November 2012 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:21219] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 14 Nov '12

14 Nov '12

IN-Newsletter Vol. 35, No. 46 November 14, 2012 -- Covers the period November 4-10. Upcoming Meetings and Events Director/Vice Director Elections November 16 Administration and Finance Committee: November 17 @ 8:30am - Newington CT Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND At the request of ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, we reviewed a proposed piece of legislation for the state of Montana, with several small tweaks suggested. We also reviewed an update on proposed Idaho legislation that would correct an unintended restriction affecting towers. The original Idaho bill was extremely broad in its wording and could potentially prohibit most amateur towers based on safety issues. Several reciprocal operating questions from visitors coming to the US were answered. We received a query regarding Hellschreiber asking if it was a digital or image (which would affect where it can be transmitted). As is frequently the case, we found a very good set of comments from Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, retired ARRL CTO. Paul's bottom line was "US amateurs may transmit Hellschreiber in the RTTY/data segments using single-sideband transmitters. J2B is the appropriate emission symbol." The Regulatory Branch received an email originally sent to another department relating to a tower issue. Unfortunately, instead of simply acknowledging the email and sending it on to the RIB, the original recipient attempted to provide information on the topic - which ended up not being an accurate answer based on the facts of the situation. We should all remember that if you are not certain of the answer, it is best not to provide inaccurate information. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY Joel Hallas, W1ZR, delivered a presentation on stealth antennas to the ARRL Atlantic Division Convention on Saturday Nov 10. The convention was a virtual one and the presentation was delivered remotely via webinar. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, wrote and distributed the November 8 edition of The ARRL Letter and produced and voiced the ARRL Audio News. She also wrote, edited and posted articles on the ARRL website that included the September meeting of the ARRL Executive Committee, the Atlantic Division's "virtual" convention, the possible discontinuation of IRCs in the US, the FCC's denial of a proposed change in its message forwarding system rules, the meeting of the IARU's Administrative Council, the W1AW winter operating schedule and ARRL in Action, a monthly review of HQ activities affecting ARRL members. She also kept amateurs updated as to the status of Logbook of the World during its downtime and edited and posted columns from ARRL Contributing Editors. The January 2013 issue of QST will be released to the printer this week. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R An emailing introducing the new QST Apple "app" for iOS mobile devices was sent to 97,000 members on Monday, November 12. This completes the staggered announcement to members. With the app, members can enjoy reading and downloading the digital edition of QST on their iPads, iPhones and iPod touch. The launch of this new membership benefit has been the planning and work of many individuals, especially Magdalena Owczarska and Amy Hurtado who both coordinated the effort with our digital QST service provider, Nxtbook. Bob Inderbitzen reports that the new QST app has received some attention on the USKA (Swiss Amateur Radio Society) website, generating interest and a couple of new international memberships from Switzerland and Germany over the weekend. With help from Chris Imlay and contributions from Magdalena Owczarska, Bob Inderbitzen, Maria Somma, Mike Keane, and Harold Kramer, we have put together a new Online Privacy Policy. The policy reflects the extent to which we and our service providers collect private information and private identification information. Immediately, it helps satisfy our interest in disclosing to members how we collect and use information gathered in the aggregate, only, to measure, understand and optimize web usage. For instance, general information is collected from members browsing the digital edition of QST-providing us with some insight about page views, links selected, and search terms. The new policy is posted at http://www.arrl.org/online-privacy-policy <http://www.arrl.org/online-privacy-policy> , and is linked from ARRL's general privacy policy at http://www.arrl.org/privacy-policy <http://www.arrl.org/privacy-policy> . Maria Somma is our staff expert on privacy issues and she is the contact person for member inquiries to privacy(a)arrl.org <mailto:privacy@arrl.org> . Jackie Ferreira reports that targeted emails are being prepared to promote The ARRL Handbook, The ARRL Operating Manual, and The Amateur Radio Public Service Handbook. The mailing lists include past purchasers of previous editions and related titles. Additionally, 2 mailings are being prepared to help promote The Handbook and Public Service Handbook to segmented audiences. We plan to have these promotions in the mail before the end of the month to help capture more interest in these titles during the holiday shopping season. An "Election Day" themed email generated over $9,000 in sales over a two-day period. Diane Petrilli reports that she's completed a series of membership solicitations conducted by email to target groups: active Volunteer Examiners, lapsed members and October membership expirees. The effort returned over 100 memberships so far. A large membership appeal sent last month has already returned over 400 members. Another campaign was mailed November 2, and is already returning applications. The final campaign of the year is being readied to mail on December 3. And, a small membership mailing (less than 2,000 pieces) will go to previous purchasers of ARRL publications within the week. The membership appeal that accompanies the mailing to new hams has been updated, giving the piece a fresh, cleaner look. Summary of Sales and Marketing Department telephone group (reported by Amy Hurtado): Week of Phone calls Per hour Average wait Complete without transfer 11/5/12 858 19 37 seconds 86% Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity (reported by Steve Capodicasa): Week of Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 11/5/12 743 662 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Branch Credits Applications 2011 Carryover 212,340 1,650 2012 Received 1,070,514 10,364 Cumulative Total 1,282,854 12,014 2012 Processed 1,234,162 11,490 Remaining 48,692 524 Paper/Fieldcheck Process Time 4 Weeks LoTW Processing Time 3 Business Days Logbook of the World Category October 2012 % ChangeJan - Oct 2012 QSO Records Entered Into System 455,322,243 13% QSL Record Matches 61,927,406 20% Logs Processed 3,673,806 27% Active Certificates 80,572 12% Registered Users in System 53,607 12% Logbook Inquiries October 2012 Emails 1,299 Phone Calls 162 Total 1,461 W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files. He also created the texts for the November W1AW Qualifying Runs. He processed two Qualifying Run certificates and one endorsement. He worked the late afternoon/night shift on Friday for the vacationing Scott Gee. Joe also assembled an M-Squared 70cm, 42-element crossed yagi, model 436CP42UG, for use at W1HQ. Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona Adams received a petition from George Forsyth, AA7GS, of Great Falls, Montana, that nominated him to run for the Montana Section Manager position. The incumbent SM, Doug Dunn, K7YD, has already been nominated to run for a new term. There will be an election in Montana this winter. Steve Ewald has been receiving Field Organization activity reports for October. Additional public service and some emergency service reports from the recent Hurricane Sandy and snow storm to hit the mid-Atlantic State and the New England regions are arriving as well. A radio amateur from Los Angeles completed requirements to become an Official Observer this past week. Chuck Skolaut compiled the monthly ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch report and forwarded it to the IARU Region 2 Monitoring System Coordinator. Several complaints were received regarding 14.313 MHz and questions were handled about advisory cards and operating overseas. Documentation was received and forwarded to Laura Smith at the FCC regarding an ongoing interference problem with two different groups on 40 meters. Documentation was also received regarding jamming and playing music on a 75 meter frequency and was forwarded to the FCC. A report of a pirate FM broadcast station is being followed up on by the FCC. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations Holiday 11/22-11/23 Holiday Holiday 12/24-12/25 Holiday Bob Allison 11/19-11/26 PTO Steve Ewald 11/26-11/30 PTO Steve Ford 11/26 PTO Scott Gee 11/9-11/15 PTO `` 12/21-12/26 PTO Joel Hallas 11/20-11/28 PTO Nancy Hallas 11/20-11/28 PTO Dan Henderson 11/15-11/21 Indiana Section Convention, Ft. Wayne, IN / PTO `` 12/17-1/7 PTO Amy Hurtado 12/17-12/21 PTO Gail Iannone 11/7-11/23 Sick Leave `` 12/21-12/31 PTO Bob Inderbitzen 11/21 PTO Deb Jahnke 11/19-11/21 PTO Khrystyne Keane 11/16 RCA Banquet, New York, NY `` 12/7 PTO `` 12/14 PTO `` 12/21-31 PTO Lisa Kustosik 11/30-12/3 PTO Barry Shelley 11/20-11/21 PTO `` 12/17-12/19 PTO Dave Sumner 11/16 RCA Banquet, New York, NY `` 11/29 Business Meeting Larry Wolfgang 11/7-11/21 Sick leave

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[arrl-odv:21212] Fwd: [ps-com:1654] Minutes From July 2012 Programs & Services CommitteeMeeting
by David Norris 13 Nov '12

13 Nov '12

Greetings again! My apologies as this was sent in September but it looks like it hung in ODV and was never posted. I'll try this again! 73 David A. Norris, K5UZ Director Delta Division Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: > From: "Norris, David" <David.Norris(a)arkansashighways.com> > Date: November 13, 2012 8:32:22 AM CST > To: <k5uz(a)suddenlink.net> > Subject: FW: [ps-com:1654] Minutes From July 2012 Programs & Services CommitteeMeeting > > > > Greetings All, > > I am posting the revised minutes from the July Programs and Services Committee Meeting to ODV. Enjoy! > > 73 ES DX > > > David A. Norris, K5UZ > Director, Delta Division > > ARRL - The National Association for Amateur Radio © >

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[arrl-odv:21193] Digital QST question
by Brian Mileshosky 12 Nov '12

12 Nov '12

Hi Everyone -- I was up in Colorado this weekend for a convention and was asked a question I hadn't a clue how to answer. Quite simply: If a member were to let his/her membership lapse, would he/she be able to still read the digital QST magazines provided directly to them as a member benefit during the time he/she was a paying member? Someone with a lapsed membership would still be able to read all of their paper issues of QST magazine that they 'bought' via their dues. Would someone who only receives digital QST similarly be able to read the digital issues they 'bought' via their dues (either online or, probably more practically, viewing their saved stash of digital QSTs offline from their hard drive), or do all those issues go dark? Note I am not referring to archived issues in general; just those that would be directly provided to a member as a benefit at the time they are paying their dues. Thanks and 73, Brian N5ZGT

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[arrl-odv:21203] LOTW Update
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

While the misinformation being tossed around in cyberspace regarding LOTW is almost too wild to answer, let me try and respond to some of the more relevant issues. Currently, LOTW is up and running as of 7:30 am EST with a processing queue of approximately 48 hours. What happened, despite what others may think, involved human error in not recognizing that the space allocated to the LOTW database was filling up. There were monitors on LOTW admin screens within the system but no one recognized the impending condition. This has been rectified and automated alarms have been added to the database. If we had recognized it earlier, expanding the storage to currently available space, it would have been done with no need to take the system down. And as has already been noted, there was no data lost. The system does, given the size of the database, take time to march through the recovery process and that's what was happening over the past 3 days. In the 2012 Plan (Capital Expenditure section) we recognized the need for more storage and got approval to add an additional 2.8 terabytes at a cost of $25,000 to allocate to various HQ functions including LOTW. This was in place. And to respond to a couple of other questions, the system is built on a commercial database product from SAP. Of course there is a lot of custom programming for the actual LOTW functions as there is no product waiting to be pulled off the shelf for this application. In addition, there is unique, custom programming to connect the LOTW software to the SAP database. The Chairman has assured me that this issue will be discussed further with the Administration and Finance Committee at their meeting Saturday, November 17th. 73, Barry J. Shelley, N1VXY Chief Financial Officer ARRL, Inc. The National Association for Amateur Radio (860) 594-0212 www.arrl.org

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[arrl-odv:21201] LOTW
by Greg Sarratt 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

Not everyone is going crazy. ***** On Nov 8, 2012, at 16:57, "Chuck Lewis" <n4nm(a)knology.net> wrote: Hey, gang, let's take a deep breath here! Now is not the time to be yelling. Do any of us think the guys trying to put the pieces back together aren't already busting their butts to get our hobby back on track? In the Northeast? In Connecticut? Where we have a disaster ongoing? In Connecticut? Where the League resides? In Connecticut? This is not the most pressing thing in their lives right now; nor should it be. It's only been a year and a half since many of us spent from a couple of days to a couple of weeks without power, using our hobby to restore lives to normal. Have we forgotten? I don't want to belittle the importance of LOTW in our hobby, but it is really counterproductive to complain while the troops are working on the problem. Let's let them get their lives together, fix LOTW (even if it's a jury-rig), and then, after our blood pressure has returned to normal, demand transparency, an accounting of the problem causes, and an explanation of how the system will be made more robust (if that's possible). Until then, I'm gonna shut the hell up! Chuck, N4NM _______________________________________________ Contest mailing list Contest(a)alabamacontestgroup.org http://mail.alabamacontestgroup.org/mailman/listinfo/contest_alabamacontestg roup.org

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[arrl-odv:21200] FW: LoTW update
by Joyce Birmingham 09 Nov '12

09 Nov '12

Here's another very upset LOTW user and member of the NJDXA as well as Contester, and DXer in the Hudson Division. What is being done about this? Joyce KA2ANF -----Original Message----- From: Les Kalmus [mailto:w2lk@bk-lk.com] Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2012 10:27 AM To: Joyce Birmingham; Hudzik, Bill; Frank Fallon Subject: LoTW update This post was received late last night. If the author is correct, everyone involved with creating LoTW should be fired. The last thing anyone should be doing is writing their own database when there are many extraordinarily powerful ones available, some free. Joyce, Bill, Take this as an official demand on my part for a detailed explanation of what was actually done to create LoTW. Did they write a proprietary database? If this is true, it represents a colossal waste of money and resources and makes those who were behind this look like amateurs. If so, what will be done to replace it with a commercially supported one? Why in this day and age of cheap hardware does the community get shortchanged on storage space? Who is responsible to make sure there are adequate processing resources available so this never happens as it never would in a well run data center? Answers please. Les Kalmus W2LK 6 Re: LoTW Update - what's really wrong Wed Nov 7, 2012 6:18 pm (PST) . Posted by: "N4NW" n4nw I learned today that the whole LotW mess is because the system crashed when LotW ran out of 'space' to store the data! This resulted in the system shut down. Although additional storage has been added because the two databases (LotW and DXCC) crashed the databases have to be rebuilt. Unfortunately, the ARRL, when it originally created LotW a proprietary database program unique to LotW was created. Why? I don't know write to your ARRL Director and demand an explanation. In any case I am lead to believe that as soon as the database is rebuilt access will resume. My contact assured me that no log data was lost as multiple backup are made - it remains to be seen how true this is. What is important about this incident is it would seem, as some have expressed, that monitoring LotW is not a priority. Communications by ARRL members to their specific ARRL DIRECTOR will have the most impact on elevating LotW to a higher lever of support and attention. Tom Gregory, N4NW [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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[arrl-odv:21199] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

IN-Newsletter Vol. 35, No. 45 November 7, 2012 -- Covers the period October 28-November 3. Upcoming Meetings and Events Director/Vice Director Elections November 16 Administration and Finance Committee: November 17 @ 8:30am - Newington CT Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD We are pleased to welcome three new members into the Maxim Society: W. John Deegan, K9XT, Charles A. Baker, W5IZ and Theodore Hannah, K3CL. This brings Maxim Society membership to 116. To date: Response continues to be strong to the recent issue of Spectrum Defense Matters. To date, the Spectrum Defense Fund has received $211,058 from a total of 2,121 donors. The 10th Anniversary promotion for Diamond Club also continues to be very good. To date, the Diamond Club has received $198,650 in contributions from 1,053 donors. The W1AW Endowment Campaign has received $53,928 in contributions from 874 donors. The Education & Technology Program has received $61,038 in contributions from 626 donors. An additional $109,194 from six donors has been received in support of the Teachers Institute Program. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, wrote and distributed the November 1 edition of The ARRL Letter and produced and voiced the ARRL Audio News. She also wrote, edited and posted articles on the ARRL website that included Hurricane Sandy, Field Day results, the sinking of the Bounty and a tsunami warning in Hawaii, as well as edited and posted columns from ARRL Contributing Editors. QEX was released to the printer. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Diane Petrilli reports that October ended with 159,045 members-237 members more than September, though we had predicted a much larger gain of 843 members. 73% of October 2012 expirees paid on time (vs. 71% last October). Membership is ahead of the year-to-date forecast by 422 members. The top sources of membership acquisition in October included responses to a recent mailing, applications taken via the ARRL website and attributed by members as word-of-mouth or without a known reason for joining, and applications taken by telephone. Jackie Ferreira reports that October product sales were $333,545, falling short of the month's sales forecast of $394,000. Direct sales were $186,307; dealer sales were $147,238. This month marked the introduction of three major titles: The ARRL Handbook-2013 edition, The ARRL Operating Manual-10th edition, and The Amateur Radio Public Service Handbook-First Edition. "Handbook" category sales were $92,144, falling short of the $190,000 forecast for the new edition's debut. The Public Service Handbook, originally planned to be introduced earlier in the year, outperformed our estimate for first-month sales by contributing $19,761. We are concerned that rolling out three large publications together may have detracted attention from the Handbook. We will pursue some different strategies to promote these titles-with greater attention on targeting each publication to specific member/customer/dealer segments. Sales at the ARRL National Convention/Pacificon contributed $18k to direct sales in October ($16k in Plano in 2011, $14k in Huntsville in 2007). Summary of Sales and Marketing Department telephone group (reported by Amy Hurtado): Week of Phone calls Per hour Average wait Complete without transfer 10/22 889 19.8 40 seconds 85% 10/29 783 17.4 41 seconds 80% For the month of October a total of 4,209 calls were received by the Sales and Marketing Department. Amy Hurtado reports that Member Service Representatives processed 3,424 orders in October (3,900 in October 2011). Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity (reported by Steve Capodicasa): Week of Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 10/29/12 847 649 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona Adams received a petition from Dan Steinhoff, W7UP, of Omaha, Nebraska, that nominated him to run for the Nebraska Section Manager position. Petitions for the next, upcoming Section Manager election cycle are due at Headquarters by December 7, 2012. Steve Ewald reports that a nomination has been submitted for the ARRL George Hart Distinguished Service Award. Membership and Volunteer Programs Department staff continued to keep in touch with ARES officials and Section Leaders all around the Eastern United States before and after Superstorm Sandy struck land on October 29. Amateur Radio activation reports were funneled to News Editor Khrystyne Keane. Because of Storm Sandy, the ARRL Emergency Communications Advisory Committee extended the deadline to November 11 for all Emergency Coordinators, District Emergency Coordinators and Assistant District Emergency Coordinators to take the on-line survey. Radio amateurs from Alabama, Santa Clara Valley, and North Texas completed requirements to become Official Observers this past week. Several reports of interference to the Hurricane Watch Net were received, and the FCC was alerted. A Local Interference Committee is being formed in Missouri to deal with repeater problems with assistance from the Kansas section. A report of jamming to a 75 meter net in California was received. Questions this week included one on the band plan, VHF simplex frequencies, antenna restrictions, and operating overseas. Chuck Skolaut also conducted one morning code practice run at W1AW. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations Holiday 11/22-11/23 Holiday Holiday 12/24-12/25 Holiday Steve Ford 11/26 PTO Scott Gee 11/9-11/15 PTO `` 12/21-12/26 PTO Joel Hallas 11/20-11/28 PTO Nancy Hallas 11/20-11/28 PTO Dan Henderson 11/16-11/21 Indiana Section Convention, Ft. Wayne, IN / PTO Amy Hurtado 12/17-12/21 PTO Gail Iannone 11/7-11/23 Sick Leave `` 12/21-12/31 PTO Bob Inderbitzen 11/21 PTO Lisa Kustosik 11/9 PTO Barry Shelley 11/20-11/21 PTO `` 12/17-12/19 PTO Dave Sumner 10/30-11/10 IARU Region 3 Conference & Administrative Council meeting. `` 11/12 PTO `` 11/16 RCA Banquet, New York, NY Larry Wolfgang 11/7-11/21 Sick leave

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[arrl-odv:21198] Re: iOS App Update
by Tom Frenaye 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

At 07:56 PM 11/7/2012, G Widin/K0GW wrote: >Trying it offline to see if it still works is exactly the point! When I turn off WiFi, it says "Authentication Error" when I try to open a different issue than I had open when WiFi was on. If I turn WiFi back on, then go back to the QST app, it opens the issue fine, and gives me no error. > >I believe that the major advantage of iOS 6 WRT the QST app was supposed to be precisely being able to open such archives when you're offline. >Give it a try, I think you will have the same experience. Greg - I have the orginal iPad (3+ years old) and it is running iOS 5.1.1. I have June and November QST digital editions downloaded locally. With Airplane mode on (no AT&T) and Network turned off (no WiFi), I can read June QST just fine, so there is no need for reconnection to verify. I can switch to the Nov edition and read it fine as well. My ARRL membership hasn't expired so I don't know what the iOS QST app behavior would be in that situation but I recall that question came up in one of the presentations and the answer was that the ex-member should continue to be able to read whatever digital copies had been downloaded before the membership expired. I wouldn't expect him/her to be able to download any copies after membership expires. We don't send ex-members replacement copies of the printed version if they toss the original. Will wait to see what Harold finds. -- Tom PS: One note about downloading a new month of the digital edition. The progress bar that shows up when you start the download only shows the progress of downloading the index and first two pages. The rest of the download seems to happen in the background and from what I can tell it might not happen right away Each month is about 40mb and eventually does download but I'm not sure how long it takes - and you can't easily tell. ===== e-mail: k1ki(a)arrl.org ARRL New England Division Director http://www.arrl.org/ Tom Frenaye, K1KI, P O Box J, West Suffield CT 06093 Phone: 860-668-5444

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[arrl-odv:21197] Minor correction for the NPRM
by G Widin 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

The "corrected" item in the NPRM's Appendix says: 97.19 (c)(2)(ii)-- (ii) An applicant to whose operator/primary station license grant, or club station license grant for which the applicant is the trustee, the call sign was previously assigned is exempt from the 180 day period set forth in paragraph (c)(2) of this section. I believe the word "immediately" should be inserted before "previously assigned" If this is omitted, it sounds to me like *anyone* who ever held the call sign would be exempted from para. (c)(2). Chris, if I''m all wet, let me know. I know this is a fiddly little correction, but strange things sometimes result from innocuous statements.

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[arrl-odv:21196] IARU Region 3 Conference
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 08 Nov '12

08 Nov '12

There are some photos of the conference posted at http://www.qrz.com/db/xv2iaru Jay and I hope to be on the air from XV2IARU for a while this evening (morning your time). Dave K1ZZ

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