<<022713.doc>>
IN-Newsletter
Vol. 36, No. 9
February 27, 2013 -- Covers the period February 17-23.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Executive Committee:
March 9 @ 8:30am – Irving, TX
Administration & Finance Committee
April 13 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT
Regulatory Information
Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND
Since the last report, the RIB manager prepared for and participated in the very successful Yuma Hamfest – Arizona Section convention. Over 70 persons attended each of the forums. The RIB manager also participated in the ARRL forum conducted by Director Dick Norton, N6AA.
A teleconference was held with ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, and Tom Yeh, who is the attorney for John Bush, KH6DLK, on Mr. Bush’s ongoing antenna dispute with his HOA. This dispute has also included local authorities on the island of Hawaii. Copies of pertinent documents to assist Mr. Yeh in preparing his briefs were provided. Mr. Imlay and I also continue working with Myles Landstein of Hyde Park, NY and his attorney on their case with the town over the denial of a permit and bill for consulting fees from the town.
Since it is the start of many state legislative sessions, we are trying to keep abreast of possible state laws that might affect amateur radio operation. While we receive a summary from Chwat & Co, we still rely heavily on the work and information provided by the various State Government Liaisons. We have begun work on a “Legislative Update” newsletter, with the goal to sending the first 2013 edition to subscribed members during March.
Member queries during the last two weeks have included questions about old legislation (such as the Sheila Jackson-Lee bill from the 112th Congress). That portion of the ARRL website has been updated to remove information from the 112th Congress and to set the stage for whatever legislative activities come to the forefront in the 113th Congress. We also are receiving a few queries about the timeframe for FCC action on Docket No. 12-283.
Development
Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD
Development is pleased to announce that Walton Stinson, WØCP is Maxim Society member #123.
An eblast solicitation for the Spectrum Defense Fund was sent out on Friday to 51,629 members. To date, Development has received more than $3,000 in contributions.
Save the Date notices will be mailed to donors invited to the Annual Donor Reception in Dayton on May 16, 2013.
Renewal notices were mailed to 93 Diamond Club members.
The Second Century Campaign Committee proposed a public goal for the campaign during a February conference call. The committee’s recommendation is under consideration by the A & F Committee, the Executive Committee and the full ARRL Board of Directors.
Lead letters with full informational packets have been sent to 25 prospects identified by ARRL and WRTC2014.
Production/Editorial
Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY
On February 23, Joel Hallas provided a presentation on stealthy antenna solutions and a stand-up “The Doctor is In” session, and hosted a seminar on effective storage battery capacity and applications at the Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont convention.
Lab
Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI
Product Review
Bob Allison completed testing of a dual band FM mobile transceiver. A data table was compiled and passed along to the editors. Bob also started testing a high power manual antenna tuner.
Radio Frequency Interference
Mike Gruber and Bob Allison tested LED light bulbs in an actual Amateur Radio Station to determine if the emissions from this type of lamp causes radio interference to the two proposed Amateur Radio bands of 136-138 and 472-479 kHz. The data gathered will be used for an upcoming QST article penned by Mike.
Mike finished writing the light bulb RFI article and sent it off to Joel Hallas.
Sales and Marketing
Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R
Warehouse Supervisor Steve Capodicasa has welcomed a new shipping clerk to the warehouse team, filling a recent position vacancy. Ian Humphreys of Rocky Hill started work at the warehouse this week.
A membership campaign is being readied for March.
The marketing team is working on preparations for ARRL’s exhibits and activities for 2013 Dayton Hamvention.
Summary of Sales and Marketing Department telephone group (reported by Amy Hurtado):
Week of Phone calls Per hour Average wait Complete without transfer
2/18/2013 921 25.6 42 seconds 79%
Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity (reported by Steve Capodicasa):
Week of Packages fulfilled Member Premiums
2/18/2013 913 359
Membership & Volunteer Programs
Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N
DXCC
Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 5 Weeks
W1AW
Joe worked the early afternoon/night shifts on Tuesday and Wednesday for the vacationing Scott Gee. He updated the web code practice files and the text source web pages. Joe also made a quick repair to the Icom IC-PW1 amplifier used for 160-meter W1AW broadcasts. He also tracked down an issue with hum on the digital transmissions and made a repair to the audio distribution panel used for the digital broadcasts. Joe worked with the author of the multimode soundcard program fldigi – fldigi is used for W1AW’s digital broadcasts – to tweak the macros used for the various modes. He also met with another masonry contractor on Friday for the process of obtaining quotes to point W1AW’s.
Field Organization/Public Service Team
Montana will be getting a new Section Manager in April. Election ballots were counted on Tuesday, February 19, and George Forsyth, AA7GS, of Great Falls, received more votes than incumbent Section Manager Doug Dunn, K7YD. Doug, of Livingston, will now be completing his tenth year as the Montana Section Manager when his term concludes at the end of March. Thanks to Leona Adams, Gail Iannone, Chuck Skolaut and Steve Ewald for helping with the Section Manager election ballot counting and related activities.
Arizona will be getting a new Section Manager starting on April 1. Robert Spencer, KE8DM, of Yuma, was the only candidate who was nominated to run for the new term of office. He will be taking over from Tom Fagan, K7DF, who has been Section Manager since 2005. Tom decided not to run for another term of office.
In Iowa, Robert McCaffrey, K0CY, of Boone, will become the new Section Manager on April 1. He was the only candidate nominated to run for the office in Iowa. He will succeed Tom Brehmer, N0LOH, of Muscatine, who decided not to run for another term of office. Tom has been Section Manager since 2009.
The following incumbent ARRL Section Managers did not face opposition and were declared elected for their next two-year terms of office beginning April 1: Dale Temple, W5RXU, Arkansas; Jim Brooks, KY4Z, Kentucky; Malcolm Keown, W5XX, Mississippi; Walt Mayfield, KE5SOO, North Texas; Carl Gardenias, WU6D, Orange; Garth Crowe, N7XKT, Wyoming.
Rhode Island Section Manager Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, has submitted his petition to run for a new term of office that begins July 1. Nominating petitions for this election cycle are due at Headquarters by March 8.
One radio amateur from Eastern Washington and one from Ohio completed requirements to become an Official Observers this past week. Chuck Skolaut says we continue to receive reports of interference to a daily net on 14320 kHz and has asked the FCC for assistance in direction finding the source. We also received several complaints about interference and jamming on 3840 kHz as well as a report of the K7JL call sign being bootlegged on the frequency. Chuck filled in as an operator of one morning code practice run at W1AW.
Sincerely Compiled by,
Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ
Assistant to the CEO
Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations
All staff 3/29 Holiday
Steve Ford 3/4 PTO
Mike Gruber 5/3 PTO
Dan Henderson 3/28-3/30 NC State Convention, Raleigh, NC
`` 4/5 PTO
Bob Inderbitzen 3/20-3/21 MAKE Media, Sebastopol, CA
`` 3/22-3/24 RadioFest, Monterey, CA
`` 3/25-3/26 PTO
`` 4/4-4/6 AES Superfest, Milwaukee, WI
Zack Lau 3/7-3/12 PTO
Diane Petrilli 3/9-3/13 ASAE Conference, Colorado Springs, CO
Dave Sumner 3/8 Executive Committee Meeting, Irving, TX
`` 3/21 Washington, DC