IN-Newsletter
Vol. 26, No. 1
January 7, 2003
Upcoming Meetings
January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am
A & F Committee
January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am
Volunteer Resources Committee
January 16th in Newington, CT at 8:30am
Membership Services Committee
January 17-18, 2003 in Windsor, CT
Board Meeting
Next week is the Board of Directors meeting at the Hartford/Windsor Marriott, with orientation for the new Great Lakes Director Weaver and Vice Director Mondro starting on Tuesday here in Newington. If you see unfamiliar faces roaming the building, they are our Officers, Directors and Vice Directors, who always look forward in visiting League Headquarters and staff.
Development
Reports on Development work in 2002 and 2003 are being prepared for the Board meeting, pending final annual giving reports from Siebel.
The 2003 Defense Fund has reached $257,000, well below the 2002 results for the same period. In an effort to boost response a postcard was mailed in late December to all 2002 donors who had not responded in 2003.
Development met with Sue Fagan and Bob Boucher to outline plans for the 2003 Education & Technology Program. The campaign will be mailed to the active ARRL member file and a test segment of recently lapsed members. The follow up solicitations for this campaign will test a postcard follow up in March rather than a full letter. This new tactic should save expenses in printing, production and postage while providing a nudge to select groups of donors. New gifts may include a special lanyard and tee shirt plus other items.
The Diamond Club contributors now number 420, attracting more than $65,000 in unrestricted income for ARRL in just two months. This will be a key program in 2003 that will be promoted to target groups of the ARRL database.
Development will work with Dan Miller and Rosalie White to prepare the first progress report on the federal ARECC grant from CNCS that is due at the end of January.
A full report on the successful completion of the UTC/CT grant was sent to UTC offices complete with photos from the June press conference. The program in CT saw 276 hams licensed in Level 1 and Level 2 training against a goal of 250. We expect to receive the second half of the funds --$16,500 -- when the report is approved. Word on the new national grant from UTC may come in January 2003.
The first grant from the Radio Club of America for the Education & Technology Program is expected in a couple of weeks. The first grant is $6500 with hopes for $10,000 a year indefinitely.
Thanks to ARRL staff who volunteered to answer telephones at the local PBS television station in CT. With nearly 40 staffers, family and friends, ARRL and Amateur Radio received some positive public relations exposure.
Media Relations
We received 10 eligible nominations for the 2002 Bill Leonard, W2SKE, and Professional Media Award. The nominations have been copied (including two video tapes) and sent to the members of the PR Committee. The group’s recommendation will be shared (most likely in person) with the appropriate division director prior to the Board meeting.
We’re already receiving requests for the 2003 McGan Award nomination forms. Although a full-page article always runs in the February issue of QST, we did some advance publicity via the Web news crawl this time around.
Jennifer has completed the PR section of Dave Sumner’s report to the Board. The final edits are being done. She also coordinated with PRC Chairman Diane Ortiz, and Derek Riker of Chwat & Company to get their respective reports ready for the Board books, and the report mailing sent prior to the meeting.
We received permission to duplicate and distribute a 30-second Amateur Radio spot produced by the San Francisco chapter of the International Television Association (ITVA). ARRL member Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, worked with a video production person in California so that ARRL’s contact information now appears at the end of the spot. The tape is at the duplication house and should be ready for distribution (on request) shortly. The tape will be in Beta format.
Production/Editorial
The new book "Experimental Methods in RF Design" by Wes Hayward, Rick Campbell and Bob Larkin has gone to the printer. We anticipate delivery in late January or early February. This has been a long, difficult project and the Book Team, Graphics, Electronic Media and Production personnel are to be congratulated on a job well done.
Sales & Marketing
Membership and Publications fulfillment continue to play catch-up after the Holiday. We conducted a year-end warehouse inventory that confirmed that our stock level records are indeed accurate.
The Sales & Marketing team teleconferenced with ICOM's Ray Novak for some advertising planning. ICOM has increased its insertion commitment for upcoming issues.
The ARRL Advertising Department staff finalized changes to the text and layout of the January/February 2003 issue of the Advertising Matters newsletter. The advertising mailing list--now including more than 500 past, present and perspective advertisers and agencies--was updated.
We are pleased to report that W7FG Vintage Manuals will be resuming advertising in the March 2003 issue onward. A new advertiser, Pulver.com, has signed up for a 12-month campaign. This company offers a long distance telephone service over broadband Internet (see: www.freeworldialup.com/). While a bit of a departure from the usual ham-related-only QST advertising, the A&F Committee has encouraged staff to seek non-ham advertising opportunities to boost revenue.
Carol Patton sent out billing invoices for advertising that appeared in the January 2003 issue of QST, January/February QEX and December banner ad invoices and began collecting Ham Ads advertising for the March 2003 issue. February “Ham Ad” charges have been submitted to accounting.
Joe Bottiglieri made a brief field trip to a local Amateur Radio equipment retailer. The proprietor reports that sales have been very brisk over the last couple of weeks. He’s nearly cleaned out his entire inventory of mobile and handheld transceivers, put a significant dent in his pile of HF transceivers, and is anxiously awaiting shipments of replacement stock. This increase in sales immediately following the traditional holiday buying season is not unusual. However, it is a bright spot in what has been a difficult period for companies serving the ham community.
A mailing to all ARRL publication dealers was completed on January 3.
The post-Holiday ARRL Publications catalog has arrived. The cover is similar to the Fall/Winter catalog but without any holiday marketing content. The piece makes a great ride-along, and we are happy to supply staff and departments with copies to include with small mailings and regular correspondence. Copies have been distributed to include in VEC exam session mailings, hamfests, and the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters convention. Among the new publications covered in this edition is "Experimental Methods in RF Design." The catalog also includes a registration schedule for CCE courses through June.
The Sales & Marketing Department is seeking a Graphic Designer/Production Specialist to fill a new position. The job opening is presently posted on bulletin boards throughout the building.
New publication offerings available for sale:
802.11 Wireless Networks: The Definitive Guide, by Matthew S. Gast. Creating and administering wireless networks. Copyright 2002 O'Reilly & Associates, Inc. ARRL Order No. 8884 -- $44.95 <http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8884>
2003 Super Frequency List CD-ROM -- 39,000 entries cover all broadcast and utility stations on short-wave. 215 screenshots!
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8841>
2003 Shortwave Frequency Guide -- Seventh Edition. Covers the latest 2003 schedules of clandestine, domestic, and international broadcast stations worldwide.
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8856>
ARRL Periodicals CD-ROM 2002 -- Shipping in February -- All of the 2002 issues of QST, QEX, and NCJ on a fully searchable CD-ROM.
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?item=8802>
Membership Services
Awards Branch
WAS QSL Cards Checked 50
WAS Certificates (Walk-in) 1
WAC QSL Cards Checked 60
WAC Certificate (Replacement) 1
25-Year Member Awards 17
40-Year Member Awards 8
L/T Member Inquiries 4
A-1 Operator Nominations 1
L/T Member Awards Mailed 25
Extra Class Certs. Mailed 14
Processing Status: Current or within three weeks. For the coming week-Basic WAS awards for December, OTC, Friendship, and VUCC award processing and mailing.
DXCC Branch
Weekly Report January 5, 2003
Beginning Cards 198,276
Cards Received 7,209
Cards Processed 6,111
Ending Cards 199,374
Applications Pending 1,824
Processing Time 13.4 Weeks
Year-to-date (2003)
Cards Received 1,543
Cards Returned 30
For Calendar Year 2002
Cards Received 750,659
Cards Returned 625,560
QRPs Issued this week 4
QRPs YTD 266
DXCC is currently mailing applications received on September 27, 2002.
There are approximately 60 applications waiting credit card charges in Comptrollers. There are approximately 120 applications waiting to be out-processed in the mailroom. (Due to the computer problems, the mailroom was not able to out-process DXCC mail).
The computer problems appear to be resolved as of Friday. Andy contacted ATS and a solution was reached and appears to be working. Minor bugs seem to remain but we are able to process applications. Due to this, the estimated time to complete September work may be pushed back to January 30. In all, DXCC had to re-enter all applications entered and all applications activated on Friday December 20. This, in addition to not being able to do much of any processing the last 2 weeks in December, caused further set backs.
DXCC is currently entering cards received on September 30, 2002.
QSL Branch
QSL service status: Current. Cards mailed year to date as of 12/31/2002 - 1,963,165. This is an increase of 30,850 over the same time in 2001. Cards mailed on 12/31/2002 - 148,050. Heather Dzamba spent 5 hours conducting tours around HQ on Monday
Contest Branch.
November SS paper log data entry was completed. Data entry continued for the 160-Meter paper entries. A partial order of 2002 DX Phone plaque plates were received and shipped. International DX Contest plaques were re-ordered. The 10 GHz article for QST was finished and sent to Production and the Web version was revised and prepared for WSDD. The proof of the long-awaited June VHF plaque re-design was received, approved and ordered (they should be shipped by the first week in February). Data entry of the November SS Cups and Pins orders was begun.
W1AW
Thanks to Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Dan Henderson, N1ND and Brennan Price, N4QX for operating W1AW in the 2003 ARRL RTTY Roundup. They made 400 QSOs, with 40 states and 31 DX stations, on 80 to 10 meters, for a claimed score of 31,600. On December 30, 2002, W1AW was visited by Scouts associated with the “Venture Crew DX” pack from Massachusetts. On the same day, the “3 Steves and a Kurt” group from New Jersey also made their yearly visit. (This is the 10th year in a row that the New Jersey group has visited W1AW during the Christmas season.) All total, both groups made 300+ QSOs using CW and SSB on 20 to 10 meters, including 30, 12 and 6 meters.
Joe Carcia mailed out the reply letters to all 2002 FMT participants. The Certificate of Participation for the FMT has also been sent to the printer. Joe Carcia updated the web code practice files and also processed year-end QSL card requests.
Scott Gee worked on slow and fast code practice files for the latter part of the month of January. He archived all the 2002 bulletin files and reset the Bulletin ID (BID) generator programs for 2003. W1AW telephone sales year to date (2003): $0.
Field & Educational Services
Rosalie sent materials about ARES to FEMA, at their request, for their Learning Resource Center at the National Emergency Training Center in Maryland. She finalized the minutes from the three-day ARISS meeting last month, and completed a few remaining action items from the meetings. We've received word that the Expedition 5 crew has made at least one random QSO.
Field & Education Support Team
Jean Wolfgang assisted a member in VA who is going to work with a group of Girl Scouts. KB4LIF will be encouraging the girls to explore the world of ham radio and what it might mean for their future. Jean has also been updating the files on F&ES annual awards and the databases to accommodate the next round of nominations.
Margie Bourgoin sent two sets of paperwork from new clubs for affiliation approval to the appropriate Director/SM, and noted one SSC renewal this week. She has conversed with volunteer instructors starting classes, and has been assisting Leona with appointments and Jean with awards.
Linda Mullally completed the F&ES Monthly Inventory, EAD Video Inventory and the Monthly Revenue Report. Linda reports last month's revenue to be $1124.49. She updated 49 club records with 4 club re-activations, plus registered 9 Volunteer Instructors and 2 schoolteachers.
Mary Lau continues with preparations for the upcoming Foundation Annual Meeting and is monitoring the level of scholarship applications now coming into HQ.
Regulatory Information
John is nearing completion of The FCC Rule Book. He thanks Brennan Price and Steve Ewald for being "on call" for messages which couldn't wait until John returned from vacation. John has noticed an increase in calls from hams wanting information on operating from the Caribbean on vacation; the cold winter in the US seems to be having a definite impact. John assisted amateurs with local zoning problems in Enumclaw, WA (K7JAL) and Bemidji, MN (W9NT). All insurance matters will now be handled by Barry Shelley rather than in F&ES.
Field Organization/ Public Service Team
Leona Adams thanks the Mailroom for sending SM election ballots for North Texas, Oklahoma and Montana. Leona and Steve helped incoming SMs from SC, KS and NV in starting their new terms. Initial supplies were assembled for 40 field appointees, thanks to Kathy Kostek from DXCC while DXCC software was being worked on.
Chuck Skolaut graded four OO exams and did background work on two other candidates. More and more OO reports are arriving by e-mail these days. Chuck reviewed and sent to the FCC a recording of transmissions made on 20 meters, associated with several complaints.
Steve Ewald was able to assist Assistant News Editor Dave Hassler, K7CCC, with an article that he is preparing for March QST about the ARRL Field Organization. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been 20 SM newsletter/announcement relays via e-mail sent by 15 different sections.
CCE
Jerry Ellis opened a new on-line class of Satellite Communications, and assigned students to mentors. He prepared and submitted new Level l exams to be printed, and processed Level l and 2 exams completed after in-person classes in Michigan and South Dakota. He updated forms for in-person classes, and submitted these for posting on the Web.
EmComm Grants
Dan Miller reports the final tally for Connecticut UTC-sponsored graduates is 251 for Level I and 25 for Level II. Thank you letters were sent to all UTC Mentors. As we begin the fifth month of CNCS-sponsored nationwide EmComm training, we have 520 Level I graduates. On January 6, registration will open for 200 seats at a new hour -- 12:01 AM Eastern Time -- instead of at 4 PM. Interest has picked up for details about hybrid courses that combine online study with on-the-air meetings and in-person tutoring.
73,
Sincerely,
Mark Wilson, K1RO
Chief Operating Officer
MW:lk
Staff Absentee List
Name Date(s) Reason
Dave Sumner 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Mark Wilson 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Dave Patton 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Lisa Kustosik 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Mary Hobart 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Barry Shelley 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Rosalie White 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Wayne Mills 1/16-1/18 BOD Meeting
Joel Kleinman 1/7 & 1/14 Vacation