<<121207.doc>>
IN-Newsletter
Vol. 30, No. 50
December 12, 2007 -- Covers the period December 2-8.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Administration &Finance Committee
January 17 in Houston, TX
Programs & Services Committee
January 17 in Houston, TX
Annual Board Meeting
January 18-19, 2008 in Houston, TX
Regulatory Information
Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND
On the PAVE PAWS front, we continue to work with one of the newly identified New England repeaters to help them achieve the required mitigation level. While waiting for the updated list from California, a conference call was held with Riley Hollingsworth at the FCC and Chris Imlay to discuss the role of the ARRL when the new list is received and what assistance we can provide to the FCC as they become more involved with the process. We are also still waiting for the December teleconference to be scheduled.
Several proposals for changes to the Field Day rules were discussed and a summary of them was sent for consideration by the P&SC members during this upcoming meeting. Several updates to the website were sent regarding changes in reciprocal/foreign licensing as well as some update of links for a couple of non-ARRL sites to which we link (Thanks Web guys!) We also worked with Chris Imlay on revisions to the FCC letter on the question on interpretation and coordination of new digital systems such as D-Star (an ongoing process to come up with a good, workable resolution to the “D-Star repeater” question which has been ongoing for quite some time. Finally, we continued to work with MVP Manager Dave Patton with training for the new Contest Manager (and for handling a series of problems cropping up with the robot and databases).
Media & Public Relations
Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP
The past week has been one of the busiest and most productive PR weeks since the Katrina events due to the work of Amateur Radio operators in the Oregon region. Positive media hits were in the newspapers, TV, radio and on the web. Even computer magazines got involved in praising the hams’ work. Steve Sanders, KE7JSS, was the prime PIO in the region and did an outstanding job along with others who made it all work. Bonnie Altus, the SM, had implemented the idea of linking PIOs to ARES as have been “preaching” for a while and the event has proven the effectiveness of that strategy.
Meanwhile, there are nine nominations for the Bill Leonard award at this time and voting materials will be sent to the PRC on Dec 12.
Allen will leave for the FEMA / DHS classes in Emmittsburgh, MD this weekend and not be back until after Christmas.
Development
Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH
The Spectrum Defense Campaign is crawling along toward its goal. Thanks to Khrystyne Keane for posting a short piece on the web in an effort to boost response toward the end of the year. Currently, revenues stand at $207,185 which brings the year-to-date revenues to $361,152, approximately $96,000 short of the 2007 goal.
First returns totaling $465 are in for the small Year End campaign which is planned to bring in $52,500 by December 31.
As part of donor cultivation and stewardship, reports on the 2007 Teachers Institutes have been mailed to the six donors who make significant contributions to that program. In addition, reports were sent to 10 smaller donors and key prospects as cultivation for the planned expansion of the Teachers Institutes in 2008. Full solicitations will go to all 16 donors after the first of the year.
We are investigating a grant opportunity for PR that came to Development from Cyber Alert, Inc.
The 2008 CFC Application is in preparation and will be submitted prior to the due date of January 15, 2008.
Production/Editorial
Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE
The January/February issue of NCJ has been released to the printer, as have updates for the second printing of the 4th edition of Low Band DXing
Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 48, for December 7, 2007. It went out to 65,384 subscribers. She also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for December 7.
Joel Hallas is in the process of preparing material for the March issue of QST.
Steve Sant Andrea prepared several columns for publication in February QST and several articles for the ARRL Web Extra.
Joel Kleinman prepared the November 2007 “ARRL in Action” column for the Web.
Sales and Marketing
Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R
Membership Update
November saw our membership grow by 201 bringing our month end number to 152,783. And, with a 60,000 piece membership mailing reaching mailboxes now, it is our hope that we’ll end the year close to 153,000 members (year-end 2006 was 148,641).
A direct mailing for TravelPlus should mail in the next couple of days.
A holiday shipping schedule is posted at http://www.arrl.org/catalog/shipping.html. The Warehouse crew fulfilled 784 packages for publication and product orders, shipped 204 free book membership premiums, and 2 December QST mailing supplements.
There are some new faces (and voices) in the lobby! Penny has helped train the customer service team to operate the switchboard and front-desk responsibilities—helping cover her breaks and other periods.
We appear to be the victim of our own success. Earlier this fall, we introduced the third edition of our "Low Power Communication" book, written by Rich Arland, W3OSS. This new edition includes the complete assembly manual for a 40 meter transceiver kit produced by MFJ Enterprises. As reported in early November, we are still accumulating orders for the kit—but MFJ has been behind in meeting our demand for them. Admittedly, MFJ had predicted a much smaller demand for the product. The good news is that kits have started to arrive at ARRL, and we hope to have all backorders filled before the end of the month. Bob is in regular contact with our representatives at MFJ and MFJ President Martin Jue. We regret any inconvenience with order delays.
We sent out an email survey about the Repeater Directory. As we have in the past, we used Zoomerang survey software. We sent the survey to about 1,000 previous purchasers of the Repeater Directory. The survey had about ten questions about the Directory and what features we should include and how the information should be presented.
Our new custom award program is now LIVE. This new product line emerged from planning by the Future Revenue Committee of the Board. The custom awards are available for clubs, groups and individuals for recognition and achievement. The program includes a selection of awards in a range of styles and price levels. Each award includes the ARRL logo and additional customization such as name, call sign, club, event name, occasion, etc. Orders can be placed online with Barker Specialty Company--our official partner for ARRL logo merchandise. Visit www.barkerstores.com/arrl to browse the new items: a leather keychain, wood pen and pencil set, wooden plaque, clock, and crystal globe. All of these items make great awards or gifts. The items can also be paired with other ARRL merchandise such as embroidered shirts, jackets and hats.
Membership & Volunteer Programs
Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N
Contest Branch
Here are the current email logs received totals:
Contest Name Logs Received
SS CW 1,180
SS Phone 1,336
160 Meter 865
10 Meter 576
SS CW logs were due by December 5. All other contests listed above still have open submission windows.
Conditions for the 10M contest were terrible. Preliminary repots show TX had better openings than the rest of the US, as usual. This is a relative term, given the performance of 10 meters at the bottom of the sunspot cycle.
Dave Patton NN1N has lined up a few data entry volunteers in the Contest community, to manually enter QSO data for the paper logs received. These logs will be converted to digital logs and sent through the contest robot, putting those logs under the same level of scrutiny as all email logs.
Plates for the 2007 ARRL DX Contests have arrived from Barker. We’ll get those out the door soon.
W1AW
Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also created the texts for the December W1AW Qualifying Runs. Joe also reorganized the “Digital” station (located in the main area) with a shelf he built to house the various pieces of equipment.
Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the early part of the month of December. He also edited 125 cards for DXCC applications.
Field Organization/Public Service Team
ARES teams in Oregon and Western Washington were very this past week in providing emergency communication assistance during and after the fierce storm that hit the northwestern United States. HQ staff members Dennis Dura, Steve Ewald, Allen Pitts and Khrystyne Keane kept in touch with the Section Leaders and others in the storm stricken areas and gathered news reports. Steve also received several initial reports from participants in the annual SKYWARN Recognition Day that was held December 1. The event was co-sponsored by ARRL and the National Weather Service.
Steve Early, AD6VI, has been nominated to run for San Diego Section Manager. Leona Adams notes that there will be an election this winter season in the San Diego Section. Pat Bunsold, WA6MHZ, a former SM, has already submitted his nomination to run for the office.
Chuck Skolaut compiled and forwarded the monthly ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch report to the IARU Region 2 Coordinator. A beacon like signal was reported on 3534 kHz, and it’s being checked out by our monitors. Intermittent bouts of music and other recordings have been reported on 14270 kHz. A long standing problem of hum on a 2 meter station was resolved as the result of follow up of an advisory sent by a Nebraska Official Observer. Chuck received an interesting phone call this past week from a radio amateur that was traveling through Nashville, Tennessee. The ham said that he was hearing Morse code on 530 kHz on his AM radio. After listening to the beacon, it was determined to be the LYQ non-directional beacon located in Manchester, Tennessee, and operating on 529 KHz. It is associated with station WWRB, and their website indicates the radio station wills QSL reception reports of the beacon.
Sincerely Compiled by,
Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ
Assistant to the CEO
Staff Absentee List
All Staff 12/24-12/25 Holiday
12/31-1/1 Holiday
Kathy Allison 1/14 Vacation
Jackie Cornell 12/26 Vacation
Steve Ford 12/11 Vacation
`` 12/22-1/2 Vacation
Scott Gee 12/10-12/12 Vacation
`` 12/26 Vacation
Joel Hallas 12/26-12/28 Vacation
Dan Henderson 12/20-1/7 Vacation
Amy Hurtado 12/14-12/19 Vacation
`` 12/26-12/28 Vacation
Gail Iannone 12/19-1/4 Vacation
Bob Inderbitzen 12/26-12/28 Vacation
Lisa Kustosik 12/19 Vacation
Zack Lau 12/21 Vacation
Bill Moore 12/26-12/31 Vacation
Dave Patton 12/26-12/28 Vacation
Allen Pitts 12/16-12/22 FEMA PR Training, Emmitsburg, MD
Dave Sumner 12/12 Vacation
`` 12/15-12/19am Meeting w/Minister of Communications, Sarajevo
Sharon Taratula 12/21 Vacation
Mike Tracy 12/26 Vacation