June 2011 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:20009] SK Transition
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Hi, Just to keep everyone in the loop, the VEC department, under the direction of Maria Somma, AB1FM, will now oversee Silent Key administration. This transition began a few weeks ago and all IT system changeovers and staff training have been completed. This function was previously located in the MVP Department and was managed by Norm Fusaro and Gail Iannone. Members should not notice this transition since Silent Key information will continue to be submitted to the silent key administrator email address: sk(a)arrl.org <mailto:sk@arrl.org> . For SK questions, call 860-594-0300. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL -the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594 -0220

1 0

[arrl-odv:20006] AFN Broadcast
by David Woolweaver 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Dave: I wonder what the SWR was at 7118 KHz? David

2 1

[arrl-odv:20005] All in a day's work
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 22 Jun '11

22 Jun '11

Some days are more interesting than others. This morning as I was checking email before heading to the office I found a message from Dave Thompson, K4JRB, reporting that the American Forces Network was being broadcast on 7118.0 kHz USB. I turned on the rig and sure enough, there it was, about S7. It was about two hours past sunrise and seemed to be peaking to the southwest, as best I could tell on a 2-element beam, which suggested a domestic transmitter location. I forwarded the message to Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, who handles the Monitoring System at HQ. When I got to the office I Googled AFN and found that one of their scheduled transmissions is from Key West on 7811.0 kHz. Hmm...could this be a case of a dsylexic operator? In the meantime Chuck had put out a call to his volunteer monitors and Glen Reid, K5FX had come to the same conclusion. Chuck found a phone number for Public Affairs at the base in Key West and called, but was assured that "we don't do any broadcasting from Key West." But about two minutes later the signal on 7118 disappeared and reappeared on 7811. Coincidence? Another question we'll never know the answer to is this: For the several hours that they weren't transmitting on 7811, did anyone miss them? 73, Dave K1ZZ

2 1

[arrl-odv:20002] Digital QST Survey
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 21 Jun '11

21 Jun '11

Hi, Here is some information from Bob Inderbitzen about the survey that Readex is conducting for us about the proposed digital edition of QST. We discussed this survey at the last A & F Committee meeting. I just wanted everyone on ODV to know that it is starting, and that it is legit, in case you receive any questions about it from members. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer 860 594 0220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- To: Staff and ODV From: Bob Inderbitzen As we previously reported, we have been working with Readex Research on a comprehensive marketing survey to help support planning for a digital edition of QST. Readex has conducted studies for ARRL in the past-including QST subscriber profiles and large national market studies (the last one in 2003). The planning team for this survey project includes Digital Content Manager Katie Glass, Membership Manager Diane Petrilli and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen. This new survey will be conducted by mail and email, and will include domestic and international surveyed populations from among current members, lapsed members, and FCC licensees (non-members). Over 12,000 individuals will be surveyed. Steve Ford, as QST Editor, is listed as the contact on all survey invitations. Survey Schedule Mail: 06/27 survey kits mail 07/19 follow-up survey kits to non-respondents mail Online: 06/22 first broadcast 06/28 reminder broadcast 07/05 final broadcast You may direct any questions about the survey to me. Bob

2 1

[arrl-odv:20003] BPL; Status of Proceeding on Remand from Court of Appeals; ET Docket No. 04-37
by Chris Imlay 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

MEMORANDUM To: Officers and Directors Copy: Ed Hare, W1RFI From: Chris Imlay, W3KD Date: June 20, 2011 Subject: BPL Proceeding on Remand, ET Docket 04-37; Status of Proceeding; CONFIDENTIAL, ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGED COMMUNICATION; WORK-PRODUCT. Greetings. It is timely to bring you all up to speed on the BPL proceeding, because something is going to happen relatively soon, and perhaps very soon in absolute terms. The Executive Committee has closely overseen our advocacy efforts over the past two years in this proceeding. We have been very active (as my last three or four Board reports have indicated) in making ex parte filings in this Docket proceeding, in order to insure that the record is as complete as possible with technical arguments in favor of our desired outcome. We have recently made what I thought would be the last of these written filings, and Ed Hare and I were preparing to make a short in-person visit to OET to argue these points (which the Executive Committee had approved). However, OET, on June 10, 2011 finally sent a draft Further Report and Order to the Commissioners. It is now “on circulation” meaning that the Commissioners are considering the draft Order, which will ultimately be issued (without consideration at an open Sunshine Act meeting) once each of the five Commissioners has approved some version of it. It is possible that one or more of the Commissioners could ask OET to edit some part of it, and there may be some disagreements with respect to the draft Report and Order, so releasing it could take some weeks, or even months. There are a few items on circulation at FCC that have been in that status for two years now. But the list of items on circulation is short, and this Chairman moves items fairly quickly, so we do anticipate an order to be released some time soon, perhaps even prior to the Board meeting. To refresh your recollection, our “bottom line” requirement is for FCC to adopt new BPL rules that require full-time notching of Amateur allocations by BPL companies, to a notch depth of between 30 and 35 dB. If this is incorporated in the rules, we have said we will be satisfied. We have made numerous filings justifying a distance extrapolation factor that reflects the signal decay of a radiated HF BPL signal with perpendicular distance from the power line, but frankly, if we get full time, 30 or 35 dB mandatory notching of Amateur bands, the distance extrapolation factor is not as important. We have told FCC that we insist on a scientifically valid extrapolation factor, however, and that outside the near field, that factor is much closer to 20 dB/decade of distance than to the 40 dB that is in the FCC rules now. We have proven that, we believe adequately. Keep in mind that this proceeding has languished badly at FCC. The Further Notice of Proposed Rule Making in this docket, post-remand from the Court of Appeals, will be two years old as of July 17 of this year. The Court of Appeals remanded this case to the Commission in an opinion released April 25, 2008 and it released its Mandate on June 13, 2008, more than three years ago(!). The voluminous filings we have made since the Further Notice was released are as follows. Each has argued strenuously for (1) full-time, mandatory 35 dB notching of all Amateur bands; and (2) a scientifically valid signal decay extrapolation factor. 1. Comments on FNPRM, filed September 23, 2009. 2. Reply Comments on FNPRM, filed October 7, 2009. 3. Notice of ex parte Presentation (made by me to the Commission’s Broadband Team and the Office of Engineering and Technology), November 3, 2009. 4. Notice of ex parte Presentation (made by Dave Sumner and me to the offices of four of the Commissioners on November 2, 2011) filed November 5, 2009. 5. Notice of px parte Presentation (made by Dave Sumner and me to the office of the Chairman on November 24, 2011) filed December 3, 2009. 6. Written ex parte submission of 150 pages in rebuttal to a written ex parte presentation of Current Technologies, filed by ARRL on January 11, 2010 with numerous exhibits. 7. Written ex parte submission with numerous technical exhibits, demonstrating that 35 dB notch depth is in fact an industry standard that can be met without substantial adverse impact on BPL systems, filed November 30, 2010. 8. Interference complaint regarding IBEC BPL systems in Arrington and Fairfield, Virginia, Somerset, Pennsylvania and Martinsville, Indiana, filed with OET and EB on December 29, 2010. 9. Equipment Authorization Complaint with respect to IBEC BPL Regenerator Units and Customer Access Units, premised on poor correlation between FCC lab test submissions and deployed BPL systems, which are capable of much higher power than claimed by the manufacturer. Filed February 10, 2011. 10. Ex parte Submission of 23 pages, including Hare rebuttal of NTIA Phase 2 BPL study, demonstrating that NTIA “cooked the books” in its BPL Phase 2 analysis in support of a 40 dB/decade distance extrapolation factor. Filed most recently June 17, 2011 (copy attached to this memo). All of these filings except the last one (which is attached) have been sent to the Board when filed, but to view them all in one place, please see: http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/ecfs/comment_search/execute?proceeding=04-37&appli… During all these filings, the BPL industry, or what is left of it, filed very little. For awhile Current Technologies attempted to duel with us, but they have not filed anything since December 30, 2009, and that was limited to an effort to retain the 40 dB/decade extrapolation factor (the FCC proposed a 30 dB/decade factor in the Further NPRM, but that was an effort to “split the baby” and had no scientific underpinnings at all). Nothing, in fact, was filed since that date on behalf of the BPL industry until May 4, 2011, when UTC, the Utilities Telecom Council, filed a two-page statement arguing that 35 dB of full time notching of Amateur bands would be detrimental to BPL functioning and that ARRL in effect lied about it. A copy of that filing is attached for your review as well. The timing, the content and the copy recipients of that letter are all very suspicious indeed. Ed Hare and I have reviewed this and are of the view that the UTC letter was most likely solicited by Alan Stilwell, an OET staff person who has been antagonistic to ARRL in this proceeding for a long time now. While we are content that we have adequately argued the necessity for a full-time, 30-35 dB notch of all Amateur bands by BPL users, FCC may well have solicited UTC to file something so that they can have a record basis for affording some lesser relief than that which we have essentially demanded of them for three years now. The last advocacy effort that the Executive Committee approved was going to be an in-person meeting by Ed Hare and me with OET to explain our technical arguments one more time, especially with respect to the 30-35 dB notch depth. Now that there is an item on circulation among the Commissioners, such a meeting with OET staff would likely be a waste of ARRL resources. However, Ed is now working on a last-minute rebuttal of the two-page UTC filing, and we will consider presenting that directly to the Chairman’s office. We will in any case want to copy the Chairman and Commissioners with our rebuttal to UTC. It may be that the Board will have an opportunity at this upcoming Board meeting to address how ARRL will respond to the FCC’s anticipated Further Report and Order in this Docket. We will keep you, and of course the Executive Committee, apprised of our proposed course of action in the very near term. Please contact Ed Hare or me with any questions about this. 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

1 0

[arrl-odv:20001] Formal call for Second 2011 Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 20 Jun '11

20 Jun '11

Attached is the formal call for the Second 2001 Meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors and an accommodation request form. Please return the accommodation form to Lisa Kustosik or send her an email containing the requested information. Thank you. 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary <<Formal call.pdf>> <<accommodation form.doc>>

1 0

[arrl-odv:20000] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 16 Jun '11

16 Jun '11

<<061511.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 34, No. 24 June 15, 2011 -- Covers the period June 5-11. Upcoming Meetings and Events Programs & Services Committee: June 18 @ 8:30am -- ARRL HQ Administration & Finance Committee July 14 @ 8:30am -- ARRL HQ Annual Board Meeting July 15-16, 2011 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Field Day promotional activities are going full blast with more to come in the final days. The main shooting is completed for the 2011 video and editing work now begins with the goal of a September release. The hard copies of the annual report have come in and so far all requests have been filled. We had an absolutely wonderful time at Plano and a short video from there has been posted to the "Now Hear This" Web page. The Media Hits column has been completed and Allen will be on vacation June 15-19. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH The ARRL Diamond club has reached 49% of its 2011 goal - $137,703. The Spectrum Defense Fund has reached $145,020 or 41% of its goal. The second issue of Spectrum Defense Matters is scheduled to mail in July. Proceeds of $10,000 were received from the Dormond estate. The funds have been deposited in the ARRL Endowment. Paperwork for the estate of Alfred Friend is nearing completion. The estate proceeds are estimated at approximately $150,000 from four sources. The attorney handling the estate reported that proceeds are for the Education & Technology Program. Development traveled to the ARRL national convention at HamCom and spent time with Maxim Society donors and other prospects who were in attendance. An $1,000,000 estate commitment to the Second Century Campaign was received and signed by CEO Sumner. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The July/August issue of NCJ and the 4th printing of The ARRL Operating Manual have been released to the printer. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed the ARRL Letter and produced and voiced ARRL Audio News for June 9, 2011. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R May product sales were $336,198. The month's forecast was $308,417. Direct sales were $229,708; dealer sales were $106,490. Sales at our exhibit in Dayton contributed $67.5k to direct sales ($65k in 2010, $64k in 2009). New titles contributed to the month's gains, including ARRL's Small Antennas for Small Spaces at $27,059, and ARRL's Hamspeak: A Dictionary for Radio Amateurs at $6,981. Purchases of 2011 Field Day gear (shirts, hats, and pins) totaled nearly $29k this month. We have returned from the very successful 2011 ARRL National Convention, hosted by Ham-Com in Plano, Texas. We appreciate the hospitality extended to the ARRL team of officials, staff and volunteers by Director David Woolweaver K5RAV, Vice Director John Stratton N5AUS, and the entire Field Organization in the West Gulf Division. Convention goers descended upon ARRL EXPO, the centerpiece of our convention activities, throughout the 2-day event. ARRL staff and officials supported 8 forums. Certificates were issued to operators of W1AW/5, organized in 2 communication trailers. The (lively) Wouff Hong Ceremony was attended by nearly 100 members. There were 237 memberships taken in Plano (155 in Huntsville in 2007), including applications from 69 new and lapsed members. There were 2 Life membership applications made (and paid in full). Membership dues totaled $14,523, representing 436 membership years. We'll report on publication sales once the skids of remaining inventory have returned from Plano. A photo album from the event is posted on the ARRL Facebook <http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150204720612408.320453.20069 212407&l=233b2f2e9e> page. A consolidation of the front desk telephone into the larger member services phone group was completed on Monday morning, June 6. The following incoming lines are now managed by the entire member services team: 860-594-0200 (main number), 860-594-0214 (Technical Information Service), 888-277-5289 (Membership and Publication & Product Sales), 800-326-3942 (800-32-NEW HAM, the New Ham Hotline). We continue to work closely with staff throughout the building to properly route and service callers. In many instances, team members are able to assist callers without transferring. During the last 2 weeks, the warehouse crew fulfilled 1,427 packages for publication and product orders, 1,574 membership premiums (with help from the mailroom staff), and QST mailing supplements. Materials have been produced, assembled and shipped for Ham Radio 2011 in Friedrichshafen, Germany. Europe's big Amateur Radio convention runs June 24-26. The shared ARRL and IARU exhibit space will be staffed by Dave Patton NN1N, Brennan Price N4QX, Jay Bellows K0QB, IARU President Tim Ellam VE6SH and IARU Secretary Rod Stafford W6ROD. ReadEx is readying the final draft of a questionnaire supporting the digital QST survey project. The survey will be conducted by mail and email. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team In advance of the Friday, June 10, receipt deadline for Section Manager nominating petitions for this particular election cycle, Daniel Stevens, KL7WM, of Kent, Washington, submitted a nomination to run for the Western Washington Section Manager's position. Incumbent Western Washington SM Jim Pace, K7CEX, had previously been nominated to run for office. There will be in election this summer in Western Washington. Also, as mentioned earlier in the month, the Georgia Section will also have an election. Leona Adams has been handling the administrative tasks leading up to these elections. Incumbent West Virginia SM Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY, submitted her petition before the June 10 deadline. After the petition deadline, no other nominations were received from West Virginia, so Ann's new term of office begins October 1. In addition, there are more incumbent Section Managers that are not facing opposition. They following SMs will begin new terms of office starting on October 1: David Greenhut, N6HD (Los Angeles); Lee Cooper, W5LHC (South Texas); Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV (San Francisco); Ron Murdock, W6KJ (Sacramento Valley); Mark Tharp, KB7HDX (Eastern Washington). In Colorado, Jack Ciaccia, WM0G, of Boulder, was the only nominee for Section Manager's position. Incumbent Jeff Ryan, K0RM, decided not to run for another term. Steve Ewald traveled to the ARRL National Convention and met with Field Organization members and Section Leaders, among many others. He conducted a forum about the Field Organization and assisted Mike Corey at the Emergency Communications and Public Service booth in the ARRL Expo. Several complaints were received regarding the 147.435 MHz repeater in California and they were forwarded to the FCC for their information along with complaints and information about 14313 kHz. Questions handled this week included Field Day, cross band repeater operation, home station identification, limiting the use of a repeater, listing items for sale on nets, and identification on repeaters with remote inputs. Northern Florida OOs are checking out interference to a 75 meter net. Chuck also prepared for his trip to the Tennessee State Convention. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 7/4 Holiday Leona Adams 6/22 Vacation `` 7/1 Vacation `` 7/22 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 7/20 Vacation Joe Carcia 6/17 Vacation `` 7/1-7/8 Vacation `` 7/15 Vacation `` 7/22 Vacation `` 7/29 Vacation Steve Ewald 6/23 Vacation Steve Ford 8/8-8/12 Vacation Mike Gruber 7/11-7/15 Vacation Dan Henderson 7/5-7/8 Vacation Mary Hobart 6/17-6/20 Vacation Amy Hurtado 6/24 Vacation `` 7/8 Vacation `` 7/15 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 6/24 Vacation `` 7/25-7/29 Vacation `` 8/8-8/12 Vacation Joel Kleinman 6/14-6/15 Vacation `` 6/23 Vacation Zack Lau 6/16-6/17 Vacation Rose-Anne Lawrence 6/20-27 Vacation Diane Petrilli 8/8-8/12 Vacation `` 8/31-9/2 Vacation Allen Pitts 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 6/13-6/16 Vacation Dave Sumner 6/27-6/28 Vacation Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings 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

1 0

[arrl-odv:19999] Legislative status report
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 15 Jun '11

15 Jun '11

Kay has asked me to summarize the status of the federal legislative issues currently in play that are of interest to the ARRL. The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2011 S.191 is pending on the Senate Calendar, having cleared the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. John Chwat expects the bill to be taken up before the end of the month and for it to pass the Senate with the Coburn amendment (which added an unrelated report on FEMA grants) deleted. When S.191 is received in the House it will be referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. We thought that it might be referred to the House Committee on Homeland Security but apparently that is not going to be the case. John Chwat and Chris Imlay have a meeting with House Energy and Commerce Committee staff scheduled for June 27. After that meeting we will have a better idea as to what additional steps we may need to take to move the bill through the committee and the full House. H.R.81, a bill by the same name and with only slightly different wording, has been referred to the Telecomm Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Our preference is for the House to take up and pass S.191 without change, to avoid the need for the bill to go back to the Senate before it goes to the President's desk for signature. So, for now we should stand by. Depending on how the June 27 meeting goes it may be desirable to stimulate some targeted letter-writing and contacts with key committee members. D-Block Public Safety Legislation (H.R. 607 et al) Last week the Senate Commerce Committee approved the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act, S.911, a bipartisan approach to reallocation of the so-called D Block of 700 MHz spectrum. As originally introduced S.911 was simply a "sense of Congress" place-holder; the bill as approved by the committee is far more comprehensive and apparently contains elements of S.28 and possibly other Senate bills such as S.1040. The text is not yet available on Thomas, but a committee press release lists the key provisions as: * Establish a framework for the deployment of a nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband network for public safety. * Allocate 10 megahertz of spectrum, known as the "D-block," to public safety. * Allow public safety officials, when not using the network, to lease capacity on a secondary basis to non-public safety entities in order to help support the network. * Provide the FCC with incentive auction authority, which allows existing spectrum licensees to voluntarily relinquish their airwaves in exchange for a portion of the proceeds of the commercial auction of their spectrum. This provides new incentives for efficient use of spectrum. In addition, the funds from these incentive auctions, in conjunction with funds from the auction of other specified spectrum bands, and funds earned from leasing the public safety network on a secondary basis, will be used to fund the construction and maintenance of the nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband public safety network. * Direct the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct cutting edge research into transformative wireless technologies. * Surplus revenue from spectrum auctions, estimated to be more than $10 billion, will be directed to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction. While we will not know for certain until we have the opportunity to review the text of the bill, as far as we know it is benign for Amateur Radio. If the bill passes the full Senate it will be received in the House and referred to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, where H.R.607 is languishing and where the committee staff is known to be working on its own version of D-block legislation (based on, among other things, Chris Imlay's testimony of May 25). Given the state of play, Kay and I feel that it is best at this point to wind down our promotion of members' letters to Congress on H.R.607 as they have served their purpose. We will still need to monitor the House committee, but this does not involve grassroots activity and is best done quietly. We will not announce cessation of the letter-writing campaign and will not actively discourage members from writing; H.R.607 is still there and we must be careful to not say anything that might be misconstrued as a premature declaration of "Mission Accomplished." FCC Technical Expertise Legislation (S.611 and H.R.2102) These two bills address ARRL Legislative Objective #7, "to ensure that [FCC] Commissioners have adequate access to technical expertise when making decisions." This is not a subject that is likely to excite the enthusiasm of grassroots members and so does not lend itself to a letter-writing campaign, but we do want the ARRL to be on record as supporting this objective. Kay will write to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the committees of jurisdiction setting out the ARRL's position. 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

1 0

[arrl-odv:19998] Mailman List Server
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 08 Jun '11

08 Jun '11

We had network issues at HQ today that affected, among other things, the software (Mailman) that handles all our e-mail lists (ODV, OD, committees, etc.). If you sent a message to one of the lists today and have not seen it yet, please re-send the message. While we are researching the situation, we may not be able to retrieve the messages and individual mail servers may have stopped trying to re-send the original messages. We apologize for any inconvenience. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc-The National Association for Amateur Radio(tm) 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/> Phone: (860) 594-0212 E-mail: bshelley(a)arrl.org <mailto:bshelley@arrl.org>

1 0

[arrl-odv:19996] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 08 Jun '11

08 Jun '11

<<060811.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 34, No. 23 June 8, 2011 -- Covers the period May 29-June 4. Upcoming Meetings and Events ARRL National Convention June 10-11 -- Plano , TX Programs & Services Committee: June 18 @ 8:30am -- ARRL HQ Administration & Finance Committee July 14 @ 8:30am -- ARRL HQ Annual Board Meeting July 15-16, 2011 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP For a short week, it was a very busy week. The June CONTACT! was written and published. A new Now Hear This audio was created and posted. The annual report went up on the web and hardcopy is expected back from the printer any time now. Over the past weeks it has been frustrating not to get timely information from PIOs in recent tornado operations. But on June 1, the tornado came to New England and I was able to listen to the hams' response first hand from my home VHF radio systems. While there was still no PIO working the event, information was gotten from the EOC and ARC chapter and contact was made with CNN who were actively reporting the Springfield situation. In the end, aside from the excellent SKYWARN® work done, there was little more need for the hams, and no follow-up story evolved. But it was good to finally get information in a timely way. Then, still back to a previous tornado site, I spotted SA reports from Maj. Pat McPherson that he needed help in Joplin. Discussions led to our offer of help to them and the resultant successful weekend call for volunteers. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Revenues for the Diamond Club have climbed to $137,703 or 49% of the 2011 target. Revenues for the Spectrum Defense Fund have reached $143,835 or 41% of the 2011 target. The prospect file for the Second Century Campaign has been completed. A full day of training at ARRL will take place on Thursday, June 16. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed the ARRL Letter and produced and voiced ARRL Audio News for June 2, 2011. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Branch Credits Applications 2010 Carryover 155,716 1,148 2011 Received 409,300 3,595 Cumulative Total 565,016 4,743 2011 Processed 442,842 3,680 Remaining 122,184 1,063 Processing Time 8 Weeks Logbook of the World Category May 2011 % Change Jan - May 2011 QSO Records Entered Into System 348,375,314 8% QSL Record Matches 41,377,375 12% Logs Processed 2,182,369 16% Active Certificates 62,491 8% Registered Users in System 41,557 8% Logbook (Email Only) Inquiries May 2011 Maintenance 981 Initial Setup Inquiries 1,146 Award Related Concerns 373 Customer Usage Issues 498 Phone Calls 240 Total 3,238 W1AW Joe created the texts for the June W1AW Qualifying Runs. He also updated the web code practice files and web Qualifying Run schedules and weekly QST source web pages. Also, Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for early June. Field Organization/Public Service Team In advance of the Friday, June 10, receipt deadline for Section Manager nominating petitions, incumbent Section Managers Bill Hillendahl, KH6GJV (San Francisco), and David Greenhut, N6HD (Los Angeles), have submitted petitions to run for new terms of office starting on October 1. Verne Fowler, W8BLA, of Cumming, Georgia, has been nominated to run for Section Manager. Incumbent Georgia SM Gene Clark, W4AYK, has previously been nominated so there will be a Section Manager election in Georgia this summer. Leona Adams has been corresponding with all the candidates in regard to these matters. Steve Ewald edited and turned in the August QST Public Service column to the Production Department. Steve also helped the Emergency Preparedness Team's response to the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network's (SATERN) request to call for and assemble additional Amateur Radio operator volunteers for their communication efforts in Joplin, Missouri. The SATERN effort will continue until June 10. Chuck Skolaut returned from attending the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD) convention in Kansas City. Attendees totaled 550 with several service projects taking place including construction of a house for Habitat and a food packaging exercise. Also during the convention, tornadoes were sited nearby and everyone was sent to shelter for a time. No damage occurred, however. The convention took place right after the tornado struck Joplin, MO. Jim Andera, KØNK, gave an excellent presentation at the about Amateur Radio and its use for disaster communications during the NVOAD convention. Radio amateurs from Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and Nevada successfully completed certification to become Official Observers this week. The FCC followed up on a report of intentional interference to a large net but reported none was observed. Official Observers in North Florida and Arkansas reported good feedback from the use of Good Operator reports. One recipient said it was his most valued award in 63 years of hamming! Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Nathan McCray K9CPO and I represented the Education Services programs at Dayton Hamvention. A steady stream of visitors to the booth had questions about educational outreach to schools, the Teachers Institute, curriculum materials, online courses and licensing instruction. We made several contacts for educational collaboration and opportunities for hosting Teachers Institutes and were able to provide information and advice for clubs and individuals interested in working with local schools. Nathan gave two forum presentations: one on "How to Approach Schools with Ham Radio" and another for the teachers' forum on "How to Integrate Electronics and Ham Radio in Your 3rd - 5th grade Classroom." Both were met with engaged and enthusiastic audiences. Continuing Education Program We developed a new mentor familiarization course and began re-enlisting and recruiting mentors to support the new Intro to EmComm course. The first two sessions of the new course with 25 seats each were filled by the end of the month. We received the Word files of the course content from the course instructional designer and began scrubbing the files to consolidate them into printable format in preparation to produce a course transcript. Education & Technology Program We finalized the rosters for all 5 TIs scheduled for this summer and notified all participants. Jennifer Knapp made hotel reservations for all sessions and distributed information to participants. Instructors contacted participants with a welcome and introduction. Jennifer has been handling a high volume of phone calls and emails related to travel logistics. We ordered, packed and shipped resources for the June sessions. Seven grant applications were received for the May round. Miguel Enriquez KD7RPP reports that Pueblo HS Radio Club received over 180 requests for the free fox transmitter units the club is offering to hams and clubs who plan to use them for work with youth. The radio club decided to extend this offer as a way of giving back to the amateur radio community. You can review the news story announcing the offer at: http://www.arrl.org/news/high-school-radio-club-to-offer-free-foxhunting-tr… ARISS On May 19 NASA announced the new process for proposals for ARISS school contacts. Two windows of opportunity per year will open for schools and education groups to submit proposals. The windows will be open for two months, and will correlate to specific ISS expeditions the schools can be scheduled within a 6 month time period. School proposals must meet very specific criteria regarding educational plans and goals. We are very pleased that the new planning guide that NASA will provide to schools who want to submit a proposal integrates recommendations for use of ARRL ETP resources. ARRL, NASA and AMSAT will all be involved in the proposal review process that will evaluate the strength of the educational plan as well as logistical considerations. The announcement about the new process was distributed to over 18,000 schools on NASA's various contact lists. We updated the ARRL website to reflect these changes in process. On May 5, Greenville (IL) Elementary School had an ARISS contact as the capstone of a series of science, technology, mathematics, and geography lessons. The school partners with NASA in having been selected as a NASA Explorer School, and teachers developed curriculum and activities promoting these subjects. The lead teacher for ARISS was Donna Carlson, KC9LEG, who earned her Amateur Radio license after submitting an ARISS education proposal. Local radio operators provided in-service studies and demonstrations on radio, as well as training and support for faculty and students who developed an interest in radio. The school created an Amateur Radio group, and has 5 students who passed their ham radio exams and were excited to be able to communicate to an astronaut through Amateur Radio. Other US ARISS contacts in May on May 9 with St. Michael School in Schererville, Indiana and astronaut Cady Coleman, KC5ZTH. on the ISS took part in an ARISS contact. The school partners with the Challenger Learning Center in Hammond, Indiana and provided students with this ARISS contact to highlight its science curriculum. A local news story and video are at http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/schererville/article_1a1b5c1d-0f5d-… Mount Carmel Academy students from Houston, Texas participated in an ARISS contact with on-orbit astronaut Ron Garan, KF5GPO on Tuesday, May 10 via telebridge station ON4ISS in Belgium. The contact complemented lessons on the International Space Station as well as amateur radio. Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club provided follow-on educational support. News of the ARISS contact reached approximately 580,000 households through the Comcast Channel 18 simulcast of Houston Independent School District news and through KUHF, the local PBS radio station. See: http://app1.kuhf.org/houston_public_radio-news-display.php?articles_id=1305… May was also a busy month for outreach activities for the ARISS team. They sponsored an ARISS educational day at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (NASM) on Space Day, May 6. AMSAT volunteers and the NASM Education Division worked with young people during the all-day event. NASM set up a stage and A/V equipment, including a large screen, so that thousands of museum-goers could hear the ARISS contact and a presentation prior to the contact about Amateur Radio, how radio works, and how the contact with space works. The volunteers engaged the youth with activities involving satellites, space, and Amateur Radio. The ARISS team had a multi-faceted presence at Dayton Hamvention. Astronaut Doug Wheelock, KF5BOC attended as ARRL's guest. He was very engaging and made a big impact with convention attendees. In addition, Barry Baines, WD4ASW, gave ARISS highlights at the AMSAT Forum, Lou McFadin, W5DID, spoke on a proposal for ham TV in the ISS Columbus module, and Dave Jordan, AA4KN, gave a presentation about ARISS at the teacher's forum. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 7/4 Holiday Leona Adams 6/22 Vacation `` 7/1 Vacation `` 7/22 Vacation Joe Carcia 6/17 Vacation `` 7/1-7/8 Vacation `` 7/15 Vacation `` 7/22 Vacation `` 7/29 Vacation Steve Ford 8/8-8/12 Vacation Mike Gruber 7/11-7/15 Vacation Dan Henderson 7/5-7/8 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 8/8-8/12 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 6/10 Vacation Joel Kleinman 6/14-6/15 Vacation Zack Lau 6/16-6/17 Vacation Rose-Anne Lawrence 6/20-27 Vacation Diane Petrilli 8/8-8/12 Vacation `` 8/31-9/2 Vacation Allen Pitts 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 6/13-6/16 Vacation Dave Sumner 6/27-6/28 Vacation Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings 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 6/10-6/12 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

1 0