July 2014 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:22921] 18 - Amateur Radio Legal Defense & Assistance Committee Report - July 2014 ARRL Board Meeting
by Cliff Ahrens 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Document # 18, the report of the Amateur Radio Legal Defense & Assistance Committee for the Second 2014 Board Meeting is attached in Word and PDF format. If you have any questions or need more information, feel free to contact Chris Imlay or me either before or during the Board meeting. See you in two weeks. 73, Cliff K0CA

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[arrl-odv:22919] Motions to Elect K0BJ Honorary Vice President
by Cliff Ahrens 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

This is a follow up to my earlier email concerning my nomination of Bruce Frahm K0BJ for election to Honorary Vice President at our July board meeting. Thanks to everyone who has expressed your support for this nomination. Attached are Word and PDF files containing two companion motions. Motion #1 is to waive the provision of Standing Order 69 for election of Honorary Vice Presidents at the Annual meeting. Motion #2 is the nomination of Bruce for HVP. And thanks to Brian Mileshosky and Dick Isely for agreeing to second these motions. I previously sent to you a biographical summary which goes into more detail about Bruce's service to ARRL and Amateur Radio. If any of you have any questions or need further information, please let me know either before or at the Board meeting. I would appreciate your continued support for this effort. Thanks and see you soon. 73, Cliff K0CA

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[arrl-odv:22918] Director's Motion: Emailing Division
by Doug Rehman 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

Motion Emails generated by Division Directors to their entire Division or a subset thereof will be automatically and immediately sent without being held for approval. *********************** The cost of implementation is negligible, requiring only the removal of a small amount of code—a few minutes work. Directors that desire to have an email reviewed can send the email text to the appropriate staff member for review before sending it out (no additional cost from current system). As an alternative, an option could be created for each director to select their preference (direct or approved), but this would increase the IT time required for implementation to several hours. Doug K4AC

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[arrl-odv:22917] Director's Motion: Election Notifications
by Doug Rehman 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

Motion The “Mass Communications at League Expense” section of the ARRL Rules & Regulations is modified by appending the following: A Director may send out an email announcing a Section Manager election within their Division after the candidates have been determined by Headquarters. The Director may send out an email notifying members in the affected Section(s) that they should have received their ballots, how to request a replacement ballot if they have not, and the deadline for the receipt of ballots at Headquarters. Should a Director choose not to send out this email, Headquarters will send such an email to the members in the affected Section(s) three weeks after the ballots were placed into the mail. All such emails shall be neutral and the only information about the candidates will be their names and callsigns. In elections for Division Director that are conducted utilizing electronic balloting, a postcard will be mailed to members receiving electronic ballots in the affected Division(s) stating that they should have received an email with voting instructions, how to request a replacement email or paper ballot if they have not, and the voting deadlines. Headquarters will send the postcards to the members in the affected Division(s) three weeks after the ballots were placed into the mail. In elections for Division Director that are conducted utilizing paper ballots, or where members receive a paper ballot in an otherwise electronic election, Headquarters will send out an email notifying members in the affected Division(s) receiving paper ballots that they should have received their ballots, how to request a replacement ballot if they have not, and the deadline for the receipt of ballots at Headquarters. The email will be sent three weeks after the ballots were placed into the mail. ***************************** The estimated cost for notification in Section Manager elections and paper ballot Director elections is negligible as existing facilities will be utilized and the additional staff time required is minimal. The average cost for postcard notification in an electronic Division Director election is estimated at $5,500 (Based on average Division size of 11,000 members and a printing/postage cost of $0.50 per postcard). The smallest Division would cost $1,726 and the largest would cost $7,670.50 Doug K4AC

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[arrl-odv:22907] HR 4969
by Doug Rehman 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

I have received an interesting email from a member in the Southeastern Division that is also a volunteer counsel. He raises an interesting question that the Board needs to have a good, unified answer to—a FAQ similar to the RM-11708 one on the website might be in order. Rather than attempt to paraphrase, here’s the pertinent part of his email: “Second, I am concerned about federal legislation that wholesale invalidates private contracts. The federalism concerns which prompted the FCC to avoid interfering with CC&Rs in the first instance continue to exist even with Congressional fact-finding or action. It seems to me that if a ham moves to a development with CC&Rs, that is on him or her to exercise due diligence to understand the restrictions imposed, how they work and how they can be enforced. Despite our public service, I struggle with what makes us think we are special and should not be bound by private contracts that we voluntarily enter into.” What is the Board response, especially in view of that being a question that is likely to be asked by legislators and by opponents such as HOAs? Doug K4AC

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[arrl-odv:22901] Director's Motion: Data Gathering
by Doug Rehman 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

The existing means for collecting information on public service and emergency communications events is for the EC to submit it to the SEC and the SEC includes it in their monthly report to HQ. The problem is that many ECs don’t report activity and many SECs don’t submit monthly reports to HQ. Further complicating the situation is that when such activity is reported, there is no standard format that allows for the easy extraction of data. Reporting via a web form on arrl.org would make the process simple, uniform, and efficient. Information gathered can then be used for the periodic Report to America updates and ongoing ARRL lobbying efforts. I will be making this motion at the July Board meeting. As with any other motion I have/will send out, please feel free to offer any tweaks that you believe would make it a better motion. If there is interest, I can schedule one or more GoToMeeting sessions between now and the Board meeting to discuss this or any other motions. Thanks & 73, Doug K4AC Motion WHEREAS the central gathering of information on amateur radio activities involving public service or emergency communications is vitally important for the League to be able to educate and inform the public of our contributions; and WHEREAS the central gathering of information concerning the financial impact of amateur radio events such as hamfests and conventions is needed to be able to educate and inform elected officials and other government officials; THEREFORE the ARRL Board of Directors directs Headquarters Staff to work with the Public Relations Committee (PRC) to design and implement a web based reporting form to gather information on public service and emergency communications events where amateur radio operators performed services and amateur radio events such as hamfests and conventions. Information submitted via the form will be available to any Headquarters Staff needing it, the PRC members, the Section Manager(s) for the reported events, and the Board. The reporting system should be implemented as quickly as possible, but not later than January 1, 2015.

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[arrl-odv:22913] H.R. 4969 is out.
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

Credit for first spotting this goes to Chris, but he is in transit to meetings so I’m distributing it. Dave K1ZZ

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[arrl-odv:22906] Director's Motion: IT Strategic Planning Committee
by Doug Rehman 01 Jul '14

01 Jul '14

This is a motion I will be making at the July Board meeting that will create an elected committee to take a look at our current IT operations to determine ways to maximize efficiency and delivery of services. The idea of the committee is not to manage or micromanage the IT operations, but to gain a clear understanding of the current operations/obligations and determine how to best serve the membership of the League now and in the future. As with any other motion I have/will send out, please feel free to offer any tweaks that you believe would make it a better motion. If there is interest, I can schedule one or more GoToMeeting sessions between now and the Board meeting to discuss this or any other motions. Thanks & 73, Doug K4AC Motion The ARRL Board of Directors shall establish an Information Technology Strategic Planning Committee consisting of three (3) members having a current background in Information Technology that are elected by the voting members of the ARRL Board of Directors. At least one member will be a Director and the remaining members will be Directors and Vice Directors. Any committee vacancies will be filled at an election by the voting members of the ARRL Board within 30 days of the vacancy. If said election is not done at a board meeting, the Executive Committee shall authorize a special board election. The committee shall select one of the Directors on the committee as chairman, shall begin its work as soon as practical, and report monthly to the ARRL Board. Committee deliberations and votes may occur independent of the times established for meetings of the Board of Directors or its standing committees. The committee shall conduct its work, to the greatest extent feasible using electronic means. In-person meetings are to be held only if the need for one overrides the cost consideration of the meeting. In-person meetings may be held in a manner that minimizes extra expense, such as in conjunction with meetings of the ARRL Board of Directors, or standing board committee meetings at which one or more members of the committee would otherwise attend. DUTIES The committee will examine the existing Information Technology operations. Using the information obtained, the committee will create a strategic plan that maximizes the IT services provided to League members and Headquarters staff, both currently and in the future. The committee, with the assistance of staff, will create a list of all outstanding IT projects, together with their current status and any related issues, and present the list to the Board with a suggested prioritization. Findings of the committee, along with recommendations for changes will be presented to the Board and the CEO as they are determined. COST Expenses incurred performing committee tasks are directly related to the responsibilities of the Board of Directors and shall be charged to the ARRL governance account. Committee expenses may include: necessary travel and lodging expenses for committee members as required. Estimated cost to complete these tasks is $7000 to $20,000. Any additional expenses will require approval by the ARRL board before they are incurred.

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[arrl-odv:22899] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 01 Jul '14

01 Jul '14

IN-Newsletter Vol. 38, No. 20 June 25, 2014 - Covers the period June 15-21. Upcoming Meetings and Events Centennial Convention Steering Committee Meeting July 1 @ 3:30pm in Newington, CT Centennial Convention July 17-20 in Hartford / Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee July 20 @ 8:30am in Hartford, CT Programs & Services Committee July 20 @ 8:30am in Hartford, CT Second Board Meeting July 21-22, 2014 @ 9:00am in Hartford, CT Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review Bob Allison has been working with a manufacturer of an HF RF amplifier that has a number of unexpected issues. With Bob's detective work, much important data and observations were passed along to the manufacturer, which was greatly appreciated. Modifications are being made and firmware will be updated to handle the changes, thus improving the product. The Lab's screen room test equipment has been removed for their yearly calibration by Essco Laboratories, in Chelmsford, MA. While away, new equipment racks and hardware will be installed in the screen room to accommodate the Lab's new spectrum analyzer and phase noise test set. Other existing racks will be repurposed; one will contain Rohde and Schwarz test equipment, on wheels, that can be used at any test bench in the Lab. Historical Collection Bob Allison brought some of his collection which will be used for the lobby display during the Centennial. Some items have been in storage for 20 years and will need a little cleaning, which the Lab's volunteers enjoy thoroughly. Radio Frequency Interference Mike Gruber investigated an RFI complaint in Wethersfield with the assistance of Lab volunteers Keiko Kaplan and Pete Turbide. Although we were unable to determine the exact source of the problem, we have it narrowed down considerably. The complainant, Roger, K1PAI lives close enough that a follow-up visit is relatively easy to plan. Web Zack Lau put up the propagation forecasts for July. The predicted solar flux is a very high 144. He also updated the "Your First Antenna" page, removing an old feedline article and replacing it with a simple 2M vertically polarized Yagi construction project. Centennial Celebration The ARRL Laboratory and workshop continues to take shape for our Centennial celebration. The workshop area has been extensively cleaned and arranged for it to once again be useful for construction of projects. All obsolete equipment and parts have been removed, all useful parts are now stored in what was once the circuit board etching room. Lab Volunteers Bob Allison has been working with volunteers Keiko Kaplan, KB1PFF and Pete Turbide, W1PT to get the Lab in shape for the Centennial. Keiko and Pete boxed up a lot of the old Lab's obsolete surplus parts and gadgets, removing them from the Lab's machine shop. A lot of the Lab's surplus will be sold at the Lab's flea market table at the Hartford Convention Center. Pete and Keiko also skillfully evaluated and at times, repaired obsolete Amateur radio equipment. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Field Organization/Public Service Team Leona Adams completed preparations for the Southern Florida Section Manager election between Jeff Beals, WA4AW, and Tom Gallagher, NY2RF. Candidate statements and ballots were sent off to the local printer at the end of the week. She has been coordinating the upcoming mailing of the ballots with our Mailroom Staff. The ballots are scheduled to be mailed from Headquarter by or before July 1. Leona and Steve Ewald have also been working with the new, incoming Section Managers who are starting their terms of office on July 1. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 7/4 Holiday Leona Adams 6/30-7/3 PTO Bob Allison 7/2-7/3 PTO `` 8/11-8/14 PTO Allison Barbieri 8/25 PTO Steve Capodicasa 9/22-9/26 PTO Joe Carcia 6/26 PTO `` 6/30-7/7 PTO `` 7/25 PTO Lauren Clarke 8/16-8/17 Southeastern Division Convention, Huntsville, AL Mike Corey 8/8-8/10 Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Albuquerque, NM Steve Ford 7/3 PTO `` 7/22-8/4 PTO Mike Gruber 6/27 PTO `` 8/25-8/29 PTO Dan Henderson 6/25-7/3 Friedrichshafen Hamfest / PTO `` 8/1-8/2 Texas State Convention, Austin, TX `` 8/12-8/21 GAREC/Southeastern Division Convention, Huntsville, AL/PTO Bob Inderbitzen 8/16-8/17 Southeastern Division Convention, Huntsville, AL Zack Lau 6/27-6/30 PTO

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