May 2014 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:22681] FW: PARA greeting to ARRL
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 14 May '14

14 May '14

The attachment has been received from the Philippine Amateur Radio Association. 73, Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:22678] FW: Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC Merge
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 12 May '14

12 May '14

Industry news. Dave From: RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers [mailto:molly@alpharadioproducts.ccsend.com] On Behalf Of RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 10:41 AM To: k1zz(a)arrl.net Subject: Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC Merge Hi, just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers. Don't forget to add newsletter(a)rfconcepts.com<mailto:newsletter@rfconcepts.com> to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox! You may unsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001n82xbzOcRnOgRgBtKXQJFA%3D%3…> if you no longer wish to receive our emails. [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_left.png] [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_fb.png]<http://s.rs6.net/t?e=r4ayl3rc8Dc&c=1&r=1> [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_twit.png]<http://s.rs6.net/t?e=r4ayl3rc8Dc&c=3&r=1> [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_linked.png]<http://s.rs6.net/t?e=r4ayl3rc8Dc&c=4&r=1> [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_divider.png] [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_more.png]<http://s.rs6.net/t?e=r4ayl3rc8Dc&c=5&r=1> [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_drw_right.png] [http://img.constantcontact.com/ui/images1/shr_btn_like_sm.png]<http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Alpha-Amplifiers-and-TEN-TEC-Merge.html?…> [Alpha Tentec] Announcing the Merger of Alpha Amplifiers & Tentec Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC Merge Under RF Concepts Banner LONGMONT, Colo.- May 9, 2014 - Announcing today the merger of Longmont, Colorado -based RF Concepts LLC / Alpha Amplifiers and Sevierville, Tenn.-based TEN-TEC Inc., RF Concepts Chairman Michael Seedman, AA6DY, declared the union the perfect combination of amateur radio brands. The merger creates a multi-million-dollar company with products that span QRP transceivers to full-legal-limit amplifiers and establishes an organization with the size and scale to continue to innovate into the next decade and beyond. RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers has been building amplifiers continuously since the early 1970s and has put more than 13,000 amplifiers in the hands of demanding amateur radio operators. Alpha Amplifiers are considered "the finest line of linear amplifiers in the world" by the ham community. TEN-TEC, founded in 1968, produces top-of-the-line receivers, transceivers, amplifiers and tuners and is known worldwide for the reliability and performance of its products. "For more than 40 years, Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC have shared a reputation in the amateur radio market for offering exceptionally well-engineered, American-made products backed by extraordinary customer service," said Seedman. "Alpha Amplifiers is known for 'key down performance,' and TEN-TEC is known for pushing the boundaries of transceiver performance and capabilities. "The merger of these brands under the RF Concepts banner makes perfect sense," added Seedman, "not only in terms of creating a powerful product line, but also in terms of positioning our company for the future. This merger more than doubles the size of our business allowing us to invest more capital in innovative engineering and customer-driven product development." RF Concepts' operations will now be shared between its Longmont Colorado facility and its Sevierville Tennessee facility. The company is currently seeking a new operations facility in the Sevierville area to more efficiently house factory operations, part of the engineering resources, and technical and customer support services. The Colorado facility will house engineering resources, technical and customer support services, and much of the front-office operations. Both Jim Wharton, NO4A, who in January of this year took the reins of TEN-TEC upon the retirement of founder Jack Burchfield, K4JU and Ken Long, N0QO, who has been overseeing the operations at Alpha Amplifiers will be Presidents of their respective group, working together to build a strong, innovative company. "Ken and I have spent quite a bit of time discussing our short- and long-term focus over the last few weeks and I feel our responsibilities are very clearly defined.", said Wharton. "Jim and I have a lot of work to do to make sure the merging of these two brands goes as smoothly as possible." added Long. The merger announcement comes just days before one of the signature amateur radio events in North America-the Dayton (Ohio) Hamvention-where more than 75,000 hams are expected to converge on the Hara Arena Complex to discover the latest innovations in amateur radio. Both Alpha Amplifiers and TEN-TEC will operate separate booths at this years show (May 16 - 18). Both booths will feature new products and special offers to commemorate the merger. At booths 209-210 in the North Hall, Alpha Amplifiers will be demonstrating the soon-to-be released DreamTuner 4040 Automatic Antenna Tuner, a graphically based, 4KW Autotuner. At booths 458-450 in the East Hall, TEN-TEC will unveil the Patriot, an open source, arduino-based SSB transceiver. About RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers manufactures high-end linear amplifiers for ham radio enthusiasts. Based in Longmont, Colo., the company is known worldwide for its quality amplifiers. Alpha Amplifiers have been continuously manufactured in the United States since the early 1970s. About TEN-TEC TEN-TEC Inc. was founded in 1968 to provide beautifully engineered, well-crafted, well-supported and high-performing products to the amateur radio market. For 46 years the Sevierville, Tenn.-based company has passionately designed, crafted and tested premium products which have earned the company a solid reputation and loyal brand followers throughout the world. ### Ken Long 303-473-9232 [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/1101116784221/PM_B2BC_BottomS…] Forward this email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=eka89lcab&m=1102056358212&ea=…> [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/SafeUnsubscribe_Footer_Logo_N…]<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001n82xbzOcRnOgRgBtKXQJFA%3D%3…> [http://img.constantcontact.com/letters/images/CC_Footer_Logo_New.png]<http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=PM_B2BC> This email was sent to k1zz(a)arrl.net<mailto:k1zz@arrl.net> by info(a)rfconcepts.com<mailto:info@rfconcepts.com> | Update Profile/Email Address<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001n82xbzOcRnOgRgBtKXQJFA%3D%3…> | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001n82xbzOcRnOgRgBtKXQJFA%3D%3…>(tm) | Privacy Policy<http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>. RF Concepts/Alpha Amplifiers | 634 S. Sunset | Longmont | CO | 80501

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[arrl-odv:22677] IARU elections completed
by Kay Craigie 09 May '14

09 May '14

I have just sent congratulatory messages on behalf of the ARRL to Tim Ellam VE6SH and Ole Garpestad LA2RR on their re-election as president and vice president, respectively, of the IARU. Their re-election was confirmed by the tally of votes today. They are superbly qualified volunteers, and we are fortunate that they are able to serve in these IARU international offices. 73 - Kay N3KN

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[arrl-odv:22676] Status Report on Minute 42, January 2014 Board Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 08 May '14

08 May '14

The following status report, including attachment, is being provided to the Board on behalf of Media and Public Relations Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, and the Public Relations Committee. 73, Dave K1ZZ Status Update to the ARRL Board of Directors Re: Tasking to PR Department - Powerpoint Submissions from ARRL Members May 8, 2014 At the January 2014 meeting of the ARRL Board of Directors, a motion was passed asking the Public Relations Committee to create a process by which members could submit Powerpoint presentations to ARRL for education and training purposes of, by and for the Membership, to be completed by the end of 2014. The Board asked the Public Relations Committee for a status update 90 days after the motion was passed. As of May 8, progress is being made. A guideline for submissions has been written and the Digital Content Manager has been consulted to help identify a location for the Powerpoint library on the ARRL site. The text of the submission guidelines is attached to this email. It is the feeling of the Media and Public Relations Manager that, should the submission of Powerpoint presentations by membership prove effective, the project could be expanded to a larger "ARRL Library," which could include Powerpoints, video and other educational presentations. Should the Oral History Project in the Historical Committee be successful, I believe the ARRL Library would be an ideal location to house the recordings of ARRL members discussing their involvement with Amateur Radio over the years. The PR Committee should have no difficulty implementing Board action within the allotted time frame. Respectfully submitted, Sean Kutzko KX9X ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager

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[arrl-odv:22672] ARRL Comments as-filed, ET Docket 13-213, Globalstar Mobile Satellite System Ancillary Terrestrial Component, 2 GHz.
by Chris Imlay 07 May '14

07 May '14

Greetings. Amidst the sturm und drang of Board issues, CC&R legislation, antenna cases in Poway, California, cropduster legislation in Colorado and donations to ARRL, it is still necessary to keep a hawk eye on the FCC, and we are doing that. Attached are comments as-filed just now by authority of the Executive Committee in a docket that President Craigie, CEO Sumner and I believe is critical for ARRL's participation even though it does not directly threaten Amateur spectrum allocations. Instead, we filed these comments in an effort to protect a principle that is fundamental to our interests: that unlicensed Part 15 devices must, in every case, protect licensed radio services from harmful interference. That is and has for about 50 years been the state of the law, both in terms of reasonable application of Section 301 of the Communications Act and in Section 15.5 of the FCC rules. Briefly, here is the situation: There is one Big LEO (low earth orbit) MSS (mobile satellite service) licensee, which is a company called Globalstar, operating in the band 2483.5 to 2500 MHz. Ten years ago, FCC allowed Globalstar to utilize with this mobile satellite service an "Ancillary Terrestrial Component" or ATC. This is nothing more than a land-based cellular service with handsets on the ground, that works in conjunction with the main MSS satellite system. Wi-Fi and other Part 15 systems are permitted to operate from 2400 MHz up to 2483.5 MHz but they don't go that high because of stringent out of band limits intended to protect Globalstar. Wi-Fi doesn't operate above 2473 MHz for that reason only. Bluetooth operates up to 2480 MHz however. In what I and others perceive as a sleazy spectrum grab, Globalstar said that they wanted to provide more broadband service and proposed a separate ATC band between 2473 and 2483.5 MHz. They said that Wi-Fi wasn't using that segment (without mentioning that Wi-Fi stayed below 2473 MHz to protect Globalstar). FCC took the bait because they are of the view that more broadband spectrum is good and it doesn't matter what other services are stepped on. So far, ARRL doesn't care, because our spectrum isn't threatened. But the problem is that FCC said well, we will propose to allow this ATC in the 2473-2483.5 MHz band as well as in the higher adjacent MSS band, but the ATC operations of Globalstar WILL NOT BE SUBJECT TO INTERFERENCE PROTECTION FROM INCUMBENT OR FUTURE PART 15 DEVICES IN THE BAND. That, we can't sit still for. This would abandon not only existing rules and the basic interpretation of a Federal statute that provide the only way that Part 15 devices can be authorized in the first place, but it would set a precedent that it is OK under certain circumstances for FCC to allow Part 15 devices to interfere with licensed services. FCC went near this bad idea in the BPL docket, but they didn't actually say that Part 15 doesn't have to protect licensed services (except mobiles). Here, they would be directly establishing and approving a non-protection situation as an explicit precedent. We can't allow this. If Globalstar's ATC can't fit into this mature allocation at 2473-2483.5 MHz without interference resulting, then FCC shouldn't make the allocation. That, in a nutshell, is what these comments say. Thanks to the Executive Committee for a fast review and approval of these comments and to Kay and Dave for helpful edits to the filing. 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

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[arrl-odv:22673] Rod Blocksome email change
by Rod Blocksome 06 May '14

06 May '14

Please change to my new email address: rod.blocksome(a)gmail.com My old email address rkblocks(a)plutonium.net is no longer valid Thanks, Rod

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[arrl-odv:22670] Update from LoTW Study Committee
by G Widin 05 May '14

05 May '14

*Update on Logbook of the World Technical Debt* *This is an update for the Board family only. Please allow us to provide a similar update to the Logbook community directly by not sharing this information at this time.* We have hired *two* new programmers to work on LoTW. Finding qualified individuals required significant time and effort and several different ways of identifying candidates. At the meeting of the Logbook Study Committee (LSC) in mid-April, it was apparent that there were three qualified candidates for the new hire. We had also realized that some of the technical issues were soon going to require an additional programmer, and that IT Manager Mike Keane's time was much less available than we had anticipated. We reasoned that if a second hire were added at the same time, there would be a substantial boost in capacity to deal with our technical debt, but with little incremental requirements of training time from Mike Keane, since both programmers would start at the same time. The group decided to request the additional hire. A&F Chairman Greg Widin brought this issue to the A&F Committee at its meeting the next day, and based on the above considerations, and a review of the financial implications, A&F approved the addition of the second hire. Both new programmers started today, May 5th. At July's Board meeting, the Board also authorized purchase of consulting services for some specialized needs. Very capable consulting firms were identified by Director Norton and Director Weaver, and non-disclosure agreements have been put in place with them both. Discussions are underway to obtain quotes for the work to be performed. In addition, Vice President Fenstermaker identified an individual with extensive experience in software test, which is an area of need for some other aspects of LoTW work. This person has been contacted, but the tasks will only be required later in the year, so detailed talks on this subject have been held for later. Two additional activities are being undertaken to improve communications with the user community. The LSC has decided to use the Yahoo group ARRL-LOTW as a semi-official support forum. The internal ARRL forums require that all participants be ARRL members, which make them inappropriate to support Logbook, many users of which are not League members, especially of course DX stations. Also, a new Help area has been created on the Logbook site, and will be populated with a variety of help resources that explain how to accomplish common tasks, and that provide this help *outside* of the Logbook login, since getting that login is often a process for which Help is required. We also identified a new type of "Technical Specialist" appointment, which would be a member-volunteer trained and qualified to provide user help on LoTW, via the user group; further discussions with MVP will need to occur before we are able to begin this service. Note that this extends the traditional Section-based Technical Specialist appointment. Also of note is that TQSL 2.0.1 has just been released. This solves many of the problems users have had with certificates, and the support folks at ARRL who answer Logbook help lines are very glad to see this update. The TQSL updates have been well accepted by LoTW users. By its improved user interface and help, TQSL 2 has greatly reduced the problems and frustrations that users have been experiencing. This TQSL activity is planned to continue. 73, Greg Widin, K0GW Logbook Study Committee Chair 2014 A&F Chair Logbook Study Committee members-- Dave Bernstein, AA6YQ Mike Keane, K1MK Rick Niswander, K7GM Dave Patton, NN1N Barry Shelley, N1VXY Greg Widin, K0GW

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[arrl-odv:22668] Roanoke Division Convention
by Kay Craigie 05 May '14

05 May '14

The attachment is my report on my visit to the Roanoke Division Convention last month. 73 - Kay N3KN

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