February 2012 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:20580] Re: 5MHz Recommended Practices
by Chris 16 Feb '12

16 Feb '12

Jim, we are really not privy to that information, at least from NTIA sources, but the user agencies include (but may not be limited to) the Navy, the Department of Justice and the Coast Guard. It was used, as one example we were given by NTIA, by military aircraft bringing detainees from the Middle East to Guantanamo. The Federal uses are unpredictable but substantial, apparently. Uses seem to be mobile and aeronautical mobile. 73, Chris W3KD Sent from my Verizon Wireless Phone "James F. Boehner MD" <jboehner01(a)yahoo.com> wrote: >This may not be the proper forum to ask this question, but inquiring minds >want to know.. > > > >We know that the first 60m channel frequency was changed due to the frequent >digital transmissions on that frequency, presumably government in origin. >Other than that, how often do federal users use the 60 m frequencies we have >been granted on a secondary basis? > > > >'73 de JIM N2ZZ > >ARRL Vice Director > >Roanoke Division > >ARRL, the national association for Amateur RadioT > > > > >_______________________________________________ >arrl-odv mailing list >arrl-odv(a)reflector.arrl.org >http://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/arrl-odv

1 0

[arrl-odv:20579] N2ZZ's query about govt use of 60M
by Bruce Frahm 16 Feb '12

16 Feb '12

Jim, see below: On Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 10:05 PM, James F. Boehner MD <jboehner01(a)yahoo.com>wrote: > This may not be the proper forum to ask this question, but inquiring > minds want to know….**** > > ** ** > > We know that the first 60m channel frequency was changed due to the > frequent digital transmissions on that frequency, presumably government in > origin. Other than that, how often do federal users use the 60 m > frequencies we have been granted on a secondary basis?**** > > ** ** > > '73 de JIM N2ZZ**** > > ARRL Vice Director**** > > Roanoke Division**** > > *ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio™* > Jim, the sort of fuzzy answer is "not very often, other than on the old channel 3" NJ1Q and WB8IMY recorded activity for ~3 weeks ending Feb. 7 and had this to say about government activity: *In terms of government activity, this consisted exclusively of digital transmissions using unknown protocols. You can hear several recordings on ** http://www.arrl.org/hf-digital* <http://www.arrl.org/hf-digital>* (scroll to the bottom of the page). This activity was centered almost entirely on Channel 1 (5330.5 kHz) and Channel 2 (5346.5 kHz).* ** Our Zoomerang survey asked about how often people could not find ANY channel available for QSOs, but didn't differentiate between amateur and government users. More to the point in answering your question, we asked: *Have you ever had to stop a QSO in progress due to government usage of a 60 Meter channel?* ** This drew 289 responses, 42 (15%) of which answered yes. There was a followup essay question: ** *On which channels does the problem most often occur? How did you deal with the problem?* ** The answers are below. Unfortunately when I pasted in the answers the records with blank fields create a line and I didn't discover how to extricate them. You'll note that the busiest government channel is Channel 3, which will be replaced March 5. But all had at least a scattering of reports. Have fun with your mouse wheel getting to the comments! 73 Bruce K0BJ 1, 3, 5. QSY to another channel 1 - Moved to another channel Seems like 1 and 2 as I recall but I don't know whether the interference was from a government station or not. I change channels or QRT Channel 3 is the worst. A few times on Channel 4. 5403.5 (Ch5) Move. Channel 5 Link 11 transmission on channel 1 Move to another channel 3 walk away from 60 and go to 40. ch1, with Navy Link 11 transmissions Ch. 3. QSY'd CODAR was present on an adjacent freq. Quickly QSY'ed to another channel which was not in use. 1,2,3 3 I cannot recall which channel but when the digital transmissions occur operators just have to wait. 5371.5 seems to be most active ... usually I just go QRT. Sometimes switch to another clear frequency. 3 or 4. Bursts of data quite regularly and strong. CODAR formerly made many channels useless until the Rutgers agreement was reached CH 3 always has a beaconing data transmission No, but on occassion I have needed to stop a QSO because of "odd" digital signals on the band. It may have been the government. Wait until the other signal stops. I have had QSOs ended by data transmissions on 5366.5 and 5346.5. I Went QRT. 5366.5 always has digital noise and is usless Though channel 3 has been unusable for a long time. evening......chg freq. 5260 went to be occupied by primary user Channel 1 and Channel 3...QSY to another free channel. Ch3 mostly, ch4, ch5. Waited until the frequency was clear and then continued. 3 Depends greatly on time of day. Morning local has more than just after sunset. (Arizona) do not recall. don't recall I go QRT. 2,3,4 I stop operating For government also read commercial. It occurred once, and that was several years ago and it was on 5.371.50 Channel 3 ch. #1 ch.#3 Stopped Trans. and looked for open channel. Channel 3 always busy with digital transmissions. Occassional digital transmissions on Channel 4 - Digital transmissions forced end to QSOs. I QRT'd or QSY'd to another band. ch 1 move to channel 2 2,3,5, stop xmit 3 & 4 ch5 digital signals blocked out qso 10 percent time, just qrt 3 ch. 3 5366.5 Ch. 3 4 and 5. Wait until it stopped. 6 Channel 4 & 5, ceased my operations until channel was clear... usually a digital operation on the gov't side. Three. QSY'd to 40M on channel 3 and I and other moved to a different channel or stoped talking

1 0

[arrl-odv:20561] W4OZK's concerns on 5MHz Recommended Practices
by Bruce Frahm 16 Feb '12

16 Feb '12

Greg, thanks for your input. Let me take your points as laid out in your email: On Mon, Feb 13, 2012 at 2:43 PM, Greg Sarratt <w4ozk(a)arrl.org> wrote: > I think we should make the best practices document wording a little > simpler and include a simple table that shows amateurs where to operate. > April QST will have a 2-page article which covers the document's scope but uses "friendlier" language. I have a draft of that article which may have been updated by now -- if you'd like to see the current version I can obtain it and pass it along. Once the directors have all chimed in and their suggestions vetted, the best practices document will be posted on the ARRL website, along with an introductory transmittal letter which will serve much the same purpose as the user-friendly QST article. > **** > > ** ** > > We should make the CW operation requirement very clear, something like, > Per FCC rules Only one CW station can transmit at a time per channel and > must transmit exactly on the Channel Center frequency. (actually this > statement could be made for all the modes but CW begs the clarifying > statement) > The doc and QST draft make the "only one station" statement now. In fact, for my taste they are almost too strong -- not in the sense of discouraging off-center operation, but in discouraging possible multiple QSOs otherwise acceptable because of minimal QRM due to propagational 'recycling'. The Band Plan committee looked at defined +/- freq. tolerance as it applies to the 5 MHz band, and the meaning of "exact". The stated tolerance for HF (whether by FCC or NTIA I don't recall) is quite strict, but W3KD and K1ZZ both are confident this is not intended to apply to amateur use of the 5 MHz channels. The Feds want us to "get right on center" as defined by normal amateur operator diligence and techniques. We avoided discussion of exactness for these reasons. > **** > > ** ** > > 97.303 states PSK31 on the Carrier freq but the recommended document > states Center freq? Am I reading this correctly??**** > > ** ** > > Simple table:**** > > 60M Operating Frequencies Table xx**** > > *Channel* > > *Phone (USB)* > > *PSK31 or PACTOR III* > > *CW* > > 1**** > > 5330.5 kHz**** > > 5330.5 kHz**** > > 5332.0 kHz**** > > 2**** > > 5346.5 kHz**** > > 5346.5 kHz**** > > 5348.0 kHz**** > > 3**** > > 5357.0 kHz**** > > 5357.0 kHz**** > > 5358.5 kHz**** > > 4**** > > 5371.5 kHz**** > > 5371.5 kHz**** > > 5373.0 kHz**** > > 5**** > > 5403.5 kHz**** > > 5403.5 kHz**** > > 5405.0 kHz**** > > ** > Let me quote from the Band Plan committee's author-in-residence WB8IMY for this: > *Greg may be misreading that portion of the R&O. See below. > > "Accordingly, we amend Section 97.303(h) to specify that control operators > of stations transmitting phone, data, and RTTY emissions (emission > designators 2K80J3E, 2K80J2D, and 60H0J2B, respectively) may set the > carrier frequency 1.5 kHz below the center frequency, and that, for > stations transmitting CW emissions (emission designator 150HA1A), the > carrier frequency is set to the center frequency." > > The word "carrier" as it applies here is the "suppressed carrier," which > would be 1.5 kHz below the center frequency. The FCC also specifies that > when operating CW the carrier frequency is set to the center frequency. > > And then in Note 64 in the R&O, the FCC becomes specific concerning PSK31 > . . > > "We adopt a modified instruction for PSK31 channel use to correct an error > introduced in the NPRM. To have a PSK31 signal transmitted on the center > frequency, the control operator should not set the carrier frequency to the > center frequency but should instead set the carrier frequency 1.5 kHz below > the center frequency (i.e., the same as for phone and data emissions)." > > So, the tables and examples in the Recommended Practicies document and the > April QST article are accurate. I'm not sure adding still more tables will > make it clearer. It is also too late to do so for the April article. > > We can add a line to the effect that the R&O permits only one signal (of > any type) per channel. The FCC doesn't quite say this bluntly in the R&O, > but they note that the NTIA does ask for that prohibition.* > Regarding your later email about different interpretations of the R&O -- there are PLENTY of landmines in the wording of the R&O. It took our in-house experts considerable time and diligence to ferret out intent -- both by reading the full document carefully, and knowing what NTIA's concerns are. In cases where doubt or wiggle room remained, we tried to err on the conservative side in formulating the practices doc -- we want to maintain our track record of relinquishing our secondary use quickly. We have hopes that doing so may lead to eventual allowance of multiple cw/data signals per channel, or even an allocation of contiguous spectrum. I think you'll be pleased with the style of the QST and web articles, which get away from the "spectacles and green eye-shade" feel of the Recommended Practices document. WB8IMY, as well as K1ZZ and W3KD have done yeoman duty on this project. 73 Bruce K0BJ

4 3

[arrl-odv:20577] FCC Breaks Up With LightSquared
by dick＠pobox.com 15 Feb '12

15 Feb '12

15 FEB 2012 - 1749 CST After much opposition from the GPS industry and GPS users, the NTIA specifically told the FCC in no uncertain terms that LighSquared's proposals to use spectrum adjacent to the GPS allocation would interfere with the GPS system. In spite of the FCC's ongoing love affair with all things broadband, it was finally forced to accept the physical RF facts. Yesterday, the FCC withdrew LightSquared's experimental waiver. The attached PDF is an article published in Law and Disorder. Here is a link to that article and the readers' comments <http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-us-gov…>http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/happy-valentines-day-us-gov… The attached PDF is an article published in Law and Disorder. - Dick, W9GIG

1 0

[arrl-odv:20576] FW: ARRL VC Webinar Invitation
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

>From Dan.... Subject: RE: ARRL VC Webinar Invitation To clarify the time is 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM Eastern time. That accommodates west coast folks a little better. 7 Dan Henderson, N1ND Regulatory Information Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0236 dhenderson(a)arrl.org ________________________________ From: Henderson, Dan N1ND Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 10:45 AM To: Henderson, Dan N1ND Subject: ARRL VC Webinar Invitation Your are invited... ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, ARRL Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee Chairman Cliff Ahrens, K0CA, and ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND will be presenting an ARRL VC Webinar on Thursday March 15th from 9:00 to 10:30 PM. The webinar is designed to share information with ARRL Volunteer Counsels, ARRL Section Managers and ARRL Directors/Vice-Directors/Officers so that they have the most accurate information on what is expected of these important ARRL volunteers . It will also be an overview of the resources the ARRL may be able to provide to VCs to assist them. This specific webinar is not open to the general membership. We ask that you not provide the sign-up information to another party. This will not be a discussion of current cases that various VCs are working. It also will not be a detailed "how to handle" specific issues. The discussion will focus on the types and areas of questions that the ARRL asks VCs to consider handling. We will briefly discuss what happens at HQ when a query/request is received for assistance. The webinar will conclude with an opportunity for participants to ask general questions of the panel. Registration information for the webinar is found below. We encourage all VCs to sign up for this informative session. If you have questions about the webinar, please feel free to contact me. Dan Henderson, N1ND Regulatory Information Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0236 dhenderson(a)arrl.org <mailto:dhenderson@arrl.org> ARRL VC Webinar Join us for a Webinar on March 15 <https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/462229766> Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/462229766 A general discussion on what areas we ask VCs to address (such as antenna and zoning issues) and what general resources we have available to assist them. Title: ARRL VC Webinar Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012 Time: 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows(r) 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh(r)-based attendees Required: Mac OS(r) X 10.5 or newer

1 0

[arrl-odv:20574] VE3 now 4 sections - for ODV
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Sean asked me to forward this to ODV. Regards/73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer 860 594 0220 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------------------- On February 6, Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) issued a statement on their web site that the Ontario Section would be split into four new RAC Administrative Sections, effective September 1, 2012. The reason given for the restructure was "...to create a management model that better communicates with, and represents the interests of, the overall Ontario Amateur population." The Ontario Section will be dissolved and be replaced with four new RAC Sections: Ontario North, Ontario South, Ontario East, and the Greater Toronto Area. The new section abbreviations will be announced when final. For ARRL contests that use ARRL/RAC sections as multipliers - the November Sweepstakes, and 160 Meter Contest - there will be an overall increase of three available multipliers. ARRL contests that use US states and Canadian provinces as multipliers - the RTTY Roundup, ARRL DX Contest and the ARRL 10 Meter Contest - are unaffected by this change. ARRL VHF+ contests and the IARU HF Championships are also unaffected by this change. The first contest to be affected by the RAC administrative change will be the 2012 ARRL November Sweepstakes, which will now require 83 multipliers to achieve a Clean Sweep. ARRL Field Day does not use multipliers, but Ontario stations will send new section abbreviations as part of their exchanges. News of the administrative change can be read on the RAC website at: http://www.rac.ca/en/news/bulletins/2012/7/ 73, Sean Kutzko, KX9X Contest Branch Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 860-594-0232 skutzko(a)arrl.org

1 0

[arrl-odv:20562] 472-479 kHz allocation as adopted
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

The 472-479 kHz secondary allocation to the amateur service was adopted in Plenary this morning and approved on both first and second reading. Needless to say, the IARU team is pleased and greatly relieved. 73, Dave K1ZZ

5 4

[arrl-odv:20564] (no subject)
by Kermit Carlson 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Put your affairs in order! Turn your PC into a money making machine! http://melbournewebdesignconsultant.com/wp-content/plugins/extended-comment… ======================= Nothing recedes like success. (c) Walter Winchell 2/14/2012 3:11:19 PM Kermit Carlson eddqjoexlaku eddqjoexlaku

3 3

[arrl-odv:20570] FW: ARRL VC Webinar Invitation
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Hi, Some of you may already have received this, but Dan wanted me to pass this along to the entire ODV list to make sure that everyone has a copy. Regards/73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer 860 594 0220 From: Henderson, Dan N1ND Sent: Tuesday, February 14, 2012 10:45 AM To: Henderson, Dan N1ND Subject: ARRL VC Webinar Invitation Your are invited... ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, ARRL Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee Chairman Cliff Ahrens, K0CA, and ARRL Regulatory Information Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND will be presenting an ARRL VC Webinar on Thursday March 15th from 9:00 to 10:30 PM. The webinar is designed to share information with ARRL Volunteer Counsels, ARRL Section Managers and ARRL Directors/Vice-Directors/Officers so that they have the most accurate information on what is expected of these important ARRL volunteers . It will also be an overview of the resources the ARRL may be able to provide to VCs to assist them. This specific webinar is not open to the general membership. We ask that you not provide the sign-up information to another party. This will not be a discussion of current cases that various VCs are working. It also will not be a detailed "how to handle" specific issues. The discussion will focus on the types and areas of questions that the ARRL asks VCs to consider handling. We will briefly discuss what happens at HQ when a query/request is received for assistance. The webinar will conclude with an opportunity for participants to ask general questions of the panel. Registration information for the webinar is found below. We encourage all VCs to sign up for this informative session. If you have questions about the webinar, please feel free to contact me. Dan Henderson, N1ND Regulatory Information Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0236 dhenderson(a)arrl.org <mailto:dhenderson@arrl.org> ARRL VC Webinar Join us for a Webinar on March 15 <https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/462229766> Space is limited. Reserve your Webinar seat now at: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/462229766 A general discussion on what areas we ask VCs to address (such as antenna and zoning issues) and what general resources we have available to assist them. Title: ARRL VC Webinar Date: Thursday, March 15, 2012 Time: 9:00 PM - 10:30 PM EDT After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar. System Requirements PC-based attendees Required: Windows(r) 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server Macintosh(r)-based attendees Required: Mac OS(r) X 10.5 or newer

1 0

[arrl-odv:20565] (no subject)
by Kermit Carlson 14 Feb '12

14 Feb '12

Hi!!! Take a look at this http://boostbusinessprofits.com/wp-content/plugins/extended-comment-options… ------------------------ Take care of the minutes and the hours will take care of themselves. (c) Lord Chesterfield 2/14/2012 3:13:42 PM Kermit Carlson rqzmziyussrx

1 0