[CVRC] The ARRL Letter for February 28, 2013

Thu Feb 28 13:14:27 EST 2013

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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February 28, 2013

Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA <k1sfa at arrl.org>

ARRL Home Page <http://www.arrl.org/>ARRL Letter Archive
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>Audio News
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> IN THIS ISSUE

- + FCC Enforcement News: FCC Issues $10,000 Fine to Missouri Man for
Unlicensed Operation on 14.312 MHz
- + FCC News: FCC Proposes More Spectrum at 5 GHz for Unlicensed
Broadband
- + On the Air: ARRL International DX Phone Contest: March 2-3
- + ARRL Recognizes: Nominations Now Open for ARRL Technical and
Educational Awards
- + ARRL Executive Committee to Meet in Texas Next Month
- + Silent Key: Pat Hawker, G3VA (SK)
- Solar Update
- + Hammond Manufacturing to Take Over Dahl Transformer Line
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

+ Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrl-audio-news>.

==> + FCC ENFORCEMENT NEWS: FCC ISSUES $10,000 FINE TO MISSOURI MAN FOR
UNLICENSED OPERATION ON 14.312 MHZ

On February 25, the FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for
Forfeiture (NAL
<http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2013/db0225/DA-13-248A1.pdf>)
in the amount of $10,000 to Jared A. Bruegman, ex-KC0IQN, of Bolivar,
Missouri. The FCC said that Bruegman "apparently and willfully violated
Section 301 of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by operating
an unlicensed radio transmitter on the frequency 14.312 MHz in Bolivar,
Missouri." Bruegman -- who does not currently hold an Amateur Radio
license -- was operating in the phone portion of the 20 meter band that
is assigned to the Amateur Radio Service on a primary basis; his
Amateur Radio license expired in 2010. As a former Technician class
licensee, he did not have privileges to operate in that portion of the
20 meter band when he held an Amateur Radio license.

   In December 2012, the FCC's office in Kansas City received a
complaint from an Amateur Radio operator, reporting interference on
14.312 MHz. Upon investigation, agents from that office heard a male
voice transmitting on the frequency 14.312 MHz. Using direction finding
equipment, the agents located the source of the radio frequency
transmissions to a transmitting antenna mounted on a pole next to
Bruegman's residence. The agents determined that the signals on 14.312
MHz exceeded the limits for operation under Part 15 of the Commission's
rules and therefore a license was required to transmit. The agents
further discovered that Bruegman did not hold a license to operate a
radio transmitter on 14.312 MHz at or near that location.

The agents determined that the source of the transmissions was coming
from an unlicensed radio transmitter from a bedroom in Bruegman's
residence. "Mr Bruegman was the only person present in the bedroom and
the only male in the residence during the inspection," the NAL stated.
"Mr Bruegman admitted to the agents that he owned the radio
transmitter. The agents observed that the transmitter was turned on and
tuned to 14.311 MHz. Mr Bruegman told the agents that he had no current
Commission licenses, but that he previously held an Amateur Radio
license, call sign KC0IQN. Mr Bruegman told the agents he would remove
the microphone from his transmitter and only use it as a receiver."

Section 503(b) of the Communications Act provides that "any person who
willfully or repeatedly fails to comply substantially with the terms
and conditions of any license, or willfully or repeatedly fails to
comply with any of the provisions of the Act or of any rule,
regulation, or order issued by the Commission thereunder, shall be
liable for a forfeiture penalty." In addition, Bruegman was found to be
in violation of Section 301 of the Communications Act, stating that "no
person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of
energy or communications or signals by radio within the United States,
except under and in accordance with the Act and with a license granted
under the provisions of the Act."

Bruegman has until March 27, 2013 to pay the forfeiture in full, or
file a written statement seeking its reduction or cancellation.

==> + FCC NEWS: FCC PROPOSES MORE SPECTRUM AT 5 GHZ FOR UNLICENSED
BROADBAND

   On February 20, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
(NPRM) in ET Docket No. 13-49, seeking to revise the Part 15 rules
governing unlicensed national information infrastructure (U-NII)
devices in the 5 GHz band. These devices presently operate in the
frequency bands 5.15- 5.35 GHz and 5.47-5.825 GHz. They use wideband
digital modulation techniques to provide a wide array of high data rate
mobile and fixed communications for individuals, businesses and
institutions. Slightly different rules apply to 5.825-5.85 GHz. Among
the changes being proposed are two additional bands totaling 195 MHz
for unlicensed operation: 5.35-5.47 GHz and 5.85-5.925 GHz. The Amateur
Radio Service has a secondary allocation at 5.65-5.925 GHz, including
an Amateur Satellite Service uplink allocation of 5.65-5.67 GHz and a
downlink allocation of 5.83-5.85 GHz. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-proposes-more-spectrum-at-5-ghz-for-unlicensed-broadband>.

==> + ON THE AIR: ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX PHONE CONTEST: MARCH 2-3

With the CW portion of the ARRL DX Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/news/ride-the-wave-in-the-2013-arrl-international-dx-cw-contest>
now a series of fading dits and dahs in the memories of participants,
preparations for the Phone portion of the ARRL International DX Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx> the weekend of March 2-3 are already
underway. The high bands were in good form for the CW contest two weeks
ago, with many stations reporting hundreds of QSOs on 15 and even 10
meters. Will these good conditions last into early March? Find out!

   Just like the CW DX Contest, the Phone competition is relatively
easy: US and Canadian stations only work DX, and DX stations only work
US and Canadian stations. The contest exchange is a signal report and
your state or province for US and Canadian stations, while DX stations
send signal reports and their transmit power.

The 2013 ARRL International DX SSB Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx> runs from 0000 UTC Saturday, March 2
through 2359 UTC Sunday, March 3. Logs must be e-mailed or postmarked
no later than 2359 UTC Tuesday, April 2, 2013. Submit your
Cabrillo-formatted electronic logs via e-mail <dxphone at arrl.org>; paper
logs should be sent to ARRL DX Phone Contest, 225 Main St, Newington,
CT 06111 USA.

==> + ARRL RECOGNIZES: NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN FOR ARRL TECHNICAL AND
EDUCATIONAL AWARDS

   Each year, the ARRL Board of Directors has the opportunity to select
recipients for a number of awards in various categories that honor
Amateur Radio operators. The nomination period is now open for the ARRL
awards, which are designed to recognize educational and technological
pursuits in Amateur Radio, including an award that honors a young
Amateur Radio operator. ARRL members may nominate hams for the Herb S.
Brier Instructor of the Year Award, the Hiram Percy Maxim Award, the
ARRL Microwave Development Award, the ARRL Technical Service Award, the
ARRL Technical Innovation Award and the Knight Distinguished Service
Award. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/nominations-now-open-for-arrl-technical-and-educational-awards>.

==> + ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO MEET IN TEXAS NEXT MONTH

   The ARRL Executive Committee will meet Saturday, March 9 in Irving,
Texas. ARRL President Kay Craigie, N3KN, serves as Chairman of the
Executive Committee. Five Division Directors who are elected by the
ARRL Board of Directors are also on the committee: Northwestern
Division Director Jim Fenstermaker, K9JF; Central Division Director
Dick Isely, W9GIG; Rocky Mountain Division Director Brian Mileshosky,
N5ZGT; Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, and West Gulf
Division Director David Woolweaver, K5RAV. ARRL Chief Executive Officer
David Sumner, K1ZZ, and ARRL First Vice President Rick Roderick, K5UR,
are non-voting members of the Executive Committee. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-executive-committee-to-meet-in-texas-next-month>
for the meeting's agenda.

==> + SILENT KEY: PAT HAWKER, G3VA (SK)

   RadCom columnist and RSGB Life Vice President Pat Hawker, G3VA, of
London, England, passed away February 21. He was 90. For 50 years --
1958-2008 -- Hawker penned the bi-monthly "Technical Topics" column in
RadCom, the member journal of the Radio Society of Great Britain,
focusing on many new techniques and devices that came into being and
were enjoyed by radio amateurs in the second half of the 20th century.

Born in Minehead, Somerset in 1922, Hawker's schoolboy interest in
radio never left him. He heard his first amateur station on 20 meters
in the autumn of 1935. He obtained the "artificial aerial" license 2BUH
at age 14 and became G3VA in October 1938, at the then-minimum age of
16. Hawker was involved in many aspects of radio, beginning in World
War II as a member of the Radio Security Service (RSS) and its
connections to MI5 and MI6. After the Allied invasion of Europe, he
spent time with British intelligence services, as well as time with
Holland's Bureau of National Security. In 1948, Hawker became an
assistant to RSGB General Secretary John Clarricoats, G6CL (SK).Read
more here <http://www.arrl.org/news/pat-hawker-g3va-sk>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad Cook, K7RA, reports: This past week, we saw a decline in the
solar and geomagnetic indices: The average daily sunspot number dropped
nearly 21 points to 57.7, while the average daily solar flux softened
by 4.7 points to 100.9 and the average daily planetary A index declined
6.4 points to 5.1. This isn't much of a change, but geomagnetic
activity was low already, and this is even lower. The predicted solar
flux for the near term is 105 on February 28, 110 on March 1-3, 105 on
March 4-6, 100 on March 7, 95 on March 8-14, 100 on March 15-16, 105 on
March 17, and rising to 110 on March 18-20. The solar flux then reaches
a peak of 120 on March 25-27, and on March 28-April 6, it looks like it
will hover around 113. The predicted planetary A index is 5, 12 and 8
on February 28-March 2, 5 on March 3-4, 8 on March 5, 7 on March 6-7, 5
on March 8-10, 7 on March 11-12, and back down to 5 on March 13-20.
This weekend is the ARRL International Phone DX Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>, which runs from 0000 UTC March 2 to 2359
UTC March 3. Look for more on the ARRL website on Friday, March 1. For
more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>.

==> + HAMMOND MANUFACTURING TO TAKE OVER DAHL TRANSFORMER LINE

   Hammond Manufacturing <http://www.hammfg.com/> of Cheektowaga, New
York, has announced that it will take over the Peter W. Dahl line of
transformers from Harbach Electronics <http://harbachelectronics.com/>.
Upon his retirement in 2007, Peter Dahl, K0BIT (SK), sold his company
to Harbach Electronics, but earlier this month, that company announced
<http://www.arrl.org/news/harbach-electronics-to-discontinue-dahl-transformers>
that it would no longer support Dahl products and was in negotiations
with other manufacturers to take over the Dahl product line of
transformers and magnetics. According to both Harbach Electronics and
Hammond Manufacturing, finalization of the acquisition and transfer of
assets will take place over the next few weeks, with the transfer to be
completed by March 31, 2013.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

This week:

- March 2 -- Wake Up! QRP Sprint
- March 2-3 -- ARRL International DX Contest (SSB)
<http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx>
- March 3 -- DARC 10 Meter Contest
- March 5 -- AGCW YL-CW Party
- March 6-7 -- AWA John Rollins Memorial DX Contest

Next week:

- March 9 -- AGCW QRP Contest
- March 9-10 -- Idaho QSO Party; RSGB Commonwealth Contest; AWA John
Rollins Memorial DX Contest; EA PSK63 Contest
- March 10 -- North American Sprint (RTTY)
- March 10-11 -- Wisconsin QSO Party
- March 13 -- NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint
- March 13-14 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test

All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest
Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests>, the ARRL Contest Update
<http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update> and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
information. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out
the ARRL Special Event Stations web page
<http://www.arrl.org/special-event-stations>.

==> UPCOMING ARRL SECTION, STATE AND DIVISION CONVENTIONS AND EVENTS

- March 8-9 -- ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-section-convention-green-country-hamfest-1>,
Claremore, Oklahoma; ARRL Louisiana Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-section-convention-acadiana-53rd-annual-hamfest>,
Rayne, Louisiana
- March 16 -- ARRL Nebraska State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/nebraska-state-convention-2>, Lincoln,
Nebraska; ARRL West Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-texas-section-convention-58th-annual-st-patrick-s-day-hamfest>,
Midland, Texas
- March 23 -- ARRL South Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-texas-section-convention-greater-houston-hamfest-3>,
Rosenberg, Texas
- March 29-30 -- ARRL Maine State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/maine-state-convention-3>, Lewiston,
Maine
- March 30 -- ARRL North Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-raleigh-hamfest-2>,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- April 13-14 -- Communications Academy
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/communications-academy-2013>, Seattle,
Washington
- April 19-20 -- Southeastern VHF Society Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/svhfs-conference>, Cocoa Beach, Florida
- April 19-21 -- International DX Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/international-dx-convention-2>, Visalia,
California
- April 20 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-state-convention-northeast-louisiana-regional-ham-radiofest>,
Monroe, Louisiana
- April 26-28 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/idaho-state-convention-3>, Boise, Idaho
- May 4 -- ARRL South Carolina Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-carolina-section-convention-upstate-hamfest-1>,
Spartanburg, South Carolina
- May 17-19 -- Dayton Hamvention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/dayton-hamvention-4>, Trotwood, Ohio
- June 1 -- ARRL Georgia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/georgia-state-convention-atlanta-hamfest-1>,
Marietta, Georgia
- May 31-June 2 -- ARRL Northwestern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/northwestern-division-convention-seapac-4>,
Seaside, Oregon
- June 7-8 -- ARRL West Gulf Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-gulf-division-convention-35th-anniversary-ham-com>,
Plano, Texas
- June 8 -- ARRL Delta Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/delta-division-convention-2>, Rogers,
Arkansas; ARRL Tennessee State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/tennessee-state-convention-knoxville-hamfest-electronics-convention>,
Knoxville, Tennessee
- June 28-30 -- ARRL Rocky Mountain Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/rocky-mountain-division-convention-hamcon-colorado-2013>,
Estes Park, Colorado
- July 6 -- ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/eastern-pennsylvania-section-convention-firecracker-hamfest-electronics-expo>,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- July 25-27 -- Central States VHF Society Conference
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/central-states-vhf-society-2013-conference>,
Elk Grove Village, Illinois
- August 2-3 -- ARRL Texas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/texas-state-convention-austin-summerfest-2013>,
Austin, Texas
- August 2-4 -- Pacific Northwest DX Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/pacific-northwest-dx-convention-2>,
Spokane Valley, Washington
- August 17 -- ARRL West Virginia State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-virginia-state-convention-3>,
Weston, West Virginia
- August 17-18 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/alabama-state-convention-huntsville-hamfest-1>,
Huntsville, Alabama
- August 18 -- ARRL Kansas State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/kansas-state-convention-3>, Salina,
Kansas
- August 25 -- ARRL Western Pennsylvania Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/western-pennsylvania-section-convention-3>,
New Kensington, Pennsylvania

To find a convention or hamfest near you, click here
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests>.

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