March 2012 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:20636] Fwd: [exec-com:6191] Report of the General Counsel to the Executive Committee on Legal and Regulatory Topics
by Chris Imlay 21 Mar '12

21 Mar '12

Greetings. I am obligated to circulate to the full Board my memos to the Executive Committee concerning regulatory and legal matters on the agenda of the EC. Usually, I forget to do this, but this particular meeting has some items of very widespread interest to all members of the Board. Tom Frenaye (my Jiminy Cricket), reminds me that he darn well wants this memo before the EC meeting, and that I need to be quick about it and step lively (I am paraphrasing here). Having asked, he shall receive, as shall the rest of you. The penalty for Tom's having made a point of this is that you all now have to actually read these attachments. Thank Tom. Seriously however, the repeater matters discussed in these documents should be of special interest to the ARRL official family, and ARRL is now, as Marty Woll has noted recently, at something of a policy crossroads in several respects on this topic, so please consider the attachments as well as the action item discussion in the memo on repeater coordination. I cannot stress enough the confidential nature of this particular series of memos. Please keep each of them completely confidential. No distribution outside the ARRL official family should occur because of the very candid discussions of strategy matters contained in these documents. Thanks. 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 -----Original Message----- From: Chris Imlay <w3kd(a)aol.com> To: exec-com <exec-com(a)arrl.org> Sent: Tue, Mar 20, 2012 6:29 pm Subject: [exec-com:6191] Report of the General Counsel to the Executive Committee on Legal and Regulatory Topics Greetings. Attached is my memo to the EC on the legal and regulatory agenda items per CEO Sumner's previously circulated agenda. The memo is keyed to the agenda. Also attached are two memos previously sent to you. One was a briefing memo from me concerning the Wyoming repeater coordinator matter that triggered far broader issues now under consideration. Also attached is a re-send of a more generalized information memo from Steve Ford. These are important documents for review prior to the meeting this weekend, as President Craigie has noted in her e-mail today on the same subject. I will be circulating this memo to the entire Board before the meeting, but I thought it best that you have it first. 73, and let me know any questions you want answered before the meeting about any of this material. See you Friday. 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 _______________________________________________ xec-com mailing list xec-com(a)reflector.arrl.org ttp://reflector.arrl.org/mailman/listinfo/exec-com

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[arrl-odv:20635] Digital QST
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 20 Mar '12

20 Mar '12

Katie Glass asked me to forward this to you: ----------------------------------- Hi, Thank you all again for being beta testers of the new digital edition of QST. Your feedback has been invaluable. As you all know, when you tested the February and March issues, the ability to save and download wasn't available. We've worked through the kinks and it is now live and working. To save the book to your desktop, click on the save icon on the top menu bar. You will be prompted to install Adobe Air onto your computer, and it will ask you to re-sign in, so please use your ARRL username and login. The download is available now on all of the issues, January to April (which should be live today or early tomorrow). We have sent out an email today to test the email notification program that we will be using to alert members that the digital issues are available. Please let us know what you think of the email and any additional feedback from the April issue and the download versions. Thanks, Katie Katie Glass, KB1ULQ Digital Content Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street, Newington, CT 06111-1494 USA Telephone: (860) 594-0250 E-mail: kglass(a)arrl.org Web: www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org/>

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[arrl-odv:20633] March 24 EC agenda
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 19 Mar '12

19 Mar '12

Here is the draft agenda for Saturday's Executive Committee meeting. A somewhat shorter version will be posted on the web and distributed to the members who have requested it shortly. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:20632] Volunteer Counsel Reflector
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 16 Mar '12

16 Mar '12

A closed email reflector for ARRL Volunteer Counsels is being established. Board members who wish to be included are invited to email Dan Henderson, dhenderson(a)arrl.org . 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:20630] TI-2 is a Go! New Online Forum for Teachers
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 16 Mar '12

16 Mar '12

FYI from Debra Johnson Regards/73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B ARRL Chief Operating Officer 860 594 0220 From: Johnson, Debra, K1DMJ Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2012 1:33 PM To: 'bulksend+edu(a)p1k.arrl.org' Subject: FW: TI-2 is a Go! New Online Forum for Teachers Teachers, I'm pleased to share two pieces of good news- Now Accepting Applications! 1) Dayton Amateur Radio Association will sponsor our Teachers Institute on Space in the Classroom (TI-2) again this summer and we are now accepting applications. This expenses paid, 4-day professional development opportunity will be July 9-12 in Dayton, Ohio. Eight seats will are available. An Amateur Radio license and prior attendance at a foundational TI (TI-1) are required. You'll find more details on our website at: www.arrl.org/ti-2-space-in-the-classroom As previously announced, we will also be offering two sessions of the Teachers Institute on Wireless Technology (TI-1): www.arrl.org/teachers-institute-on-wireless-technology: o July 9-12 at Parallax in Rocklin, CA o July 23-26 at ARRL Headquarters, Newington, CT Application deadline is May 15, 2012. Contributions to the Education & Technology Program Fund <http://www.arrl.org/education-and-technology-fund> from individuals and ham radio clubs, as well as in-kind support from Yaesu USA, Ham Radio Outlet and Parallax make the Teachers Institute possible. Join our Online Forum for Classroom Teachers 2) We are implementing an online forum for classroom teachers on the ARRL website. You'll find a link to "Forums" on the home page of the ARRL website, or simply go to: www.arrl.org/forums and scroll down to "Amateur Radio in the Classroom." Mark Spencer, WA8SME will be moderating the forum, and other Teachers Institute instructors as well as past participants will be available to answer questions and respond with ideas from personal classroom experience. Some rich dialog has been shared in private email communications over the years; I'm pleased that now we can provide a way to open up that dialog for the benefit of all. Log in and post your questions or share an idea-- let's create an active online community that will generate ideas and inspiration for Wireless Technology instruction! Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Education Services Manager ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111-1494 (860) 594-0296 Fax: (860) 594-0259 djohnson(a)arrl.org <mailto:djohnson@arrl.org>

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[arrl-odv:20629] Comcast Update
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 14 Mar '12

14 Mar '12

After finally being able to locate the "proper authorities" at Comcast, we have apparently been successful in having them unblock the ARRL bulk mail server. Seeing at the ARRL Letter is distributed on Thursdays, we will monitor this closely and if the status changes, we will let everyone know as soon as practicable. 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:20628] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 14 Mar '12

14 Mar '12

<<031412.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 35, No. 11 March 14, 2012 -- Covers the period March 4-10. Upcoming Meetings and Events Executive Committee: March 24 @ 8:30am - St. Louis, MO Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND Registration for the March 15 Volunteer Counsel webinar is up to 88 participants - 23 section managers, 14 ODV/HQ staff, and 51 VCs. General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and the RIB Manager have begun working on the presentations for the webinar. Director Cliff Ahrens, K0CA, has agreed to participate as chair of the Amateur Radio Legal Defense and Assistance Committee. Thanks also to Ken Bailey, K1FUG, for his assistance in setting up the webinar. With the change in the 60-meter rules there have been a few questions raised and answered. The biggest confusion seems to revolve around digital signals centered on the various channel center frequencies. Radios or software that use an automatic offset for CW or digital modes must take that offset into account when they operate on 60-meters. An interesting query was received from a non-ham realtor trying to find information on RF standards for a client who is considering purchasing a property next to an amateur. We explained that the amateur is not required to file RF certification reports with the FCC and tried to provide some simple information on RF safety from the ARRL website. Based on the information provided, there should not be an RF safety issue for the family if they purchase the property. We received a query from a French national who also hold a US license asking if they qualified to receive an IARP based on their US license. Under the terms of the agreement, IARPs are issued by the ARRL only to citizens of the US. We also responded to another inquiry on the experimental license issued in January for the experimentation of spread spectrum on HF. It is our understanding that the FCC is not going to issue further experimental licenses for this test. The Regulatory Information Office and the OO coordinator (as well as the FCC and a local Erie PA TV station) have been inundated with complaints by a Richard Wagner, a non-licensee / non-member. Wagner is claiming alleged interference being caused to his scanner by a repeater located at a nearby hospital. The FCC looked into this complaint last year but found nothing. We explained to the individual that we have no enforcement power on any issue and we were aware the FCC had found nothing. We spoke with the general manager of the TV station who shared that this individual had generated similar complaints during the transition from analog to digital TV. The TV station sent out engineers to try to work with him at that time but found nothing that would satisfy Mr. Wagner. The complainant sent over 80 emails to the ARRL during the week of March 5. Thanks to the Information Services Department for blocking further emails from this individual. We received a report that an off-road-rally/race series was reported using amateur radio APRS to track the individual competitors and using that information to report race standings and results. We spoke with the race series owner/manager, who was aware of the report (which appeared in a popular auto sports web magazine). He assures us that when they tried this, they were using GPS and a Part 90 license, not amateur radio. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Working on the outline script for a new video tour of ARRL HQ. The PRC is working on a webinar teaching skills to make the most of news releases for Field Day. Their target date is April 12. Development Reported by Lauren Clarke The Spectrum Defense Fund has received $38,022 from 246 donors. Of particular note are some generous contributions received this week from clubs: the Brazos Valley Amateur Radio Club in Houston, TX gave $1,000, The St. Paul Radio Club gave $600 (proceeds from an annual auction they hold) and the Arizona Repeater Association gave $2,500. The Diamond Club has received $46,757 in contributions from 246 donors. The Education & Technology Program has received $9,006 in contributions from 52 donors. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Khrystyne Keane assisted the IT and MVP Departments with editing the instructions for the new Online DXCC Application. Khrystyne wrote and distributed the ARRL Letter and produced and voiced ARRL Audio News for March 8, 2012. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R During the last week, the warehouse crew fulfilled 753 packages for publication and product orders, 612 membership premiums, plus QST mailing supplements. Bob Inderbitzen developed an online form to capture registration information for staff, officials and volunteers supporting this year's ARRL exhibit at Dayton Hamvention. The ARRL team registration form should be completed by March 30: http://www.arrl.org/Dayton-Hamvention-ARRL-Team-Registration. He has also posted some preliminary information about ARRL EXPO at Hamvention and Pacificon at www.arrl.org/expo. Diane Petrilli reports that a group of students from ARC Community College in Warwick, Rhode Island, WA1ABC, will be visiting ARRL for a tour on Thursday, March 15. A broadcast e-mail announcing plans to introduce the digital edition of QST was emailed to nearly 2,000 members who have not yet registered for an ARRL website user account. The message encourages these members to create an online account and to log into the ARRL website. This is being done to proactively resolve potential login issues prior to the launch of the digital edition of QST with June's issue. A similar e-mail will be sent this week to members who have already logged into the ARRL website reminding them of their username and login instructions. The upcoming digital edition of QST and the expanded archive is now being promoted on the letter included with membership cards (sent to new and renewing members). A large membership campaign was mailed on March 9, and responses are already coming in. Membership campaigns for April and May are being readied. Diane Petrilli helped recruit 2 volunteers to assist Bob Allison with duties involving the new "museum" space in the Lab. One of those volunteers, Jonathan Allen, K2KKH, will also be helping Mike Marinaro, WN1M with archiving. Amy Hurtado is helping navigate the printing and mailing of a couple of campaigns involving publication sales, membership and development. Following a few months of using Pitney Bowes to manage shipping serves for international orders, we have seen a climb in complaints for late delivery and lost shipments. As a result, we expect to return to using shipping services offered by FedEx for international shipments. The cost differences are minimal, but we believe the more substantial international mail network managed by FEDEX will result in greater satisfaction and reliability. Now Shipping: Get on the Air with HF Digital <http://www.arrl.org/shop/Get-on-the-Air-with-HF-Digital/> by Steve Ford, WB8IMY; The ABCs of Software Defined Radio <http://www.arrl.org/shop/The-ABCs-of-Software-Defined-Radio/> by Martin Ewing, AA6E; ARRL Software Library for Hams 4.0 <http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Software-Library-for-Hams-4.0-downloadabl e/> (downloadable version; CD-ROM coming soon). Member Service Representative Kim McNeill earned her Technician Class Amateur Radio License. Congratulations Kim, KB1WUX! Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Branch Credits Applications 2011 Carryover 196,105 1,552 2012 Received 180,349 1,328 Cumulative Total 376,454 2,880 2012 Processed 289,926 2,279 Remaining 86,528 601 Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 6 Weeks LoTW Processing Time 3 Business Days Logbook of the World Category Feb 2012 % Change Jan - Feb 2012 QSO Records Entered Into System 411,581,593 5% QSL Record Matches 53,714,477 7% Logs Processed 2,982,260 7% Active Certificates 73,111 3% Registered Users in System 48,779 4% Logbook (Email Only) Inquiries Feb 2012 Emails 1,420 Phone Calls 158 W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files. He also assembled the new Acom 2000A HF amplifier and installed it in the Harris racks. This amp is now being used for the 80-meter broadcasts. Joe also swapped Harris amplifiers within the racks and rebuilt a 240 VAC distribution panel for use in the Harris racks (for subsequent new amplifiers). He made a quick repair to the 2-meter Mirage amplifier used in W1HQ and also corrected an issue with the 2-meter yagi cable coming into W1HQ. Joe also installed in W1HQ a Kenwood TS-2000X. This radio replaces an ailing Icom IC-746Pro transceiver. Volunteer Jonathan Allen, K2KKH, is now assisting W1AW with the processing of Incoming QSL Bureau (DX) cards. Once he inputs these cards into the station's QSL database, QSL labels will be printed and the cards processed through the bureau system. Field Organization/Public Service Team The nomination period for new Section Manager terms of office starting July 1, 2012, ended on Friday, March 9. Leona Adams and Steve Ewald have been in touch with the candidates. There will be two balloted Section Manager elections this spring. In Northern Florida, incumbent Section Manager Paul Eakin, KJ4G, has been nominated to run for a new term of office. Gary Alberstadt, KA3FZO, of Monticello, has been nominated as well. In Indiana, Brian Jenks, W9BGJ, of Fort Wayne, and Lou Everett, WA5LOU, of Indianapolis, have been nominated. Incumbent John Poindexter, W3ML, decided not to run for another term of office. In Santa Clara Valley, Brandon Bianchi, NI6C, of Salinas, was the only nominee to run for Section Manager. Incumbent SM Phil Steffora, K6TT, decided not to run the next term of office. The following incumbent Section Managers were the only candidates nominated for their respective sections, and they, too, will start new terms of office on July 1: Don Michalski, W9IXG (Wisconsin); Bonnie Altus, AB6ZQ (Oregon); Bill Woodhead, N1KAT (Maine); Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN (Illinois); Paul Gayet, AA1SU (Vermont). Incumbent Larry Camp, WB8R (Michigan) was the only nominee in his section for an 18-month term of office. One radio amateur from North Texas completed requirements to become an Official Observer. New Official Observer Coordinators were appointed for Alabama and Wisconsin. Chuck Skolaut compiled the monthly ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch report and forwarded it to the IARU Region 2 Coordinator. The changes for the 60 meter band went into effect on March 5. We noticed an increased activity on the band for several days, but activity dropped back to normal after the initial increase. Work continued on an upcoming article about the Official Observers program. Several complaints were also received regarding interference to nets as well as the activity on 14.313 MHz. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 4/6 Holiday Steve Capodicasa 3/19 Vacation `` 4/16 Vacation `` 4/23 Vacation Joe Carcia 4/27 Vacation `` 5/25 Vacation Paul Cuppini 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Jackie Ferreira 3/23-3/27 Vacation `` 4/20 Vacation `` 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Scott Gee 3/21-3/23 Vacation `` 5/17-5/18 Vacation Mike Gruber 5/4 NEARfest `` 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 6/4-6/8 Vacation Joel Hallas 3/29-4/1 AES Superfest, Milwaukee, WI Dan Henderson 4/2-4/5 Vacation `` 4/19-4/29 Idaho State Convention, Boise, ID/Vacation Mary Hobart 2/22 Medical Leave Amy Hurtado 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Bob Inderbitzen 3/29-4/1 AES Superfest, Milwaukee, WI `` 4/5-4/9 Vacation `` 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Harold Kramer 3/16-3/18 Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, NE `` 5/17-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Zack Lau 3/22-3/23 Vacation `` 5/4-5/7 Vacation Monique Levesque 3/9-3/26 Vacation Diane Petrilli 3/26-3/28 Vacation/ASAE Conference, Colorado Springs, CO `` 5/17-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Allen Pitts 5/17-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Dave Sumner 3/23-3/25 Executive Committee Meeting, St. Louis, MO `` 5/16-5/20 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH Sharon Taratula 3/19 Vacation

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[arrl-odv:20627] Comcast Blocking ARRL Newletters
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 14 Mar '12

14 Mar '12

In case you happen to hear from a member.... As of around midnight last night Comcast is, once again, blocking all our electronic newsletters. We're are attempting to work through the issue with Comcast but, as you might suspect, they're making it very difficult to contact and, even if we do, are relatively unsympathetic. Unfortunately, there are several ways we can be put in this situation, none of them of our own doing. At the moment, this would impact about 10,000 members who receive newsletters. If we can't get resolution today, we will post something to the web site tomorrow morning as the ARRL Letter is scheduled for distribution tomorrow. This does not appear to be unique to arrl.net addresses but appears to be that a particular sending e-mail or IP address is being blocked. We will let you know when the situation is resolved. 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:20626] Re: 2012-0229 State Legislative Report
by dick＠pobox.com 12 Mar '12

12 Mar '12

12 MAR 2012 - 1748 CDT There have been further developments regarding Illinois H-3972 "Wireless Devices While Driving". This bill has been passed by the Illinois House with the listed exemption for Amateur Radio licensees intact. It has now been sent to the Illinois Senate. I believe the other similar Illinois House bills have been withdrawn or pigeon-holed. - Dick, W9GIG

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[arrl-odv:20625] Fake ARRL billing notices
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 12 Mar '12

12 Mar '12

If you are contacted by any members who received messages similar to the one below, please let them know the messages are fake, did not come from the ARRL, and contain a virus that will infect their computers if they open the attachment. We are working with our email provider to block similar messages from being forwarded to arrl.net users. -- Hugh Brower, KB1NFI IT Dept - Network Support ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio(tm) 860-594-0394 hbrower(a)arrl.org ===================== From: "KERA HARVEY" <accounting(a)arrl.net> Date: Sun Mar 11, 2012 8:30:31 PM America/Phoenix To: <xxxxx(a)arrl.net> Subject: Need your help! Hello! Look, I've received an unfamiliar bill, have you ordered anything? You will be find the bill in attach (Open with Internet Explorer) Please reply as soon as possible, because the amount is large and they demand the payment urgently.

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