September 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

4 5

[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

4 4

[arrl-odv:24708] Draft agenda for October 3 EC Meeting
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 01 Oct '15

01 Oct '15

Attached is the agenda for this coming Saturday's meeting of the Executive Committee. 73, Dave K1ZZ

5 8

[arrl-odv:24709] Docket 15-99, LF and MF Bands at 2200 and 630 Meters; Reply Comments
by Christopher Imlay 30 Sep '15

30 Sep '15

Greetings. I have just now filed ARRL's Reply Comments, due today, in the above docket proceeding. We replied only to the Utilities Telecom Council (UTC) because that was the only comment that questioned the two new bands or the service rules with respect to either. No comment addressed the ocean buoys at 1900-2000 kHz, so we got off a bit easy here so far. These Reply Comments address each of UTCs (frankly, poorly argued) points. It is not clear whether UTC is saving its ammo for its own reply comments or whether they have effectively given up, but so far the record is entirely favorable to us. Thanks to the Executive Committee for its oversight and thanks especially to President Craigie, Dave Sumner, Ed Hare and Brennan Price for helpful input and edits. 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

2 1

[arrl-odv:24707] IN-News
by Kustosik, Lisa, KA1UFZ 28 Sep '15

28 Sep '15

IN-Newsletter Vol. 40, No. 33 September 23, 2015 - Covers the period September 13-19. Upcoming In-Person Meetings and Events United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) September 28-October 2 - ARRL HQ Executive Committee October 3 @ 8:30am in Bloomington, MN 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 Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY The November 2015 issue of QST is at the printer. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review Bob Allison completed testing of a dual band FM handheld Transceiver, with wide band receive coverage. A data table was compiled and passed along to QST Product Review Editor, Mark Wilson. Bob Allison and Steve Ford produced a video for a November Digital QST Product Review. It should be noted that Bob and Steve have been producing monthly QST Product Review videos since November 2009. Radio Frequency Interference Mike Gruber discussed some longstanding and problematic RFI cases with Chris Imlay. There continues to be a delay in getting parts from Japan to fix the HVAC noise that is bothering W1HQ on 17M and lower frequencies. Electronic Publications Zack Lau was able to get the TravelPlus GPS download for the Garmin working on IE by downgrading IE11 to IE10. Web Zack Lau uploaded the Propagation Forecasts for October-the predicted solar flux is 98. Many people are disappointed with the band conditions-not only is the solar flux lower than previous years, but the geomagnetic conditions have been quite disturbed. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Jackie Ferreira reports that a new ARRL e-publication, Discover Ham Radio, has been published for Kindle, http://amzn.com/B015HSYHKS. The digital booklet, intended as an introduction to Amateur Radio, was written and compiled by Harold Kramer, WJ1B and Ward Silver, N0AX. We are hopeful it will gain traction as a new primer for prospective hams. Now shipping: 2016 ARRL Amateur Radio Calendar-featuring DXers and DXpeditions; http://www.arrl.org/shop/ARRL-Calendar-2016 Yvette Vinci prepared the bulk email notification for the October 2015 digital edition of QST, distributed to ARRL members on Friday, September 11. The distribution list included 121,294 members. Yvette completed "reminder letters" to 441 members making quarterly payments toward Life Membership. And, in September, we processed 36 paid-in-full Life Memberships and 33 Life Membership pledges. Diane Petrilli has organized an ARRL Volunteer Recognition Lunch, to be held in October, to thank our 30+ HQ tour guides and volunteers. The first fall membership campaign was mailed during the week of September 7. The next mailing is scheduled October 9. Bob Inderbitzen gave a presentation to the Section Managers visiting for orientation last week. Materials were produced to support the W4DXCC/SEDCO Convention (Delta Division) and to promote ARRL. 2016 National Convention Planning Orlando HamCation, Feb 12-14, 2016 The National Convention and National Convention Banquet have been given attention throughout the ARRL news outlets. For more info, visit www.arrl.org/expo<http://www.arrl.org/expo> and www.hamcation.com<http://www.hamcation.com>. Hotel and registration information has been shared with the ARRL Board. Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity, reported by Steve Capodicasa: Week ending Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 9/18/2015 612 529 9/11/2015 556 382 9/4/2015 967 657 8/28/2015 788 375 Field Services & Radiosport Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 3 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 2-4 Business Days Number of Centennial applications processed: Centennial Challenge QSO 2548 W1AW/WAS 1824 W1AW On Saturday, September 19, W1AW played host to the ARRL Section Managers who were in attendance during the week of the SM Workshop. Thanks to Steve Ewald for covering the station that day. Thanks to Steve Ewald, Chuck Skolaut, and Dan Wall for covering the early morning shifts at W1AW (for the week) for Joe Carcia, who was working the early afternoon/night shifts for the vacating Scott Gee. Joe Carcia updated the web code practice files and their archives. He worked the early afternoon/night shifts for Scott. He updated the weekly W1AW code practice QST source web page. He began construction of a rebuilt (and repaired) set of 2m/70cm preamplifiers for the W1AW Satellite station. Joe also processed regular QSL card requests. Field Organization/Public Service Team A successful Section Manager Workshop was held this past Friday (18th) through Sunday (20th) at ARRL Headquarters for nineteen Section Managers. The event was coordinated by Steve Ewald and the Field Services and Radiosport Department. Thanks to the entire staff for your support of the Workshop and for helping everyone feel right at home during their visit to Newington. A special thanks go to Sean Kutzko, Ken Bailey, Debra Johnson, Dan Henderson, Bob Inderbitzen, Ed Hare, Norm Fusaro and Steve Ewald for leading Workshop sessions that were related to their areas of expertise. The Section Managers also had a chance to operate from W1AW on Saturday afternoon. Here is a list of the Section Managers who attended this year's Workshop: Bill Duveneck, KB3KYH (Delaware), Joe Ames, W3JY (Eastern Pennsylvania), Marty Pittinger, KB3MXM (Maryland/DC), Skip Arey, N2EI (Southern New Jersey), Laura Mueller, N2LJM (Western New York), Tim Duffy, K3LR (Western Pennsylvania), Jim Molan, KD5IGG (Louisiana), Alan Morgan, KY1O (Kentucky), Scott Yonally, N8SY (Ohio), Bill Crowley, K1NIT (Maine), Everett Curry, W6ABM (Oregon), Carol Milazzo, KP4MD (Sacramento Valley), Karl Bowman, W4CHX (North Carolina), Phillip Groves, N8SFO (West Virginia), Jack Mitchell, N7MJ (Wyoming), Steve Szabo, WB4OMM (Northern Florida), Jeff Beals, WA4AW (Southern Florida), Darrell Davis, KT4WX (West Central Florida), Nancy McCain, K5NLM (North Texas). Leona Adams worked on preparations for the Santa Barbara Section Manager election that has Jim Fortney, K6IYK, running against incumbent Santa Barbara Section Manager Robert Griffin, K6YR. Candidate statements and ballots were produced and sent to the local printer. 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 Bob Allison 10/18 Connecticut State Convention, Meriden, CT Steve Capodicasa 9/21-9/25 PTO Lauren Clarke 11/25 PTO `` 12/24 PTO Mike Corey 11/13-11/15 HamJam, Alpharetta, GA Steve Ewald 9/25 PTO Steve Ford 10/16-10/18 AMSAT Symposium, Dayton, OH Jennifer Glifort 9/28-10/2 PTO Mike Gruber 9/28-10/2 PTO `` 10/16 NEAR-Fest, NH Dan Henderson 10/8-10/18 RSGB Convention, Milton Keynes, UK / PTO Bob Inderbitzen 10/16-10/18 Pacific Division Convention, San Ramon, CA Harold Kramer 10/1-10/2 PTO `` 10/13-10/15 PTO Zack Lau 10/13 Jury Duty Brennan Price 10/16-10/18 Microwave Update, San Diego, CA Barry Shelley 10/1-10/2 PTO Dave Sumner 10/2 Executive Committee Meeting, Bloomington, MN `` 10/5-10/19 IARU Reg.3 Conference/AC Meeting, Indonesia

1 0

[arrl-odv:24706] Perry Williams, W1UED, SK
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 27 Sep '15

27 Sep '15

Retired ARRL staffer Perry Williams, W1UED, died Friday at the age of 86. Perry's long service to the ARRL included several years as Washington Area Coordinator, and he served for a time as ARRL Secretary. His career deserves more elaboration than I can do today but will do so early in the week. Perry's family will schedule a memorial service for when they can all be in New England. Dave Sumner, K1ZZ

1 0

[arrl-odv:24703] SSC Banners
by Kramer, Harold, WJ1B 26 Sep '15

26 Sep '15

Hi, Yvette Vinci has informed me that 140 Special Service Club Banners will be shipped out to all existing SSCs today. This fulfills the initial requirements of Motion PSC-2 that was approved at the July Board Meeting. In the future, a banner will be included with the SSC certificate that is sent to each new Special Service Club. 73, Harold Harold Kramer, WJ1B Chief Operating Officer ARRL - The national association for Amateur Radio(r) 225 Main Street Newington CT 06111-1494 Telephone: 860-594-0220 Fax: 860-594-0259 email: hkramer(a)arrl.org<mailto:hkramer@arrl.org>

2 1

[arrl-odv:24704] WRC-15 developments
by Price, Brennan, N4QX 25 Sep '15

25 Sep '15

As regional organization preparations for WRC-15 have come to an end, it is timely to report on the state of play for Amateur Radio issues headed into the Conference. I feel somewhat better about the prospects for a secondary allocation to the amateur service around 5 MHz than I did when I reported to the Board for the July meeting, but the news is not universally good, and a positive outcome is still far from certain. I'll start with bad but not unexpected news. I expect that in the coming days, the United States will formally propose that WRC-15 make no change in response to agenda item 1.4, considering a secondary allocation to the amateur service near 5 MHz. Jon Siverling and I were told in March that the United States would support, at most, an allocation of 25 kHz to the amateur service, and that support was conditioned upon CITEL, the regional organization for the Americas, modifying a previously adopted Inter-American Proposal (IAP) for a 175 kHz allocation. Efforts by the United States and Canada to modify the IAP accordingly were not successful, and this is the result. When the United States proposal is actually made, we will have to express disappointment in a manner that does not scuttle the possibility that the United States will support an allocation of 25 kHz or less if the proceedings at WRC-15 move in that direction. For reasons I will discuss below, we have reason to believe that proceedings will (and indeed must) move in this direction. IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad has been assured by the United States head of delegation that the United States will drop its resistance if discussions at WRC begin to indicate an allocation of 25 kHz or less. There is substantially better news from the final round of regional organization meetings, which ended with the CEPT Conference Preparatory Group meeting in Bergen, Norway, last week. Four out of the six regional bodies are supporting some kind of affirmative outcome for agenda item 1.4. Two of these regions, CITEL and CEPT, are supporting an allocation of 100 kHz or more. Regional support is gained by processes that vary widely among the regions. As a general rule, unanimity is not required, only support that substantially outweighs any opposition. The details of these proposals and a description of who supports what are in the attached working document, which was first drafted by Dave Sumner and is being updated as events warrant by several people, including me. The good news that four out of six regional organizations are supporting us is tempered substantially by the countries that are either not supporting their regions' proposals (Canada, UK) or are formally, or even actively, opposing us (United States, France, Germany, and Russia). These six countries are ITU powerhouses, and substantial work remains to overcome their resistance. We probably need to flip some of them in order to be successful, and they are not likely to be flipped at the 100 kHz price point. Former RSGB President Colin Thomas, G3PSM, points out that at a WRC, "Anything can happen, and usually does." We've built a great deal of support, and the attachment reflects this, but the outcome of WRC-15 is likely to be a synthesis of the proposals that have been made. I am cautiously optimistic for an allocation in the 15-30 kHz range, but we still have a lot of work to do to achieve that goal. We will work at it until we're successful or until time runs out. The WRC-15 agenda items on which we are playing defense are going about as well as we can expect. A great deal of attention must be paid to the development of the WRC-19 agenda, which may include a worldwide harmonization attempt at 160 and 6 meters (good) and an attempt to introduce smartphones or other mobile broadband applications at 10 GHz (bad). The agenda for the next WRC is generally among the last things decided at the conference, and we likely won't know our opportunities and risks for the next four years--or the resources necessary to respond to them--until Thanksgiving. Until then, expect continued updates. 73 de Brennan N4QX Brennan T. Price, N4QX Chief Technology Officer American Radio Relay League PO Box 3470 Oakton VA 22124-9470 Tel +1 860 594-0247

1 0

[arrl-odv:24702] 2 more
by Kay Craigie 25 Sep '15

25 Sep '15

With these two added this morning there are 99 co-sponsors plus Mr. Kinzinger bring the total to 100… Rep Noem, Kristi L. [SD] - 9/24/2015 Rep Larson, John B. [CT-1] - 9/24/2015 I know that many of you have been working hard at hamfests and conventions to get letters generated, and that's excellent. Please keep it up. Dan says over 2700 letters are being sent to TKG today for distribution. Marty Woll has been taking along pre-printed thank-you letters for signing by members whose Congressmen are already on the bill. That's good strategy and especially important now that we have learned that the opposition is reaching out to cosponsors with their pack of lies. Encouraging members to write, phone, and/or e-mail their appreciation to cosponsors will help them stay firm on our side. Please do that now. I'll be contacting my own Congressman today. 73, Kay N3KN Sent from my iPhone

1 0

[arrl-odv:24699] Clarity on Parity
by Sumner, Dave, K1ZZ 24 Sep '15

24 Sep '15

I devoted the November QST editorial to the Amateur Radio Parity Act and a rebuttal (without mentioning the organization by name) of CAI's specious claims. At Kay's request we are also preparing a short video making essentially the same points, but suitable for use on the Hill. 73, Dave K1ZZ

3 2