August 2013 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:21927] Centennial membership card and certificate
by Kay Craigie 06 Aug '13

06 Aug '13

A suggestion received by the Centennial Celebration committee from past McGan award winner Angel Santana WP3GW at the Puerto Rico State Convention earlier this year has become a reality. Members can generate a membership certificate and card showing the centennial logo at http://www.arrl.org/membership-certificate. Members must be logged into the ARRL website to access the certificate maker. Members can print the items for themselves on the paper of their choice. Bob Inderbitzen hopes to use this opportunity to encourage members to generate cards and wallpaper showing their support of the ARRL. 73 - Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:21926] State legislative report for July
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 06 Aug '13

06 Aug '13

Here is the state legislative report for the end of July from The Chwat Group. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:21925] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 06 Aug '13

06 Aug '13

<<073113.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 36, No. 30 July 31, 2013 -- Covers the period July 21-27. 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 With vacations and other travel reducing the staff complement there is only one report this week. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team One ARRL member from East Bay successfully completed requirements to become an Official Observer this past week. A number of Official Observers reported hearing continuous dits on 14029.3 kHz, and they have been attempting to use direction finding techniques to locate the source of the signal. More reports of illegal Citizen Band type gear that's being offered on the internet were received. The FCC has been following up on some of these reports. In addition, several radio amateurs have been heard operating outside of their license privileges. These reports are being followed up on. Chuck Skolaut conducted one code practice run and a qualifying code proficiency session at W1AW. East Bay Section Manager Jim Latham, AF6AQ, 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 is preparing to send each Section Manager a copy of his or her Field Organization appointment roster. This will allow the Section Managers to review their rosters on a periodical basis and to provide updates and/or corrections to Headquarters as needed. With help from ARRL Digital Content Coordinator Magdalena, Section Managers have been invited to test a beta version of the QST Android app if they have an Android device. 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 8/2-8/9 PTO `` 8/16 PTO `` 8/23 PTO `` 8/30 PTO Steve Ewald 7/29-8/6 PTO Dan Henderson 8/5-8/9 PTO Gail Iannone 8/22-8/30 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 Monique Levesque 8/12-8/16 PTO Diane Petrilli 8/2-8/9 PTO `` 9/20-9/30 PTO Dave Sumner 8/2-8/3 Great Lakes Division Convention, Columbus, OH `` 8/16 PTO `` 8/21-9/8 PTO `` 9/20-9/28 IARU Region 2 Conference, Cancun, Mexico

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[arrl-odv:21923] 2013 ARRL New Orleans Board Meeting Cost Comparison with Hartford - Data
by Richard J Norton 06 Aug '13

06 Aug '13

I have been asked to document the New Orleans board meeting cost information presented at the July 2013 Thursday night informal board session. This first memo contains only the costs and calculations used to produce comparisons. Comments, questions, and and some suggestions are in a following message. *Background* The New Orleans ARRL board meeting appears to have cost the League $43,000 more than would have likely been expended had the meeting been held in Hartford. Three regular participants, one officer, one director, and one vice-director did not attend the New Orleans meeting. Had they attended, the additional cost would have been closer to $50,000. Hartford cost $51,520 in January 2012. New Orleans January 2013 is estimated to have cost $94,600. One participant had not submitted an 2013 expense report, and an estimate of those costs was made. These numbers do not include any consideration for loss in staff productivity while traveling or making travel arrangements and reimbursement calculations. The overrun has three major causes: 1) those due to meeting anywhere outside the Hartford area; 2) those due to meeting in downtown New Orleans rather than near the airport; and 3) those due to the choice of a particular New Orleans hotel. Each of these is discussed below. *1) Cost of Holding a Board Meeting in a Place Other Than Hartford* A rough estimate of the minimum expected additional cost, where the hotel is similarly priced, and there is minimal airport-hotel transportation cost, would be $7,000. Even using a hotel priced similarly to the Hartford-Windsor Marriott with minimal airport-hotel transportation cost, there are 7 participants (6 staff members plus the local New England Division Director) who have to travel, encountering airfare and hotel costs that they don't have in Hartford. In New Orleans, this group charged $9,983. The same group charged $2166 in January 2011 in Hartford. Therefore, $9983 - $2166 = $7817 additional costs were incurred in New Orleans. Note that a significant part of their Hartford expenses are meal costs of other meeting participants at group dinners. Three somewhat-local participants typically drive rather than fly and leave for home on Saturday evening, saving one night’s stay. Their automobile transportation costs are lower than airfare costs of the more distant participants. Using a similar calculation, the cost difference for these three was approximately $3889 - $1330 = $2589. The additional cost for the 10 local and somewhat-local meeting participants is therefore $7817 + $2589 = $10,406, before isolating the impact of using a specific hotel. Hotel rooms at the particular hotel used in New Orleans cost approximately $84 per night more than in Hartford, with taxes. With 10 participants staying 4 nights each, the hotel-particular room costs are approximately 10 x 84 x 4 = $3360. If a hotel had been used with similar room costs to Hartford, the additional cost would therefore have been approximately $10,406 - $3360 = $7046. This is rounded to the $7000 minimum figure discussed at the meeting. Note that Houston meeting in January 2008 cost approximately $11,000 more than the 2007 meeting in Hartford, so the order of magnitude appears reasonable. *2) Cost of Using a Hotel Not Near the Airport* Hotels near airports typically provide a free shuttle service. The hotel we used was not adjacent to the airport, and no hotel shuttle was provided. Participants took shared rides for $20 each way, or taxis for $35 each way, plus tips, to reach the hotel from the airport. This amounts to approximately $2500. *3) Cost of using the Pere Marquette Hotel* As previously mentioned, the Marriott Renaissance Hotel used for the meeting had a room rate, with taxes, of $191.97 per night. For the approximate 163 room-nights used by the group, the additional room cost over Hartford was $13,692. The hotel charged $36.96 per night per car for parking. Six participants utilized this for a cost of approximately $700. *a) Hotel Meeting Room Costs* The New Orleans Hotel charged $9727 for the room and audio setup for three days. The 2011 Hartford charge was $4284. Essentially the same meeting room set-up cost an additional $5443 more at the New Orleans facility. In New Orleans, ten microphones were rented for three days each, at $528 per microphone. The total was $5280. In Hartford, ten microphones were $134 each, for a total of $1340. The difference amounted to $3,940. In New Orleans, nine power strips were rented, at $53 each, for a total of $475. However, in Hartford, fourteen power strips were rented at $58 each, and fourteen extension cords were rented at $38 each. The total came to $1347, which was $872 more than paid in New Orleans. In New Orleans, the League was charged for twenty 3-day wi-fi Internet connections at $124 each, for a total of $2486. The service only worked in the meeting room area, not in the hotel rooms. In all, meeting room costs in New Orleans were higher by $10,997. *b) Hotel Food Costs* Food costs were substantial at both Marriott hotels, but higher in New Orleans, where the per person costs were: $27.18 was paid for "breaks" for the Thursday A&F and PSC meetings. This did not include lunch. $15.23 was paid for Thursday evening hors d'oeuvres $63.07 was the average paid for Thursday dinner $54.24 was for Friday breaks $53.43 was for Friday lunch $ 9.51 was for Friday evening hors d'oeuvres $71.22 was the average paid for Friday dinner $54.24 was for Saturday breaks $54.36 was for Saturday lunch -------------------------- $375.30 per person was spent for food at the New Orleans Marriott, not including breakfasts or the committee meeting costs. Hartford 2011, per person costs were: $59.39 was the average paid for Thursday dinner, including hors d'oeuvres $64.06 was the cost of Friday breaks and lunch $66.68 was the average paid for Friday dinner, including hors d'oeuvres $64.06 was the cost of Saturday breaks and lunch -------------------------------- $254.19 per person was spent for food at the Windsor Marriott, not including the committee meeting costs. For the approximately 50 people being fed, hotel group food costs were approximately $6000 higher in New Orleans not counting the fact that break food and drink at the A&F and PSC meetings held at ARRL cost only a few dollars per person. *c) Off-premises Dining* Only a few individual expense reports were surveyed, so this data is not necessarily complete. In both New Orleans and Hartford, group dinner charges included some instances where per person costs were above $80. The highest cost noticed was one in Hartford at over $90 per person. Note that, when adding two off-hotel dinners to the hotel food costs, dining costs for a board-meeting guest, such as a spouse, could come to over $500 in New Orleans and over $400 in Hartford. *d) Hotel Surcharges and Taxes* The New Orleans hotel had a "food and beverage service charge" of 24%. Since the photographer was apparently ordered through the hotel, this added $192 to the base $800 photographer charge. The copier rental base charge of $725 incurred a surcharge of $174. Another surcharge of 0.75% and sales tax of 9% were applied to the total, making the surcharge even more costly. Binders were also ordered through the hotel, adding several hundred dollars to their cost. In Hartford, the f&b surcharge was 21%. but it appears that the photographer and copier were rented without going through the hotel. *Summary* Approximately $7000 was the additional cost of holding the meeting away from Hartford. Approximately $2500 was the additional cost of holding it at a hotel not near the airport. Approximately $33,500 was the additional cost of using the particular New Orleans hotel, and ordering goods and services through the hotel that are procured directly in Hartford. Note that January 2011 component costs were used for the Hartford part of this comparison because they were already available. The only data available for January 2012 was the overall cost date. The conclusions reached should not be affected. See the following message for discussion.

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[arrl-odv:21919] Change in E-mail Service
by Shelley, Barry, N1VXY 05 Aug '13

05 Aug '13

Ladies and Gentlemen: I noted in my report to the Board for the July meeting that, as a result of our disappointment in the response by Edge Network Systems to the denial-of-service attack on our spam filtering servers, we were actively negotiating a contract with an alternate provider of spam filtering for the Arrl.net e-mail forwarding service. We have completed the negotiations and have signed a contract with Pobox, a company headquartered in Philadelphia. (pobox.com) Testing has been completed on several staff arrl.org e-mail accounts and we are ready to begin moving e-mail addresses away from Edge and on to Pobox. We will start with the 300-odd arrl.org e-mail addresses which include all of your forwarding accounts. The transition should be transparent to you (it was when they changed my account). This change should also help alleviate the problems we've had recently with certain ISPs (most notably Comcast) intermittently blocking mail from the Edge servers. If we have no last minute surprises, the change will be made before the end of the business day today. 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:21918] ARRL Board "orders" for the 2014 ARRL Centennial Handbook
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 02 Aug '13

02 Aug '13

Hi, I am forwarding this on behalf of Bob Inderbitzen: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------ ARRL Directors, Vice Directors and Officers may order a free copy of the personalized, hardcover 2014 ARRL Centennial Edition Handbook. Please use the following instructions to place your order online by August 31, 2013. 1) Be sure you're logged into the ARRL website. 2) Go to the following link for ordering: http://www.arrl.org/shop/2014-Handbook-Hardcover-Centennial-Edition/ 3) Personalize your copy with your name and call sign (optional). There is a 35-character limit. For example: Hiram Percy Maxim, W1AW 4) Select only 1 copy, and click "Add to Cart." Do not add any other items to the cart. 5) On the next screen, you'll be prompted to Redeem a Coupon Code. Enter code ODV2014 and click "Submit Coupon Code." The coupon will discount the full price of the book. Please do not share this code with anyone. 6) Select the "Check Out" button. 7) Review the Payment Details screen, which will show your Handbook order summary and order total of $0.00. You should not be prompted for a credit card. 8) Click "Submit" to place your order. Handbooks will be shipped in early October. Please contact Yvette Vinci yvinci(a)arrl.org or Kim McNeill kmcneill(a)arrl.org if you need any assistance. 73 Bob NQ1R

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[arrl-odv:21917] FW: Centennial Publications
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 02 Aug '13

02 Aug '13

Hi, Kay asked me to share with you a tentative list of publications that we are planning for the Centennial year in 2014. This list was compiled by Steve Ford our Publications Manager: 73, Harold Books/Calendar: 2014 Handbook (the "Centennial Edition") - in stock in early October of this year 100 Years of QST Advertising - in stock by early October of this year; will carry Centennial branding. Highlights of Amateur Radio history as shown in QST advertising during the last 100 years. A Century of Technology - in stock in early December of this year; will carry Centennial branding. Highlights of Amateur Radio technological advances during the last 100 years. 2014 ARRL Calendar (Centennial theme) QST Articles: 900 word "Personal Vision" essays in each issue beginning in January. Essays will be contributed by Kay Craigie, N3KN (first in the series); Rick Palm, K1CE; Michael Wells, G7VJR; Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT; Rick Campbell, KK7B; David Sumner, K1ZZ; Jim Cluett, W1PID; Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH; Bob Allphin, K4UEE; Ward Silver, N0AX; Tim Ellam, VE6SH and Glenn Johnson, W0GJ. "The Beginning" by Mike Marinaro, WN1M, January QST. An article detailing the formation of the ARRL. Digital QST will include the first ARRL Station List. "Hiram Percy Maxim" by Chris Codella, W2PA, February QST. A profile of Hiram Percy Maxim. Digital QST will include a short movie of HPM shot in the 1920s. "Coincidence" by Mike Marinaro, WN1M, March QST. The early financial struggles of the ARRL to stay afloat during World War I. Digital QST will include a reproduction of a fund-raising bond pamphlet. "Extending the Limits" by Mike Marinaro, WN1M - three-part series in April, May and June QST. Details the first operating advances such as the first DXpeditions. "ARRL and CRRL" by David Sumner, K1ZZ, October QST. We are also pursuing an article detailing early activities in the Caribbean, as well as profiles of Clarence Tuska and Ross Hull. Special QST Sections: ARRL Centennial Timeline pull-out. January QST. Centennial Convention pull-out. July QST. ARRL Letter Each ARRL Letter starting in January will carry a story by Al Brogdon, W1AB, concerning an aspect of ARRL history.

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[arrl-odv:21916] Delta Division Vice Director Resignation
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 01 Aug '13

01 Aug '13

Delta Division Vice Director Glen Clayton, W4BDB has submitted his resignation, effective today. I know you will join me in wishing Glen the best in his future endeavors. The process of filling the vacancy by appointment is underway. David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary

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[arrl-odv:21915] As-Filed Reply Comments in Docket 13-44, Authorization of Radio Frequency Equipment
by Chris Imlay 01 Aug '13

01 Aug '13

Greetings. I have just now filed the attached reply comments in the FCC's docket proceeding dealing with revision of rules for equipment authorization. This subject was discussed in my Board report for the meeting just passed, as follows. Thanks to the Executive Committee for putting up with my deadlining them yet again, and thanks also for helpful edits and typo fixes, especially those offered by President Craigie, CEO Sumner, Vice President Frahm and Director Vallio. 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 2. ET Docket No.13-44, Amendment of Parts 0, 1, 2, and 15 of the Commission’s Rules regardingAuthorization of Radiofrequency Equipment; Amendment of Part 68 regardingApproval of Terminal Equipment by Telecommunications Certification Bodies. In thisNPRM released February 15, 2013, FCC proposes changes to its equipmentauthorization processes (Part 2 of FCC Rules) in several respects. It addressesthe role of Telecommunication Certification Bodies (TCBs) in certifying RFequipment and post-market surveillance, as well as the Commission’s role inassessing TCB performance. It alsoaddresses the role of test laboratories in the RF equipment approval process,including accreditation of test labs and the Commission’s recognition oflaboratory accreditation bodies, and measurement procedures used to determineRF equipment compliance. Finally, itproposes to recognize the National Institute for Standards and Technology(NIST) as the organization that designates TCBs in the United States and tomodify the rules to reference the current International Organization forStandardization and International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) guidesused to accredit TCBs. This is nota docket proceeding that directlyaffects the Amateur Service. However, the track record for TCB certification ofRF devices in terms of errors and ill-advised grants of certification isabysmal. FCC lab staff constantly has to review and set aside TCB grants of RFequipment. The best example of the inadequate performance of TCBs in recentmemory is with respect to a TCB grant of the ReconRobotics Recon Scout device.The inadequacies of the TCB’s evaluation of this device were visited on theAmateur Service. ARRL has some countervailing considerations inthis Docket, however. On the one hand, we want RF devices in other serviceswith whom we share spectrum (or where the other service is adjacent to Amateurspectrum) to be carefully evaluated by a competent reviewer at the equipmentauthorization stage. On the other hand, we don’t want small manufacturers ofsmall quantities of Amateur Radio equipment to be burdened by the very highcost of the FCC’s equipment authorization process. An example of the latter isa small manufacturer of Amateur equipment that incorporates a scanning receiver.Those receivers have to be certified according to FCC rules. This involves aprivate laboratory and a TCB certification, which is expensive and which detersmanufacturing of RF equipment in small quantities for, as an example, theAmateur market. This proceeding could be used to request exemption of certaintypes of equipment intended exclusively for Amateur Radio use, so as to makesure that it is available at a reasonable cost. FCCproposes that the Commission no longer conduct evaluations for initiallyapproving RF equipment requiring certification. Instead, TCBs would approve all such equipment in the firstinstance, including equipment on an “exclusion list” that now, only theCommission may approve. Equipment on the exclusion list includes MedRadiotransmitters designed to operate in 413-419 MHz, 426-432 MHz, 438-444 MHz,451-457, and 2360-2400 MHz bands (Part 95 Subpart I). Surely, we want theCommission to continue to certify these devices. FCC also proposes to clarifyand modify the rules on TCB responsibilities. Specifically, FCC proposes to codify the “permit-but-ask” procedure thatTCBs must use when certifying new technologies when testing protocols have notbeen established, clarify the responsibility of TCBs to perform post-market surveillanceof products they have approved, and specify steps that can be taken if a TCB’sperformance were found to be deficient. FCC also proposes to require accreditation of all laboratories that testequipment subject to the Part 2 certification procedure, and to codify theexisting procedure through which the Commission can recognize new laboratoryaccreditation bodies. Finally, FCC proposes to incorporate the latest versionsof the industry standards for measuring equipment into the rules and address howto update these standards more quickly in the future. Finally, FCC proposes to modify the rules toreference the current ISO/IEC standards used to accredit TCBs that approve RFequipment under Part 2 of the Commission’s rules. Its intention is to enablenew and innovative products to be brought to market as quickly as possible,promoting competition in the provision of RF equipment, while at the same timeprotecting against interference among radio services and devices using the RFspectrum. However, FCC says that it recognizes that certain proposed changes,such as requiring laboratories to become accredited, would result in someincreased costs.

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