October 2015 - arrl-odv - reflector.arrl.org

[arrl-odv:23688] Thank You and HNY!
by Brian Mileshosky 02 Jan '17

02 Jan '17

Okay, now I'm bored on the air -- same for a zillion other League members and hams across the world. Fair warning: I'm making a Director's motion in January to create a Centennial QSO Party Anonymous or Points Anonymous service, because lots of people now find themselves staring hopelessly at their now absolutely quiet radios. A huge THANK YOU to everyone -- ODV, staff, volunteers, members, hams -- for an absolute home run on the air this past year. Centennial celebration aside, if there is one thing that I hope everyone who participated in the QSO Party walked away with, it is that they became better and more dedicated radio operators throughout the year. That they used this year-long opportunity to learn more about themselves as an op, learned more about their gear, uncovered station and operating limitations and found ways to resolve them, and rediscovered the magic, fun (God forbid), and camaraderie that is ham radio. One very profound moment today was working a few folks in the QSO Party who I hadn't worked since back in January 1, 2014. Staring at that date in the log, and greeting those hams once again, with literally one year of time padding our last QSO was an in-your-face "this year has absolutely flown by way too fast" epiphany. I hope everyone enjoyed it as much as they could while it lasted. Happy Centennial, and Happy New Year everyone. Be safe this evening and see you in a few weeks. 73, Brian N5ZGT ARRL Director, Rocky Mountain Division

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[arrl-odv:23529] Election results
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 20 Nov '15

20 Nov '15

Ballots were counted today in the Atlantic Division Director and Vice Director and the Great Lakes Division Vice Director elections, with Dakota Division Director Greg Widin, K0GW observing at the offices of Survey & Ballot Systems in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The results are as follows: ATLANTIC DIVISION DIRECTOR Tom Abernethy, W3TOM 1400 Phil Theis, K3TUF 1168 Mr. Abernethy is declared elected. ATLANTIC DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR Scott Bauer, W2LC 470 Bob Famiglio, K3RF 1583 John Mueller, K2BT 503 Mr. Famiglio is declared elected. GREAT LAKES DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR Tom Delaney, W8WTD 822 Steve Putman, N8ZR (SK) 517 Mr. Delaney is declared elected. 73, David Sumner, K1ZZ Secretary on behalf of the ARRL Ethics & Elections Committee

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[arrl-odv:24777] Update from the Strategic Planning Working Group
by k9jf＠arrl.org 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

All: Attached is an update from the Strategic Plan Working Group (SPWG) as of October 30, 2015. We are nearly finished with our deliberations and believe we have a both a substantial and workable Strategic Plan for your review and deliberations. As a side comment, I presented a summary of the planning process during a seminar at Pacificon two weeks ago. It was well received by the 26 attendees. No one left the meeting early! And, I got some good feedback from an attendee who routinely mentors and conducts the Strategic Planning process. As noted in the past, please direct comments or questions to me or the Working Group. We believe you will see the dedication and commitment of the SPWG to our assignment. 73 Jim K9JF James E. Fenstermaker K9JF 2nd Vice President American Radio Relay League (206) 930-9372

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[arrl-odv:24776] RA-15
by Price, Brennan, N4QX 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

The 2015 Radiocommunication Assembly adjourned this afternoon. It was a productive meeting on a number of fronts, and had more relevance for Amateur Radio than a typical RA. Highlights follow. * A helpful new Resolution, directing ITU-R Study Groups to prepare and disseminate educational material regarding regulatory issues pertinent to small satellites, was adopted. I will forward the text once ITU Publications puts it in final form. This begins to address several issues that we have had with small satellites, both amateur satellites and non-amateur satellites that have historically been shoehorned into amateur satellite allocations (there have been some efforts to change that domestically, especially on the federal side). * Substantial changes were made to ITU-R structure and procedures, including a complete restructuring of the rules of procedure for ITU-R Study Groups (adding substantially to the rules' clarity) and the abolition of the Special Committee for Regulatory and Procedural Matters, which was a group that is even more dreadful than it sounds. Most regulatory work is during a WRC preparatory cycle is done in the responsible Study Groups and Working Parties. SCRPM, at best, left that work alone, and at worst dismantled that work to the detriment of issue proponents. Nothing good ever came out of the Special Committee, and it added a week of expense a year if it was addressing something we needed to watch. It deserved to die, and it has died. *New group of Chairmen and Vice Chairmen of ITU Study Groups were elected. Martin Fenton of the United Kingdom is the new Chairman of Study Group 5, which includes all terrestrial services (except broadcasting) and one satellite service--the amateur-satellite service. Candidly, Martin was not our preferred candidate. Canada's Dr. Jose Costa, the chairman of Working Party 5A, was also a candidate. Jose has been a friend to Amateur Radio and frankly chairs a better meeting than Martin, but regional balance considerations tipped the balance in Martin's favor. He will be imminently congratulated by the entire IARU team who is gathering here. I am enjoying my last peaceful weekend until after Thanksgiving. Meetings on 5 MHz begin Monday afternoon, and we have no time to waste. Dave Sumner's analysis of the proposals to WRC indicates that almost half of the ITU member states are in favor of some type of allocation to amateurs here. A substantially lower number, with some big names among them, are opposed. The rest--a larger chunk than those opposed--have expressed no position. Our task is to find an approach that gains enough indifferent countires and flips enough opposing countries to win. There are quiet indications that France and the United States, at least, can be flipped--not at a generous amount, but at an adequate one. To build expectations: next week will likely be busy with little movement. This is typical. Expect no less when I write circa next Friday-Sunday. Enjoy the weekend. I hope to get some time in at 4U0ITU before it becomes 4U0WRC. 73 de Brennan HB9/N4QX Brennan T. Price, N4QX Chief Technology Officer American Radio Relay League PO Box 3470 Oakton VA 22124-9470 Tel +1 860 594-0247

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[arrl-odv:24772] LoTW Queue
by Bob Vallio 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

Anyone else wondering what caused this apparent stop of log processing??? Bob, W6RGG 2015-10-29 20:59:0142215,8642015-10-29 20:58:07 (0d 00h 00m 54s ago)2015-10-29 19:59:012117,9202015-10-29 19:58:39 (0d 00h 00m 22s ago)2015-10-29 18:59:028930404,8662015-10-28 12:49:13 (1d 06h 09m 49s ago)2015-10-29 17:59:01101,633421,3372015-10-28 12:49:13 (1d 05h 09m 48s ago)2015-10-29 16:59:019931406,9112015-10-28 12:49:13 (1d 04h 09m 48s ago)2015-10-29 15:59:0110936411,0842015-10-28 12:49:13 (1d 03h 09m 48s ago)2015-10-29 14:59:014015,2056,356,4052015-10-28 12:49:13 (1d 02h 09m 48s ago)

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[arrl-odv:24774] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 30 Oct '15

30 Oct '15

IN-Newsletter Vol. 40, No. 38 October 28, 2015 - Covers the period October 18-24. Upcoming In-Person Meetings and Events LoTW Study Committee November 13 @ 9:00am - ARRL HQ Administration & Finance Committee November 14 @ 8:30am - ARRL HQ Director/Vice Director Elections November 20 @ 9:00am - ARRL HQ Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD A 60,000-piece direct mail solicitation for the Education & Technology Fund went out in late September. This mailing included a letter over President Craigie's name and a buck slip with a testimonial from a Teacher Institute alumni. To date, this mailing has garnered $52,364 from 556 donors; 81 percent of goal. A second Spectrum Defense Fund direct mail solicitation is scheduled to be in the mail next week. To date, the Defense Fund has raised $174,777 from 1,976 donors; 50 percent of goal. 914 Diamond Club members, either new or renewing, have contributed this year, garnering $228,055 to date, or 68 percent of goal. The ARRL Scholarship Program, began accepting applications on October 1. Nearly 40 applications, together with accompanying transcripts, have come in to date. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY The December 2015 issue of QST is at the printer. The December 1915 issue of QST is being prepared for placement in the QST digital archive. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review Bob Allison finished initial testing of a high end HF/6 meter transceiver. Bob then started testing of a solid state HF/6 meter RF amplifier. Radio Frequency Interference Mike Gruber completed a report on the marketing of Class A Part 18 ballasts at a nearby Walmart and sent it on to Chris Imlay, who will be using it to file another FCC complaint. Mike Gruber sent numerous invitations to potential members to join the Working Group for IEEE P-1897, which will be a Recommended Practice for the Resolution of Power Line Noise Complaints. So far, nine persons have agreed to become members. Mike Gruber, Ed Hare, Barry Shelley, and Steve Zagurski reviewed the options on fixing the noise associated with the fan motors of the HVAC system that has been plaguing W1HQ. Mike Gruber investigated a power line noise complaint in Simsbury. This case had dragged on for about a year and a half. The utility (Eversource) had made five visits to the complaint's home but seemed unable to locate the problems. Using the Lab's equipment, however, I was able to locate two sources within a couple of hours. The ultrasonic pin-pointer was also able to locate the hardware on the pole. The complainant has agreed to keep me posted on developments with his utility. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Steve Capodicasa reported that all of the preorders for the new editions of the Handbook and Antenna Book have been fulfilled. We are pleased to welcome Matthew Brady to the ARRL HQ staff. Matthew joins our Warehouse team as one of the shipping clerks, filling a position vacancy following a recent staff departure. Bob Inderbitzen reported on great results from our exhibit at the Pacific Division Convention, Pacificon, held Oct 16-18 in San Ramon, California. Our triple-wide booth was supported by Board officials and Section Managers. ARRL Lab volunteer Matthias Zapatka, AJ4BB tested more than 100 handheld radios. We generated many hundreds of signed letters supporting the Amateur Radio Parity Act. And, Bob addressed the Pacificon Banquet, sharing an update on some current topics and the value of ARRL membership. There were 122 membership applications returned-including 2 Life Memberships (paid-in-full), and 3 Life Membership pledges. An emailing was produced to help promote the ARRL On-Line Auction. New office work stations have been installed, replacing badly worn desks and some very old office furniture. Special thanks to Greg Kwasowski, Andy Shefrin, Joe Johnsky, Trish Feeney, and Yvette Vinci for all the ways they helped plan for, and complete, this project. Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity, reported by Steve Capodicasa: Week ending Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 10/23/2015 1,042 750 10/16/2015 1,787 696 10/9/2015 1,439 220 10/2/2015 1,078 417 Field Services & Radiosport Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 1 Week Logbook Processing Time 1 Business Day Number of Centennial applications processed: Centennial Challenge QSO 2731 W1AW/WAS 1932 W1AW On Saturday, Joe Carcia hosted Scout Troop 73 from Bolton, CT as part of their Radio Merit Badge qualifications. Since it was also CQ World Wide SSB DX contest weekend, the scouts were able to make a number of QSOs on 15 and 10 meters. They were also active on 17 meters (non-contest QSOs). Scott Gee processed some VUCC applications and certificates. Scott worked on slow and fast code practice files for the week. He also processed some VUCC applications and certificates. Field Organization/Public Service Team Chuck Skolaut compiled and sent the monthly Official Observer summary report to all OOs, OOCs, and Section Managers. Radio amateurs from Michigan and Tennessee completed their requirements to become Official Observers this past week. Several complaints were received regarding language and poor operating practices on 3840 kHz and 3843 kHz. Interference on 2 meters in Alabama was located by using direction finding techniques, and we are awaiting a resolution. A report of interference on 160 meters in the Santa Barbara Section was identified as a 2nd harmonic from a broadcast station. The Santa Barbara Section Manager is following up on this interference. Chuck Skolaut and Steve Ewald served as back-up operators at W1AW to handle code practice for two mornings this past week. The National Weather Service and ARRL are co-sponsoring the SKYWARN Recognition Day on December 5 from 0000 UTC to 2400 UTC. Since 1999, this on-the-air operating event recognizes the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the National Weather Service. During the event, radio amateurs visit National Weather Service offices and set up their stations to contact other radio amateurs across the country and around the world. More information is found at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/hamradio/. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 11/26-11/27 Holiday All Staff 12/25 Holiday Leona Adams 11/25-11/30 PTO Lauren Clarke 11/25 PTO `` 12/24 PTO Mike Corey 11/13-11/15 HamJam, Alpharetta, GA Steve Ewald 11/30-12/8 PTO Steve Ford 10/30 PTO Ed Hare 11/1-11/6 EMC Committee Meeting, Raleigh, NC Dan Henderson 11/23-11/25 PTO Debra Johnson 11/16 PTO `` 11/25 PTO Chuck Skolaut 10/29 PTO Dave Sumner 11/9-11/11 WRC-15 IARU, Geneva `` 11/18 Washington, DC Yvette Vinci 11/2-11/6 PTO

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[arrl-odv:24769] Re: 146.52
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

I hope this will not prolong the discussion of a settled issue, but to provide some historical background to support Marty's observation: The history of this particular rule is that it was first introduced for the June 1982 VHF QSO Party after an ad hoc committee study. It replaced an earlier rule that limited the amount of time a station could use 146.52 MHz, a compromise approach that satisfied no one. It predates the Wilderness Protocol by quite a bit. I vaguely recall an incident around that time in which a local public service activity in New England -- communications for a walkathon, or something like that -- was disrupted because the organizers had made no provision for using anything other than 146.52 MHz simplex and their low power, local communications were overridden by rather distant mountaintop contest stations running a few hundred watts who, in their defense, couldn't hear the little handhelds. There may have been other examples but that's the only one I remember. Dave K1ZZ -----Original Message----- From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Woll, Marty, N6VI Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 4:04 PM To: Pace, Jim, K7CEX; 'arrl-odv' Subject: [arrl-odv:24766] Re: 146.52 Jim, thanks for adding your perspective. I was pushing for the elimination of the '52 ban back when Art Goddard was SWD Director. I was told that the Wilderness Protocol was the primary reason for leaving the prohibition in place, although I believe the origin of the prohibition had nothing to do with WP. I believed then, as I do now, that a lost hiker in the mountains calling on 146.520 would have a much greater chance of being heard by a well located, well equipped contest station than they would under other circumstances. If a contester hears a call for help, I cannot imagine ignoring that call. I believe any contest participant would turn his or her focus to the party in distress and use their better-than-usual radio resources to summon aid. If I were stuck in the woods with just a handheld, I would hope it was on a contest weekend , when I had the best chance of being heard. Having conducted significant multi-op, rover and portable operations over the years, I can tell you that the notion of clogging up an FM frequency with contest activity on 2 meters is a misconception. In all our operations, we monitor whatever FM channel is agreed on - usually 146.55 or 58 around here - and put out an occasional call or two. Even here in RF-dense Southern California, those agreed-on frequencies are not all that busy; it is not chaos. ARRL and CQ VHF contests occupy only a few days a year. I don't think we need to add a bunch of qualifiers to the rules; just rely on customary courtesy and good operating practices. The purpose of recommending removal of the '52 ban was not primarily to increase the scores of existing contesters; it was to allow some real-time "outreach" to non-contesters who would otherwise be unaware of some interesting contact possibilities. 73, Marty N6VI -----Original Message----- From: arrl-odv [mailto:arrl-odv-bounces@reflector.arrl.org] On Behalf Of Northwestern Division Director - Jim K7CEX Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 2015 12:27 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [arrl-odv:24765] 146.52 All: I haven't had too much pushback here, but I thought I should chime in a bit. The NW Division States are quite aware of the 'wilderness protocol' and do use it, when we are out in the boonies (like driving to the grocery store, or the outhouse) hi hi. Like many of you, I monitor 146.52 when traveling and announce myself as I enter a city or even sometimes when just driving the freeway. It is not often that I get any response, but I still make the announcement. I also monitor when I'm hunting or fishing - even though we have pretty good repeater coverage in Western Washington. While I don't see that the contests are going to have much of an impact in most areas of the Country, I would suggest in drafting any subsequent rules dealing with 146.52 or any other 'traditional' calling frequency that we keep a few things in mind. .The simplex channel, 146.52, has always been a quiet watering hole for conversations during active contests. That will be less possible if there are contests using the channel. .Many hams at home and mobile, monitor the radio, usually 146.52, all the time. A weekend of contest chaos blasting from a normally quiet radio will result in those radios being turned off - and possibly not turned back on. .Summits on the Air (SOTA) activity is picking up here and they make good use of 146.52. NPOTA will, I'm sure, get the same sort of use. .Contest folks NEED a calling channel on VHF two meters. That's easy to fix without cluttering 146.52 - there is a lot more of the 2 meter band than 146.52. .Contests need more activity. Ham Radio needs more activity. A different tweak to the operations would, in my opinion, get more folks on the air. We here, way west of the Hudson, have informally established some protocols on 146.52 that have been pretty useful for us. I would ask that some 'reasonable accommodation' to 146.52 and those of us who use it for other than contesting. 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace, K7CEX ARRL the National Association for Amateur Radio Northwestern Division Director

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[arrl-odv:24768] Three more
by Kay Craigie 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

Congresswomen Walters (CA 45), Ellmers (NC 2), and Johnson (TX 30) have become cosponsors, making 111. Please ask members in these districts to phone or e-mail thanks. Rep. Walters' district is in Southern California; her in-district office is in Irvine. 73, Kay N3KN Sent from my iPhone

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[arrl-odv:24765] 146.52
by Northwestern Division Director - Jim K7CEX 29 Oct '15

29 Oct '15

All: I haven't had too much pushback here, but I thought I should chime in a bit. The NW Division States are quite aware of the 'wilderness protocol' and do use it, when we are out in the boonies (like driving to the grocery store, or the outhouse) hi hi. Like many of you, I monitor 146.52 when traveling and announce myself as I enter a city or even sometimes when just driving the freeway. It is not often that I get any response, but I still make the announcement. I also monitor when I'm hunting or fishing - even though we have pretty good repeater coverage in Western Washington. While I don't see that the contests are going to have much of an impact in most areas of the Country, I would suggest in drafting any subsequent rules dealing with 146.52 or any other 'traditional' calling frequency that we keep a few things in mind. .The simplex channel, 146.52, has always been a quiet watering hole for conversations during active contests. That will be less possible if there are contests using the channel. .Many hams at home and mobile, monitor the radio, usually 146.52, all the time. A weekend of contest chaos blasting from a normally quiet radio will result in those radios being turned off - and possibly not turned back on. .Summits on the Air (SOTA) activity is picking up here and they make good use of 146.52. NPOTA will, I'm sure, get the same sort of use. .Contest folks NEED a calling channel on VHF two meters. That's easy to fix without cluttering 146.52 - there is a lot more of the 2 meter band than 146.52. .Contests need more activity. Ham Radio needs more activity. A different tweak to the operations would, in my opinion, get more folks on the air. We here, way west of the Hudson, have informally established some protocols on 146.52 that have been pretty useful for us. I would ask that some 'reasonable accommodation' to 146.52 and those of us who use it for other than contesting. 73 and good Hamming Jim Pace, K7CEX ARRL the National Association for Amateur Radio Northwestern Division Director

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[arrl-odv:24763] 108
by Kay Craigie 28 Oct '15

28 Oct '15

Rep. Kelly of PA-03 is a cosponsor. Chris and Mike visited the office just yesterday. Way to light the fire, guys. W3TOM, please ask members to express thanks. 73, Kay Sent from my iPhone

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