<<111407.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 30, No. 46 November 14, 2007 -- Covers the period November 4-10. Upcoming Meetings and Events Ballot Counting for Director/Vice Director Elections November 16 in Newington, CT Administration &Finance Committee November 17 in Newington, CT Programs & Services Committee December 8 in Newington, CT Administration &Finance Committee January 17 in Houston, TX Programs & Services Committee January 17 in Houston, TX Annual Board Meeting January 18-19, 2008 in Houston, TX Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND Thanks to Allen Pitts for accompanying me on Wednesday 11/7 to Cape Cod for some on-the-air testing of the six additional repeaters in that area added to the PAVE PAWS interference mitigation list. Notification letters to the six new repeaters will be mailed Tuesday November 13. We also were able to confirm that six of the seven repeaters remaining from the original DoD list of fifteen have met the mitigation requirement. The one remaining repeater from the original list is being worked on by the owner with help of a volunteer from the NESMC (as the owner is a blind ham unable to do the work himself). Unfortunately only two of the original fifteen repeaters affecting the Cape Cod site were able to remain on the air. Also during the week several conversations were held with Riley Hollingworth regarding the beginning of FCC contact with the remaining California repeater owners from the original list that have not indicated they are working on mitigation. Hollingsworth informed the ARRL that he would begin making one-on-one telephone contact with those amateurs underscoring they need to get this resolved quickly. To expedite his contact, we provided him with information from our PAVEPAWS database , which included contact information that we had, as well as email address and phone numbers (if we had them). We also learned from Hollingsworth that if/when the DoD requests specific repeaters to be instructed to be turned off that the FCC will expect to see some specific data on the interference. An additional review of text from Debra Johnson was reviewed in regards to the new Technician video, with a review of another section to be completed in the coming week. The usual requests for information on reciprocal operating were handled and updated information on two countries was received, with corrections being posted on the web thanks to Web Services. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Last week, in addition to aiding in a Pave Paws check on Cape Cod repeaters, work continues on a BPL story requested by Computing Unplugged Magazine. John Kanzius has agreed to write part of an article on his use of ham experiences in his current cancer research. Media Hits has been written for January QST. There have been many requests for the new audio PSAs which are posted on the PIO webpage. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Responses to the 2008 Spectrum Defense Fund are picking up with gifts from Major Donors and Major Prospects starting to come in. As of 11/13/2007 the campaign has topped $116,000 from more than 2500 donors. This total brings the Year-To Date revenue to $270,566 from 3429 donors. The final solicitation of the year will be a request for unrestricted funding to 75,000 ARRL active members. Donors who have contributed to the 2008 Spectrum Defense campaign since October 1 will be suppressed from this mailing. The solicitation is expected to mail November 26. Another 50 bricks will be installed in the Diamond Terrace before Thanksgiving. This will be the last installation of 2007 and brings the total number of inscribed in the Terrace to 237. Requests received over the winter will be held for installation in the spring. A renewal application for the 2008 Combined Federal Campaign will be filed before the January 15 deadline. The charitable contribution provision of the 20-06 Pension Protection Act expires on December 31, 2007. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Steve Ford presented a talk at the Maryland-DC Section Digital Convention in Washington, DC this past weekend. During his first week, Assistant Editor Steve Sant Andrea prepared QST and Web material for production. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 45, for Friday, November 9. It went out to 65,348 subscribers. Khrystyne also voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for November 9. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI BPL The IEEE Power Engineering Society has completed a draft standard on the installation of BPL equipment (IEEE P1675). It is now in IEEE sponsor ballot. Ed Hare joined the balloting pool, primarily to help the IEEE provide balance. There should be no impact on Amateur Radio, so it is likely that he will want to vote to affirm the standard. The IEEE is also working on an EMC standard (P1775). The working group had believed it to be ready for ballot, but a panel of 12, consisting of representatives from the IEEE Power Engineering Society, the EMC Society and the Communications society voted to send it back to the working group, with an extensive set of comments. Ed was one of the 12, appointed by the EMC Society. It is not likely that all of the concerns of ARRL will be addressed in the final draft, so it is almost certain that Ed will vote against the EMC standard when it is placed into sponsor ballot. In preparation for the standard going to ballot, Ed is preparing a short document that will be used to tell ARRL members how they can sign up to ballot for IEEE standards. On the BPL field-development front, Ed reports that most manufacturers and operators are not using the ham bands in present deployments. Two major players in the BPL arena have dropped out: Duke Energy announced that while it is not going to dismantle its present trials, it will be looking at other alternatives to BPL to manage its smart-grid needs. Austin Energy announced that it has completed its evaluation of BPL. Its final report indicated technical problems and poor economics for BPL. See http://egpreston.com/AE-BPL-2007.jpg. The Auction The ARRL Lab helped support the ARRL auction efforts. Mike Tracy handled getting Product Review items ready to auction, and helped Deb Jahnke field questions from members. Mike Gruber put a shine on a number of vintage gear and helped secure an autograph from "Peggy Sue" of Buddy Holly fame, K5RSG. Ed Hare worked on the famous ARRL Lab Junque Boxes and offered his services to give a member a special tour of ARRL HQ, which slightly beat out by Peggy Sue's autographed record. W1HQ Sean Kutzko, the Lab staff, Katie Breen and Greg Kwasowski are really sprucing up W1HQ. Sean and Katie gave the place a fresh coat of paint. Greg replaced the ceiling tiles. The rigs have all been dusted off in preparation for some upcoming changes to the antenna system. In the works is an upgrade of the HF Yagi to a StepprIR beam, and the addition of 6- and 2-meter beams to the antenna array. Ed donated a nice AZ-EL rotator controller and rotators, to get the satellite array back on line. New VHF and UHF preamps are on order and Greg is working on replacing some of the conduit that leads to the roof area. A local office-supply company donated an office chair, which was used to replace one of the shopworn chairs that have been in the station for many a year. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch We've process 791 electronic logs for the Sweepstakes CW Contest in the last 2 weeks. Approximately 50 paper logs have also been submitted. We're starting to get responses from our 2007 Sweepstakes plaque sponsorship letters. All certificates for the 2006 ARRL 10 Meter Contest and the ARRL 160 Meter Contest were mailed in the last two weeks. Plaques for the 2007 ARRL DX Contest will be ordered this week. Ward Silver, N0AX, will be at HQ this week. Among his many activities will be consultation with Sean Kutzko and the MVP department staff on ways to change/improve contest organization and reporting. QSL Branch There is no delay in opening mail and a 1day delay in slotting of cards. This week, 101 pounds of cards were received from members. W1AW Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the middle part of the month November. He also edited 286 cards (from DXCC applications) for DXCC. Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He also corrected a problem with an antenna pigtail leading to the Harris patch panel. Joe also made some updates to the W1AW FMT web page in preparation of the 2007 FMT. Field Organization/Public Service Team Mitch Mitchell, K6BK, had announced his resignation from the San Diego SM position near the end of October. On November 6, Harry Hodges, W6YOO, was appointed to fulfill the present term of office that extends until March 31, 2008. Dave Patton, in consultation with Director Norton, made the appointment. Leona Adams and Steve Ewald have been assisting Harry with information to help him get started. Hodges previously served as San Diego Section Manager in late 1993 through early 1994. Leona received a nominating petition for Pat Bunsold, WA6MHZ, to run for San Diego Section Manager for the next term that begins in April, 2008. Nominating petitions are still open until December 7. Steve has also been working on the January issue of QST, and he turned in articles for the Public Service column. Chuck Skolaut learned that FCC promptly followed up on a report of a business use of APRS in California. A resolution was reached. The Ontario, California, airport officials reported that several brief periods of Amateur Radio news were heard on an FAA channel. This problem was quickly addressed by the Orange Section OOC, and the situation is being monitored closely. Interference to nets on 75 and 20 meters has the attention of Official Observers. Reports (mainly from Region 1) of a spur on 7069 kHz are thought to be originating from All India Radio. The problem was checked out, and it has, reportedly, been solved. The South American "PUN" beacon, monitored on many Amateur Radio bands, has not been heard in over the three days. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Jennie Davis has completed revisions of tests for off-site emergency communications exams. She is also revising forms used by offsite examiners. October on-line class enrollments totaled 180, which is comparable to 192 last October. Year-to-date enrollments total 1716, compared to 1931 through October of 2006. Education & Technology Program Mark Spencer completed the building of a prototype radio telescope interface which will be a new addition to the space in the classroom unit of the Teachers Institute. Thus far he has received 5 ETP applications for station equipment and 7 progress grant applications. Mark traveled to Denver for a regional National Science Teachers Association conference last week and made some connections with two other organizations that are developing STEM curriculum and addressing professional development for teachers. ARISS In 2007 ARISS completed 74 schools QSOs.--the most QSOs ever done in one year! This is almost double the average number in a year. Rosalie White was honored at this year's AMSAT Annual Symposium for her work with ARISS. Thank you for your diligent efforts and zeal, Rosalie! An ARISS volunteer and his ham friends, including a 9-year-old ham, demonstrated Amateur Radio and spoke about ARISS to 300 students and 25 teachers at a New York middle school, resulting in many questions about licensing. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 11/22-11/23 Holiday Katie Breen 11/15-11/19 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 11/19-11/21 Vacation Steve Ewald 11/21-11/30 Vacation Scott Gee 11/29-11/30 Vacation `` 12/10-12/12 Vacation `` 12/26 Vacation Dan Henderson 11/19-11/21 Vacation `` 12/20-1/4 Vacation Gail Iannone 12/19-1/4 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 11/21 Vacation Debra Johnson 11/21 Vacation `` 12/7-12/10 Vacation Joel Kleinman 12/4-12/7 Vacation Lisa Kustosik 11/30-12/4 Vacation Bill Moore 11/26-11/30 Vacation Allen Pitts 12/16-12/22 FEMA PR Training, Emmitsburg, MD Dave Sumner 11/30-12/1 SE MI DX Assoc./Motor City RC, Detroit MI `` 12/3-12/6 Vacation `` 12/12 Vacation