<<103107.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 30, No. 44 October 31, 2007 -- Covers the period October 21-27. 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 After returning from Pacificon we caught up with approximately 150 queued emails and phone calls on a variety of topics. Numerous queries continue to come in relating to the new IARU Region 2 Band Plan as well as multiple requests for reciprocal operating information as the winter travels season approaches. The updated PAVE PAWS mitigation information for Cape Cod has been received and we began working through the new list which shows: 4 repeaters on original list never on the air - misidentified 5 repeaters have been mitigated sufficiently to meet DoD needs 6 repeaters from the original list still need action to meet DoD needs 7 new repeaters have been added to the Cape Cod list. These measurements were taken in July-August of this year. We are analyzing the 7 new repeaters to make sure they are accurately identified and then will begin notifying those owners and start the process towards meeting DoD needs. We are still waiting the results of new testing at the Beale AFB, CA site. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP The past week has been busy with reports coming in from various ham factions in Southern California and being very careful that any information shared by HQ was accurate and unbiased. This has taken a lot of effort by many of the staff here at HQ. There is very little media interest in the hams' emcom role as normal communications are "strained but functional" and no emergency traffic seems to be passing. Meanwhile, Allen did the audio news for Khrystyne, completed the Nov issue of CONTACT! and has begun work on an article about BPL which should appear in Computing Unplugged magazine. Development Reported by Mary Hobart, K1MMH Development has received a commitment for $20,000 from the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA to fund an ARRL Teachers Institute in the Dayton (OH) region in 2008. Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME is working on details with a liaison selected by DARA. Development has received a $5000 unrestricted contribution as a first time donation from an ARRL Member as part of the PPA program that allows charitable contributions from individual IRA's contributed directly to qualified organizations. The PPA program, approved in August 2006, expires on December 31, 2007. Returns from the 2008 Spectrum Defense campaign are increasing every day. So far, more than $32,000 has been received from more than 750 donors. A follow up letter was mailed last week to nearly 31,000 prior donors, and an additional follow up letter will be mailed to about 1700 major donors and major prospects. The goal of the campaign is to raise more than $300,000 to support ARRL's Spectrum Defense operations. Initial inquiries in search of a charitable gift annuity reinsurance partner have not been successful, but the effort continues. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE Joel Hallas has turned in much of the technical material for the January issue of QST. Larry Wolfgang attended the AMSAT Satellite Symposium in Pittsburgh last weekend. He reports that around 100 satellite enthusiasts were on hand. Khrystyne Keane and Joel Kleinman wrote and distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 26, No. 43, for Friday, October 26. It went out to 65,281 subscribers. Allen Pitts voiced and produced ARRL Audio News for October 26. Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N Contest Branch The 10 Meter Contest certificates went out the door last week, sent out solicitations for the 2007 Sweepstakes plaques to last year's donors, and respond to several emails requesting lost or misplaced certificates. Also fielded requests for new plaques from previous years, received a few requests for Sweepstakes rules interpretation, and handled a couple emails that expressed unhappiness with the contesting community. Working with the Editorial team, Ward Silver and Sean are beginning to work on a new layout for the Contesting page, including new content and an easy-to-read calendar of events. We've been asked to produce contest "tidbits" that can be inserted in the Contest area of QST as filler. There has also been talk of doing something special to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first ARRL DX Contest coming up in February, but nothing solid has come of that discussion yet. This weekend is CW Sweepstakes. The Contest robot has been checked to ensure there shouldn't be any problems when people send us their logs. We still have a minor issue, but that has been passed along to Trey, the "Keeper Of The Robot" and shouldn't adversely affect the log submissions process. QSL Branch There is no delay in opening mail and a 1day delay in slotting of cards. This week, 111 pounds of cards were received from members. W1AW On Thursday October 25, Joe attended an IEEE Awards Dinner that was held at the Hawthorne Inn in Berlin. On behalf of the ARRL, he accepted an award presented by the IEEE to the ARRL (and W1AW) in appreciation for our continued support of the CT Chapter. Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He and Ward Silver, NØAX also experimented with a web site (created by Bruce Horn, WA7BNM) that will be used for the 2007 W1AW FMT entrants data input. Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the first part of the month November. Field Organization/Public Service Team Western Pennsylvania Section Manager Larry O'Toole, K3LBP, decided to step down due to his health. Dave Patton in consultation with Director Edgar, appointed John Rodgers, N3MSE, to fulfill the rest of Larry's term of office through the end of 2008. John previously served as WPA SM from 2000 to 2003. Leona Adams received several Official Observer recommendations this past week all at once, and she received nice compliments from the OOC who made those recommendations for her service and assistance. Chuck Skolaut learned that the FCC's direction finding station is assisting in the identification of the short wave station on 17 meters. Official Observers were asked to help identify the stations interfering with a long-standing 20 meter net. Several cases of repeater interference are under investigation in Massachusetts and New York while more cases are cases involving 20 and 75 meters are underway. Steve Ewald hosted a teleconference with the Section Managers of the Roanoke and Southeastern Divisions. He was joined by fellow staff members Dennis Dura, Katie Breen and Chuck Skolaut. Dennis and Steve also heard from Section Leaders and others in southern California with regard to the role of Amateur Radio operators during the wildfires. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ Check out reports and photos from the 50th Annual Jamboree on the Air on our new JOTA story board page at http://www.arrl.org/scouts/jota/Stories/. Education & Technology Program Mark Spencer traveled to Richland, WA for a presentation at a Gifted and Talented Teachers conference. We have received a few more equipment grant applications in the past few weeks so there are a healthy number of grant applications for the upcoming round. Mark initiated discussions with the local point of contact for a Teachers Institute to be hosted by DARA in Dayton next year. He also constructed a basic radio telescope to add to the Teachers Institute curriculum, a project that can be easily duplicated by schools for under $100. Mark reports an up-tick in the number of requests for information from schools, mostly for information on space- related activities. Last week we mailed letters of invitation to membership to those teachers who are not already ARRL members and who have received grants from the Education & Technology Program or who have participated in the Teachers Institute. A little more than one third of past recipients have already joined ARRL as members. ARISS Rosalie White reports that a successful ARISS QSO with a school in Quebec was the 39th QSO made by Expedition 15 crew members, surpassing the record set by the Expedition 12 crew for the most QSOs made during an ISS expedition. A local paper carried a great story about an ARISS QSO at the Prairielands Scout Jamboree in Illinois at which 100 Scouts earned their Radio Merit Badge and were on-the-air on 2 and 20 meters, plus 440 and Echolink. ISS Malaysian crew member Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor made QSOs with individual hams after handling school QSOs. An ARISS volunteer in New York coordinated a special event station, K2S, in honor of last week's shuttle launch, which made 400 plus QSOs. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 11/22-11/23 Holiday Steve Capodicasa 11/9 Vacation `` 11/19-11/21 Vacation Steve Ford 11/5-11/6 Vacation `` 11/11-11/12 MDC/FAR Digital Conference, Washington, DC Scott Gee 11/12-11/13 Vacation `` 11/29-11/30 Vacation `` 12/10-12/12 Vacation `` 12/26 Vacation Ed Hare 11/8-11/10 IEEE EMC Society SDCom meeting Ft Lauderdale, FL Dan Henderson 11/19-11/21 Vacation `` 12/20-1/4 Vacation Debra Johnson 11/21 Vacation `` 12/7-12/10 Vacation Lisa Kustosik 11/30-12/4 Vacation Dave Sumner 10/23-11/7 Washington/Geneva