IN-Newsletter Vol. 39, No. 31 November 5, 2014 - Covers the period October 26-31. Upcoming Meetings and Events LoTW Study Committee November 14 @ 9:00am in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee November 15 @ 8:30am in Newington, CT Director/Vice Director Elections November 21 Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND On Monday October 27, a meeting was held with Lt. Col. David Anderson, commanding officer of the Cape Cod AFS PAVE PAWS radar installation. Information on the timeframe for the upgrading of the site to the updated early warning radar (UEWR), similar to what is currently running at the other PAVE PAWS sites was shared. We discussed the impact of the upgrade on the Amateur community in the area and reaffirmed the ARRL's commitment to continue working with the Air Force to mitigate interference to the facility. We also have agreed to a tentative visit to the ARRL by Lt. Col. Anderson and several of his key staffers, hopefully before the end of the year. After the visit, a page was added to the ARRL Web outlining how Part 2.106 Footnote US 270 impacts / limits certain parts of Part 97. At the request of General Counsel, we reviewed the proposed comments to be filed in conjunction with proposal to eliminate paper licenses issued from the FCC. Several comments were offered related to the area concerning reciprocal operating permits outside of the US. We received information on an unfavorable PRB-1 case from Georgia involving Ritner Nesbitt N4BNM. While we had spoken to Mr. Nesbit and his attorney several years ago about his problem, we never received any follow-up request or information on his situation and were not aware that a lawsuit was filed. Making this more problematic is the fact that Mr. Nesbitt died in January 2014, some nine months before the decision in the case was rendered. The decision was forwarded to General Counsel for review and any instructions back on follow-up. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Diane Petrilli reported that October ended with 165,160 members, a gain of 481 over September (a gain of 542 was forecasted). The last time membership was this high was 1998. We have 1,738 members over the year-to-date goal. 68.79% of October 2014 expirees paid on time (vs. 70.63% last October). Yvette Vinci reported that in the month of October, a total of 21 paid-in-full Life Memberships were processed and 23 new Life Membership pledges were made. Jackie Ferreira reported that October product sales were $409,258, exceeding the month's sales forecast of $331,700. Direct sales were $222,327; dealer sales were $186,931. Year to date sales are $2,761,156 and ahead of forecast by $254,222. A direct mail piece featuring the new edition of The ARRL Handbook contributed $60,605 in sales this month. The "Handbook" sales category exceeded forecast by $26,264, while The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual exceeded the "Beginner Training Aids" category by $36,393 this month. Deb Jahnke reported that over half of the Ham Radio License Manuals sold in October went to a single, major reseller. ARRL has earned payments of $36,921 this year (Jan-Sep) from US Bank for royalties and bounties associated with the ARRL Visa Credit Card. September was our largest month across all history of the program. ARRL-sourced new card acquisition continues to be the largest contributing factor to program growth. We are 31% ahead on new accounts this year compared to all of 2013. There are over 2,600 open cards in the program, and over 1,700 active cards. The ARRL Visa card is promoted through ARRL emailings, printed matter included with membership cards and publication orders, and through direct mail paid for and conducted by US Bank. Since its introduction in May, the new ARRL Exam Review<http://www.arrl.org/examreview> website feature has attracted over 5,000 unique users. The program is promoted as a companion feature of the ARRL License Manuals. The user database is already contributing as a new source of prospective members-some already licensed, and some unlicensed. A few remaining ARRL Centennial Vibroplex Keys were fulfilled in October-bringing the final tally to 933 keys shipped. Summary of warehouse fulfillment activity, reported by Steve Capodicasa: Week ending Packages fulfilled Member Premiums 10/31/2014 1,217 334 10/24/2014 938 880 10/17/2014 1,814 120 10/10/2014 1,077 187 Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 1 Week Logbook Processing Time 3-5 Business Days Logbook of the World Category October 2014 QSO Records Entered Into System 620,722,942 QSL Record Matches 97,298,790 Logs Processed 6,754,307 Active Certificates 105,980 Registered Users in System 71,001 Logbook Inquiries October 2014 Time on the Phone 23 Hours Phone Calls 217 Emails 2,167 Total 2,384 Field Organization/Public Service Team One radio amateur from Ohio has successfully completed the requirements to become an Official Observer. Word was received back from Laura Smith at the FCC that they are investigating the report of wide AM signals heard on 75 meters but more time is needed. Repeater interference in North Carolina continues to be checked out. Alan Hensley, KE4AH, has stepped down as the Alabama OOC. Amos Nicholson, KC3QD, reports that his call is being boot-legged. Chuck Skolaut and Steve Ewald filled in for regular W1AW staff members who were away from the office. Chuck and Steve ran morning code practice sessions and assisted guest operators as they put W1ØØAW on the air from the Maxim Memorial Station. Orange Section Manager Carl Gardenias, WU6D, has been nominated to run for a new term of office that's scheduled to start on g April 1, 2015. Nominations are open until December 5th. Leona Adams reports that Section Manager expense report continue arrive in large numbers. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations All Staff 11/27-11/28 Holiday All Staff 12/25-12/26 Holiday Leona Adams 11/7-11/10 PTO Bob Allison 11/26 PTO `` 12/5-12/8 PTO `` 12/17 Jury Duty `` 12/22-12/24 PTO Steve Capodicasa 11/24-11/26 PTO `` 12/12 PTO Joe Carcia 11/14 PTO `` 12/5 PTO `` 12/12 PTO Lauren Clarke 11/25-11/26 PTO `` 12/24 PTO Steve Ewald 11/25-12/5 PTO Jackie Ferreira 11/21 PTO `` 12/15 PTO `` 12/29-12/31 PTO Steve Ford 11/24-11/28 PTO Scott Gee 12/24-12/29 PTO Dan Henderson 11/14-11/16 Indiana State Convention, Ft. Wayne, IN `` 11/24-11/26 PTO `` 12/17-1/6 PTO Debra Johnson 11/11 PTO `` 11/24-11/26 PTO Sean Kutzko 12/12-12/19 PTO Diane Petrilli 12/22-12/24 PTO `` 1/26-1/30 PTO Barry Shelley 11/6-11/7 PTO `` 11/18-11/20 Risk Strategies, Chicago, IL Chuck Skolaut 11/24-12/1 PTO Yvette Vinci 11/4 PTO `` 11/11 PTO