March 2014 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:22512] D-Star Call Signs
by Jim Pace K7CEX NW Division Director 14 Mar '14

14 Mar '14

Good Morning All I'm looking for someone with experience in setting up D-Star and specifically call signs for various installations owned by one person or clubs, to give me some advice. I know there are several areas that are heavy into D-Star, but it is fairly new and limited here in the Northwest. 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace K7CEX Director ARRL Northwestern Division

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[arrl-odv:22511] WIA congratulations
by Kay Craigie 14 Mar '14

14 Mar '14

I have received by postal mail a very cordial letter of congratulations on our centennial from the President of the Wireless Institute of Australia. The text of the letter is posted on the WIA's web site at http://www.wia.org.au/newsevents/news/2014/20140302-1/index.php Of course I will respond to President Wait. 73 - Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:22510] Yet another problem with a Board award
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 13 Mar '14

13 Mar '14

After last year's embarrassing award of the wrong recognition to Brian Justin, WA1ZMS (see http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-board-untangles-award-miscue) I had every hope that we would avoid similar miscues in the future. Unfortunately, that has turned out not to be the case. I am obliged to inform the Board that yet another error occurred at the January meeting. In December the Public Relations Committee (PRC) received a nomination for the Audio category of the Bill Leonard Professional Media Award from Bill Duveneck, KB3KYH. Bill nominated Jim Rash of radio station WGMD for the award. The Public Relations Committee selected Jim Rash as its recommendation to receive the award and that recommendation is contained in the committee's report to the Board (Document #21, page 2). Unfortunately, in preparing the draft motion for the Programs & Services Committee to offer to the Board, staff used as a template the motion for the 2010 Leonard Awards that were conferred in January 2011. Coincidentally, the 2010 award in the Audio category was also to someone at WGMD for conducting a similar interview with KB3KYH. While the PRC report named the correct intended award recipient, the draft motion that was provided to the PSC to implement the recommendation contained the name of the 2010 recipient, Bill Colley, rather than Jim Rash. No one spotted the discrepancy at the time, nor indeed until today. So, there are two issues. The first is easy, in part because (unfortunately) we have recent experience: last October the Executive Committee authorized a mail vote of the Board to correct the error, and the same can be done in this case. It's embarrassing, but at least the awardee's name has not yet appeared in QST and the award itself has not been manufactured. The second is to ensure that this doesn't happen again. Mistakes like this shouldn't occur, and they won't if sufficient attention is paid at the time text is being drafted and routine double-checking is performed. In this case, a simple comparison of the draft motion to either the original nomination form or the PRC report would have revealed the error. The Board has the right to expect better performance from staff. I will do my best to see that you get it. David Sumner, K1ZZ Chief Executive Officer

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[arrl-odv:22509] Fwd: Complaint of Part 18 Rule Violations, RF Lighting Device; AM Broadcast Interference
by Chris Imlay 13 Mar '14

13 Mar '14

Greetings. Yesterday, I filed the attached complaint with the FCC's Enforcement Bureau and the OET laboratory. Accompanying the complaint was the attached Conducted Emissions Test Report prepared by Ed Hare, Mike Gruber and our consultant Jerry Ramie, KI6LGY. This is a well-done test report and the lab staff should be congratulated for it. Below is the text of an e-mail that I sent this morning to FCC Commissioner Pai about this. The reason we targeted Pai is that he has taken on as his own crusade the revitalization of AM Broadcasting. There is an open docket now on AM revitalization and one of the recurring themes (because I raised it, among several others) in comments in that docket is the high and increasing level of RF noise in the AM broadcast band. RF Lighting devices, and especially these "grow lights" that we are complaining about have interference potential of epic proportions. Marijuana growers are using them in large numbers, as are legitimate horticulturalists. So it is a big threat. Thanks on this also to Kermit Carlson, who has shepherded this along from its inception. 73, Chris W3KD Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret & Imlay, LLC 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: ajit.pai <ajit.pai(a)fcc.gov>; brendan.carr <brendan.carr(a)fcc.gov> Cc: kcraigie <kcraigie(a)arrl.org>; dsumner <dsumner(a)arrl.org>; kermit <kermit(a)fnal.gov> Sent: Thu, Mar 13, 2014 12:37 pm Subject: Complaint of Part 18 Rule Violations, RF Lighting Device; AM Broadcast Interference Greetings, Commissioner Pai: The undersigned serves as General Counsel for ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio. In that capacity I filed yesterday with the Commission's Enforcement Bureau and with the Laboratory of the Office of Engineering and Technology the attached complaint on behalf of ARRL with respect to a radiofrequency lighting device. The device is commonly known as a "grow light" and it is used for agricultural and horticultural applications. It is being sold now at retail through such large outlets as Sears and Amazon.com. This model, the Lumatek LK-1000 electronic ballast, sold to consumers, is typical in terms of its performance, and many other types of "grow lights" are being imported, marketed, sold and deployed now. As can be seen from the Conducted Emissions Test Report submitted with the Complaint, the device under test grossly exceeds the Commission's Part 18 limits for conducted emissions, throughout the entire medium-frequency and high-frequency range. It is not at all an exaggeration that even one of these electronic ballasts operated in a residential neighborhood makes any AM Broadcast reception impossible. The same is true with MF or HF Amateur Radio operation throughout entire frequency allocations. ARRL's laboratory has noted preclusive interference from these devices at distances up to 1/2 mile from the single emitter. ARRL is sending copies of this to you because of your well-known concern with the revitalization of the AM Broadcast Service. As the comments in Docket 13-249 will reflect, noise in the AM Broadcast Band is a major impediment to any revitalization effort. It is also a major problem for users of the HF spectrum, and especially radio Amateurs, who conduct their public service avocation, in major part, from their residences. Marked increases in the noise floor at MF and HF, year-over-year, are well-known to active Amateur Radio licensees, and it is devices such as the Lumatek LK-1000 and its progeny that are major contributors to this noise pollution. We hope that the Commission's Enforcement Bureau will take immediate action to remove this product from retail sale and to take appropriate action against the importer of the device. In a larger sense, however, an investigation should be initiated into other, similar RF lighting ballasts, as many, perhaps most have been observed by ARRL to exhibit the same grossly excessive conducted emission levels as does this device. Thank you for your review of this complaint. Kind regards, Chris Imlay General Counsel, ARRL Christopher D. Imlay Booth, Freret & Imlay, LLC 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:22504] Further RE: 10 GHz petition
by Marty Woll 12 Mar '14

12 Mar '14

I encourage those of you with contacts in the Amateur microwave community to get the word out about RM-11715 and see what our members think. The proposed band plan for the commercial services leaves two segments vacant to protect the Amateur Radio operations from 10.350 to 10.370 GHz (which includes our Weak-Signal segment) and 10.450 to 10.500 (Amateur Satellite sub-band). Outside those two segments, Mimosa is asking for rules that allow EIRP's of 55dBW (half a Megawatt, if my math is correct) and point-to-many (isotropic) as well as point-to-point service. My immediate concerns are: - What is the bleed-over past the edges of nominal 20-MHz-wide channels in the proposed band plan and how might it impact our weak-signal band segment? - How might the high-EIRP omnidirectional commercial signals impact Amateur uses of the band outside the two protected segments mentioned above? - Would a contention-based protocol (Mimosa's proposed method of avoiding interference to primary and secondary users) provide effective protection to Amateur users of the paired analog / digital and experimental segments in our National Band Plan? (Contention-based protocol means listen before transmitting; an Amateur station would not be protected while in the receive mode, since the commercial station would not hear the weak signal being received by the Amateur and would not know when a quiet frequency is being monitored.) Would the proliferation of commercial Wi-Fi equipment on 10 GHz provide a source of inexpensive gear that could be useful to Amateurs? If so, would that benefit outweigh whatever interference potential exists in the proposal? 73, Marty N6VI

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[arrl-odv:22506] WSJ on FCC and interference
by Kay Craigie 12 Mar '14

12 Mar '14

>From reading this article you could think there is actually some enforcement going on. http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304434104579378994224188 328?mod=ITP_AHED&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FS B10001424052702304434104579378994224188328.html%3Fmod%3DITP_AHED 73 - Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:22502] 10 GHz petition
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 11 Mar '14

11 Mar '14

We have been waiting to see if this petition, filed last May, would be put on public notice. It finally has, as RM-11715. While the petitioners have taken amateur weak-signal work and the amateur-satellite allocation into account in their band plan, their proposal is contrary to the International Table of Frequency Allocations. The primary allocation in Region 2 is to Radiolocation with amateur secondary at 10.0-10.5 and amateur-satellite secondary at 10.45-10.5 GHz. However, the fixed service is co-primary in Regions 1 and 3 and there are two so-called "country footnotes" that provide for fixed and mobile primary allocations in named countries, including a number in Region 2 (among them Mexico, but not the U.S. or Canada) The timing is such that the Executive Committee will have the opportunity to discuss this at its March 29 meeting. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:22501] Spark on NPR
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 11 Mar '14

11 Mar '14

While the story itself has nothing directly to do with Amateur Radio, at about 4:35 PM EDT today the program "All Things Considered" on National Public Radio is scheduled (subject to breaking news) to air a ten-minute segment entitled "If WW I Never Was... Part 2." ARRL was asked to provide a sound clip of a spark transmitter; the Morse was provided by Sean, KX9X. If you miss the live airing the program will be available a few hours later at http://www.npr.org/programs/all-things-considered/ Thanks to MDC SM Jim Cross, WI3N for the scheduling info. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:22498] July board meeting
by Brian Mileshosky 08 Mar '14

08 Mar '14

Hi everyone - In case I missed a previous ODV note already containing this information, is the July board meeting expected to conclude by COB Tuesday (i.e. same timeframe as what would normally be our Saturday session)? Starting to look into flights. Thanks and 73, Brian N5ZGT

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[arrl-odv:22497] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 07 Mar '14

07 Mar '14

IN-Newsletter Vol. 37, No. 8 March 5, 2014 -- Covers the period February 23-March 1. Upcoming Meetings and Events Centennial Convention Committee Meeting March 11 @ 3:30pm in Newington, CT Vice Director Orientation March 24 in Newington, CT Executive Committee: March 29 @ 8:30am - St Louis, MO Administration & Finance Committee April 12 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD We are pleased to welcome Gene McPherson NØMHJ as our 143rd Maxim Society. The recent direct mail sent to 150,000 members to raise funds for the Second Century Campaign is yielding strong results. Additionally, CDO Hobart has been having many conversations with members who are considering commitments. There has been a very positive response to the Challenge Match offered by Mike Valentine, W8MM. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 5 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 3-5 Business Days W1AW Thanks to Dan Henderson, N1ND for operating W100AW in the ARRL International SSB DX contest. Joe created the texts for the March W1AW Qualifying Runs. He processed six (6) Qualifying Run certificates and one (1) endorsement. Joe updated all the various W1AW web schedules and processed regular QSL card requests. He continues updating Logbook of the World with the various W1AW/xx Centennial operations as well as sorting/storing the QSL card requests being received for each operation. Field Organization/Public Service Team Nevada Section Manager Joe Giraudo, N7JEH, announced last week that was stepping down from his position as of March 1 because his new job responsibilities now takes him outside of Nevada much more than previous jobs. Joe had been Section Manager since August of 2008. Gary Grant, K7VY, of Reno, has been appointed as the Nevada Section Manager, effective March 1, to complete the current term of office that extends until June 30, 2015. Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N, received Giraudo's recommendation of Gary Grant to succeed him. Patton then consulted with Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, before making the appointment. Gary has been an ARRL member for more than 50 year and he has been an Assistant Section Manager, Official Observer Coordinator and Official Observer within the Nevada Field Organization. Steve Ewald and Leona Adams have been in touch with Gary to help him get started in this new position. Chuck Skolaut reports that radio amateurs from West Virginia and Idaho completed requirements to become Official Observers this past week. Two cases of call signs being bootlegged were reported: KCØMUX on a local Iowa repeater and K7JL on 75 meters on the west coast. The appropriate OOs were alerted. Documentation was received regarding a Technician Class amateur continuing to operate on 75 meter phone, and OOs were alerted. Later information on this situation was forwarded to the FCC. Documentation was also received regarding operation on 14.313 MHz. An unidentified signal reported on 28.600 MHz may be an Over the Horizon Radar. Recent discussion on the OO reflector covered several topics including the use of "10 codes" and CEPT and IARP agreements. Several reports of a station continuously calling CQ on 28.425 MHz seemingly with no intention of establishing QSOs were reported. Several times in the past this practice was found to actually be other another station using the first station's call and was used as a form of jamming. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 4/18 Holiday Bob Allison 3/21-3/23 South Texas Section Convention, Rosenberg, TX Joe Carcia 5/2 PTO `` 5/23 PTO Mike Corey 3/14-3/16 Delta Division Convention, Rayne, LA Norm Fusaro 3/7-3/9 West Gulf Division Convention, Claremore, OK `` 4/18-4/20 Roanoke Division Convention, Raleigh, NC Scott Gee 3/10-3/12 PTO Mike Gruber 5/2 PTO `` 6/2-6/6 PTO `` 6/27 PTO Mary Hobart 3/7 DARA Meeting, Dayton, OH `` 3/14-3/17 PTO Karen Isakson 3/10-3/14 PTO Harold Kramer 3/12 The Bears of Manchester ARC, Manchester, CT `` 3/21-3/23 Communications Academy, Seattle, WA `` 4/17 Mt. Airy VHF Radio Club, Warminster, PA Zack Lau 3/12 PTO Diane Middleton 3/12-3/14 Insurance Meetings Dave Patton 3/14-3/16 Nebraska State Convention, Lincoln, NE Barry Shelley 3/12-3/14 Insurance Meetings

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