all-day training session at HQ in the coming weeks. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The July 2011 issue of QST was released to the printer on May 23. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed the ARRL Letter and produced and voiced ARRL Audio News for May 19, 2011. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Dayton Bob Allison conducted the kit building exhibit at the ARRL Expo in Dayton, with Mike Gruber and four volunteers assisting. Saturday was the busiest day, with the tables packed with builders of all ages. All kits were completed successfully. All builders were grateful for the expert mentoring they received. As in the past two years, ARRL members and non-members visiting the exhibit were impressed by what they had seen. In front of this exhibit, our Oscar 1 prototype was successfully displayed. The crowds were very pleased we brought it in honor of 50 years of Amateur Satellites and very impressed to hear it transmitting. Ten long-time hams commented they had heard Oscar 1's signal while it orbited the Earth during its December of 1961 flight. A few commented, "It chirped just like that." A few people wondered how we were able to retrieve it from space! Ed Hare also attended Dayton, but mostly on his own. He did a presentation on the ARRL Lab on Friday and spent some time in the Expo area, but was mostly seen either at the QRP ARCI booth or wandering the flea market. He did find some LED traffic signal lights in the flea market, which he brought back to the Lab for RFI testing. Bob and Mike are both preparing for a similar Lab effort at the ARRL National Convention in Plano, TX. Product Review Bob Allison completed testing of a late model, mid priced HF/6m transceiver. A data table and charts were written and passed along to the Product Review Editor Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R ARRL EXPO at 2011 Dayton Hamvention was a resounding success. ARRL's large exhibit area, our biggest yet!, was supported by over 150 volunteers, officials, and staff. Photos were posted to ARRL's Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150179239067408.312942.200692124…> page throughout the event. While other metrics are still being totaled, there were 1,004 membership applications (membership, Life membership and Diamond Club) collected at the event. A survey draft and mailing/emailing data have been prepared for a comprehensive marketing survey to help support planning for a digital edition of QST. An updated version of the ARRL Exam Review software has been produced. The software is included in all 3 ARRL license manuals. The latest version includes some program enhancements and corrections. Users with an existing version can use the software's built-in update feature to take advantage of the latest version. ARRL's first pay-and-download product was introduced at Dayton; TravelPlus Mobile GPS for Garmin devices. The "soft" product introduction at Dayton went very well. The product was developed by DHF Systems, the developers of ARRL's popular TravelPlus for Repeaters CD-ROM product. The development was supported by Michael Keane, Steve Ford, and a handful of beta-testers. The warehouse crew fulfilled 1,309 packages for publication and product orders, 80 membership premiums, and QST mailing supplements. A busy week for the entire fulfillment team! Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team April Field Organization activity reports arrived at HQ during the first two weeks of the month, and Steve Ewald compiled and submitted these for July QST. Final editing and proofreading for the Public Service column and the article on the 2010 Simulated Emergency Test Results was also this past week. Three amateurs became Official Observers this past week, one each from Wisconsin, Arkansas and New Hampshire. Chuck Skolaut compiled and sent the monthly Official Observer summary to all OOs, OOCs, and Section Managers. The South Texas OOC was able to resolve the situation of a repeater having an expired call sign for its identification. Questions this week dealt with operating overseas, antenna restrictions, operating frequencies, and preparing an OO certificate. Chuck assisted at W1AW by conducting an early code practice and a qualifying run. He also gave a tour to three members visiting Newington. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 5/30 Holiday All Staff 7/4 Holiday Joe Carcia 5/26pm-5/27 Vacation Steve Ford 8/8-8/12 Vacation Mike Gruber 5/31-6/3 Vacation `` 7/11-7/15 Vacation Joel Hallas 5/17-5/27 Vacation Dan Henderson 5/25-5/27 Vacation `` 7/5-7/8 Vacation Mary Hobart 5/27 Vacation `` 6/3 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 8/8-8/12 Vacation Sabrina Jackson 5/26-6/6 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 5/27 Vacation Zack Lau 6/16-6/17 Vacation Diane Petrilli 8/8-8/12 Vacation `` 8/31-9/2 Vacation Allen Pitts 5/26-5/27 Vacation `` 6/15-6/17 Vacation `` 7/1 Vacation `` 7/20-7/22 Vacation `` 7/28-7/29 Vacation John Proctor 6/22-7/8 Vacation Chuck Skolaut 5/27-5/31 Vacation `` 6/13 Vacation Dave Sumner 6/27-6/28 Vacation Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings Brennan Price 5/24-6/2 ITU-R Working Party 1ABC and PLT Forum, Geneva Steve Ford 6/1-6/3 Assoc. Media Publishing Conference Dan Henderson 6/2-6/12 Wyoming State Convention, Cheyenne, WY/ARRL National Bob Allison 6/8-6/11 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Steve Ewald 6/9-6/12 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 Harold Kramer 6/9-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Diane Petrilli 6/8-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Allen Pitts 6/9-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Barry Shelley 6/9-6/12 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Dave Sumner 6/9-6/13 ARRL National Convention, Plano, TX Chuck Skolaut 6/10-6/16 Tennessee State Convention, Knoxville, TN Brennan Price 6/13-6/22 ITU-R Working Party 5A, Geneva Dave Patton 6/23-6/26 Friedrichshafen, Germany Brennan Price 6/23-6/27 Friedrichshafen, Germany Brennan Price 7/13-7/16 BOD Meeting/Committee Meeting, Windsor, CT Brennan Price 8/5-8/6 Texas State Convention, Austin, TX

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[arrl-odv:19982] ARRL Testimony, House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Hearing on Interoperability
by Chris Imlay 25 May '11

25 May '11

Greetings. This morning, I represented ARRL at a hearing before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The topic of the hearing was really not conducive to our active participation in the discussion after the testimony, and indeed I was asked no questions at all. But I did get to speak for five minutes to supplement our written testimony, and we made our points. The written testimony is attached. I drafted it, but important parts were contributed by Dave Sumner and especially President Craigie, so this was a collaborative effort, and frankly it came out reasonably well, I think. The hearing was about the creation of an interoperable public safety network (read "broadband public safety network") and the prevailing assumption is that narrowband voice communications for public safety are a thing of the past. The Subcommittee members, especially the Majority, were not happy campers. They wanted to know why they were being asked to allocate another 10 MHz for a public safety network when the 24 MHz at 700 MHz wasn't being used efficiently. No ARRL dog in that fight, thank gosh. The thing is, there seemed to be virtually no level of understanding among either the public safety panelists [consisting of two equipment manufacturers (Harris and Motorola); a systems integrator, a land mobile consultant, a representative of a fire chief association, or the Subcommittee members], that a national broadband public safety network is likely to fail in any given disaster. So our testimony that warned them on that point was important. But the thrust of the hearing was about the fact that the United States has spent some 13 Billion Dollars since 9/11 on the creation of a nationwide public safety network, and it has allocated 24 MHz in the 700 MHz band (12 of which is being used now for narrowband voice communications systems, 2 of which is a guard band, and 10 of which is lying fallow for a broadband public safety network) for the same purpose, and we still don't have one. The panelists were asked various questions boilng down to "Why not, and what do we need to do to get there?" and "What happened to the money, and why is another 10 mHz of the D-Block necessary?" I had plenty I wanted to say about that, but ARRL didn't, so I didn't get asked anything about the main topic of the hearing and didn't talk out of school. There were a few high points though. Greg Walden, the Chairman of the Committee, came in beforehand and talked to each of us. He mentioned during the hearing that he is a radio Amateur and it was clear that he and Anna Eshoo (the ranking minority member of the subcommittee and a big friend of ARRL) were favorably inclined toward us. Jeff Johnson, the Chief Executive of the Western Fire Chief's Association, came over before the hearing and said to John Chwat and me that he had heard Rep. King say publicly that he understood the hams' concern and would make sure that we were not harmed by H.R. 607. We told Jeff Johnson that the problem was that we couldn't find any such public statement anywhere and that we needed to see that in writing from King. Also before the hearing, we were talking to Dave Redl of the Subcommittee staff. Dave said that he had heard from King's staff, and that they were amazed that we were testifying about H.R. 607. Redl told them something to the effect that "you have not suffered until you have aggravated the hams." Chwat told me today that he had received almost 7,000 copies of letters about H.R. 607... Chwat and I have a meeting with Ed Parkinson of King's staff next Tuesday after the long weekend about our CC&R study legislation. We will see what we hear about H.R. 607 at that point. 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:19979] Web stories on S 1040, upcoming House testimony
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 23 May '11

23 May '11

http://www.arrl.org/news/senate-companion-bill-to-hr-607-avoids-impactin g-amateur-spectrum http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-to-testify-on-interoperable-public-safety- network Dave

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[arrl-odv:19950] Dayton Hotel Bedbug Reports
by dick＠pobox.com 23 May '11

23 May '11

16 MAY 2011 - 1500 CDT There is certainly a lot of information available on the Internet... One of my friends who is a Dayton Hamvention regular, posted this item about bedbugs in the Dayton, OH hotels on the SMC reflector earlier today. I understand the Crown Plaza Hotel report is only once instance this past January. But those of you using this hotel, might want to thoroughly check all of the bedding in your room anyway... and check your bags and contents when you return home. 73 - Dick, W9GIG ====================================================================== http://bedbugregistry.com/search/hotel/l:dayton,-oh/ Found 8 hotels in Dayton oh with bedbugs: <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Crowne-Plaza-Hotel-Dayton>Crowne Plaza Hotel Dayton 33 E 5th St Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Fairfield-Inn-by-Marriott-Dayton-…>Fairfield Inn by Marriott Dayton North 6960 Miller Ln Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Red-Roof-Inn-Dayton-Airport-Engle…>Red Roof Inn Dayton Airport Englewood 9325 N Main St Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Knights-Inn-Dayton-North>Knights Inn Dayton North 3663 Maxton Rd Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Super-8-Motel-Moraine-Dayton>Super 8 Motel Moraine Dayton 2450 Dryden Rd Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Econo-Lodge-Beavercreek>Econo Lodge Beavercreek 2220 Heller Dr Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Ramada-Plaza-Hotel-Dayton>Ramada Plaza Hotel Dayton 2301 Wagoner Ford Rd Dayton, OH <http://bedbugregistry.com/hotel/OH/Dayton/Intown-Suites>Intown Suites 8981 Kingsridge Dr Dayton, OH

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[arrl-odv:19977] S.1040
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 23 May '11

23 May '11

Last Thursday Senators Lieberman and McCain introduced S.1040, the Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011. While the text of the bill is not yet available on Thomas, John Chwat has obtained a copy for us. As I reported to you earlier (see below) on February 23 we met with the Senate committee staff that was working on this bill. It is therefore gratifying to see that S.1040 avoids the pitfalls of H.R.607. See Section 206 beginning on page 22. None of the spectrum identified for auction is amateur spectrum. In addition, the actions and studies called for in Section 207 specifically involve only federal law enforcement uses and FCC public safety licensees. Some media reports are referring to S.1040 as the Senate version of H.R.607. It is important that radio amateurs NOT oppose S.1040. There is no reason for us to do so. Other than to oppose any method that would impact amateur spectrum use, we do not support one method of achieving an interoperable broadband public safety network over another. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ <<S 1040 The Broadband for First Responders Act of 2011.pdf>> <<Summary of S 1040.pdf>> _____________________________________________ From: Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ Sent: Thursday, February 24, 2011 9:44 AM To: arrl-odv Subject: Feb 23 meeting with Senate HSGAC staff Yesterday morning John Chwat, Chris Brooks and I met with three staff members of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs: Troy Cribb and Seamus Hughes for the majority and Lee Dunn for the minority. Our objective was to try to head off the inclusion of 420-440 MHz in a bill that Senators Lieberman and McCain are working on, dealing with the same subject as H.R.607 and S.28. Their main concern with regard to S.28 is that it does not provide for enough Homeland Security involvement in the development and deployment of an interoperable public safety broadband wireless network. Because the issue was spectrum, I did most of the talking for our side. We presented our case, including the two attachments. Both Troy and Lee (Seamus did not say much as he was the junior member of the staff present) seemed very receptive to our argument, appreciative of the public service contributions of Amateur Radio, and anxious to avoid the distraction of having to deal with lots of radio amateur complaints. Of course, it remains to be seen what their bill will contain and whether our visit was successful. They did not offer a timetable for the introduction of their bill and for Senate consideration of the D-block issue. By the way, in view of what we hear about partisanship on the Hill, I was struck by the cooperative spirit shown by the committee staffers toward one another. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:19976] Another Dayton done
by Kay Craigie 23 May '11

23 May '11

This was the year at Dayton when a sewage malfunction on the Hara arena property gave new meaning to the expression "**** happens." There was another surprise, one that did not involve haz mat or make us sorry the weather was hot. As some of you know, the Hamvention had an unscheduled visit from the FCC Chairman on Saturday morning. His flight had been diverted to Dayton and he learned the hams were in town when he had a hard time finding a hotel room. He had just a short time before his rescheduled flight departed. The Hamvention chairman took the him on a fast guided tour, including a walk-through at the ARRL Expo, to show him the exciting, innovative, and socially worthwhile things today's hams are doing. He saw our education display, the hands-on kit building area, and the em comm display, for example. I walked with them through the ARRL Expo and over as far as the FlexRadio booth. They ended up back at the ARRL area, where we had a photo opportunity. It would not have been appropriate to bring up any regulatory subjects with the chairman, so I stuck to the theme of ham radio as technologically modern and a thriving activity. At the meet & greet I met just one person, a former member, who had a complaint about the ARRL. He didn't understand what he was talking about, and he gave off the vibes of someone who isn't going to listen anyway, so I thanked him for his input and let it go at that. Otherwise, we got a lot of praise for the ARRL Expo exhibit and for what the ARRL is doing on behalf of Amateur Radio. The ARRL forum also went well, and a boat-load of letters were generated at the grass-roots booth. At one point, Vice Director Johnston was walking through the Expo area with his iPad, button-holing people about sending a letter. If they agreed to send a letter, he could generate it on the iPad, send it wirelessly to the printer at the grass-roots booth, and other volunteers put it on a clipboard for the ham to read and sign. Is that cool, or what? Some of the people who put in long hours at the Expo were your family members. It's not their job, and some of them aren't even hams, but they did it anyway. Their kindness in helping us help the League and ham radio is wonderful and deeply appreciated. To all of you who contributed to another successful year at Dayton, thank you! And we get to do it all over again in a few weeks in Plano at another outstanding ham radio event. See you there. 73 - Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:19974] HF Oceanographic Radar
by Price, Brennan, N4QX 23 May '11

23 May '11

Among the items on the agenda for WRC-12 are "possible allocations in the range 3-50 MHz to the radiolocation service for oceanographic radar applications . . . ." Throughout the domestic preparation process, the proponents of this agenda item have been sensitive to this application's incompatibility with the Amateur Radio Service. In fact, the United States contributed text that became a conclusion in the CPM Report: "[s]haring with amateur, broadcasting, and radio astronomy services seems to be difficult due to their protection requirements." During domestic preparations, CODAR, a manufacturer of HF radar systems, made a proposal in the FCC's WRC-12 Advisory Committee (WAC) that utilized no amateur bands. ARRL extensively participated in the WAC (Jon Siverling served as Vice Chair of one of the Working Groups) and did not object to CODAR's benign proposal, which was ultimately adopted by the WAC, who advised the FCC accordingly. The final United States proposal, decided May 9 and detected only after its transmission to CITEL, substantially differs from what CODAR asked for. Among the bands proposed to be allocated to radiolocation is 5250-5450 kHz, encompassing our domestic secondary channels. Given prior representations of the proponents, the inclusion of this band was as unexpected as it was unwelcome. As best I can tell, 5250-5450 kHz was first suggested in an NTIA proposal dated February 28 but not released to the WAC for comment before the WAC's final meeting on April 19. NTIA proposals are normally released to the public and circulated to the WAC for vetting and comment (for example, the WAC's affirmative response to an negative NTIA proposal started the ball rolling toward the favorable United States proposal for an amateur allocation at low MF). However, delays between the dates of NTIA proposals and their public release are not uncommon. Had the proposal been circulated to the WAC by April 19, ARRL would have timely objected. A review of the WAC records confirms it was not. I quietly conveyed ARRL's concerns to FCC, NTIA, and State Department officials who attended CITEL PCC.II in Santo Domingo last week. At an appropriate time in the near future, I anticipate we will more formally convey our concerns to the State Department, which has now fully taken on WRC-12 responsibility. I suggest that we should hold heavy organizational fire at this time--it may be that the proponents didn't want this band, but that they were involuntarily given it. If this is the case, there may be a chance they can assist, and attacking them would not help our cause. 73 de Brennan N4QX

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[arrl-odv:19967] Fwd: HR 607 & 70 cm...
by Richard J Norton 21 May '11

21 May '11

The following is on QRZ.COM - 73, Dick Norton, N6AA/8 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mike Lisenco, N2YBB n2ybb(a)arrl.org 917-865-3538 May 19, 2011, Massapequa Park, NY - A delegation of Amateur Radio operators from the Long Island / New York City area met this morning with Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY) to discuss his recent proposed legislation, HR 607, and its impact on Amateur Radio. Congressman King said that he fully understands and appreciates the importance of Amateur Radio and the service it provides to the community, and that he would see to the modification of the bill so that the 420 - 440 MHz band would be excluded from the spectrum to be auctioned. The delegation included Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, ARRL Section Manager for New York City / Long Island (NLI), Peter Portanova, WB2OQQ, NLI Local Government Liaison (LGL), George Tranos, N2GA, NLI State Government Liaison (SGL), and Jim Mezey, W2KFV, NLI ARES Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). "The Congressman went on to explain that it was never his intention to remove the 70 centimeter band from Amateur use. He further asked us to `get the word out' and inform the Amateur Radio community that 70 centimeters is not in jeopardy," said Lisenco. Lisenco, Mezey and Tranos spoke about the importance of Amateur Radio emergency communications while Portanova, who is also the local AMSAT representative, addressed satellite and other amateur use of the 70 centimeter band. The Congressman was very receptive to the group, who also extended an invitation to attend Field Day locations in his District. _______________________________________________ Yarc-list mailing list Yarc-list(a)netsecs.us http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/yarc-list

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[arrl-odv:19972] Fw: [VHF] FW: 70cm is SAFE!!!
by Brian Mileshosky 21 May '11

21 May '11

I'm taking this to ODV so my note is kept within internal circles, but the "70 cm is Safe!" message seems to be spreading quickly. First on QRZ as Director Norton noted, and now on a number of listserves including the one below (where one of my members thankfully is thankfully doing his homework). Mr. Lisenco's intentions may be the greatest ever, but he is frankly naive and irresponsible to firmly conclude -- in press release format, on very public forums -- that "70cm is SAFE!!! because a politician told the group that he didn't intend...wait for it, wait for it...what he wrote in his own bill. And it was apparently believed. I'm not opposed AT ALL to the meeting they had; just their PR summary. To some degree it's made ARRL and other groups' job a bit more difficult since, in addition to pressing on with getting people educated and in contact with their Congressmen in opposition, we all now need to expend effort clearing a growing degree of confusion. 73, Brian N5ZGT ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division On the web at www.RockyMountainDivision.org ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 21 May 2011 13:02:27 +0000 From: Earl Needham <earl.kd5xb(a)gmail.com> To: Brian Mileshosky <n5zgt(a)arrl.org> Subject: Fw: [VHF] FW: 70cm is SAFE!!! Hey Brian, and comment or confirmation on this? Thanks, Earl KD5XB KD5XB -- Earl Needham http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cw_bugs Quoting from the Coast Guard: ZUT Posted via Blackberry -----Original Message----- From: "David Benton" <wb4jgg(a)bellsouth.net> Sender: owner-vhf(a)w6yx.stanford.edu Date: Sat, 21 May 2011 00:33:27 To: VHF Stanford W6YX Group<vhf(a)w6yx.stanford.edu> Subject: [VHF] FW: 70cm is SAFE!!! Hope this is all true! David WB4JGG _____ From: Jim [mailto:jim@k99.us] Sent: Friday, May 20, 2011 10:49 PM To: jim(a)k99.us Subject: 70cm is SAFE!!! Hey guys good news NLI Meets with Congressman King regarding HR 607 - 70cm is SAFE!!! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mike Lisenco, N2YBB <mailto:n2ybb@arrl.org> n2ybb(a)arrl.org 917-865-3538 May 19, 2011, Massapequa Park, NY - A delegation of Amateur Radio operators from the Long Island / New York City area met this morning with Congressman Peter T. King (R-NY) to discuss his recent proposed legislation, HR 607, and its impact on Amateur Radio. Congressman King said that he fully understands and appreciates the importance of Amateur Radio and the service it provides to the community, and that he would see to the modification of the bill so that the 420 - 440 MHz band would be excluded from the spectrum to be auctioned. The delegation included Mike Lisenco, N2YBB, ARRL Section Manager for New York City / Long Island (NLI), Peter Portanova, WB2OQQ, NLI Local Government Liaison (LGL), George Tranos, N2GA, NLI State Government Liaison (SGL), and Jim Mezey, W2KFV, NLI ARES Section Emergency Coordinator (SEC). "The Congressman went on to explain that it was never his intention to remove the 70 centimeter band from Amateur use. He further asked us to `get the word out' and inform the Amateur Radio community that 70 centimeters is not in jeopardy," said Lisenco. Lisenco, Mezey and Tranos spoke about the importance of Amateur Radio emergency communications while Portanova, who is also the local AMSAT representative, addressed satellite and other amateur use of the 70 centimeter band. The Congressman was very receptive to the group, who also extended an invitation to attend Field Day locations in his District. ------ Submissions: vhf(a)w6yx.stanford.edu Subscription/removal requests: vhf-request(a)w6yx.stanford.edu Human list administrator: vhf-approval(a)w6yx.stanford.edu List rules and information: http://www-w6yx.stanford.edu/vhf/

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