[ARRL logo-and-logotype black gold vertical] IN-Newsletter Vol. 41, No. 42 December 2, 2016 Covers the period November 12 - November 25, 2016 Upcoming In-Person Meetings and Events West Central Florida Section Convention December 09 - 10, 2016 @ Tampa, FL Logbook Study Committee January 18, 2017 @ Newington, CT Administration & Finance Committee Meeting January 19, 2017 @ Newington, CT New Director and Vice Director Orientation January 19, 2017 @ Newington, CT Annual Board Meeting January 20 - 21, 2017 @ Windsor, CT Chief Executive Office Reported by Tom Gallagher, NY2RF A press release was issued on November 16 announcing that ARRL partner RFinder<http://www.rfinder.net/>, the creator of a web and app-based directory of Amateur Radio repeaters worldwide, will supply all data for the 2017-2018 ARRL Repeater Directory. Talking points were provided to Officers, Directors and Vice Directors the week prior to the release. Planning and preparations have begun for the Annual Board Meeting in January, 2017. Development Reported by Lauren Clarke, KB1YDD Contributions as of October 31, 2016 Diamond Club Spectrum Defense Education & Technology Legislative Issues Advocacy Misc. Unrestricted $279,983 $154,618 $162,639 $48,063 $85,709 ARRL received a $100,000 planned gift from the John J. Bryant, III (K9QLS) Charitable Remainder Unitrust, established in 2000. Per the Agreement, this gift will be placed in the ARRL Endowment and the interest used to support a variety of ARRL initiatives. Education Reported by Lisa Kustosik, KA1UFZ Teacher Registration Instructor Registration Graduation Kit Requests License Class Listings 3 15 3 20 Debra Johnson reviewed 25 proposals submitted to the ARISS program during the fall proposal window and conducted a review committee session with 3 other reviewers. The committee selected 12 proposals to move forward to the next step in planning to host an ARISS contact during the July-December 2017-time period. Debra also attended the ARISS international partners annual meeting in Houston TX on Nov. 15-18. Her role was to represent ARRL, one of the founding US partners of the ARISS program, and ARRL's interests in the educational outreach of the ARISS program. Rosalie White, K1STO, ARRL's appointed volunteer delegate to the ARISS working group and Secretary of ARISS International, also attended. The international partners celebrated the dedication and contributions of volunteers who have sustained it over the challenges of the past 20 years. Debra was one of 50 plus participants from the US, Europe, Japan and Russia. ARISS benefactors, CASIS (Center for Advancement of Science in Space), represented by Dan Barstow, KA1ARD, and JVC Kenwood, represented by Phil Parton, N4DRO and engineer, Shin Aota JL1IBD, also participated in meetings. The meeting was organized along several tracks, which included presentations and discussion of the following: * Hardware discussions to finalize designs for the Kenwood D710 radio and interoperable radio system, which includes a new power supply for the ISS * A review of fundraising efforts in the US * A phase 1 strategic planning session identifying goals for a new 3-5-year plan * A review of educational outcomes with reports from each of the regions. Parton announced plans to include a donation offer that would benefit the ARISS program with an ad for its new HT in the February issue of QST. ARISS Contacts Two telebridge contacts with astronaut Shane Kimbrough KE5HOD were successful during the period. Both were made via station W6SRJ: with Col*legi Asuncion de Ntra. Sra., Barcelona, Spain on Nov. 17 and with Salesian High School in Wroclaw, Poland on Nov. 25. Field Organization Reported by Steve Ewald, WV1 Leona Adams reports that the following Section Managers have been nominated to run for new terms of office in their respective sections: Wyoming - Section Manager Jack Mitchell, N7MJ, of Cheyenne; Iowa - Section Manager Bob McCaffrey, K0CY, of Boone; and Kentucky - Section Manager Alan Morgan, KY1O, of Paris. Steven Wood, W1SR, of Tucson, Arizona, has been nominated to run for the Arizona Section Manager's position, therefore, there will be a three-way race in Arizona this winter. As previously reported in the IN News, Virgil Silhanek, K7VZ, and Rick Paquette, W7RAP, have also been nominated to run for the office of Section Manager. The nomination deadline for this particular Section Manager election cycle is Friday, December 9, 2016, and the new terms of office are scheduled to begin April 1, 2017. Steve Ewald served as a host to Northern New Jersey Section Manager Steve Ostrove, K2SO, who visited Headquarters for the first time on November 16. Steve, K2SO, met with staff members and learned more about the resources and services that ARRL provides. Lab Reported by Ed Hare, W1RFI Product Review Bob Allison worked with a major Amateur Radio manufacturer to resolve a dynamic range issue with a review transceiver. It tuned out that the manufacturer unknowingly had a (small) production run with a questionable component. Thanks to the lab's measurements, the manufacturer was able to identify the problem and find a resolution. The affected transceiver is on its way back and will be retested, with test results completed on time for the review. Bob Allison performed Two-tone Third Order Intermodulation Distortion Dynamic Range (3 IMD DR) retesting of a high performance HF/VHF transceiver. Initial measurements indicated good 3 IMD DR, but were not up to the manufacturer's specifications. The manufacturer was notified and the problem was resolved at their end. The product review unit was shipped to the manufacturer, a component change was made and the unit was shipped back to the Lab, all done very quickly. Test results were as expected, with thanks from the manufacturer. Bob also worked on a QRP transmitter kit, already completed by the reviewer. It had issues, which Bob notified the manufacturer of. Modifications were suggested, after which the transmitter complied with FCC emission requirements. Bob determined that the kit's keying sideband asymmetry was a result of improper loading of the transmit crystal; the manufacturer was notified and vowed to make improvements to the circuit. Bob is currently testing a HF/VHF mobile transceiver and three other items in different stages of testing. Radio Frequency Interference Mike Gruber met with EMC Committee Chairman Kermit Carlson for lunch to discuss RFI matters. Joe Carcia tested a pair of AFCI breakers at W1AW. The breakers reportedly tripped at the complainant's station but did not trip at W1AW. These were Square D breakers - not Eaton breakers which had been problematic a few years ago. There is a strange case of RFI in Tucson, AZ. Initially it started as a power line noise complaint, however, the utility determined the source to be a nearby AT&T facility. AT&T then investigated and found the source to be a utility pole. The noise does not sound at all like normal power line noise. Mike discussed his conclusion with AT&T. They agree that something seems amiss and are willing to work with the utility to find and fix the problem. Industry Contact Ed Hare just returned to HQ after a 2-week marathon of industry meetings. The first was a meeting of the ANSI accredited C63(r) EMC committee meeting in Costa Mesa, CA. At this meeting, Ed was asked to provide one of the Working Groups developing standards for wireless charging devices with antenna modeling, showing how field strength decays with distance for a number of radiator types (small loops, small dipoles, etc.) Ed was also elected to again serve as the Chair of C63(r) Subcommittee 5, developing standards for immunity levels and test methods. Ed also attended the IEEE EMC Society Standards Development and Education Committee and Board of Directors meetings in Phoenix, AZ. At the standards meeting, Ed reported to the group on progress on the power-line noise standard that is being developed under the leadership of Mike Gruber. This standard is nearing completion and will be ready for IEEE ballot in early 2017. The standards committee also approved new projects, one on near-field measurements, another on absorber characteristics and a third on passive intermodulation. Ed has served as a Director-At-Large on the EMC Society Board of Directors for the past three years. His term expires at the end of the year, and he had decided not to seek another term on the Board, instead concentrating on the development of standards. Ed chose to run for the officer position of the EMC Society Vice President of Standards. There were two other qualified candidates for the position. Ed was the successful candidate, elected to serve a two year term, beginning on January 1, 2017. Both of these appointments are major success stories for Amateur Radio and ARRL, ensuring that not only does Amateur Radio have a seat at this important industry tables, but the contributions of Amateur Radio are valuable enough that League staff are elected to sit in seats at the head of the table. Operating Zack Lau has now confirmed 50 National Parks on the Honor Roll and 400 Park Units on the National Parks on the Air Leaderboard. Thanks to everyone that worked us as W1L at Race Point Lighthouse on Cape Cod. The weather was surprisingly good, although our Buddipole blew over in the wind and was broken beyond repair. New parts have been ordered. Two stations simultaneously operated at the Keeper's dwelling on 40 meter CW and 20 meter SSB. Below is a photo of all the operators: Bob Allison-WB1GCM, Kathy Allison-KA1RWY, Matthias Zapatka- AJ4BB, and Mike Gruber-W1MG. [DSCF2145][W1L Operators][DSCF2081][DSCF2083] Media & Public Relations Reported by Sean Kutzko, KX9X PR Manager Sean Kutzko has begun interviewing video freelancers, to begin work on video content creation for social media. Social media intern Michelle Patnode has agreed to a part-time position at ARRL. Michelle will be working around 20 hours a week, beginning mid-December. Kutzko is also continuing work with the Production Department to begin cross-promotion of QST content on social media platforms, to drive readership to the magazine. Assistant to the CEO Carla Pereira has begun co-hosting ARRL Audio News with Kutzko. Welcome aboard, Carla! The 5,200 members of the National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) Facebook group have been the catalyst for a push to reach the one million QSO mark for NPOTA by December 31. NPOTA activity has spiked as a result, with an average of 25,000 NPOTA QSOs a week being uploaded to Logbook of the World since early November. As of December 1, there are 927,000 NPOTA QSOs in LOTW. Projects currently being worked on by PR Department: Mark Twain special event operation ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Initiative (ongoing) 1BCG commemorative special event (December 11). Membership Reported by Diane Petrilli, KB1RNF A membership mailing to 40,000 lapsed and never members was sent Friday, November 18, 2016. The last membership mailing for 2016 will be sent December 9, 2016. A Thanksgiving-themed membership e-mail has been sent. Others for Black Friday and Cyber Monday have been prepared and will be sent later in the month. An e-mail was sent to current and lapsed ARRL members as a final push for the Amateur Radio Parity Act. Production/Editorial Reported by Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY The January 2017 issue of QST is at the printer. Alli has begun circulating a draft for the PDF manual that will help our readers navigate the new digital QST. As she adjusts permissions on the website, please alert her if any web pages are restricted that should not be. She will be gathering analytics for the website to send out next week. Radiosport Reported by Norm Fusaro, W3IZ DXCC Paper/Fieldcheck Processing Time 2-3 Weeks Logbook Processing Time 1-2 Days Regulatory Information Reported by Dan Henderson, N1ND Planning and preparations have begun for the Annual Board Meeting in January, 2017. Sales and Marketing Reported by Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R Jackie Ferreira prepared publication promotions for the Thanksgiving holiday, including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The campaigns were promoted by email, Facebook, Twitter, and on the ARRL website. A campaign promoting the 2016 ARRL Handbook was mailed to a targeted group of members and customers just before the Thanksgiving holiday. A series of campaigns promoting ARRL publications and products is being finalized for December. These promotions will reach members and other prospective customers via email and through a mix of our e-newsletters, news outlets, and social media. Yvette Vinci prepared a reminder emailing to members with a summary of "What's trending" in December QST, taking advantage of some early analytics shared by Allison McLellan. The notification was sent to 120,784 members on Monday, November 21. Working with Steve Ford and some of the editors, titles were committed for a handful of new publications which will be introduced next year: Ham Radio from Indoors (January 2017), covering tips and techniques to get on-air when an outside antenna is not an option; Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur (April 2017), a book covering good practices for electrical safety, lightning protection, and RF management; The ARRL Low Frequency Handbook (April 2017), and More Arduino Projects for Ham Radio (July 2017). Warehouse Supervisor Steve Capodicasa reported that a very large order placed by a major reseller on Tuesday before Thanksgiving was picked-up by the dealer's carrier the very next day - 2 pallets worth of boxes! Allison McLellan, Diane Petrilli, and Bob Inderbitzen attended a webinar about maximizing returns from digital and social media, sponsored by the Media & Content Marketing Association. There was significant focus on techniques for growing email lists - and then developing, and interacting with, the audiences to grow membership and sales. A summary of responses to our postcard included in The ARRL Ham Radio License Manual has led to some changes to the next version of the postcard. In the next version, we will ask how Amateur Radio supports the book owner's interest in other activities including radio electronics, science, DIY, astronomy, professional interests, public service, personal safety, emergency communications, and others. W1AW Reported by Joe Carcia, NJ1Q Thanks to Sean Kutzko, KX9X, for operating W1AW for a few hours in the ARRL November Phone Sweepstakes. He made 178 QSOs on 80 meters. Joe processed four (4) Qualifying Run certificates and five (5) endorsements. He processed regular QSL card requests. He updated the qualifying run and weekly QST web source web pages with current data. He also updated the web Morse code practice files and their archives. Joe corrected an issue with the W1AW 2-meter WL2K RMS Packet system. He continues testing the ARISS azimuth and elevation rotators. (Since testing began, the rotators have performed with no issues.) Joe, along with Bob Allison, took the Lab ENG van to a local Ford Dealership to have it thoroughly inspected (both safety and mechanical). Scott worked on slow and fast code practice texts for the upcoming week. He also processed VUCC certificates and endorsements. Hamfest/Member Contact/ARRL Representative/Meetings/Vacations Bob Allison 12/01 - 12/02 PTO " 12/26 - 12/30 PTO " 11/28 - 12/02 PTO Joe Carcia 12/02 PTO " 112/07 - 12/08 Meeting with Dr. Joe Taylor, K1JT, and FEMA's Ted Okado, Princeton University, NJ " 12/09 PTO Steve Ewald 11/28 - 12/06 PTO Jackie Ferreira 12/27 - 12/30 PTO Steve Ford 12/22 - 01/02 PTO Norm Fusaro 11/28 - 12/02 PTO " 12/22 - 12/27 PTO Tom Gallagher 12/07 Lunch meeting with State Representative Gary Byron, State Capital Building, Hartford " 12/08 Meriden ARC Christmas Party (as guest of Dr. Edward Snyder, Yale's W1YU) " 12/09 Fairlawn ARC 60th Anniversary Celebration, Fairlawn, NJ " 12/14 - 01/03 PTO Scott Gee 12/23 - 12/27 PTO " 02/20 - 02/24 PTO Perry Green Medical Leave Dan Henderson 12/05 - 01/04 Medical Leave Gail Iannone 10/07 - 01/09 Sick Leave Debra Johnson 12/19 PTO " 12/23 PTO Sean Kutzko 12/08 - 12/12 West Central Florida Section Convention, Tampa, FL " 12/22 - 12/30 PTO Lisa Kustosik 12/15 - 12/16 PTO " 12/22 - 12/23 PTO Carla Pereira 12/23 PTO Diane Petrilli 12/05 - 12/08 PTO Barry Shelley 12/02 PTO Sincerely Compiled by, Carla Pereira, Assistant to CEO