[FPARC] The ARRL Letter

[W4kkw at aol.com]

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 48
December 9,  2005
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +Federal jury renders  guilty verdicts in California jamming case
* +Radio amateurs contribute to  Ultra-Wide Band studies
* +Amateur Radio lets youngsters in New England,  Canada talk to ISS
* +Donation deadline looms for ARRL 2005 Holiday Toy  Drive
* +ARRL Headquarters mourns staffer Bob Schetgen, KU7G
*  Solar  Update
*  IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio:  Enjoy the ARRL 10-Meter Contest!
ARRL Certification and  Continuing Education course registration
ARRL Web site  offers Winlink 2000 page
+World record claimed on relocated  microwave band
+Southeastern VHF Society conference issues call  for papers
ARRL Emergency Power for Radio Communications  book now available
Bruce Pontius, N0ADL, wins November  QST Cover Plaque Award
Former ARRL staff member Sally  O'Dell, WB2E, SK
+RSGB to get new president January  1

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

===========================================================
==>Delivery  problems (ARRL member direct delivery  only!):
letter-dlvy at arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick  Lindquist, N1RL,  n1rl at arrl.org
===========================================================

==>GERRITSEN  CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS IN RADIO JAMMING CASE

A US District Court jury  has found Jack Gerritsen of Bell, California,
guilty on six counts that  included transmitting without a license and
willful and malicious  interference with radio transmissions. Gerritsen, 69,
who briefly held the  amateur call sign KG6IRO, will face sentencing March 6,
according to the  office of Debra W. Yang, US Attorney for the Central
District of California.  He could receive up to 15 years in federal prison.

"The Federal  Communication Commission investigated illegal radio
transmissions linked to  Gerritsen for four years," said a statement from
Yang's office. "According to  court documents filed in this case, the FCC
investigation revealed that  Gerritsen transmitted his prerecorded messages,
as well as real-time  harassment and profanity, for hours at a time, often
making it impossible for  licensed radio operators to use the public
frequencies." A federal grand jury  indicted Gerritsen last spring.

Turning down the offer of a public  defender, Gerritsen served as his own
attorney. The government's case,  presented by Assistant US Attorney Lamar
Baker, went to the jury December 8,  and the jury deliberated for less than
an hour before returning its verdict  December 9. US District Court Judge R.
Gary Klausner revoked Gerritsen's  bond, and the defendant was taken into
custody following the  verdict.

Gerritsen was found guilty of interfering with a Military  Affiliate Radio
System (MARS) communication last March and interfering with  American Red
Cross communications last January--both misdemeanors--and with  interfering
with US Coast Guard communications in October 2004, a felony. He  also faced
three misdemeanor counts of transmitting without a license.  Recordings of
radio transmissions attributed to Gerritsen were played for the  jury.

Those familiar with this week's court proceedings said Gerritsen  tended to
focus on freedom of speech issues and sometimes confused those on  the stand.
Among those testifying at length on behalf of the government was  FCC Senior
Agent Steven Pierce, who discussed his use of mobile  direction-finding
equipment and techniques used to track the source of  transmissions.

Just days before the trial began, the FCC affirmed a total  of $42,000 in
additional fines it had levied on Gerritsen, releasing two  $21,000
Forfeiture Orders (NOFs). In affirming the fines, the FCC rebuffed  every
argument Gerritsen had offered in responding to each Notice of  Apparent
Liability, including his insistent "freedom of speech"  claim.

"His unlicensed operation on amateur frequencies is not protected  by the US
Constitution as it is well established that the right to free  speech does
not include the right to use radio facilities without a license,"  the FCC
said in a footnote in one of the NOFs. The federal court jury in  California
apparently agreed.

In late November, Klausner denied  Gerritsen's motion to dismiss the three
unlicensed transmitting counts,  turning away Gerritsen's argument that the
FCC could not set aside his  Amateur Radio license without a hearing.
Klausner declared that the effect of  the FCC's 2001 set aside of KG6IRO "was
to treat the application as if it had  never been granted." Since Gerritsen
never held an Amateur Radio license, he  never had the right to a hearing,
the judge reasoned.

Last March, the  FCC upheld a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for interfering
with Amateur  Radio communications. The government has yet to collect.

FBI agents,  accompanied by FCC staff, arrested Gerritsen without incident
last May and  seized his radio equipment. Released on $250,000 bond while
awaiting trial,  Gerritsen remained in home detention, barred from possessing
any radio  equipment.

Gerritsen's history of radio-related legal problems go back to  2000 when he
was convicted for intercepting, obstructing and/or interfering  with
California Highway Patrol radio communications. In November 2001, the  FCC's
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau issued, then quickly  rescinded,
Gerritsen's Technician license, KG6IRO, because of his earlier  conviction.
While transmitting on various Los Angeles-area repeaters,  Gerritsen
continued to identify as KG6IRO, however.

Radio amateurs on  the West Coast complained for months about the slow pace
of enforcement  action in the Gerritsen case. Los Angeles-area repeater
owners had taken to  shutting down their machines to avoid the nearly
constant barrage of  malicious interference and lengthy political tirades
attributed to  Gerritsen.

==>ARRL, IARU CONTRIBUTE TO ITU ULTRA-WIDE BAND  STUDIES

The ARRL and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) have  contributed
to International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radiocommunication  Sector
(ITU-R) studies of Ultra-Wide Band (UWB) short-range RF technology and  its
potential to interfere with licensed radio services. UWB devices operate  by
employing very narrow or short-duration RF pulses that result in  very
sizeable, or wideband, transmission bandwidths. In February 2002, when  the
FCC released its 122-page Report and Order (R&O) in the UWB  proceeding, WT
Docket 98-153, it expressed its belief the technology "offers  significant
benefits for government, public safety, businesses and  consumers." But the
Commission also allowed that UWB's "substantial benefits"  could be
outweighed if UWB devices interfered with licensed services and  "other
important radio operations." 

"ITU-R Task Group 1/8 struggled  to characterize UWB emissions, such as what
frequency ranges, pulse  characteristics and power levels," said ARRL Chief
Technology Officer Paul  Rinaldo, W4RI. Rinaldo and ARRL Technical Relations
Specialist Walt Ireland,  WB7CSL, served on TG 1/8, took part in many of the
Task Group's US studies  and preparatory meetings and served as part of the
US delegations to ITU-R TG  1/8 international meetings. The League and the
IARU also provided the  characteristics of Amateur Radio systems.

"The FCC Report and Order on  UWB was a starting point for the world body to
accept it, reject it or modify  it," Rinaldo explained "Whatever was
submitted by ARRL had to be  consistent--or at least not in
disagreement--with the FCC R&O, as well as  survive the vetting process for
all US contributions to  ITU."

Prospective UWB applications include ground-penetrating radars,  through-wall
imaging, medical imaging and vehicle collision-avoidance  systems. The FCC
says its analysis indicates that UWB devices can operate on  an unlicensed
basis without causing harmful interference "provided  appropriate technical
standards and operational restrictions" are in  place.

"Having described the characteristics of UWB devices," said  Ireland, "then
the problem was to determine how UWB emissions propagate from  the device to
a radio system that might be interfered with." The wide  frequency range over
which UWB operates made that task more difficult, he  noted. 

Peter Chadwick, G3RZP, represented the IARU throughout the life  of TG 1/8
and made substantial on-the-spot contributions to the technical  work. "The
ARRL Laboratory provided basic characteristics of Amateur Radio  systems--in
this case related to bands between 3.1 and 10 GHz," Ireland  added. Ken
Pulfer, VE3PU, also contributed to the task group's  work.

In the final analysis, the US did not get the rest of the world to  accept
the FCC's UWB R&O without question. "The Europeans in particular  came up
with their own ideas on UWB systems and potential interference to  systems
they want to protect," said Rinaldo. "As a radio service, amateurs  didn't
get everything they desired either, but got the characteristics of our  radio
systems on record."

He says four Draft New Recommendations  (DNRs) on UWB characteristics,
compatibility, framework and measurement and a  report with radio systems
gained approval at the Task Group and Study Group  levels and soon will
circulate to individual administrations for their  approval.

"The bottom line? UWB is capable of interfering with radio  services,"
Ireland concluded. "If the UWB device and the radio  system--including
antenna--are in the same room and so forth, interference is  likely." Walls
or distance between a UWB device and a radio system make  interference less
likely, he added.

"In other words, for Amateur Radio  stations, UWB interference most likely
would be a self-inflicted wound,"  Rinaldo suggested. "That is, a computer
wireless UWB mouse would probably  interfere with receivers in the shack
operating in the same  bands."

==>NEW ENGLAND, CANADIAN YOUNGSTERS LOG SUCCESSFUL SPACE  CONTACTS

Youngsters in Alberta, Canada, and in Massachusetts, USA,  learned more about
the International Space Station and living in space  recently by speaking
directly via ham radio with ISS Expedition 12 Commander  Bill McArthur,
KC5ACR. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station  (ARISS) program
arranged the contacts between NA1SS in space with N1CSH at  Hawthorne Brook
Middle School in Townsend, Massachusetts, and, a few days  later, with VE6JBJ
at the Ralph McCall School in Airdrie, Alberta. McArthur,  54, told a
youngster at the Massachusetts school November 29 that he doesn't  expect
this mission--probably his last trip into space--to be  particularly
life-changing.

"This will probably be my last flight, so  I kind of look at this as the end
of a chapter and not necessarily . . . but  maybe . . . it's the beginning of
the next chapter," McArthur responded. "I  don't think it changes exactly the
things I believe, but perhaps I believe  them more strongly."

Asked why he'd want to go back into space knowing  the risks involved,
McArthur said space travel is just like any other  endeavor.

"It's the same reason that people take risks for just about  anything," he
told the students. "We think the benefits significantly  outweigh the risk,
and besides, it's such a thrill. Its so much fun to be in  space!"

Teacher Marilyn Richardson, N1CSH, served as control operator  during the
almost 10-minute contact. The middle schoolers asked 19 questions  although
the Earth station could not copy NA1SS beyond the 17th question.  There was
some dropout near the start of the contact too.

"NA1SS then  called me, and we continued asking 19 questions and hearing
clear, complete  answers to about 16 and partial answers up to number 19,"
Richardson told  ARRL. "I understand from others listening on the downlink
that Bill heard and  replied to all 19 questions."

Also on November 29, McArthur's crewmate,  cosmonaut Valery Tokarev, took the
RS0ISS microphone to speak with RK3DZB at  the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training
Center in Star City Russia. 

On  December 2, McArthur answered 18 questions via ham radio put to him  by
youngsters attending the Ralph McCall and Chestermere Lake schools  in
Airdrie, Alberta. McCall fifth-grade teacher Brian Jackson, VE6JBJ, was  the
control operator. The Amateur Radio contact attracted national  media
attention, including a report on CBC TV and radio. McArthur told the  first
through eighth graders that having Amateur Radio onboard the ISS not  only
provides a way to answer questions for youngsters like themselves but  serves
as a means of backup communication and a source of recreation. He  also
described what he likes about long-term space travel and what happens  when
astronauts return to Earth.

"What I really like about being in  space a really long time is that you
develop habits," McArthur said. "The way  you work, the way you play,
everything you do is adjusting for having no  gravity, and for a short period
of time [in space], that's hard to do."  Long-term space travelers feel very
weak and their sense of balance may be  disturbed when they return to Earth's
gravity, he added. "You can be very  dizzy."

McArthur explained to both groups of students that ISS crew  members have
been trained and equipped to handle many medical emergencies  that might
occur in space. "We have a lot of medicines on board and a lot of  medical
equipment," he told the Canadian students. If push comes to shove,  however,
the crew can return to Earth via the Russian Soyuz transporter  that's
attached to the ISS.

In addition to the CBC, two other TV  affiliates as well as reporters from
two Calgary newspapers, three local  newspapers and Reuters news service
attended the ARISS event. Audio also was  streamed to the Internet and via
IRLP and EchoLink. Besides the approximately  700 students in the audience,
regional and local dignitaries also were on  hand for the occasion. 

ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an  international educational outreach
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and  NASA.

==>HOLIDAY TOY DRIVE DONATION DEADLINE LOOMS LARGE!

In  less than two weeks, trucks carrying gifts donated to the ARRL/The
Salvation  Army 2005 Holiday Toy Drive <http://www.arrl.org/pio/toy> will
head  south from the Memphis, Tennessee, warehouse that's been the  drive's
collection point. As of this week, generous radio amateurs and others  across
the US have contributed more than 3000 toys to help brighten the  holiday
season for youngsters displaced or left homeless in the wake of this  year's
devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes. More donations continue to arrive  as the
deadline rapidly approaches.

"We received 99 toys--12 small  boxes--December 5, so we are over 3000," said
warehouse volunteer coordinator  Joe Lowenthal, WA4OVO. "The 3000 toys have
come from 31 states and the Virgin  Islands." ARRL Delta Division Vice
Director Henry Leggette, WD4Q, obtained  use of the warehouse, helped to
organize the crew of ham radio volunteers and  has been working with them
throughout the drive. 

The ARRL has  partnered with The Salvation Army for this year's campaign, and
country music  artist Patty Loveless, KD4WUJ, is the drive's national
chairperson. MFJ  President Martin Jue, K5FLU, graciously donated the use of
his firm's truck  to help provide the transportation. MFJ is headquartered in
Starkville,  Mississippi.

ARRL Media and Public Relations Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP,  reports that
League members have given more than $4000. The money will be  used to
purchase even more toys, especially for older youngsters, and  transport them
to the Gulf Coast. Impressed by an electronics experimenter's  kit that one
radio amateur had contributed, Pitts used a portion of the cash  donations to
purchase 150 more kits. "The kits not only are appropriate for  older
children, but they may well spark a greater interest in electronics,"  he
remarked.

Supplementing the donations from ARRL members, the  Memphis Wal-Mart has
given the Mid-South Amateur Radio Association (MARA)  $1000 to be split
between the kids on the Gulf Coast and youngsters from the  Gulf Coast at St
Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

When  the toy-laden trucks--there could be as many as three--head south
Thursday,  December 15, a celebration will mark the occasion. Expected to be
on hand are  Loveless and her husband and manager Emory Gordy, W4WRO; Shelby
County  (Tennessee) Mayor A C Wharton Jr, representatives from the offices of
US Rep  Harold Ford and US Sen Lamar Alexander; regional leaders of The
Salvation  Army and ARRL representatives, including Leggette, Pitts and ARRL
Alabama  Section Manager Greg Sarratt, W4OZK. The Salvation Army's Gulf  Area
headquarters in Jackson, Mississippi, will serve as the distribution  center.

Radio amateurs are invited to send new unwrapped toys for boys  and girls
aged 1 to 14 to: ARRL Toy Drive/The Salvation Army, 1775 Moriah  Woods
Blvd--Suite 12, Memphis, TN 38117-7125. Include a QSL card or a card  bearing
your call sign.

ARRL invites its members to send checks if  they prefer, made out to "ARRL
Toy Drive." Send these donations to: ARRL Toy  Drive, 225 Main St, Newington,
CT 06111. 

==>ARRL STAFF MEMBER BOB  SCHETGEN, KU7G, SK

The ARRL Headquarters staff is mourning the loss of  Senior Assistant
Technical Editor Bob Schetgen, KU7G, of Glastonbury,  Connecticut, who died
unexpectedly December 5. He was 54. An ARRL Life  Member, Schetgen had worked
at Headquarters for nearly 23 years. A member of  the editorial staff for the
past 16 years, he was perhaps best known as the  editor of the "Hints &
Kinks" column in QST and as managing editor of the  League's technical and
experimenter's journal QEX.

"Bob was a loyal,  long-term member of the ARRL staff, but more significant
than that, he was  universally well liked and respected," said QST Managing
Editor Joel  Kleinman, N1BKE, for whom Schetgen worked for several years.
Kleinman says  Schetgen brought "a high level of technical expertise and a
great sense of  humor" to each of the positions he held at HQ. "Whether he
was working on a  QST column or a 10-page technical article for QEX, Bob
added his special  touch to the material he prepared for publication. We will
miss him a great  deal."

After joining the ARRL Headquarters staff in 1983, Schetgen served  as a
technical information specialist in the Technical Department, as  assistant
to the executive vice president, as an assistant technical editor  on the
Book Team and as handling editor for "Technical Correspondence" and  "Hints &
Kinks" in QST.

>From 1987 until 1989, Schetgen was  assistant to Executive Vice President
(now CEO) David Sumner, K1ZZ. "The  attention to detail that would make him
so valuable as a technical editor was  very evident in that role," Sumner
said. "Bob's patience, loyalty, and  general good humor will be greatly
missed."

As a member of the ARRL  Book Team from 1989 until 1995, Schetgen had a hand
in preparing several  popular ARRL publications. He was assistant editor of
The ARRL Handbook in  1991 and 1992 and editor from 1993 until 1996. He also
contributed to the  Handbook from 1985 until 1995 and authored the
"Troubleshooting" chapter.  Over the years, he also prepared several product
reviews for  QST.

Schetgen compiled and edited Vertical Antenna Classics and The ARRL  Radio
Buyer's Sourcebook (vols 1 and 2) among other books, and he and ARRL  Lab
Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, share credit for Radio Frequency  Interference.
Schetgen served as editor for additional ARRL titles, including  QRP
Classics, Hints & Kinks and Packet: Speed, More Speed and  Applications.

First licensed in the early 1960s as WN6LCT when he resided  in Los Angeles,
Schetgen left Amateur Radio for about 15 years after his  first Novice ticket
expired. He returned to Amateur Radio in 1980 as a  "Novice retread" (KA7KWA)
while living in Vancouver, Washington, soon  upgrading to Advanced class
(KC7OC) and, a year later, to Amateur Extra class  as KU7G.

Born in Indiana, Schetgen attended California Polytechnic State  University
in Pomona. Before coming to work at ARRL Headquarters, he was  employed in
the roof truss industry as a designer, plant manager and  salesperson.

Survivors include his wife, Ellen, a stepdaughter, Becky  Carr, and a sister
Dorothy Pacquin. A memorial service will be held December  10. An online
guestbook is on the Courant.com Web  site
<http://www.legacy.com/HartfordCourant/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&Perso
nId=15892760>.

==>SOLAR  UPDATE

Propagation prognosticator Tad "Sunny Claus is Coming to Town"  Cook, K7RA,
Seattle, Washington, reports: This weekend is the ARRL 10-Meter  Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/10-meters.html>. The  event this
year, as well as the ones in 2006 and 2007, probably will have  very few
sunspots, but sometimes 10 meters opens when we least expect it  

Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined as Sunspot 826 moved to the edge  of
the visible solar disk. Sunspot numbers peaked after the beginning of  the
month. Average sunspot numbers for the past week were almost 39 points  above
the previous week, at 72.6. Geomagnetic conditions were very quiet for  the
past few days. For this weekend, the predicted planetary A index  from
December 9-12 is 7, 12, 10 and 5. Predicted solar flux for December 9 is  85,
with 80 predicted for the following five days.

There is a low  probability of disruptive solar flares this weekend, although
conditions are  expected to be slightly unsettled compared with those of the
past few  days.

Sunspot numbers for December 1 through 7 were 79, 98, 75, 91, 85,  58 and 22,
with a mean of 72.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 98.2, 106.3, 101.3,  95.2, 91.7,
89.1, and 89, with a mean of 95.8. Estimated planetary A indices  were 13,
12, 11, 5, 2, 3 and 0, with a mean of 6.6. Estimated mid-latitude A  indices
were 12, 10, 9, 3, 2, 2 and 1, with a mean of  5.6.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

*  This weekend on the radio: Get on the air for the ARRL 10-Meter  Contest!
Also, the CQC Great Colorado Snowshoe Run is the weekend of December  10-11.
The NAQCC 80-Meter Straight Key/Bug Sprint is December 14. The  Russian
160-Meter Contest is December 16. The NA High Speed Meteor Scatter  Winter
Rally continues through December 18. JUST AHEAD: The MDXA PSK  DeathMatch,
the OK DX RTTY Contest, the RAC Winter Contest, the Croatian CW  Contest, the
Stew Perry Topband Challenge, the International Naval Contest  and the ARCI
Holiday Spirits Homebrew Sprint are the weekend of December  17-18. The Run
for the Bacon QRP Contest is December 19, the RAEM Contest is  December 25
and the DARC Christmas Contest is December 26. See the ARRL  Contest Branch
page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM  Contest Calendar
<http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for  more info.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course  registration:
Registration remains open through Sunday, December 25, for  these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE). Program on-line  courses:
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001) Antenna  Design and
Construction (EC-009), Technician Licensing (EC-010), Radio  Frequency
Interference (EC-006), Digital Electronics (EC-013) and Analog  Electronics
(EC-012). Classes begin Friday, January 6. To learn more, visit  the CCE
Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or  contact the
CCE Department <cce at arrl.org>.

* ARRL Web site  offers Winlink 2000 page: The ARRL now has a Web  page
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/winlink.html> devoted to Winlink  2000
<http://www.winlink.org>, the software and hardware system that  links
Amateur Radio to the Internet and allows sending and receiving  e-mail
messages via Amateur Radio. The League's new Winlink 2000 resource  page
contains general information about Winlink 2000, including  articles,
reprints, links and other useful information. A worldwide radio  digital
messaging system, Winlink 2000 also offers position reporting,  weather
bulletins and graphics, and emergency communication capabilities.  It's
already being used extensively by radio amateurs in the sailing and  cruising
communities as well as by recreational vehicle travelers,  missionaries,
scientists and explorers. The ARRL Board of Directors in 2004  encouraged the
deployment within the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)  of e-mail via
Amateur Radio "as exemplified by Winlink 2000" to meet the  needs of served
agencies and others involved in providing disaster  communications. Amateur
Radio volunteers responding to help in the wake of  Hurricane Katrina
utilized Winlink 2000 with great success.

* World  record claimed on relocated microwave band: Brian Justin, WA1ZMS,
who enjoys  plying the microwave spectrum, is claiming a new world DX record
for the 134  GHz band. Justin says the December 8 contact between W2SZ/4
(WA1ZMS  operating) and W4WWQ (WA4RTS assisting) was possibly a first on that
band for  the US. The QSO between W2SZ/4 in FM07fm and W4WWQ in FM06hx (both
in  Virginia) spanned a distance of 60.1 km (approximately 37.3 miles). The
mode  was FSK CW. Justin says the previous 134 GHz DX record of 56.4 km was
held by  JA1KVN and JA1ELV. "The signal margin on both ends of our QSO was a
few dB,  so there is a chance we could better our DX," Justin said, adding
that he  first needs to check out some equipment issues. Justin notes that as
a result  of some microwave spectrum reshuffling the 134 GHz band last year
replaced  the 145 GHz Amateur Radio allocation. Last year, the ARRL Board of
Directors  honored Justin as a recipient of the 2003 ARRL Microwave
Development Award,  for his pioneering work in developing the Amateur Radio
microwave bands above  30 GHz.

* Southeastern VHF Society conference issues call for papers:  The
Southeastern VHF Society has issued its first call for papers  and
presentations for its tenth annual conference, April 28-29, 2006,  in
Greenville, South Carolina. Papers and presentations are invited on  the
technical and operational aspects of VHF, UHF and microwave  "weak-signal"
Amateur Radio activities and applications. Suggested topics of  interest
include transmitters, receivers and transverters; RF power  amplifiers;
low-noise pre-amplifiers; antennas; test equipment; construction  projects
and station accessories. Other possibilities include contesting,  EME,
propagation, digital modes and techniques, satellites and  amateur
television. In general papers and presentations on topics such as  FM
repeaters and packet will not be accepted but exceptions may be made if  the
topic is related to weak-signal work. The deadline to submit papers  and
presentations is March 3, 2006. All submissions should be Microsoft  Word
.doc or Adobe Acrobat .pdf files. The page format is 8-1/2 by 11 inches  with
a 1-inch bottom margin and 3/4-inch margins elsewhere. All  content,
including photographs, must be black and white (no color). Those  submitting
papers or presentations should indicate if they plan to attend  the
conference to present their papers or if they are submitting solely  for
publication in the conference Proceedings, which the ARRL will publish  after
the conference. Direct submissions, questions and comments to  Technical
Program Chair Jim Worsham, W4KXY  <w4kxy at bellsouth.net>.

* ARRL Emergency Power for Radio  Communications book now available: When all
else fails, how will you power  your communication equipment? The ARRL's new
Emergency Power for Radio  Communications by Michael Bryce, WB8VGE, can
provide the answer, with  information on emergency or back-up power, energy
independence, portable  power and more. Emergency Power for Radio
Communications explores the various  means of electric power generation and
shows you how to plan ahead to stay on  the air when weather or other
circumstances knock out conventional  power--short-term or longer. It also
examines how to go "off the grid" by  employing alternative power-generation
methods such as solar, wind and water  power. There's a selection of
emergency power projects and information from  the pages of QST too.
Emergency Power for Radio Communications is $19.95 plus  shipping and
handling. Order from the ARRL on-line  catalog
<http://www.arrl.org/catalog/?category=&words=Emergency+9531>  or call
toll-free 888-277-5289.

* Bruce Pontius, N0ADL, wins November  QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner of
the QST Cover Plaque Award for November  is Bruce Pontius, N0ADL, for his
article "Surprising Results with a Low,  Hidden Wire Antenna."
Congratulations, Bruce! The winner of the QST Cover  Plaque award--given to
the author or authors of the best article in each  issue--is determined by a
vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll  Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast a ballot  for your
favorite article in the December issue by Saturday, December 31.  

* Former ARRL staff member Sally O'Dell, WB2E, SK: Former ARRL staff  member
Sally O'Dell, WB2E (ex-KB1O, AE8P), of Roswell, Georgia, died November  9.
She was 59. An ARRL member, O'Dell served on the ARRL Headquarters staff  as
assistant manager for club and youth groups from February 1980 until  August
1984, and she edited the "Club Corner" column for QST among other  duties.

* RSGB to get new president January 1: Angus Annan, MM1CCR, will  become the
next president of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB). The  Society's
National Council on November 19 elected Annan to the position for a  two-year
term. He will succeed Jeff Smith, MI0AEX, whom the Council had  reappointed
last May to continue serving through the new year because it  wanted
continuity of leadership in dealing with current challenges facing  Amateur
Radio in the UK. However, following a challenge based on the current  wording
of RSGB's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the RSGB Council,  with the
assent of President Smith, rescinded its earlier decision, leading  to
Annan's election. The RSGB Board plans to revisit its Memorandum  and
Articles with an eye toward updating the document.