<<070507.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 30, No. 27 July 5, 2007 -- Covers the period June 24-30. Upcoming Meetings and Events Programs & Services Committee July 19 in Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee July 19 in Newington, CT Second Board Meeting July 20-21, 2007 in Windsor, CT Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND The initial findings of the ARRL Longley-Rice calculations were made available to the Department of Defense on Monday June 25th. On Wednesday June 27, individual emails or letters were mailed to each of the repeater contacts involved with PAVE PAWS requesting updating / verification of several pieces of their coordination data, including precise Lat/Long readings, antenna type, directivity and gain, feedline losses, and original power levels. As part of this process we are being able to further discover problems/errors in the DoD's initial list and begin to focus in on correcting them. As of Friday June 29, we now have confirmed power reduction to 5 Watts from 79 of the 105 California repeaters and 11 of the 15 New England repeaters. The teleconference with the DoD personnel had to be postponed from June 28th due to travel of participants and will be rescheduled. Post-Field Day member contact was, as expected, filled with numerous emails and phone calls related to Field Day anomalies and submission questions. The Field Day Web Submission applet, maintained by volunteer Bruce Horn, WA7BNM, is working well with over 250 entries submitted via the web applet in the first 24-hours after Field Day and approximately 500 submissions received that way by the end of the week. In 2006 approximately 80% of all submissions were processed via the web applet and it looks like we are on the way to meeting or exceeding that total in 2007. On Thursday thru Sunday, I was unexpectedly out of the office, filling in at the last moment as the speaker and HQ representative at the Iowa State Convention. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH The Diamond Terrace at ARRL is a reality. Construction of the Terrace was completed last weekend with the laying of the final bricks. The final phase of construction is the installation of the six granite benches that are in the hands of the engraver. Once we have received final approval of the layout, art and text for each bench from the donor, graving will begin. Thanks to Khrystyne Keane for the large portfolio of photographs that are now on the web, telling story in pictures of the renovation of the entrance to ARRL HQ. That portfolio of picture, plus the story on the web and in the ARRL will help to promote the Diamond Terrace. In addition, there will be updated promotional pieces in QST in August and Sept which should boost response. The Education and Technology fund has reached $184,510 with the addition of a donor grant of more than $25,000 to support the program's Teachers Institute in Wireless Technology. A reforecast for Development revenue and expenses for the balance of 2007 have been submitted to Finance. The final report from Target Analysis Group on the performance of Membership and Development is in hand. After a review of the material, copies of the report will be provided to membership. The goal of this project is to identify strategies and operational tools to improve performance in both Membership and Development. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Khrystyne Keane wrote and prepared the ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 26, for Friday, June 29. It was distributed to 65,517 members, an increase of 194 over the previous week. Per a request in the Letter soliciting feedback, we have received about 40 e-mails regarding how we can improve the Letter. Khrystyne also voiced and produced the June 29 edition of ARRL Audio News. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Awards Branch Category May 2007 June 2007 Year-to-Date Year End Goal WAS Certificates (Manual) 31 37 163 282 WAS Certificates (LoTW) 21 13 129 295 A-1 Op Nominations 55 75 287 601 A-1 Op Certificates 32 31 136 288 Extra Class Certificates 4 6 142 194 WAC Certificates 9 3 139 313 VUCC New / Grids 4 / 380 10 / 1,204 37 / 5,239 144 / 13,581 VUCC Endorsement/Grids 15 / 633 3/ 141 48 / 2,588 109 / 6,533 Processing Time 2 Weeks 6 Weeks 2 Weeks DXCC Branch Category May 2007 June 2007 Year-to-Date Year End Goal Credits Processed 53,786 59,027 202,115 622,215 Credits Received 48,203 59,210 312,332 622,342 Applications Returned 491 622 2,117 5,643 Applications Received 416 452 3,047 5,643 Applications Pending 1,015 960 930 599 Processing Time 9 Weeks 10 Weeks 3 Weeks Contest Branch This week with a kind assist from Joann Arel and Carol Michaud, we were able to catch up on issuing certificates for the 2006; August UHF, 10 GHz and Up, November SS, 160 Meter, 10 Meter, EME, September VHF, 2007 January VHF and RTTY Roundup Contests. Logbook of the World Category June 2007 May 2007 2006 Year End QSO Records Entered Into System 132,688,128 131,022,872 116,730,953 QSL Record Matches 8,921,327 8,757,500 7,193,911 Logs Processed 392,235 379,984 305,569 Active Certificates 25,164 24,668 21,889 Registered Users in System 16,584 16,262 14,474 Logbook (Email Only) Inquiries June 2007 Lost Certificate 96 DXCC Status Inquiries 26 Data Not Shown 22 No TQ6 File Received from LoTW 22 Additional Certificate Requests 17 Cannot Log on to LoTW User Page 17 Cannot Upload Log to LoTW User Page 15 No TQ5 File Received by LoTW 15 Logbook Server Down 13 Incorrect Date Range 12 Lost Personal Password 12 User Email Problems 12 WAS Status Inquiries 12 Club Inquiries 11 New Callsign Changes 10 Cannot Understand Error Messages 9 Logbook Startup Inquiries 9 Cannot Activate/Load TQ6 Certificate 7 Logbook Suggestions 7 QSO Downloaded 7 Additional Documents Needed 4 Need Postcard 4 Other Inquiries 85 Total Inquiries 444 QSL Branch There is no delay in opening mail and a 1 day delay in slotting of cards. This week, 103 pounds of cards were received from members. Field Organization/Public Service Team The ARRL Monitoring System/Intruder Watch welcomed two more volunteers to the program. One is from Oklahoma and the other is from North Carolina. Several different reports of bootlegging were received that included two from California and one from Texas. Chuck Skolaut notes that OOs are investigating questionable operating procedures on the 20 meter County Hunters net, and there is a case of malicious interference on Maritime Mobile Net on 14.300 MHz. More band openings on 10 meters have revealed unlicensed truckers using the band. Operators in Ohio and New York have heard these operations. Thanks to the Mailroom staff, the San Francisco Section Manager ballots and candidate statements were mailed out from HQ to members in the San Francisco Section on Tuesday, June 26. Members will have until August 17 to return their marked ballots. Leona Adams handled and sent over twenty information packages to new Field Organization appointees, and worked on Section Manager expense reports. Steve Ewald hosted a teleconference on the ARRL telebridge with the Section Managers of Great Lakes and Hudson Divisions. Chuck Skolaut also joined the call. Effective communication with affiliated clubs and Field Day weekend were among the main topics of discussion. Volunteer Examiner Coordinator Reported by Maria Somma, AB1FM July 23 will mark the five month anniversary of the FCC's elimination of the 5 wpm Morse code exam requirement. Since February 23, our test session registration and attendance has been steady and strong. The average number of test sessions per month is up from last year (602 in 2007 vs. 472 in 2006) as is the average number of examinees per session (8 candidates in 2007 vs. 5 candidates in 2006). Of the nearly 700 test sessions registered for June, 610 sessions have already been received and processed by the VEC staff. ARRL booth traffic was brisk at the International Ham Radio Exhibition held June 22 to 24 in Friedrichshaffen Germany. Over 18,000 were in attendance from 36 countries. Convention revenue for 2007 was $9,200 up from $6,400 in 2006. An ARRL VEC exam session was held on Saturday morning at the convention. 31 examinees were served, with 25 achieving an upgrade or new license. Friedrichshaffen Amateur Funk Ausstellung ist guter Spaß ! (Amateur Radio exhibition is good fun!) Packages were mailed out on June 14 and 15 via priority class to over 900 ARRL VEC volunteer examiner teams that have been formally field stocked with our test materials. The packages contained the new General Class Element 3 exams which were to be used at test sessions beginning July 1. The packages were delivered the third week in June. Thanks to the mailroom staff, Berta, Trevor, Carole and Linda and to Margie Bourgoin and Karen Isakson for all their help with counting, sorting and packing. For ARRL VE teams who are using the ExamWin Software, the updated version was released on June 18 and is available on our ExamWin web page www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examwin . A VE Express Newsletter was emailed on June 18 to more than 5,500 subscribers. To view the current VE Newsletter or to view previous editions visit the "ARRL VEC News Briefs, Announcements, Newsletters" web page at http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/announcements.html . The below stats show our accomplishments so far this year. I included information from the same period last year for a comparison. In most sections of our program, we have seen a considerable increase in activity! ARRL VEC Stats January 1 through June 30, 2007. VEC ACTIVITY Jan 1 to June 30, 2007 Jan 1 to June 30, 2006 Test Sessions Held 3,617 2,831 Candidates Served 29,373 15,324 Exam Elements Taken 34,489 18,772 New VEs Accredited 1,172 636 New and Upgrade License apps. forms transmitted to FCC 22,932 10,181 License Renewals and Changes transmitted to FCC 4134 (381 were Vanity license renewals) 2788 (309 were Vanity license renewals) Club License applications transmitted to FCC 733 (107 were Club Vanity license renewals) (289 new clubs) 505 (21 were Club Vanity license renewals) (193 new clubs) VE Newsletter Subscribers 5,560 4,875 Donations collected by VEC 18 n/a Web/Software Development Department Reported by Jon Bloom, KE3Z Micah Murray has essentially completed the substantive fixes to the membership screens. There is a remaining issue having to do with how the receipts are reported to the Comptroller's department. We expect to meet during the coming week with LouAnn Campanello in order to resolve those issues and allow us to turn on the new membership system. Micah also is working on new teacher and instructor registration on-line forms. I installed a test installation of the Moodle course management system on our in-house server so Debra Johnson could experiment with it. It is one possible approach to controlling the costs of our on-line course offerings. I also modified our bulk e-mail system to allow her to send her newsletters not only to subscribed members but also to non-member instructors and teachers whose e-mail addresses we maintain in the Siebel system. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List Jon Bloom 7/9-7/27 Vacation `` 9/26-10/5 Vacation Katie Breen 7/30-8/3 Vacation Hugh Brower 9/7-9/14 Vacation Joe Carcia 7/13 Vacation `` 7/20 Vacation `` 7/27 Vacation `` 8/3-8/10 Vacation Jackie Cornell 7/30-8/3 Vacation Steve Ewald 7/20-7/27 Vacation Steve Ford 7/30-8/3 Vacation Perry Green 7/25-7/28 NCVEC Conference, Gettysburg, PA Ed Hare 7/8-7/13 EMC Society Symposium Committee Meeting, Honolulu, HI Dan Henderson 7/25-7/28 NCVEC Conference, Gettysburg, PA `` 8/16-8/28 ARRL National Convention, Huntsville, AL/Vacation Mary Hobart 8/17-8/19 ARRL National Convention, Huntsville, AL `` 9/7-9/9 MFJ Anniversary/Starkville MS `` 9/14-9/16 W9DX Convention, Chicago, IL `` 9/28-9/29 TenTac, Pigeon Forge, TN Tom Hogerty 7/2-7/6 Vacation Amy Hurtado 8/13-8/15 Vacation Gail Iannone 8/17-8/31 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 7/16-7/20 Vacation Debra Johnson 7/2-7/11 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 7/26-7/27 Vacation Monique Levesque 7/5-7/10 Vacation `` 8/6-8/10 Vacation `` 8/30-9/4 Vacation Carol Michaud 7/11 Vacation Allen Pitts 7/2-7/6 Vacation Eileen Sapko 7/10 Jury Duty Barry Shelley 7/5-7/9 Vacation `` 8/10-8/24 Vacation Chuck Skolaut 7/5-7/10 Arizona State Convention, Williams, AZ/Vacation Maria Somma 7/13-7/22 Vacation `` 7/25-7/28 NCVEC Conference, Gettysburg, PA `` 8/16-8/19 ARRL National Convention, Huntsville, AL Dave Sumner 8/1-8/6 Vacation `` 8/15-8/19 GAREC/ARRL National Convention, Huntsville, AL `` 9/8-9/15 IARU Reg. 2 Conference, Brasilia Maty Weinberg 7/2-7/20 Vacation