<<081909.doc>> IN-Newsletter <<Microsoft Word Picture>> Vol. 32, No. 33 August 19, 2009 -- Covers the period August 9-15. Upcoming Meetings and Events Section Manager Workshop September 25-27 - ARRL HQ United States Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI) October 12-16 - ARRL HQ CEO Office Reported by Harold Kramer, WJ1B The Fathom Project continues as scheduled. Work is proceeding ahead with the technical design of the new Web site, principally by Fathom personnel with assistance and input from our IT Department. Work is proceeding ahead by our IT Department working with our Marketing and Sales Department, on selecting a software package for the new E-Store, a major technical and operational component of the new Web site. Two areas of content, Membership and VEC, have been completed and approximately 85% of all other new and revised content has been completed. Technical Relations Reported by Brennan Price, N4QX I attended the FCC's wired broadband forum on ARRL's behalf. The forum is one of several scheduled as the FCC formulates a plan for futher broadband deployment by February 2010, as required by Congress. Notably, BPL was not discussed at all, nor mentioned in passing, even once. I also attended the first meeting of United States Working Party 5A for the cycle. Jon Siverling is continuing preparations for CITEL PCC.I and ITU Study Group 1 meetings in September. Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND After returning from vacation most of the week was spent returning phone calls and answering emails - a task that will carry over to next week. We also handled numerous new phone calls relating to reciprocal operation and license renewal issues. A total of 18 letters/emails were sent to the owners/trustees of the repeaters identified in the April/May RFI testing at the Cape Cod Air Force Station PAVE PAWS installation as causing harmful interference to the radar. Sixteen of these were newly identified while two were carryovers from previous testing that had not quite met the requested mitigation level. We also have spoken again with Air Force Space Command in Colorado to work on plans for a visit to the Beale AFB site, which is pending scheduling. We continue to receive reports/complaints about the renewed on-the-air activities of K1MAN. FCC Special Counsel Laura Smith has shared that this situation is on their "front burner" and is an active investigation. Media & Public Relations Reported by Allen Pitts, W1AGP Allen was at the New Mexico convention (Duke City Hamfest in Albuquerque) this past weekend where he presented a forum on PR, was the keynote dinner speaker and had two broadcast radio interviews. Production/Editorial Reported by Joel Kleinman, N1BKE The 2010 ARRL Handbook, 87th Edition, has been released to the printer. Khrystyne Keane wrote and Joel Kleinman distributed The ARRL Letter, Vol. 28, No. 32, for August 14, 2009. Thanks to Jon Bloom for sending a second version Friday evening; the first was truncated. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R The 2010 Handbook marketing engine is in overdrive! Final touches are being made to the Handbook cover. An ad is being prepared for October QST and for a catalog produced by one of ARRL's major publication dealers. Finally, work is underway for a large mailing campaign featuring the new edition. A complement of 'house' advertising was prepared for the 2010 Handbook-featuring a handful of other ARRL publications and membership. A membership-themed web banner was produced for a third party web site. Planning for the new web site continues. Details to help support some of the sites "social networking" features were drafted. An emailing was sent to ARRL officials (ODV and SMs) regarding field-based membership recruitment resources and guidelines. The information will be particularly helpful for volunteers supporting ARRL exhibits at hamfests and conventions. The information includes links to the ARRL Privacy Policy, a handout summarizing exhibit and display resources, details of the new à la carte system for obtaining handouts and brochures, and a membership recruitment reconciliation form. The Warehouse crew fulfilled 627 packages for publication and product orders, and shipped 475 free book membership premiums and QST mailing supplements. We have implemented a change for mailing QST supplements to international members using a much lighter and more durable envelope. The change will mean savings of about $3,800.00 annually. Better service, lower cost! ARRL Conventions Date Name Division City State ARRL HQ Rep. Aug 22-23 West Virginia State RK Weston WV Ed Hare Aug 23 W. Pennsylvania Section AT New Kensington PA Sep 11-12 Delta Division DL Mena AR Sep 12 GL Division Symposium GL Findlay OH Sep 12-13 Virginia Section RK Virginia Beach VA Sep 18-19 W9DXCC CL Elk Grove Village IL Sean Kutzko Sep 19 Ohio Section GL Reynoldsburg OH Sep 26 Mid-AT States VHF Conf. AT Plymouth Meeting PA Sep 26 Washington State NW Spokane Valley WA Oct 3 EMCOMM East AT Rochester NY Harold Kramer Oct 9-11 Pacific NW VHF NW Seaside OR Gene Zimmerman Oct 11 Connecticut State NE Wallingford CT Joel Hallas Membership & Volunteer Programs Reported by Dave Patton, NN1N W1AW Joe updated the web code practice files and their archives. He processed regular QSL card requests. He also readied the 866 console PC with software to handle the changeover to the new digital format (began on Monday, August 17, with the 6 PM digital run). Scott worked on fast and slow code practice files for the latter part of the month of August. Field Organization/Public Service Team Steve Ewald attended the National Conference on Community Preparedness in Arlington, Virginia, on behalf of ARRL HQ. Citizen Corps sponsored the event that allowed for networking opportunities with Citizen Corps groups, national partners and affiliated organizations. Leona Adams received and processed a Section Manager nomination petition from Joseph Plankinton, WDØDMV, of Topeka, to run for the Kansas Section Manager position. Lawrence Macionski, W8LM, of Wichita, is has already sent in his petition to run. Petitions are due September 4 for the next term of office that begins in January, 2010. The summer Section Manager election period has concluded, and ballots for South Texas and Los Angeles Sections are scheduled to be counted August 18. Chuck Skolaut prepared and sent out the monthly summary of Official Observer activity to all Official Observers, Official Observer Coordinators, and Section Managers. After receiving a copy of a Good Operator report, Laura Smith at the FCC sent this to us: "The OO program is a fantastic program and one that the ARRL and the amateur community should take pride in. Please pass along my thanks to the OO for his service to the amateur community. (She later contacted the OO directly with her comments.) Sending out "Good Operator" notices is just as important as sending out "Poor Operator" notices. It highlights for the amateur community the fact that there are so very many "good operators" out there and encourages them to keep up the good work. Tell the OOs to keep up the good work and that the Commission appreciates their hard work on behalf of the amateur community." A report of broadcasting heard on 40 meters was reported, and it's actively being followed up by Official Observers. Chuck also prepared to attend the ARRL Kansas State convention, and he performed as a back-up W1AW control operator for a couple mornings this past week. Emergency Preparedness & Response Reported by Dennis Dura, K2DCD Austin Summerfest I represented HQ for this event and presented at the ARRL forum that was attended by 75 amateur radio operators-which was very near room capacity. Additional meetings were held during this event with hams in Texas that were interested in the State planning efforts. See next report. Texas State Planning The State of Texas has stood up an ambitious planning/preparedness effort for re-entry and recovery after a catastrophic disaster in the State that Amateur radio is a critical part of. Amateur radio is part of the Communications Coordinating Group which is the level this planning and preparedness is taking place. These State level efforts overrides the normal activities of the three ARRL Sections. The resulting mission need is that the North, South and West Texas Sections must work as one. Meetings were held with representatives of the Texas Division of Emergency Management personnel and the Section Managers and Section Emergency Coordinators to best determine the method for achieving this mission capability. One result was the creation of an Amateur Radio Section Chief that answers to the Operations Chief in the State Operations Center. All ham missions are processed through this hierarchy, including RACES. ARRL members will be filling this leadership role. Additionally, 50 amateurs will be filling slots in the four Communications Task Forces that have been stood up around the state. This is the level in which strong support from the North, South and West Texas Sections come into play. This represents the first planning effort from a multi-section/regional perspective and sets the groundwork for multi-section/regional plans in other parts of the county to address specific hazards. This cooperative work with the Sections in Texas and the HQ EP&R program will continue to be developed this Hurricane Season and includes planning conference calls, logistical and resourcing work by each Section, and a high level of support from the West Gulf Division Director and Vice Director. Tropical Storm Claudette: With the overnight outbreak of Tropical Depression-then Tropical Storm Claudette on August 16th, quick coordination with the Alabama and Northern Florida Sections, and Southeastern Division occurred throughout the day. Fortunately all the participants were at the Huntsville Hamfest which made communications easy. Fortunately, the storm only became a wake-up call for those in the Florida Panhandle, and no emergency missions were reported as being undertaken by ARES. Hurricane Bill: As of Wednesday the 19th, the track of Bill has not removed all possible impacts to the mainland United States and close monitoring of the prognosis is occurring around the clock. Coordination contacts with the National Hurricane Center, the Hurricane Watch Net and the VoIP Weather Net have occurred in preparation for all possibilities. Additionally, coordination will occur for the support of radio amateurs in the Canadian Maritime provinces. This follows a highly successful support operation during Hurricane Kyle in 2008 that stuck the area. Education Services Reported by Debra Johnson, K1DMJ ARISS Borough of New Providence (NJ) Summer Playground Camp had a successful education day including an ARISS contact on July 30, supported by Barry Cohen K2JV. This town-sponsored summer camp activity is for elementary school children. The ARRL-affiliated New Providence Amateur Radio Club provided the youth with an introduction to Amateur Radio, and got them on the air for HF and VHF contacts. The club also has set up and supports a ham radio club in a local school. This is where Nick Esposito KC2ONP got acquainted with ham radio and got his license. Now Nick is the control operator for any ARISS QSOs in his area, and an active member of the New Providence ARC. It is difficult to track the influence of the ARISS program on the students who are part of the ISS contact, but here's another story that shows a clear impact. Bradley Henicke KD5FAL took part in an ARISS school QSO in the Houston area in 2001. Less than a year later he got his license. Bradley just graduated with high honors from the Air Force Academy, ranking 38th in a class of 1,046. He will now spend two years at Rice University, where he has won a full scholarship to earn a master's degree in mechanical engineering. And then he wants to be an astronaut. This summer, in addition to taking part in ham radio activities and enjoying the ARRL West Gulf Division Convention, he is an intern at Johnson Space Center working on a project to design better parachutes for re-entry capsules. This past April, USA Today selected Bradley as being among the top 50 students in the country. Goddard Space Flight Center finished the ARISS 25th anniversary certificates. They will be mailed next week. The cosmonauts have been transmitting some SSTV images, and hams around the world have been downloading these to the ARISS SSTV web site. Johnson Space Center tracks the statistics for hits on their NASA Teaching From Space web pages that describe the 12 education projects that NASA supports. The number of hits on the ARISS pages (225) during the month of July ranked second among all programs. Education & Technology Program The new advanced Teachers Institute, the TI-2, was offered for the first time this summer, in Coleville, CA July 16 and 17. Mark Spencer WA8SME developed the curriculum for this offering, which focused on satellite communications. The last regular session of the TI, also instructed by Mark, was completed at headquarters in early August. 93 teachers from 29 states attended the TIs this summer. The most recent story giving a recap of the sessions held this summer is posted on our website at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2009/08/05/11003/. A story about the TI-2 is being prepared for publication in QST. Bids are being sought to fulfill the equipment grants awarded to eight schools that were part of the May round of ETP applications. IEEE-USA requested a story about our ETP for their Web publication, IEEE-USA's Today's Engineer, which has been provided, along with a selection of photos showing students and teachers engaged in hands-on learning activities. Thanks to Steve Sant Andrea AG1YK for his editorial suggestions! Continuing Education Program Allen Pitts W1AGP is making good progress writing the new "Public Service and Emergency Communications Management for Radio Amateurs" course. We are working on the operational decisions that will determine the platform we will use to provide the course and how we will handle registrations, enrollments, payments and applications for enrollment for the exam component. The course will be offered in two segments, a content segment available to any member with no associated fee, and an evaluation segment that will provide a course completion certificate. The evaluation segment will require a fee and enrollment will require an approved application that documents prerequisites have been met. As the details are firmed up we will be releasing more information. Declining volume of enrollments in courses offered through our Continuing Education Program reflect the loss of the EmComm Level 2 and 3 courses from the course catalog, along with two other courses. It is important to note however, that year-to-date enrollments in the Level 1 course are only slightly lower than YTD enrollments last year. We also continue to see a very significant decline in enrollments in the Technician license course of 29%. Field exam volume is also down 61% reflecting the loss of Level 2 and Level 3 exam volume. May Jun Jul YTD 2009* YTD 2008 EmComm 49 51 51 500 698 Technician Licensing 28 45 38 277 392 All other courses* 20 23 19 144 192 Total 97 119 108 921 1282 EmComm field exams 9 15 7 164 417 *When comparing to 2008 enrollments, bear in mind that three courses have been discontinued since last year. 2008 EmComm enrollments and field exam totals include Level 1, 2 and 3 courses. 2009 EmComm enrollments include Level 1 and Level 2 thru March. The Level 2 course was suspended in April. Web/Software Development Reported by Jon Bloom, KE3Z The IT Department has filled the open Programmer position by hiring Michael Keane, K1MK. Mike was previously employed by Goodrich and Raytheon as well as being an independent consultant for the past few years. His initial assignment is the e-store integration between the new Web site and the Dynamics GP system we use for accounting management. Mike is married to staffer Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA. Sincerely Compiled by, Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Assistant to the CEO Staff Absentee List All Staff 9/7 Holiday Leona Adams 8/26-8/28 Vacation Kathy Allison 9/25-9/28 Vacation Bob Allison 9/25-9/29 Vacation Steve Capodicasa 9/8-9/14 Vacation Joe Carcia 8/21 Vacation Steve Ford 8/24 Vacation Scott Gee 8/27-8/28 Vacation `` 9/17-9/18 Vacation Mike Gruber 8/24-8/28 Vacation Joel Hallas 8/24-8/28 Vacation Ed Hare 8/15-8/21 IEEE EMC Symposium , Austin, TX `` 8/22-8/23 WV State Convention, Weston, WV `` 8/24-8/25 Vacation Dan Henderson 9/11-9/13 Virginia Section Convention, Virginia Beach, VA Mary Hobart 8/28 Vacation `` 9/4-9/8 Vacation `` 9/25 Vacation Bob Inderbitzen 8/24-8/28 Vacation Debra Johnson 8/24-8/25 Vacation `` 9/3-9/11 Vacation Kim Mancuso 8/19-8/21 Vacation Diane Petrilli 9/8-9/11 Vacation AnnMarie Pinto 8/17-8/28 Vacation Steve Sant Andrea 8/24-8/25 Vacation Barry Shelley 8/10-8/21 Vacation Dave Sumner 8/19-8/26 Tokyo Ham Fair & GAREC-09 Alex Tara 8/24-8/28 Vacation Dawn Trigilio 8/20 Vacation