<<042209.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 32, No. 16 April 22, 2009 -- Covers the period April 12-18. Upcoming Meetings and Events Second Board Meeting July 17-18, 2009 @ 9:00am in Windsor, CT Technical Relations Reported by Brennan Price, N4QX I am a resident full time in the Fairfax office. I continue work on domestic preparations for ITU-R Study Group 5 meetings in Geneva next month. Within US Working Party 5B, proponents of HF Oceanographic Radar (WRC-11 Agenda Item 1.14) are not yet considering proposing a sharing arrangement with Amateur Radio--likely because they know we're not compatible. Jon Siverling has returned from Trinidad and Tobago, representing Amateur Radio on the CITEL delegation to the Spectrum Management Policy Development Meeting of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union. He is preparing for CITEL meetings in early May and early June. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND Email and telephone inquires continued during the week related to the San Luis Obispo hoax as well as in inaccurate post to QRZ.com claiming the ARRL did nothing to try to stop the medical devices proposed by the Alfred Mann Foundation. We pointed out that the ARRL met with officials from the Mann Foundation and are satisfied with their attempts to resolve potential problems. In addition, we reported this story several weeks before the QRZ posting. Once again, inaccurate and incomplete information led to the need to address baseless rumors. During the week, we had lengthy telephone conversations with staff at the Cape Cod Air Force Station and Air Force Space Command in Colorado as we started work on the next round of PAVE PAWS mitigation. ARRL Lab Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, Technical Relations Manager Brennan Price, N4QX and I will meet with the new commanding officer and staff at Cape Cod on Tuesday April 28. The Air Force is pleased with how things are being handled at the Cape Cod site and is anxious to keep things moving at Beale AFB in California. After discussions with General Counsel, we responded to an information request about incorporating an Amber Alert system into some on-air amateur radio operations. Counsel advised that while amateurs can participate in some ways, such as passing along bulletins when in a net situation, that the FCC decided very early in their deliberations not to include the amateur service as an active component of the Amber Alert program. New queries are coming in related to the Indianapolis Police Department. Since the recent FCC enforcement activity in Indianapolis, a large number of officers have been participating in license classes and we understand a test session is scheduled. Several ARRL members have contacted ARRL requesting we not conduct the test session. The rules of the VEC program do not allow VE teams to refuse to test qualified persons who present themselves for an exam. The VE's job is to administer exams fairly, securely and impartially, not to determine how the person taking the exam may use the license down the road. The FCC is aware of the session and will continue to monitor for Part 97 rules violations related to this situation. A PRB-1 / lease restriction query was handled at the request of Director Frahm and a PRB-1 question was handled for a member from Simsbury, CT. We looked into an ARRL trademark issue, which was referred to Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R. The keynote address and PowerPoint used April 18 at the Tennessee Section Convention in Memphis were prepared Finally, Field Day locator now has 442 sites listed from 48 states, 5 Canadian provinces/territories and Puerto Rico. We also have received word of a group that plans to operate Field Day from Costa Rica. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The June issue of QST was released to the printer April 21. New printings of The DXCC List and The General Class License Manual have been released to the printer. Khrystyne Keane wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 28, No. 15, for April 17, 2009. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI ARRL Handbook Mike Gruber discussed the EMC Chapter for the 2011 Handbook with Ward Silver. We agreed to meet in August to review the options and develop a plan. RFI Mike Gruber contacted a couple sources concerning a large scale solar power generating facility. In particular, Mike would like to see how much RFI one might expect in the vicinity of a large solar generating plant. Home facilities are notorious for RFI, and large scale commercial operations seem to be something we can expect to see more of in the future. Product Review Bob Allison tested out a late model HT in the Screen Room. Data was gathered and passed along to the reviewer and the Product Review editor. Some minor retesting was done on a new transceiver, soon to be published for QST. Several pieces of product review equipment were passed along to the Advertising department, in preparation for our yearly on-line auction. Bob Allison had an opportunity to check the paperwork for all Product Review Equipment-the system is working efficiently. Bob Allison communicated with a major SDR (software defined radio) manufacturer about the specifications of a computer needed to run it. We are in the process of acquiring one, thanks to the IT department. Dayton HamVention All kits and tool kits are now in house. Lab Maintenance Zack Lau transferred his old files to a new computer. QST Mike Gruber reviewed a potential QST article for Joel Hallas. It concerns home electrical hookups. W1HQ/W1INF Bob Allison worked with Joe Carcia resolving a problem with W1HQ's PSK-31 operation. It appears that when the software tells the IC-718 to transmit, the microphone is not muted, meaning if people in the room were talking, it would get picked up and put on the air where phone transmissions are not allowed ! Anyone using the IC-718 for digital modes must disconnect the microphone first ! After this discovery, all levels were set for optimal PSK-31 operations and a short QSO with W1AW proved the station operational. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R It was a particularly busy week for customer service and fulfillment. The warehouse team had some additional assistance from Kim Piatek, a member of the Customer Service Team. Many large dealer orders were processed this week (HRO, Amazon, etc.). Shipments were also fulfilled for the Teachers Institute. The Warehouse crew fulfilled 1,264 packages for publication and product orders, and shipped 182 free book membership premiums and QST mailing supplements. Publication and product sales have topped $150k this month, with 2-weeks remaining to reach the $247k goal. The spring publication catalog will be mailing early next week. An additional quantity will arrive at the warehouse at the same time. Catalogs are included in outgoing orders and other direct mail throughout the organization. Catalogs are also provided to publication dealers and storefronts. A 60,000 piece publications mailing will drop on April 22. A version of the mailing will also be included with international and Canadian distribution of June QST. An online survey of members that have joined during the past 12 months has been completed. Diane's compilation of the results and analysis will be reviewed by the management team in the next week. An emailing to lapsed members was distributed on Friday, returning 55 online membership applications during the weekend. A follow-up to a recent "Membership Booster" campaign (postcard mailed to clubs) was emailed to clubs on Friday. The Yakima Amateur Radio Club in Washington was the first radio club to respond to the campaign by mail, returning 5 membership applications to ARRL (all renewals). A lunch was held to host the ARRL Headquarter Volunteers. This bunch includes many new volunteers recruited by Diane earlier this year. Many of the volunteers give daily HQ tours and assist other departments with a variety of support. NEW! Table throws are available for purchase...a great way to dress-up an exhibit or display. The attractive royal blue covers are made from a synthetic fabric-very durable and wrinkle free. Offers for the ARRL Visa credit card have been mailed to members by US Bank-the creditor and issuer of the card. 2009 ARRL National Convention Planning * The 2 page program and activities guide was completed, with details for all of the national convention exhibits and activities. The guide will appear in the Hamvention souvenir program. The guide is also available for download at www.arrl.org/expo. * Hotel details have been sent to volunteers and staff. Reservation confirmation numbers will be emailed in a couple of weeks. * Planning details are being finalized for W1AW/8 and the ARRL Wouff Hong Ceremony. * Convention news and information is regularly posted at www.arrl.org/expo. ARRL Conventions Date Name Division City State ARRL HQ-Rep. Apr 24-25 SE VHF Society RK Charlotte NC Gene Zimmerman Apr 24-26 Idaho State NW Boise ID Joel Harrison Apr 25 Arkansas State DL Rogers AR Khrystyne Keane Apr 25 Louisiana State DL Monroe LA Steve Ewald Apr 25 Utah State RM S. Ogden UT Harold Kramer May 1-3 EMCOMM/Pacificon PC Reno NV Steve Ewald May 2 South Carolina Section RK Spartanburg SC Chuck Skolaut May 15-17 ARRL National GL Dayton OH www.arrl.org/expo May 22-24 Wyoming State RM Casper WY Ed Hare May 29-31 Rocky Mountain Division RM Estes Park CO H. Kramer/M. Gruber May 30 Atlantic Division AT Rochester NY Dan Henderson Jun 5-7 NW Division (SeaPac) NW Seaside OR Dave Sumner Jun 6 Georgia State SE Marietta GA Jun 12-13 WG Division (Ham-Com) WG Plano TX Dave Sumner Jun 13 Tennessee State DL Knoxville TN Jun 26-28 HAM RADIO 2009 Int'l Friedrichshafen Germany D. Patton/B. Inderbitzen Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch Club Competition gavels for the 2008 Sweepstakes have been ordered and should be available for presentation at Dayton. With the assistance of Ward Silver, NØAX, we have found two content managers for Kids Day: Mark Beckwith, N5OT and David Hodge, N6AN. Both were licensed at an early age and have children of their own, so Kids Day is important to both of them. They will begin work on adding fresh material to the Kids Day area of arrl.org as soon as possible. Plaques and certificates for the 2008 ARRL June VHF QSO Party will begin to be processed this week. W1AW Thanks to Steve Ewald, WV1X and Chuck Skolaut, KØBOG for their operating W1AW in the IARU Global SET on Saturday. In addition to making contact with other SET participating stations, they also passed SET-related messages. Joe worked the afternoon/night shifts on Wednesday through Friday for the vacationing Scott Gee. He processed one Qualifying Run certificate. Joe also processed regular QSL card requests. He updated the web Qualifying Run schedule. Joe created the texts for the May W1AW Qualifying Runs. He repaired an issue with the audio line feeding the 20-meter broadcast transmitter. And, he also temporarily installed a turnstile antenna for use with the Hamtronics R139 receiver. Field Organization/Public Service Team During the work week, Chuck Skolaut and Steve Ewald consulted with Dennis Dura in preparation for the Global SET. On Saturday morning, April 18, Chuck and Steve put W1AW on the air during the Global SET. We were active on 20, 75 and 40 meters, and several event-related contacts were made. On the evening of April 15, Steve and Chuck hosted an ARRL telebridge teleconference with the Section Managers of the Pacific Division. After being silent for three days the "gurgle" signal on 20 meters returned and then ceased again after several days. Updated information was forwarded to the FCC regarding this case. Chuck also provided a monthly summary activity report to the Official Observers, OOCs, and Section Managers. Leona Adams received and processed Section Manager nominating petitions for Jim Pace, K7CEX, of Western Washington, and Ron Murdock, W6KJ, of Sacramento Valley. New terms of office for these sections begin October 1. Leona also updated the Field Organization data base throughout the week. ARRL members in Utah have begun to return their filled-out ballots for their Section Manager election. These ballots are due by May 15. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ The recent announcement about the redevelopment of the Level 2 and Level 3 emergency communications courses as a new Advanced Emergency Communications course generated a lot of inquiries for this department. Kim Mancuso handled the refund offer to existing Level 2 enrollees. We purchased a third banner for circulation to education outreach events and have deployed all three. Most recently the banner was sent to a Sally Ride Science Festival at George Mason University. Will Marchant KC6ROL represented ARISS and amateur radio at the festival which featured talks by a cosmochemist, workshops for students presented by scientists and engineers, workshops for teachers and parents on how to support student interest in science and math, and a street fair with booths and hands-on activities. Will reported that several teachers expressed interest in our Teachers Institute. Recently we've published several stories that have highlighted outcomes from our efforts with the ARISS program and the Education & Technology Program. See the story about Richard Garriott in May QST and recent Web stories about the fruits of one Elmer's work with a school in Indiana at http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/04/08/10758/ and winning science fair entries from students at an ETP school at http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2009/04/15/10770/?nc=1 Education & Technology Program The close out date for the first few Teachers Institutes occurred this week with a flurry of last minute calls and requests to get applications in before (or requests for extension) the deadlines. The NM and FL TIs are filled. We expanded the NM TI to accommodate 15 participants and extended the deadline for the CA TI. Parallax is assisting with another burst of advertisement on their web resources to promote that session. Mark Spencer WA8SME finalized hotel arrangements for the NM and FL TIs and shipped cCircuit board resources for the NM TI. Publication resources have been shipped for the AZ and MI TIs. Mark reports that there has been an up-tick in requests for information on the old no-solder CPO project as well as requests for assistance on the rotor control projects posted on the education page of the web site. Mark reviewed the radio telescope article that will be released in July QST. ARISS A direct ARISS contact with St. Edward School in Ashland, Ohio was completed on April 20. Activities integrated into the science curriculum prior to the contact covered topics on satellite images, global positioning of satellites, telescopes, and radio waves. Students researched the topics, wrote papers and informational articles, interviewed Amateur Radio operators, and studied and applied science and math objectives. Astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, set a new record for the number of school QSOs made by one crew member during an ISS Expedition. He supported 41 school contacts during Expedition 18! Other crew members assisted with QSOs during the expedition, making the actual final count 50 school contacts for the expedition. The SuitSat-2 Team has progressed with its end-to-end testing, and will have all of the pieces integrated into near-final form at the AMSAT Forum in Dayton. Lou McFadin, W5DID, will even have a mock-up of a solar panel similar to what will be used. The ARISS Team has been told by the Russian Space Agency that it agrees to tag every 3rd Russian space suit that becomes obsolete. This means ARISS would have a space suit every 1 to 1 1/2 years to design into a SuitSat, and build and launch it during a space walk. Because of the Russian's decision, NASA JSC Education Office is interested in discussing an ongoing education plan with the ARISS Team for the ongoing SuitSats of the future. The ARISS-International Team has a new ARISS-Canada delegate. Maurice-Andrew Vignault, VE3VIG, will join the team; he has mentored an ARISS school in 2007, and set up and worked at a ham radio display at an area science museum. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 5/25 Holiday Hugh Brower 4/24-4/29 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 5/11-5/15 Vacation Joe Carcia 5/8 Vacation `` 5/13-5/17 Dayton Hamvention `` 5/22pm Vacation `` 6/19 Vacation `` 7/10 Vacation Jackie Cornell 4/20-4/24 Vacation Steve Ewald 4/24-4/30 Louisiana State Convention, Monroe, LA/Vacation `` 5/1-5/4 Pacific Division Conv/EMCOMM West; Reno, NV Steve Ford 4/18-4/26 Vacation `` 5/14-5/20 Dayton Hamvention/Vacation `` 6/3-6/5 Publishers Conference, Washington, DC `` 6/27-7/5 Vacation Norm Fusaro 4/15-4/24 SRT International DX Convention - Italy Scott Gee 5/14-5/15 Vacation `` 7/2 Vacation Mike Gruber 5/29-5/31 Rocky Mountain Division Convention, Estes Park, CO Joel Hallas 4/27-5/1 Vacation `` 5/13-5/19 Dayton Hamvention/Vacation Ed Hare 4/20-4/24 C63 EMC Committee, Piscataway, NJ `` 5/13-5/19 Vacation `` 5/20 IEEE SDCom EMC committee, Philadephia, PA `` 5/21-5/24 Wyoming State Convention Dan Henderson 4/28 Cape Cod Air Force Station, Pave Paws visit `` 5/14-5/17 Dayton Hamvention `` 5/29-5/31 Atlantic Division Convention, Rochester, NY Mary Hobart 5/13-5/17 Dayton Hamvention Amy Hurtado 4/23-4/24 Vacation Khrystyne Keane 4/24-4/26 Arkansas State Convention, Rogers, AR `` 5/13-5/17 Dayton Hamvention Lisa Kustosik 5/13-5/15 Vacation Maryann Macdonald 5/14-5/17 Dayton Hamvention Kim Mancuso 5/4-5/8 Vacation Bill Moore 5/13-5/17 Dayton Hamvention Dave Patton 4/14-4/21 International DX Convention, Visalia, CA/Vacation `` 5/13-5/17 Dayton Hamvention Allen Pitts 4/19-4/26 NAB, Las Vegas, NV Barry Shelley 4/16-4/21 Vacation