IN-Newsletter Vol. 40, No. 10 March 25, 2015 - Covers the period March 15-21. Upcoming Meetings and Events LoTW Study Committee April 10 @ 9:00am in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee April 11 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND The past several weeks have been extremely busy since HR 1301 was filed in the US House of Representatives. Several hundred letters were received from ARRL members to be sorted, collated and sent to The Keelen Group for distribution on Capitol Hill. The ARRL web pages for HR 1301 were finalized and opened once the bill was dropped. A new "Legislative Update" newsletter was prepared and sent to 9,218 members that were subscribed. In supporting visits by ARRL officials to the Hill, sixty-four Excel spreadsheets showing FCC licensees in individual Congressional districts have been prepared and sent to the legislative staffs as requested. We worked with Public Relations and Media Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X to ensure The Keelen Group has sufficient materials to include in the "leave behind" materials for Congressional office visits. Thanks goes to the Production Department for quickly preparing an updated version of CEO Sumner's September 2014 editorial to reflect the new bill number for inclusion in those packets. Special thanks to the Graphics Department for quickly putting together artwork for use in promoting the bill. We have worked with Chuck Skolaut, KØBOG, on several items has been working with from the Amateur Auxiliary program. A meeting with Chuck, Mike Gruber, W1MG, and the Regulatory Manager reviewed the new FCC on-line complaint submission form. Several suggestions were reported back to the CEO for consideration to be shared with FCC staff. Daily reviews of potentially problematic state legislation are done using the StateNet program from LexisNexis. When a bill that could be a potential problem is identified, the appropriate Section Manager and Division Director are notified. Hundreds of bills have been reviewed so far since the first of the year with only a couple of dozen identified as potential problems. The latest was a bill in the Massachusetts state legislature that would target "pirate radio" operations. While the topic does not directly affect Amateurs, the wording of the bills would create the potential for Amateurs to be cited for RFI. With the majority of state legislatures currently in session, this project is taking on special consideration. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY The May 2015 issue of QST was uploaded to the printer. The conference proceedings of the Southeastern VHF Society were sent to the printer. Work continues on the ARES Field Resources Manual, the General Class License Manual, General Q&A and the book Propagation and Radio Science. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review After sharing test data with a manufacturer of an all band, multimode transceiver, the manufacturer provided Bob Allison with a firmware revision that addresses some of the receiver performance parameters that needed improvement. Bob is currently loading the new firmware. In two separate cases, Bob Allison worked with manufacturers of transmitting equipment tested in the ARRL Lab for Product Review. Each product had key clicks, an undesired and illegal transmitting characteristic. The manufacturers, with Bob's measurements, were able to resolve the key click issues. The equipment was then turned over to the reviewer. Bob Allison also tested a 4th unit of the same make and model of QRP transceiver that had a number of issues. The manufacturer has been working hard to correct the issues that Bob found. Final tests of the transceiver are underway to determine if meets standards. RFI Mike Gruber discussed RFI issues with EMC Committee Chairman, Kermit Carlson. He also submitted four reports to Chris Imlay-three on grow lights and one on the illegal marketing of electronic fluorescent light ballasts. Mike Gruber completed work on the new EMC Pocket Guide, as scheduled for March. Since late last year, there is a new FCC complaint filing procedure. A new on-line complaint form is now up and operational. In order to test it, Mike Gruber filed two complaints involving broadcast stations. So far, Mike has not received any acknowledgment from the FCC. On the positive side, so far, there does not appear to be a noticeable impact on the Cooperative Agreement that we have with the FCC. In order to better understand the issues surrounding a long standing power line noise case, Mike will be traveling to California, scheduled for the first week in April. Ed Hare has met with FCC officials at the Philadelphia FCC office. The topic of this discussion was power line and other RFI locating methods. Ed also arranged for Mike Gruber to meet with FCC officials at the same field office to demo Radar Engineers equipment. Follow-up with David Dombrowski of that office has resulted in a request for Mike to come in April. Mike Gruber followed-up on Woodinville (grow light) RFI case. This case resulted in a Citation & Order on April 24, 2015, yet (as of two weeks ago) the noise still continues. There has not been timely FCC follow-up in this case. Here is a news article that we did on it at the time: www.arrl.org/news/fcc-cites-washington-resident-for-causing-interference-on-amateur-frequencies<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-cites-washington-resident-for-causing-interference-on-amateur-frequencies> Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Diane Petrilli reports that several membership-related pieces of collateral are being freshened up, including the membership brochure and membership cards. Additional e-mail was conducted to help promote ARRL membership to lapsed and prospective members this month. Bob Inderbitzen reported on a successful effort representing ARRL at the Wisconsin State Convention, hosted by Amateur Electronic Supply, March 21. Bob was joined by Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Section Managers Gary Sorensen, W9ULK (WI) and Tom Ciciora, KA9QPN (IL). AES National Sales Manager Tom Pachner, W9TJP, reported that attendance was well over 500, and offered that ARRL's "presence is part of the draw that makes Superfest worth doing." In addition to hosting many major manufacturers at the in-store hamfest, radio clubs throughout the region were welcomed to exhibit and network at the event. Membership applications totaled 73 (92 member years) including applications from 8 previous members, 7 new members, and 1 Life Membership pledge. Dues totaled $3268. The event was preceded by an e-mail blast sent to lapsed and current members in the Central Division, encouraging them to visit the ARRL booth at AES Superfest. Bob also returned with many photos to share on ARRL's Facebook page. Yvette Vinci prepared the email notification for the April 2015 digital edition of QST, distributed to ARRL members on Tuesday, March 10. The distribution list included 115,054 members. A follow-up notification was sent on March 20, with a summary of "What's Trending" in the issue. The distribution list included 115,708 members. Jackie Ferreira reports that the new cover for the upcoming eighth edition of The ARRL General Class License Manual has been completed. Thanks goes to Sue Fagan for her contribution as the graphic design lead. The new edition of the manual, for exams given on or after July 1, will be available for the first time in two formats; soft cover and spiral-bound. A spring-themed publications & products mailing is scheduled to mail this week to a targeted list of 50,000 members. Bob Inderbitzen and Steve Ford have continued to navigate the final development considerations of, and testing for, The ARRL Repeater Directory App for Apple devices (iPhone, iPad and iPod touch). Once completed, the app will provide users with access to the entire ARRL Repeater Directory database while on-the-go. The app is integrated with the device's GPS to return a list of in-range repeaters. Repeaters can also be identified by approximate location on maps. Users may also search the repeater database by location (State, City) or lat/long. The app is being developed for ARRL by DHF Systems, the same team responsible ARRL's TravelPlus for Repeaters software. The new app is a companion to the new 2015-2016 editions of the printed ARRL Repeater Directory (pocket and desktop editions) which will be introduced in early April. An Android version of the app was introduced in 2014. While distribution of the app is free, users are required to 'activate' the app using a unique code bundled with each printed book. Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity, reported by Steve Capodicasa: Week ending Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 3/20/2015 816 496 3/13/2015 679 471 3/06/2015 812 425 2/27/2015 751 640 Field Services & Radiosport Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 2 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 3 - 5 Business Days W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also updated the web qualifying run schedule. Over the past weekend, Scott and Joe began clearing up W1AW's cellar in anticipation of sheetrock removal that is to take place within the next week. They consolidated some radio and antenna equipment and discarded materials that were no longer needed. During the week Joe has been working with one of the programmers of the N1MMLogger logging software to get it to interface to the Rohde & Schwarz XK2100L commercial HF transceiver. Field Organization/Public Service Team Chuck Skolaut compiled and sent the monthly Official Observer summary to all OOs, OOCs, and Section Managers. The report of an unidentified digital signal being heard on several 2 meter frequencies in Western Washington was determined to be a military jamming signal accidentally triggered from a military aircraft. Word was received that the FCC is following up on a report submitted regarding severe interference an individual has been experiencing from a neighbor operating in Eastern Pennsylvania. The North Carolina OOC was alerted to a report we received alleging hang glider pilots in the area were using 2 meters. Word was also received from the trustee of a repeater in the Los Angeles area that he was able to gain access to the repeater and took care of a problem with loss of control. The road had been blocked by snow for a time. Chuck researched repeater information for a prospective new radio amateur in Western Pennsylvania. The Kentucky OOC forwarded information about a possible bootlegger. We have received word from the FCC that they are following up on an interference case in Eastern Pennsylvania. The Kentucky OOC forwarded information regarding interference to a local repeater, and an investigation is continuing. An update was received regarding an uncoordinated repeater causing interference to a coordinated one in Nebraska. Leona Adams worked on preparations for the Section Manager election in Utah. Ballots and candidate statements for incumbent SM Mel Parkes, NM7P, and Pat Malan, N7PAT, were received, prepared, and sent to the local printer. Ballots are scheduled to be mailed from Headquarters no later than April 1 for the springtime election season. Leona continues to work on making administrative updates to the Field Organization data base, and Steve Ewald is also assisting the new, incoming Section Managers (Jack Mitchell, N7MJ, of Wyoming, and Alan Morgan, KY1O, of Kentucky) who start their terms of office on April 1. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 4/3 Holiday All Staff 5/25 Holiday All Staff 7/3 Holiday Bob Allison 4/3-3/5 WCF Technical Conference, Sebring, FL Steve Capodicasa 3/27 PTO `` 4/13 PTO Joe Carcia 3/27 PTO `` 4/8-4/10 PTO Lauren Clarke 3/28-4/1 Assoc. of Fundraising Conference, Baltimore, MD Mike Corey 5/1-5/3 Nevada State Convention, Verdi, NV Steve Ewald 3/27-4/7 PTO Norm Fusaro 3/27-3/29 Texas State Convention, Rosenberg, TX Scott Gee 4/15-4/17 PTO Mike Gruber 5/1 NearFest, Deerfield, NH `` 6/1-6/4 PTO `` 8/24-8/28 PTO `` 9/28-10/2 PTO Ed Hare 3/3/20-3/28 PTO `` 4/2-4/6 North Carolina State Convention, Raleigh, NC `` 6/5-6/7 Northwestern Division Convention, Seaside, OR Dan Henderson 4/4-4/12 PTO/Delta Division Convention, Memphis TN `` 5/14-5/15 Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, OH `` 7/16-7/18 Board Meeting/Committee Meeting `` 7/31-8/2 Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Bryce Canyon, UT Bob Inderbitzen 8/7-8/9 South Texas Section convention, Austin, TX Debra Johnson 3/27-3/30 PTO Sean Kutzko 3/26-3/27 PTO Dave Patton 4/17-4/19 International DX, Visalia, CA `` 7/24-7/26 Oklahoma Section Convention, Oklahoma City, OK Diane Petrilli 6/5-6/7 Northwestern Division Convention, Seaside, OR Barry Shelley 3/24-3/27 PTO Dave Sumner 3/24-4/1 PTO `` 4/30-5/1 NAB luncheon/PTO `` 5/26-6/5 PTO `` 6/11-6/14 West Gulf Division Convention, Irving, TX `` 6/23-6/29 Friedrichshafen Convention, Germany