July 2013 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:21735] May State Legislative Report
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 08 Aug '13

08 Aug '13

Here is the monthly state legislative report from John Chwat. Since this report was prepared the Connecticut legislature has completed action on the comprehensive transportation bill, S.B.975, that included the unfortunate provision described in the report. This is an example of good intentions gone bad; I will try to write up the chain of events because it is a cautionary tale that may be useful to amateurs in other states. 73, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:21914] Corrected Minutes
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 30 Jul '13

30 Jul '13

With apologies to Tom Abernethy for the misspelling of his name in the draft, here are corrected minutes. Dave

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[arrl-odv:21913] Board Minutes
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 30 Jul '13

30 Jul '13

Here are the minutes of the July Board Meeting in final form. The only change from the draft was the correction of a small typo in Minute 31 (thanks, Cliff). 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary

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[arrl-odv:21910] Draft Board Minutes
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 29 Jul '13

29 Jul '13

Here are draft minutes of last week's Board Meeting. Please review at your earliest convenience and let me know of any discrepancies. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:21909] Symbol rate
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 25 Jul '13

25 Jul '13

While looking for something else I came across the attached filing by Charles A. Pennell, KE6AFE, in last year's FCC GN Docket No. 12-91. He states the case for dropping the symbol rate restriction rather succinctly although his "No issues could arise" claim isn't correct since, as discussed at the Board meeting, there would then be no limit on HF data emission bandwidth. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:21908] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 24 Jul '13

24 Jul '13

<<072413.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 36, No. 29 July 24, 2013 -- Covers the period July 7-20. Upcoming Meetings and Events Director/Vice Director Elections November 15 LoTW Study Committee November 15 @ 9:00am in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee November 16 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Media & Public Relations Reported by Sean Kutzko, KX9X I completed the work on the 2012 Annual Report. I also continue to handle several questions a week related to Field Day log submissions. We fulfilled a PR literature request for a ham in Garfield Heights, OH, who is going to make a presentation to their city council about their antenna zoning ordinance dating to the 1980s. Allen Pitts had a video crew in ARRL HQ on Thursday, July 18 to do some shooting for the Centennial video project. Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD We are pleased to welcome Jay Close, KØGEO, as the 130th member of the Maxim Society. A Spectrum Defense mailing to 45,000 went out last week. Payments for the 82 awarded scholarships through the ARRL Foundation will be mailed this week. The Second Century Campaign has reached $5,219,496 in gifts and commitments through June 30, 2013. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY The September 2013 issue of QST has been released to the printer. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Congratulations to new parents Jackie Ferreira and her husband Joe on the arrival of their baby boy, Joseph James, born on June 24. Bob Inderbitzen reports that June product sales were $190,271, short of the month's sales forecast of $228,308. Direct sales were $107,806; dealer sales were $82,465. Direct sales were down nearly $34k from June 2012. Sales for the first half of the year were $1,577,572, exceeding forecast by $48,792-and on par with recent years. Royalties earned for the ARRL Visa credit card totaled $19,231 during the first half of the year ($17,604 for Jan-June 2012). This affinity membership benefit contributes ~$30K of revenue each year. U.S. Bank has supported our participation in this program since March 2005. Bob has completed negotiating a contract renewal with US Bank, reviewed by General Counsel Chris Imlay. Diane Petrilli prepared the email notification for the August 2013 edition of digital edition of QST, distributed to ARRL members on Friday, July 12. The distribution list included 113,140 members. To date, we have increased the number of members who have voluntarily opted to receive digital-QST-only to 5,097 (1,759 are international members). Interdepartmental meetings were held to plan the final stages of testing for the new direct ordering & fulfillment system. The new system integrates ordering and fulfillment across the ARRL Information System (AIS), accounting system, and ARRL web store. Our department's testing team includes Yvette Vinci and Kim McNeill (for order processing), and Steve Capodicasa (warehouse). Trip Report: There were 88 membership applications (180 membership years) collected at our exhibit at the International Amateur Radio Exhibition held in Friedrichshafen, Germany June 28-30. Dues totaled $9,048. The applications included acquisition of 33 new members-mostly referrals from existing ARRL members attending the event. The convention was attended by 15,300 visitors. ARRL representatives included International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB and staff members Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, and Dave Patton, NN1N. The team promoted ARRL membership, DXCC and ARRL Awards, QST (including the digital edition), and next year's national Centennial Convention. We also enjoyed greeting a handful of ARRL members who traveled from the US to Germany to attend the convention. An ARRL Volunteer Examiner team, led by Mitch Wolfson, DJ0QN/K7DX, proctored the US Amateur Radio license examinations in an administrative building on the convention site. They tested over 20 candidates. Bob posted photos throughout the event to ARRL's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151542482817408.1073741834.2006…. Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity (reported by Steve Capodicasa): Week of Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 7/8/2013 725 704 7/15/2013 645 614 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 2 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 3-5 Business Days Field Organization/Public Service Team Chuck Skolaut and Steve Ewald conducted some morning code practice runs at W1AW on behalf of vacationing staff in recent weeks. They also served as HQ tour guides to visiting groups and some who operated at W1AW for a while. Membership and Volunteer Programs staff assisted with tour guide duties on Friday, July 12, for a group from the 10-10 International Convention that was held in Windsor Locks. Chuck and Steve also gave considerable support to the ARRL Board and the Programs and Services Committee meeting. Radio amateurs from Virginia and Eastern New York and Indiana successfully completed requirements to become Official Observers over the past couple of weeks. Also, a radio amateur from Arizona applied and was approved to become a member of the ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch. Chuck Skolaut compiled the monthly Intruder Watch monitoring report and forwarded it to the IARU Region 2 Coordinator. In addition, Chuck also prepared and sent the monthly Official Observer Summary to all OOs, OOCs, and Section Managers. Unlicensed truckers have been reported using 2 meters in Montana and regional Official Observers are checking it. Also, a report and question was received regarding a beacon operating on 30 meters. Michigan Section Manager Larry Camp, WB8R, has been nominated to run for another term of office. Nominations for this particular Section Manager election cycle are due at Headquarters by September 6, and the new terms of office will begin on January 1, 2014. Leona Adams has been providing administrative support to our Field Organization. She also noticed an increased number of submissions of Section Manager travel expense reports. Summertime activities such as Field Day and travel to conventions and hamfests have kept Section Leaders' schedules very busy. This year's Section Manager Workshop is scheduled for September 20-22 at ARRL HQ. A dozen new Section Managers, who have started their terms of office within the last year, have been invited to attend. Steve finished up proofreading and editing work for September QST's Field Organization Reports column and the announcement for the 2013 ARRL Simulated Emergency Test. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 9/2 Holiday Bob Allison 8/1-8/9 PTO Joe Carcia 7/26 PTO `` 8/2-8/9 PTO `` 8/16 PTO `` 8/23 PTO `` 8/30 PTO Steve Ewald 7/29-8/6 PTO Steve Ford 8/26-8/30 PTO Mike Gruber 8/26-8/30 PTO Dan Henderson 8/5-8/9 PTO Bob Inderbitzen 8/16-8/19 Alabama State Convention, Huntsville AL `` 8/30-9/2 North Carolina Section Convention, Shelby, NC Harold Kramer 8/5-8/15 PTO `` 8/16-8/18 Alabama State Convention, Huntsville AL Sean Kutzko 7/22-7/26 PTO Diane Petrilli 8/2-8/9 PTO `` 9/20-9/30 PTO Dave Sumner 7/26-7/30 Central States VHF Conference, Elk Grove Village, IL `` 8/2-8/3 Great Lakes Division Convention, Columbus, OH `` 8/21-9/8 PTO `` 9/20-9/28 IARU Region 2 Conference, Cancun, Mexico

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[arrl-odv:21907] ARRL ODV Convention Update July 2013
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 24 Jul '13

24 Jul '13

Hi, Here is an update on the 2014 Centennial Convention: A number of Board Members asked me about the schedule of events for the 2014 Convention. I am attaching a pdf of our tentative schedule for the event. The Marriott referred to in the document is the Hartford Marriott Downtown. http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bdldt-hartford-marriott-downtown/ not the Windsor Marriott where we hold the Board Meetings. The Hartford Downtown Marriott is connected to the Connecticut Convention Center. We are working on finalizing our agreement with the Marriott Downtown and some other hotels. I will pass along rates and booking arrangements as soon as we finalize the agreements. Lisa Kustosik LKustosik(a)arrl.org can answer questions about the accommodations. If you need another copy of the PowerPoint presentation about the Convention, please let me know and I will email one to you. This presentation is for your use in the field. We already sent each ODV member 40 Centennial postcards, but if you need additional convention postcards, please send an email to Kim McNeill KB1WUX(a)arrl.org and she can send you more postcards to hand out at club meetings. Hamfests or whatever. We have plenty! If you have questions or suggestions about exhibitors, contact Deb Jahnke, who is in charge of the exhibits. K1DAJ(a)arrl.org We continue to revise the2014 Convention web page http://www.arrl.org/centennial . The web page contains links to a web form for members who want to volunteer: http://www.arrl.org/convention-volunteers -- Diane Petrilli, KB1RNF(a)arrl.org is managing this area. There is also a web form for people who want to be considered for presentations: http://www.arrl.org/convention-presentations Dan Henderson is managing this area. N1ND(a)arrl.org Either Bob Inderbitzen NQ1R(a)arrl.org or I can answer any other questions about the Convention that you might have. Thanks for all of your help and support so far. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL -the national association for Amateur Radio 225 Main Street Newington, CT 06111 (860) 594 -0220 www.arrl.org <http://www.arrl.org>

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[arrl-odv:21906] 5 GHz Unlicensed Information Infratstructure Docket 13-49; Reply Comments filed today.
by Chris Imlay 24 Jul '13

24 Jul '13

Greetings. Filed just now were the attached reply comments in the 5 GHz U-NII proceeding, following Executive Committee approval. We filed comments on May 28 in this proceeding, which proposes to authorized Part 15 devices to operate in the additional band 5850-5925 MHz. Our allocation of course extends from 5650-5925 MHz, but it is severely compromised by various different uses, and this proposal would make Amateur use of this upper 75 MHz more problematic than it is. The battleground here is between Intelligent transportation service uses in this segment (vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-roadside, so-called DSRC uses on the one hand and broadband applications on the other. These reply comments were filed as a matter of necessity because (1) no one except ARRL and one other individual Amateur made any reference whatsoever to Amateur Radio's allocation in this band, and (2) the Wi-Fi Alliance, on behalf of its broadband membership, proposed an industry-developed consensus on sharing protocols, and we want a seat at that table. So these reply comments were to state in no uncertain terms that we intend to participate in sharing protocol development. CTO Brennan Price would represent ARRL's interests in such a group. Thanks to the Executive Committee for their edits and approval of this short filing, on short notice. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD(a)ARRL.ORG

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[arrl-odv:21905] Board Action on Symbol Rates
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 23 Jul '13

23 Jul '13

I understand that some information about the Board's action on symbol rates is already circulating. Attached is the text of the September QST editorial which may be of help to you in explaining the issue to inquiring members. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:21904] Receiver Performance Standards; FCC Docket 13-101; comments as-filed today
by Chris Imlay 22 Jul '13

22 Jul '13

Greetings. With a lot of help from CEO Dave Sumner, President Craigie, CTO Brennan Price, Ed Hare and the entire Executive Committee, we have finally gotten these comments filed today. The argument is principally that the Amateur Service is ill-suited to a "harm claim threshold" (HCS) which is an ascertained level of minimum receiver performance that determines as a threshold matter whether or not an interference victim can or cannot complain of the interference to FCC. There is a great need, however, for minimum performance standards, perhaps even mandatory standards, for receivers in home electronic equipment. The FCC Technological Advisory Committee (TAC) obliquely suggested using the same standard for HCS in general that is set forth in the FCC rules in Section 15.209, which was found to be applicable to Amateur HF operation as a measure of BPL interference. It was grossly inapplicable in that context and it is grossly inapplicable as an HCT. If that standard were to be applied to Amateur receivers, there could never be another power line interference complaint that was actionable. These comments respond only to an inquiry, and not to any proposed rule. But we would like to be very careful in this proceeding to avoid any standards that might be applied to Amateur receivers, and it is past time that receiver performance standards are applied to home electronic equipment. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret, Imlay & Tepper. P.C. 14356 Cape May Road Silver Spring, Maryland 20904-6011 (301) 384-5525 telephone (301) 384-6384 facsimile W3KD(a)ARRL.ORG

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