From n1ist@arrl.net  Mon Oct 14 14:31:12 2002
From: n1ist@arrl.net (Michael L. Ardai)
Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 09:31:12 -0400
Subject: [Letter-List] The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 40
Message-ID: <02101409311204@maven.atb.teradyne.com>

From:	SMTP%"letter-dlvy@arrl.org" 11-OCT-2002 19:41:59.82
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Subj:	The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 40

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 21, No. 40
October 11, 2002
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +Letter pitches CC&R bill to House members
* +ITU draft Recommendation sets limits on 70-cm spaceborne radars
* +FCC's Hollingsworth attempts to define "good amateur practice"
* +Politics continue to sidetrack FCC nomination
* +Shuttle camera has ham radio origins
* +Ham radio-in-space pioneer Thomas Kieselbach, DL2MDE, SK
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     Correction
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
     ARRL to sponsor emergency communications course seminar at Pacificon
    +ARRL conducts VHF/UHF contesting and awards survey
     FCC terminates communications emergency
     New West Texas Section Manager named
     KB5HAV appointed assistant manager of Hurricane Watch Net
     Amateur Radio glossary, abbreviations available on ARRL Web site
     New W5 QSL Bureau address

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================

==>SPONSOR, HOUSE AMATEURS PITCH CC&R BILL TO COLLEAGUES

The sponsor of the CC&R bill, HR 4720, and the only two amateurs in the US
House of Representatives are pitching colleagues to sign on as cosponsors.
HR 4720 is aimed at providing relief to amateurs faced with private deed
covenants, conditions and restrictions--CC&Rs--in erecting antennas. The
letter went out last week to all members of the US House.

"Your co-sponsorship of this bill is an opportunity to show your support
for more than 670,000 licensed radio amateurs throughout the United
States," says the letter signed by representatives Steve Israel (D-NY),
Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR) and Greg Walden, WB7OCE (R-OR). Israel introduced
the measure last May, with Walden and Rep Pete Sessions (R-TX) as original
cosponsors.

Visit the US House of Representatives Write Your Representative Service
Web page <http://www.house.gov/writerep/> for information on how to
contact your representative. The ARRL requests those writing or e-mailing
members of Congress--whether or not they are supporting this
legislation--to copy ARRL on their correspondence--via e-mail to
ccr-bill@arrl.org or via US Mail to CC&R Bill, ARRL, 225 Main St,
Newington, CT 06111. Correspondents should include the bill number, HR
4720, as well as their name and address on all correspondence.

For more information, visit the HR 4720, The Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Consistency Act of 2002 page on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/hr4720>.

As of this week, HR 4720 has attracted 30 cosponsors, although one of
them, Rep Patsy Mink (D-HI) died September 29. The latest to express
support for the measure include representatives Jo Ann Davis (R-VA), Zoe
Lofgren (D-CA), Marion Berry (D-AR), John Olver (D-MA) and Dennis Rehberg
(R-MT).

The "Dear Colleague" letter from Israel, Ross and Walden points out that
hams "regularly provide emergency communication when regular
communications channels are disrupted by disaster" and support
governmental and private relief organizations. It further notes that with
the growth of planned communities, hams "have begun to fall under an array
of inconsistent regulations, making it increasingly difficult to operate."
The CC&R bill, called "The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Consistency Act," was introduced "to ensure the continued viability of
Amateur Radio through consistent application of federal regulations," the
letter said.

HR 4720 would require private land-use regulators--such as homeowners'
associations--to "reasonably accommodate" Amateur Radio communication
consistent with the PRB-1 limited federal preemption. PRB-1 now applies
only to states and municipalities. HR 4720 has been referred to the House
Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee, to which Walden recently was
appointed.

==>ARRL, IARU CONTINUE PUSH FOR LIMITS TO 70-CM SPACEBORNE RADARS

A just-completed draft revision to an International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) Recommendation could result in reining in the potential for
interference to amateur and other services from synthetic aperture radars
(SARs) on 70 cm. Agenda item 1.38 at World Radiocomunication Conference
2003 (WRC-03) will consider a request to allocate up to 6 MHz of spectrum
for SARs in the band 420 to 470 MHz to be operated by the Earth
Exploration Satellite Service (Active)--EESS-Active. At issue is whether
the EESS allocation could be established without interfering with
incumbent services, including radiolocation and amateur.

"ARRL and IARU (International Amateur Radio Union) will continue to oppose
SARs operating in the most active portions of the amateur 70-cm band,"
said ARRL Technical Specialist Walt Ireland, WB7CSL. The spaceborne SARs
would be used to measure soil moisture, tropical biomass and Antarctic ice
thickness, and to document geological history and climate change. EESS
proponents contend that the best center frequency to penetrate jungle or
forest canopies is 435 MHz.

"There is some hype starting up at this late date that gives the
impression that the sky is falling," Ireland said, referring to recent
reports in the Amateur Radio news media that, among other things,
incorrectly claim that EESS proponents are seeking "exclusive use" of 430
to 440 MHz and that the EESS issue is a new one.

While some occasional interference from SARs to amateur systems would
appear inevitable, Ireland said, efforts to minimize the impact of the
EESS (Active) operations have been under way for several years. "Although
the SAR interference criteria limitations in the revised Recommendation
SA.1260 automatically would eliminate three of the SARs, amateurs can
still expect to receive interference from some of the remaining SARs on a
limited basis if WRC-03 allocates frequency spectrum between 420 and 440
MHz to EESS (Active)," he continued, "especially if the allocation is made
primary." The revised draft would keep four of the proposed SARs and
eliminate those with peak radiated power levels from 400 W to 10 kW--that
is, average power levels above 25 W, he explained.

Work on the major rewrite to ITU Recommendation SA.1260, hammered out by
ITU-Radio Sector Working Party 7C over the last several years, wrapped up
October 4 following a weeklong meeting. The draft recommendation sets
interference criteria limitations for SARs to be operated by EESS (Active)
in the 70-cm Radiolocation and Amateur and Amateur-Satellite Services
band. Ireland represented the ARRL on the US Delegation to ITU-Radio
Sector WP 7C. Ken Pulfer, VE3PU, represented the IARU. For the past two
years, Pulfer has been chairing the drafting groups that worked on the
revision and brought it to its present status--along the way incorporating
protection for amateurs.

SARs and the Amateur Service can coexist at 430 to 440 MHz "by taking
appropriate technical and operational measures," the draft revision
states. The Amateur Service is primary at 430 to 440 MHz in Region 1 and
secondary in Regions 2 and 3, which includes the US.

"It should be remembered, however, that an ITU-R recommendation is just
that--a recommendation, not a regulatory instrument," Ireland cautioned.
He notes that 18 sharing or compatibility studies--in which the ARRL and
the IARU have actively participated--have been conducted during the past
seven years--eight of them completed in the past two years.

During the Conference Preparatory Meeting next month as well as at WRC-03
next June in Geneva, the ARRL has pledged to maintain its stance against
egregious interference from SARs to Amateur Radio. The US also has
expressed opposition to SARs that could interfere with its radiolocation
systems in the band.

Earlier this year, the FCC's WRC-03 Advisory Committee and the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration's Radiocommunications
Conference Subcommittee recommended no change to the Table of Allocations
in the band 420 to 470 MHz as the US position. Both panels determined that
SAR transmissions could periodically impact amateur reception and even
held "the potential for significant interference."

==>"GOOD AMATEUR PRACTICE" MEANS NEVER HAVING TO SAY YOU'RE SORRY

FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth has endorsed a list of several
points that he feels help to define the concept of "good amateur
practice." Section 97.101(a) of the Amateur Radio Service rules refers to
"good engineering and good amateur practice"--considered to refer to
maintaining the highest standards of engineering and on-the-air
comportment. But the rule lacks specifics.

"Good amateur practice is a hard thing to define," Hollingsworth conceded.
"I'd have to say it's operating with the realization that frequencies are
shared, that there's going to be occasional interference and that's no
reason to become hateful and paranoid."

Hollingsworth says amateurs have to realize that more people than ever are
listening in, especially since September 11, 2001, and that amateurs
always need to remember that "our rights end where another person's
begin."

A Michigan Amateur Radio club has been credited with distributing a list
of "Riley-isms" culled from Hollingsworth's various talks at conventions
and hamfests and club meetings around the US. Hollingsworth--who verified
that he had been cited accurately--says his various comments represent an
effort to flesh out what "good amateur practice" consists of for
considerate the Amateur Radio operator. According to Hollingsworth, good
amateur practice means:

* giving a little ground--even if you have a right not to--in order to
help preserve Amateur Radio and not cause it to get a bad name or hasten
the day when it becomes obsolete.

* respecting band plans, because they make it possible for every mode to
have a chance.

* being aware that we all love Amateur Radio, and there's no need to
damage or disgrace it just to save face.

* keeping personal conflicts off the air. Settle your arguments on the
telephone, the Internet or in person. Just keep them off the air.

* cutting a net or a contester a break, even if you don't have to and even
if you have no interest whatsoever in nets or contesting.

* realizing that every right carries responsibilities, and just because
you may have a right to do certain things doesn't mean it's right to do
them in every circumstance.

* you don't "own" or get preference to use any frequency.

* not operating so that whoever hears you becomes sorry they ever got into
(or tuned in on) Amateur Radio in the first place.

Hollingsworth notes that the list "doesn't touch on a lot of other
technical issues, such as using 1500 W when your signal report received is
40 over 9." Good amateur practice, he said, "just means a lot of things
that can't always be quantified."--thanks to Riley Hollingsworth

==>ADELSTEIN FCC NOMINATION AGAIN SIDETRACKED

Word from Capitol Hill is that the nomination of Democrat Jonathan
Adelstein to the FCC quite likely is dead for this year. Senate
Republicans, still feuding with Democrats over judicial nominations, have
placed anonymous holds on Adelstein's nomination--even after his July
approval for a floor vote by the Senate Commerce, Science and
Transportation Committee.

A "hold" is a request by a Senator to the party leadership asking that a
certain measure not be taken up on the floor. Typically, a hold serves as
a bargaining chip to force the leadership to call up another piece of
legislation.

Adelstein is a former aide of Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD),
long a lightning rod for Republican complaints for stalling congressional
action. More recently, the partisan feuding exploded into outright
accusations after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT)
pulled from consideration the nomination of Dennis Shedd--a former top
aide to Sen Strom Thurmond (R-SC)--to a federal judgeship. The move
brought the 99-year-old Thurmond--a 48-year Senate veteran who's stepping
down in January--to the floor to denounce the absent Leahy, who, he said,
had promised a vote on Shedd before adjournment. "I am hurt and
disappointed by this egregious act," Thurmond declared.

Earlier this year, Judiciary Committee Democrats defeated the nominations
of Federal Judge Charles Pickering and Texas Supreme Court Justice
Priscilla Owens to the Fourth US Circuit of Appeals. At this point, all
pending judicial and executive nominations, including Adelstein's, are in
doubt. With time running out on this Congress, no Judiciary Committee
meetings scheduled to consider nominations and the election looming, it's
unlikely a compromise will be reached.

The White House posted the nomination of Adelstein last February to
complete the remainder of a five-year Commission term that expires next
June 30.

==>CAMERA USED TO SHOOT SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCH HAD HAM RADIO ORIGINS

Live video from a camera attached to NASA's shuttle Atlantis provided an
unprecedented view of a space shuttle launch October 7. Designed and built
by Ecliptic <http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/>, the RocketCam Imaging
System was attached to the skin of the shuttle's large external fuel tank.
AMSAT's <http://www.amsat.org> Jan King, W3GEY, is Ecliptic's chief
technical officer.

According to AMSAT's Tom Clark, W3IWI, King and another AMSAT
stalwart--Gordon Hardman, W0RUN--developed the launch camera's prototype
some years ago in Boulder, Colorado. According to an Ecliptics news
release, the aft-facing RocketCam provided NASA's launch team and an eager
world-wide audience with dramatic live, color video of the entire launch,
starting 10 minutes before liftoff and continuing through separation of
the shuttle's solid-rocket boosters and the jettisoning of its empty
external fuel tank. The RocketCam transmission ceased some 15 minutes
after liftoff when the tumbling external tank burned up during reentry
into Earth's atmosphere above the Indian Ocean.

Ecliptics says its unique camera system is employed regularly by Boeing on
its Delta II and Delta III rockets and by Lockheed Martin Astronautics on
its Atlas 2, Atlas 3, Atlas 5 and Titan IV rockets.

King was the project manager for the AO-7 satellite, which recently came
back to life following a silence of some 21 years. King and Hardman were
the primary AMSAT-NA people behind the AO-10 satellite.

Hardman and his wife Molly, W0MOM, are now principals in Crosslink
<http://www.crosslinkinc.com/>, which makes the Alpha series of
amplifiers. The Atlantis takeoff video is available from the Ecliptic Web
site <http://www.eclipticenterprises.com/gallery_rocketcam.shtml> or from
the NASA Human Spaceflight Web site
<http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/video/shuttle/sts-112/html/fd1.html>.

==>AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE PIONEER THOMAS KIESELBACH, DL2MDE, SK

Thomas Kieselbach, DL2MDE, of Wessling, Germany, died October 8.
Kieselbach was among the founders and early supporters of the Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program and a ham
radio-in-space pioneer. He served as technical director for ARISS-Europe
and represented Europe on the ARISS Technical Committee. In that role, he
was directly involved in developing a Phase 2 ARISS project for the ISS.
According to ARISS Vice Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, Kieselbach
suffered a fatal heart attack while sailing.

"On behalf of the ARISS International Team, I would like to express my
sadness in the loss of a true friend and outstanding technical ham," said
ARISS Board Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO. "As one of the founding
delegates of ARISS, he challenged our team to push the technical limits of
Amateur Radio in space." Bauer also expressed condolences to Kieselbach's
wife, Gaby, and to his family.

Retired from an engineering career in the space industry, Kieselbach's
Amateur Radio activities centered on satellites and manned space flight.
Bauer said he first became acquainted with Kieselbach's outstanding
technical abilities in 1985 during the STS-61-A German Spacelab-D1 space
shuttle flight. "During this mission, he flew the first set of German
Amateur Radio hardware on a human spaceflight," Bauer said, referring to
the first SAFEX (Space Amateur Funk EXperiment) project, which Kieselbach
had personally constructed.

"One of the most impressive parts of this system was the external antenna
that was mounted on the outside of the Spacelab module," Bauer recalled.
"He was the first to fly an external antenna on a human spaceflight
program."

Kieselbach's work "blazed a trail for Mir and ISS," Bauer said. Kieselbach
developed the SAFEX ham repeater-in-space program aboard the Russian Mir
spacecraft. His "Digitalker" digital voice recorder aboard Mir was used to
transmit holiday messages from space in 1996. Bauer also cited
Kieselbach's role in the STS-55 German Spacelab-D2 space shuttle flight in
1993 that was the first to include US and German-build ham gear. "We thank
him for his technical ideas and vision," Bauer said.

Fellow German ARISS team member Jvrg Hahn, DL3LUM--who described
Kieselbach as his best friend--expressed shock at learning of Kieselbach's
death. "He had always the spirit of a pioneer with regard to new
technology," Hahn said. "I will really miss him."

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Propagation guru Tad "Walking on the Sun" Cook, K7VVV, Seattle,
Washington, reports: All indices were up this week. Average daily sunspot
numbers rose by more than 4, and average solar flux was up by nearly 16.
There was a great deal of geomagnetic activity. Average daily A index was
up more than nine points. There really wasn't a day this week that
geomagnetic indices didn't indicate storminess. The most active day was
October 4, when the planetary A index was 48.

The third calendar quarter ended a week and a half ago, so it is time to
review some of the averages. Average daily sunspot numbers for the past
seven quarters were 147.3, 164.8, 170.4, 198.1, 178.3, 165.3 and 193.5.
Average daily solar flux for those same quarters was 164.4, 166.7, 175.5,
219.1, 203.9, 156.4 and 178.1.

Average daily sunspot per month January through September was 189, 194.5,
153.1, 144.4, 204.1, 146, 183.5, 191 and 206.4. Average solar flux for
those same months was 227.3, 205, 179.5, 141.1, 178.4, 148.7, 174.4, 183.9
and 175.8.

Over the next few days look for the geomagnetic indices to quiet and solar
flux to rise slightly to 175.

Sunspot numbers for October 3 through 9 were 81, 98, 155, 126, 143, 128
and 226, with a mean of 136.7. The 10.7-cm flux was 145.9, 157.5, 155.1,
161.7, 163.8, 165.4 and 167.2, with a mean of 159.1. Estimated planetary A
indices were 33, 48, 29, 19, 39, 34 and 22, with a mean of 32.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The YLRL Anniversary Party (CW), the 10-10
Day Sprint, the Oceania DX Contest (CW), the EU Autumn Sprint (CW), the
Pennsylvania QSO Party, the FISTS Fall Sprint , the Iberoamericano
Contest, and the North American Sprint (RTTY) are the weekend of October
12-13. JUST AHEAD: the YLRL Anniversary Party (SSB) is Oct 16-18. The
JARTS World Wide RTTY Contest, the ARCI Fall QSO Party, the Worked All
Germany Contest, the Asia-Pacific Sprint (CW), the RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest
(CW) and the Illinois QSO Party are the weekend of October 19-20. 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.

* Correction: A number in the story "Whitson Wows 'Em from Canada to
California" in The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 39 (Oct 4, 2002) demonstrates a
deficient knowledge of West Coast geography on the part of us East
Coasters. Hacienda Heights, California, is located approximately 18 miles
east of Los Angeles. Our report had greatly inflated that distance.

* ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
Registration for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level II
(EC-002) and Antenna Modeling (EC-004) courses opens Monday, October 14, 4
PM Eastern Daylight Time (2000 UTC). Registration will remain open through
Sunday, October 20. Classes begin October 21. Antenna Modeling students
now have up to 16 weeks to complete the course. If you have not yet cast
your vote in the C-CE new course survey, visit the CCE Course Survey Web
page <<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/cce/ccesurv.html>> before midnight
EDT on October 27. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce> and the C-CE Links
found there. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing
Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins, W1HSR, hrobins@arrl.org.

* ARRL to sponsor emergency communications course seminar at Pacificon:
The ARRL will offer a free Amateur Radio Emergency Communications course
(ARECC) seminar October 18 in conjunction with Pacificon--the ARRL 2002
Pacific Division Convention. This seminar is designed to increase
awareness of the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications course; it will
not include the Level I course itself. It's geared to certification
mentors, certification instructors, certification examiners and anyone who
wants to know more about these volunteer positions. "With Level I
emergency communications training being offered nationwide under the
homeland security grant from the Corporation for National and Community
Service, we hope to have all ARECC team players reading from the same page
to ensure success under the federal grant guidelines," said ARRL Emergency
Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG. The seminar will be held
Friday, October 18, 1:15 until 5:15 PM, in the Los Medanos room of the
Airport Sheraton Hotel, 45 John Glenn Drive, Concord, California. Seating
may be limited. Contact Miller at ARRL Headquarters if you plan to attend
(k3ufg@arrl.org; 860-594-0340; fax 860-594-0259). Seminar attendance does
not include admission to Pacificon, which is October 18-20. For more
information about Pacificon, visit the Pacificon 2002 Web site
<http://www.pacificon.org/>.

* ARRL conducts VHF/UHF contesting and awards survey: As part of an effort
to boost participation in ARRL-sponsored VHF/UHF operating events and
awards programs, the League is surveying a random sample of routine
top-scorers as well as average participants and clubs that regularly
participate in VHF/UHF competitions. The ARRL seeks input on the drop in
contest participation and the best ways to address the trend. "We'd also
like to hear from you about the ARRL VHF/UHF awards program in general,"
said ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG. "Our interest is
in gathering information we can use to improve the participation and
quality of both the various ARRL VHF/UHF contests and the ARRL VHF/UHF
awards programs." The survey is organized into several areas of inquiry,
the first dealing exclusively with contesting. It also seeks opinions on
improvements or additions to VHF/UHF contesting that might attract more
operators and on the awards program. The survey is available on the ARRL
Web site <http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/vhf-survey.pdf>.
Participants are encouraged to provide as much detail as necessary.
Surveys should be completed and returned by October 31 via USPS mail to
VHF/UHF Survey, c/o Wayne Mills, N7NG, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington CT
06111. The ARRL encourages copying and distributing blank surveys to
others who might be interested in VHF/UHF contesting. A summary of survey
results will be available in the future.

* FCC terminates communications emergency: At the request of the ARRL, the
FCC terminated its declared communications emergency, effective October 10
at 1700 UTC. The FCC ordered the communications emergency during Hurricane
Lili, which affected several Gulf Coast states. The FCC has announced that
amateurs may resume routine use of the frequencies 3873 kHz and 7285 kHz,
plus or minus 3 kHz. "The Federal Communications Commission wishes to
thank everyone for their cooperation and dedicated amateur service," said
Joseph P. Casey, chief of the Technical and Public Safety Division within
the FCC's Enforcement Bureau.

* New West Texas Section Manager named: ARRL Field and Educational
Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, has announced the appointment of
John Dyer, AE5B, of Cisco, Texas, as ARRL West Texas Section Manager. The
appointment was effective October 8. Dyer will complete the remaining term
of outgoing SM Lee Kitchens, N5YBW, which ends June 30, 2003. Kitchens,
who had served as West Texas SM since July 2001, stepped down citing
business and family responsibilities. Dyer, an ARRL Life Member, has been
licensed since 1961. He has served as Callahan County ARRL Emergency
Coordinator and District 3 Emergency Coordinator since 1999. He currently
serves as president of the Key City Amateur Radio Club (an ARRL-affiliated
club). His family members also are radio amateurs. His wife Carla is
K5RLA; his son John is KB5CUL, and his daughter Kathy is KB5CUN. Members
may contact Dyer via e-mail <ae5b@arrl.org>.

* KB5HAV appointed assistant manager of Hurricane Watch Net: Hurricane
Watch Net <http://www.hwn.org> Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, has announced
the appointment of Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, of Pearl, Mississippi, as
assistant net manager. "Since April when I assumed the helm, we had not
named a successor to my former role," Pilgrim said this week. "Well, based
on all the activity over the past two weeks, and with full awareness and
appreciation for the yeoman's effort and results produced by Bobby in my
absence, it is with great pleasure that Bobby has accepted the invitation
to be my assistant." Graves, who handled the HWN solo during Hurricane
Lili in late September and early October, said he was pleased and honored
to accept his new HWN responsibilities. "I look very much forward to
working with Mike in helping the Hurricane Watch Net grow stronger as well
as take it to newer heights," he said. Assistant Amateur Radio Coordinator
Julio Ripoll, WD4JR, at the National Hurricane Center's W4EHW, praised
Graves' work during hurricanes Isidore and Lili. "Your performance was
outstanding, and your professionalism, both on-the-air and off, is an good
example for all to follow," he said. Pilgrim thanked Graves for "stepping
up to the challenge" and said he and Graves already were working on
developing a strategy for "continuing a harmonious and effective
leadership" of the HWN.

* Amateur Radio glossary, abbreviations available on ARRL Web site: A
glossary <http://www.arrl.org/qst/glossary.html> of Amateur Radio and
electronics terms and a list of abbreviations
<http://www.arrl.org/qst/aguide/Abbrev_AWE.pdf> found in ARRL publications
now are available on the ARRL Web site. The glossary covers the range of
terms from "Alternating current (ac)" to "Yagi antenna" and "73." The
abbreviations cover the field from "a"--the abbreviation for "atto," the
prefix for 10 to the minus 18th--to the Greek letter Omega, the symbol for
ohm(s). Also posted is a list of corrections that will appear as
"Feedback" <http://www.arrl.org/qst/feedback/> items in QST. The posting
of the glossary, abbreviations list and "Feedback" came about as a result
of suggestions from members and should prove especially helpful and
convenient to newcomers to Amateur Radio.

* New W5 QSL Bureau address: The new address for the ARRL W5 Incoming QSL
Bureau is O.K.D.X.A, PO Box 2591, Claremore, OK 74017-2591 73.

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main
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Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 40
Date: Fri, 11 Oct 2002 19:12:39 -0400
To: ardai@maven.atb.teradyne.com
From: "ARRL Letter Mailing List" <letter-dlvy@arrl.org>

From n1ist@arrl.net  Mon Oct 21 14:28:32 2002
From: n1ist@arrl.net (Michael L. Ardai)
Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2002 09:28:32 -0400
Subject: [Letter-List] The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 41
Message-ID: <02102109283283@maven.atb.teradyne.com>

From:	SMTP%"letter-dlvy@arrl.org" 19-OCT-2002 01:48:06.65
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Subj:	The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 41

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 21, No. 41
October 18, 2002
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +It's "status quo" for now at 2300-2305 MHz, FCC rules
* +Ham radio avionics package "keeps on ticking" after launch disaster
* +Youngsters learn firsthand about space flight via ham radio
* +FCC judge favors Schoenbohm's return to ham radio
* +Amateur's Petition for Reconsideration on CC&Rs denied
* +League asks FCC not to let European FRS-type radios on 70 cm in US
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
     ARRL Audio News celebrates its fifth birthday
     Salvation Army officer praises hams' efforts in wake of hurricanes
     Paul Blumhardt, K5RT, joins CQ staff
     Special event to mark Panama centenary
     P29PL leaving Papua New Guinea

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================

==>FCC OPTS FOR STATUS QUO AT 2300 TO 2305 MHz

In a classic good news-bad news scenario, the FCC has dismissed an ARRL
petition that sought primary status for amateurs at 2300-2305 MHz. At the
same time, the Commission denied petitions from AeroAstro and
MicroTrax--commercial interests that had hoped to share the spectrum with
Amateur Radio. The action, taken October 9, maintains the status quo on
the band.

"That the commercial petitions were dismissed is, of course, good news,"
said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "We had argued for
that outcome." In comments filed on the AeroAstro and MicroTrax
proceedings last year, the League had called on the FCC to put an end to
"commercial encroachments" on amateur allocations in the 2.3 and 2.4 GHz
bands.

Sumner called the outcome of the League's petition, RM-10165, "mildly
disappointing" because, as he explained, a status upgrade "would provide
some measure of protection against future commercial proposals." Sumner
pointed out that the FCC did not altogether rule out a future status
upgrade, but he cautioned that the band "is still vulnerable."

In turning down the ARRL's petition, the FCC said that since it was also
dismissing the MicroTrax and AeroAstro petitions for access to 2300-2305
MHz, "amateur operators' weak-signal communications in the 2300-2305 MHz
band will be protected if the amateur allocation remains secondary." The
FCC said the band "will remain in the Commission's reserve, and the status
quo in the band will be maintained until the Commission reevaluates the
spectrum status for the Amateur Service that may be appropriate."

The FCC turned down the MicroTrax and AeroAstro applications in part
because appropriate spectrum already was available elsewhere and neither
company had demonstrated a need for an additional allocation. MicroTrax
had proposed to establish a Personal Location and Monitoring Service
(PLMS) at 2300-2305 MHz under FCC Part 27 rules.

The AeroAstro petition went further, proposing to share the band on a
co-primary basis with the Amateur Service. AeroAstro wanted to establish
its Satellite Enabled Notification System (SENS) messaging service under
the FCC's Miscellaneous Wireless Communication Service rules. AeroAstro
also had called on the FCC to impose technical limits on amateur
operation, which the ARRL in its comments had characterized as "Draconian"
and "totally unacceptable."

ARRL interference studies predicted "intolerable" interference, especially
to weak signals in the band, if the FCC had adopted AeroAstro's petition.
The FCC also worried that NASA's Deep Space Network would not be protected
by the modified out-of-band limits AeroAstro had proposed.

Internationally, the 2300-2305 MHz band is allocated to Fixed and Mobile
services on a primary basis and to the Amateur Service on a secondary
basis in all three International Telecommunication Union regions. The
Radiolocation Service has a secondary allocation in the band in Region 1,
and a primary allocation in Regions 2 and 3.

A copy of the Order is available on the FCC Web site
<http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2002/db1010/DA-02-2587A1
.doc>.

==>HAM RADIO PACKAGE "KEEPS ON TICKING" FOLLOWING LAUNCH DISASTER

What began as a perfectly magnificent morning in the Nevada desert
September 19 ended in a disastrous launch failure for a group of Amateur
Radio operators and amateur rocket enthusiasts. The Civilian Space
Xploration Team's (CSXT) Primera rocket engine failed a few seconds into
its flight, and the rocket was destroyed. CSXT team members had hoped the
suborbital vehicle, which carried several Amateur Radio payloads, would be
the first amateur-built rocket to reach space--an altitude of more than 60
nautical miles.

"It was very exciting. The sun came up, and the rocket was there, and we
activated all of the computer systems, and everything came up fine,"
recalled Avionics Manager and CSXT Program Co-Leader Eric Knight,
KB1EHE--one of the several hams involved in the project. "Everything went
very very smoothly." Until everything went terribly wrong three seconds
into the launch.

"There were a lot of people in tears," Knight said. "This is something for
which everybody put their lives on hold for a couple of years. It was a
very very upsetting thing." The team members went through "a period of
mourning" as they went about the range picking up the pieces of the
rocket. "It was very tough to swallow at that point," Knight added. No one
was hurt.

Amazingly and unexpectedly, the Amateur Radio avionics survived the
rocket's destruction and continued operating until they struck the desert
floor. "We were extraordinarily pleased with the way the electronics
performed," Knight said. "If there was an bright spot, it was that the
avionics--all based on ham radio technology and built by hams--worked
flawlessly. We had perfect video of the launch from the rocket right
through the motor failure." All members of the avionics team are ham radio
licensees.

The upbeat Knight said team members, while initially stunned and
devastated, remain undeterred. "We will be pressing ahead for a launch
possibly again next year," he said. "It was only a speed bump in our
overall process." Knight called his teammates "a very resilient bunch" and
determined to go forward.

The disaster means starting over largely from scratch. Along with their
hopes and dreams for success this time went a considerable amount of hard
cash--on the order of $130,000--that came right out of the members'
pockets. "We're actively looking for sponsors right now and people who
would like to have their name and brand tied in with such a historic
endeavor," Knight said. Primera Technology was the only corporate sponsor
for the failed launch.

The September attempt was the group's third. Additional information is
available on the CSXT Web site <www.civilianspace.com>.

==>TEXAS YOUNGSTER MAKES CAREER CHOICE DURING ISS HAM RADIO CHAT

Fourth-grader Kyle Bryant made a career choice this week. He's going to
become an astronaut. At least that's what he told his teacher, James
Jones, after he and nine of his classmates at Lamar Elementary School in
Greenville, Texas, fired off questions via ham radio to astronaut Peggy
Whitson, KC5ZTD, aboard the International Space Station. The contact was
arranged via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
project.

Kyle and his classmates at Lamar Elementary have been studying space and
space travel for weeks in preparation for the ARISS QSO. Jones called the
10-minute experience "absolutely phenomenal," and added that it was "mind
boggling" for his students to actually talk to Whitson after studying
about her and her two crewmates, crew commander Valery Korzun, RZ3FK, and
cosmonaut Sergei Treschev, RZ3FU.

"We've been tracking them for days on an Internet Web site," Jones said.
"This was very impressive! It made a bunch of kids very happy!"

Lamar Principal James Evans explained that since his school's new campus
opened in August, the emphasis has been on science and space. "Every
classroom has a display having to do with space," he noted.

Amateur Radio coordinator for the direct, 2-meter contact was Art
Passannante, KC5GQP. He and his crew from Greenville set up their station
outdoors in front of the school to accommodate a sizeable audience. The
quad beams for the contact were hombrewed in classic ham radio fashion
from scraps of all-thread, plastic pipe and wire salvaged from the trash
pile at a construction site.

By all accounts, the contact went flawlessly. Among the onlookers were
some 100 students, 20 parents, a dozen or so teachers and three reporters.

ARISS is an international project with US participation by NASA, ARRL and
AMSAT.--Gene Chapline, K5YFL


==>FCC JUDGE FAVORS SCHOENBOHM'S RETURN TO AMATEUR RADIO

An FCC administrative law judge has agreed that the FCC should grant the
General class Amateur Radio license application of Herb
Schoenbohm--formerly KV4FZ. Schoenbohm lost his bid to renew his ham
ticket in 2000 but applied for a new license the next year. Following a
hearing on Schoenbohm's application last spring, an initial decision of
Administrative Law Judge Arthur I. Steinberg October 11 declared that
Schoenbohm appears qualified to rejoin the Amateur Radio ranks.

Steinberg wrote that the hearing concluded that Schoenbohm "has not
engaged in any significant wrongdoing since his prior disqualifying
misconduct," that his misconduct was not recent, that his "reputation for
good character in his community is excellent," that Schoenbohm "has taken
meaningful measures to prevent the future occurrence of misconduct" and
that loss of his ham ticket "coupled with the shame and humiliation that
resulted" make unlikely a recurrence of misconduct.

Steinberg concluded that Schoenbohm "possesses the requisite character
qualifications to be a Commission licensee" and that the FCC should grant
his application. Schoenbohm also has taken and passed the Extra class exam
(Element 4), but that application was not part of the proceeding.

For his part, Schoenbohm said he was very grateful for the outcome and
said he appreciated "all the amateurs who came to my defense and supported
the application." He said he does not yet know if he will attempt to
regain his KV4FZ call sign if his application is granted.

Assuming that the FCC concurs with Steinberg's initial decision,
Schoenbohm has made good on his promise to one day return to Amateur Radio
after losing a lengthy battle with the FCC to renew his license.
Steinberg's decision followed this summer's Proposed Finding of Fact and
Conclusions of Law from the FCC Enforcement Bureau, which recommended that
the evidence presented at hearing supported giving Schoenbohm another
chance.

In 1994, the FCC put Schoenbohm's renewal application for KV4FZ up for
hearing following his 1992 felony conviction on federal fraud charges. The
Commission finally turned down his renewal application in 1998, the US
Appeals Court upheld the FCC's decision in 2000, and the US Supreme Court
declined to hear the case later that same year.

In March 2001, a couple of months after his authority to operate as KV4FZ
had expired, Schoenbohm took and passed the General class examination. A
couple of weeks later, he qualified for Amateur Extra as well, but the FCC
refused to act on the second application since it had not yet granted the
first. The FCC designated Schoenbohm's General license application for
hearing on the basis of character issues stemming from his 1992 conviction
as well as his alleged lack of candor during subsequent FCC hearings on
the matter.

A copy of Steinberg's initial decision is available on the FCC Web site
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-02D-01A1.doc>.
Other documents pertaining to this proceeding, WT Docket 01-352, are
available via the FCC's "Search for Filed Comments" page
<http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi>. To view these
documents, enter "01-352" in the "Proceeding" field and click on "Retrieve
Document List."

==>FCC REJECTS AMATEUR'S PETITION FOR RECONSIDERATION ON CC&R ISSUE

The FCC has turned down a Petition for Reconsideration filed by a Florida
amateur of the Commission's 2001 decision to deny the ARRL's Application
for Review in RM-8763. That proceeding concerned the League's lengthy
effort--ultimately stymied by the FCC--to have the Commission include
privately imposed deed covenants, conditions and
restrictions--CC&Rs--under the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1.
That policy, codified in Section 97.15(b) of the FCC's rules, calls on
municipalities to "reasonably accommodate" amateur communication when
regulating the installation of outdoor antenna structures. The League
subsequently sought a congressional solution to the issue in the form of
HR 4720.

The FCC dismissed the League's Application for Review on December 18,
2001, on the grounds that PRB-1 "adequately protects the predominant
federal interest in promoting amateur communications from regulations that
would frustrate the important purposes thereof." Not long after, and
acting on his own, W. Lee McVey, W6EM, of Bradenton, Florida, filed his
Petition for Reconsideration, claiming it presented additional evidence
that the FCC had not considered in dealing with the ARRL's petition.

"McVey's Petition fails to explain why he did not present his arguments
earlier and fails to present new facts or circumstances," said the
Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) by D'wana R. Terry, who heads the
Public Safety and Private Wireless Division of the FCC's Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau. Terry pointed out in the MO&O that under FCC
"delegated authority" she could dismiss as repetitious any Petition for
Reconsideration that "fails to rely upon changed facts or new
circumstances."

Terry contended that McVey could have made his arguments by commenting on
ARRL's Petition for Rule Making. "In this regard, we note that McVey did
not attempt to participate in this proceeding prior to filing the instant
Petition for Reconsideration."

Terry concluded that none of McVey's arguments warranted reconsideration
of the Order that denied the ARRL's Application for Review.

The FCC said McVey filed his own Petition for Rule Making on the CC&R
issue while the ARRL's Application for Review was pending in 2001. The FCC
dismissed that petition last February, reasoning that it was substantially
the same as the ARRL's. McVey, the MO&O noted, "did not appeal or
otherwise challenge" the FCC's decision.

==>ARRL ASKS FCC TO DENY US USE OF EUROPEAN/UK FRS-TYPE RADIOS ON 70 cm

The ARRL has asked the FCC to deny a petition, filed by a Virginia
amateur, that would set aside eight channels in the 70-cm band on which
visitors from Europe and the United Kingdom would be permitted to use
their Personal Mobile Radio (PMR 446) transceivers while in the US. PMR
446 is similar to the US Family Radio Service (FRS), which uses
frequencies in the 462-467 MHz range.

"ARRL is not unsympathetic to the compatibility concerns of international
travelers, but at the same time, there are far less problematic solutions
to the problem noted by the petitioner than those contained in the
Petition," the League said in its comments. The ARRL recommended that
European and UK visitors purchase FRS transceivers to use during US
visits.

The FCC put the Petition for Rule Making from Dr Michael Trahos, KB4PGC,
on public notice in August and designated it as RM-10521. A physician from
Alexandria, Trahos said his proposal would help to promote international
goodwill. The General-class licensee asked the FCC to amend its Amateur
Service "and/or" Family Radio Service rules to allow
"visiting/transient/tourist non-amateur non-United States resident foreign
nationals" unlicensed access to certain frequencies between 446.0 and
446.1 MHz at up to a half watt PEP output.

The ARRL demurred. "Not all means of fostering international goodwill
constitute public interest justifications sufficient to support regulatory
changes," the League said. A rule change permitting non-amateurs to
operate unlicensed transmitters on amateur bands, it continued, would be
contrary to the fundamental regulatory structure of the Amateur Service,
the Communications Act of 1934 and the International Radio Regulations. To
modify Part 95 rules would require a reallocation proceeding, the ARRL
said.

In his Petition, Trahos also asserted that existing Part 97 Amateur
Service rules precluding the use of PMR 446 radios in the US were
"essentially unenforceable" and that granting his petition would have
minimal impact on existing amateur operations. The ARRL contended,
however, that there are "obvious" enforcement problems associated with the
Petition and that putting the unlicensed users on a ham band was "a
formula for serious interference."

The ARRL band plan for 70 cm designates 446.0 MHz as a national calling
channel. Other frequencies in the segment are for simplex or repeater use.
In the US, government radiolocation services are primary and Amateur Radio
is secondary on that portion of the 70-cm band.

"If nothing else, this Petition reveals the problems that arise from the
failure to harmonize allocations internationally," the ARRL noted. "Had
the United States and CEPT [the European Conference of Postal and
Telecommunications Administrations] taken steps to harmonize FRS channels
internationally prior to creating the FRS in the first place, the problems
reasonably noted by the petitioner might have been avoided."

The Petition, RM-10521, and filed comments are available via the FCC's
Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS). Click on "Search for Filed
Comments" and enter "RM-10521" (the ECFS is case-sensitive) in the
"Proceeding" field. The comment period has expired.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Solar Solon Tad "Good Day, Sunshine" Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington,
reports: Sunspots and solar flux were higher during the past week. Average
daily sunspot values increased by more than 46 points over the previous
week, and average solar flux was up by nearly 20. Geomagnetic conditions
were unsettled to active. The most active days were Thursday and Monday
(October 10 and 14), when planetary A indices were 23 and 26. The really
quiet day was Friday, with a planetary A index of 8 and mid-latitude A
index of only 5.

Solar flux should drop over the next couple of weeks to around 140 by
October 27-29, then turn up again at the end of the month. Over the next
few days, Friday though Tuesday, approximate solar flux values are
predicted around 180 to 185. The earth is currently within a high-speed
solar wind, and we could see a jump in geomagnetic activity if the
interplanetary magnetic field tilts south. Planetary A indices are
predicted around 12-15 over the next few days, an unsettled outlook.

Sunspot numbers for October 10 through 16 were 244, 178, 171, 167, 175,
165, and 182, with a mean of 183.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 171.9, 179.4,
180.4, 179.2, 181.2, 176.8 and 182.5, with a mean of 178.8. Estimated
planetary A indices were 23, 8, 11, 10, 26, 15, and 14, with a mean of
15.3.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: Scouting's Jamboree on the Air (JOTA), the
JARTS World Wide RTTY Contest, the ARCI Fall QSO Party, the Worked All
Germany Contest, the Asia-Pacific Sprint (CW), the RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest
(CW) and the Illinois QSO Party are the weekend of October 19-20. JUST
AHEAD: CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB), the ARRL International EME Contest
and the 10-10 International Fall Contest (CW) are the weekend of October
26-27. 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 for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level III
(EC-003) and HF Digital Communications (EC-005) courses opens Monday,
October 21, 4 PM Eastern Daylight Time (2000 UTC). Registration will
remain open through Sunday, October 27. Classes begin October 28.
Registration for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level II
(EC-002) and Antenna Modeling (EC-004) courses remains open through
Sunday, October 20. If you have not yet let us know what you'd like to see
for future C-C course offerings, visit the C-CE Course Survey
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/cce/ccesurv.html> page on the ARRL Web
site midnight, October 27. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce> and the C-CE Links
found there. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing
Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins, W1HSR, hrobins@arrl.org.

* ARRL Audio News celebrates its fifth birthday: The League's weekly
Amateur Radio newscast--ARRL Audio News--marked its fifth birthday on
October 17. Compiled and edited each week from The ARRL Letter, the news
feed in those early days of 1997 initially was available only in RealAudio
format via the ARRL Web site, and with Tucson Amateur Packet
Radio--TAPR--generously providing server space. A telephone call-in line
(860-594-0384) was added shortly after the news feed's debut. More
recently, ARRL was able to set up the service on its own servers. Along
the way, we've added some additional voices in the form of ARRL HQ
staffers Jennifer Hagy, N1TDY, and Brennan Price, N4QX, in addition to the
primary host, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, the ARRL's senior news editor.
Digitally recorded and produced at ARRL Headquarters, ARRL Audio News now
is available as an MP3 file, downloadable from the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio> in addition to the telephone
call-in service. More than 110 repeaters in the US and elsewhere in the
world now air ARRL Audio News in full or in part.

* Salvation Army officer praises hams' efforts in wake of hurricanes: Mark
Price, N9VOC, a Salvation Army captain and a member of the Salvation Army
Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN), has praised the assistance rendered
to the organization by members of the Central Louisiana Amateur Radio Club
following recent hurricanes that hit the state. The Central Louisiana hams
"gave of themselves and of their own equipment to aid in communications,"
Price said. "With stations manned at Red Cross checkpoints and center as
well as aboard any operation manned by The Salvation Army, the men and
women of Amateur Radio have distinguished themselves above and beyond all
expectations." Price made the comments in a letter to the editor of The
Town Talk, a local newspaper. The hams in Central Louisiana "not only
provided communications and coordination, but also tirelessly gave of
their time to assist The Salvation Army in its Herculean effort to provide
15,130 units of food and refreshment to evacuees over the course of three
days." Hams, Price said, helped prepare and distribute supplies as well as
provide excellent communication.

* Paul Blumhardt, K5RT, joins CQ staff: Paul Blumhardt, K5RT, has joined
the staff of CQ Communications Inc as director of new business
development, company president Dick Ross, K2MGA, announced October 16.
"Paul brings to CQ a valuable mix of ham radio experience coupled with an
outside view of the amateur radio industry," said Ross. Blumhardt will
oversee efforts to broaden the base and the scope of the company's
marketing activities. CQ publishes magazines, books, videos and other
materials for the Amateur Radio and hobby radio fields. Blumhardt has been
serving for the past three years in a volunteer capacity as Worked All
Zones Award manager. He is a member of the ARRL, the North Texas Contest
Club, the Potomac Valley Radio Club and the Lone Star DX Association.
Blumhardt will work from his home in Rowlett, Texas.

* Special event to mark Panama centenary: The Radio Club of Panama will
operate a special event station, HP100RCP, during the month of November to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Panama. A
commemorative certificate is available to stations working the special
event station and confirming the contact with a QSL and two International
Reply Coupons (IRCs) or $1 US. QSL to Radio Club de Panama,  PO BOX 10745,
Panama 4, PANAMA. HP100RCP will operate in all bands and all modes
including PSK31.--Radio Club de Panama

* P29PL leaving Papua New Guinea: After 18 years of activity from Papua
New Guinea, 74-year-old Paul Linsley, P29PL, is headed back to Australia
for medical reasons and retirement. He hopes to continue on the air as
VK2EXB and maybe from club station VK2ATZ. Linsley favored CW and often
has been the only active Papua New Guinea station on that mode. "Paul has
been an avid supporter of Amateur radio for all his years in Papua New
Guinea from 1984 and has represented P29 in many contests as well as to
tens of thousands of individual amateurs around the world," said Rick
Warnett, P29KFS.--The Daily DX

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of
interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely,
accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org for
the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRLWeb Extra at
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra offers ARRL members access to
informative features and columns.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
==>ARRL News on the Web: http://www.arrl.org
==>ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or call
860-594-0384

==>How to Get The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from
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To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery:
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Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 41
Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 18:29:34 -0400
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From n1ist@arrl.net  Mon Oct 28 14:57:32 2002
From: n1ist@arrl.net (Michael L. Ardai)
Date: Mon, 28 Oct 2002 09:57:32 -0500
Subject: [Letter-List] The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 42
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Subj:	The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 42

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 21, No. 42
October 25, 2002
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +ARRL, American Red Cross renew cooperative agreement
* +FCC withdraws advisory notices concerning 146.52 MHz operation
* +Astronauts help Dutch scouts celebrate Jamboree On The Air
* +New tower in New York demonstrates the power of PRB-1
* +HPM II talk enthralls ham club members
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
    +JOTA participants requested to complete ARRL survey
    +DXCC digging out
     Former ARRL staffer returns to the fold
     QCWA's W2MM Memorial Station on the air
     Missouri clubs to field Halloween special event
     Former ARRL West Gulf Director Grady Payne, W5ETA, SK
     International symposium issues call for papers
     Correction

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================
NOTE: To accommodate vacation schedules, the November 1 editions of The
ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News will be distributed Wednesday, October 30.
The Solar Update will be available via the ARRL Web site Friday, November
1. See you in the ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW)!
===========================================================

==>ARRL REAFFIRMS CLOSE TIES WITH THE AMERICAN RED CROSS

The ARRL and the American Red Cross have renewed and updated the Statement
of Understanding (SoU) between the two organizations, last visited in
1994. Formal cooperative arrangements between the ARRL and the American
Red Cross date back to before World War II.

"Both ARRL volunteers and American Red Cross workers will work
cooperatively at the scene of a disaster and in the disaster recovery,
within the scope of their respective roles and duties," the agreement
provides.

ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said no significant changes resulted
from the consultations leading up to the new SoU, and the updated document
reaffirms the spirit of cooperation that has existed all along between the
two organizations.

"In the wake of 9/11 and all the wonderful work that was done in New York
City and Washington, DC," Haynie said, "this agreement has rekindled our
enthusiasm." Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Red Cross volunteers
worked side-by-side following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

In the document, the ARRL recognizes the American Red Cross as "having
primary responsibility for responding to domestic disasters" and expresses
the League's desire "to maintain a harmonious and cooperative
relationship" with the ARC in providing emergency communication services
to communities affected by disasters.

Among other things, the SoU calls for "close liaison" between the American
Red Cross (ARC) and the ARRL and for each organization to "share current
data" regarding disasters and disaster declarations. If amateurs are
required to carry ARC identification while supporting the Red Cross during
a disaster, the ARC is to provide operators' names if ARRL requests them.

With some exceptions under the SoU, amateurs would at all times be
considered ARRL volunteers. In addition, the SoU says, amateur licensees
supporting the ARC "shall at all times exercise sole and exclusive control
over the operation of their radio stations. Such control cannot be
surrendered or delegated, in accordance with federal law."

The new agreement also characterizes the ARRL Amateur Radio emergency
communications courses <http://www.arrl.org/cce/> as a mutually beneficial
training program. "Volunteers holding valid ARRL Emergency Communications
Certification credentials will be recognized for this knowledge," the SoU
stipulates.

The newest SoU will remain in force for the next five years, although one
provision calls for representatives of American Red Cross Disaster
Services and ARRL to "jointly evaluate" progress in implementing the SoU
and to "revise and develop new plans or goals as appropriate" annually. It
was ratified in September by Haynie and ARC Disaster Services Executive
Vice President John McDivitt.

In a letter marking the first anniversary of the September 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks, the ARC's Jay Ferron, N4GAA, wrote Haynie to express
appreciation for Amateur Radio's support for Red Cross activities over the
years. An ARC disaster telecommunications partner, Ferron helped
coordinate ARES and Red Cross activities at the World Trade Center.

According to Ferron, the American Red Cross encourages municipalities and
homeowners' associations to employ regulations that will not impinge on
the needs of Amateur Radio operators. "In emergencies, the American Red
Cross and the people we serve need what radio amateurs provide--effective
communications through existing equipment and antenna systems," he
concluded.

A copy of the September 2002 Statement of Understanding between the
American Red Cross and the ARRL is available on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/mou/redcro.html>.

==>FCC RESCINDS 146.52 MHz ADVISORY NOTICES

FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth has told five
amateurs in Ohio and Michigan to disregard his earlier admonitions to
avoid lengthy QSOs on 146.52 MHz. That's the generally recognized national
simplex calling frequency and is endorsed as such by the ARRL's 2-meter
band plan. Acknowledging, however, that some confusion exists within the
amateur community as to whether 146.52 is a national calling channel or
just another simplex frequency, Hollingsworth decided to simply rescind
the five advisory notices he'd sent October 15.

"We made an error in issuing that Advisory Notice, and you may disregard
it," Hollingsworth wrote October 23 in letters to the affected amateurs.
Commenting to ARRL, Hollingsworth was blunt yet good-natured. "I goofed,"
he said. "If I were worried about making a fool of myself from time to
time, I never would have become a lawyer in the first place."

Amateurs commenting to the FCC and on various newsgroups reportedly were
bewildered by the FCC advisory notices. An ARRL error apparently
contributed to the confusion. Hollingsworth did not find 146.52 MHz
singled out as the national simplex calling frequency in his edition of
The ARRL's FCC Rule Book (12th edition, 1st printing). The designation
does appear in subsequent printings of the Rule Book, however, as well as
in recent editions of The ARRL Operating Manual and The ARRL Repeater
Directory 2002/2003.

Hollingsworth says that operation that does not comply with a generally
accepted band plan such as ARRL's is not illegal. He points out, however,
that band plans--to the extent that they're followed--do help to keep down
friction among various users and make his job a lot easier.

"I don't consider it a big deal. I was just trying to raise awareness," he
said, adding that the FCC has no intention of making band plan compliance
mandatory.

Hollingsworth told ARRL this week that he had initially written four
amateurs in Ohio and one in Michigan on the basis of complaints about
lengthy contacts on 146.52 MHz in late September and early October. Those
QSOs, he said, averaged 45 minutes and in some cases lasted up to an hour.
Two of the amateurs who had received the October 15 advisories already
have contacted Hollingsworth and agreed to cooperate with the original
requests, now rescinded.

"In an ideal world, stations making initial contact on 146.52 MHz probably
should move off to another accepted simplex channel to continue their
conversation," Hollingsworth said. "The main thing is, we're all in this
together, and the goal is to make Amateur Radio last 1000 years."

All ARRL band plans are available on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/bandplan.html>.

==>PEGGY WHITSON HELPS NETHERLANDS' SCOUTS CELEBRATE JAMBOREE ON THE AIR

US Astronaut Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD, made Jamboree On The Air (JOTA) a very
special occasion this year for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts in The
Netherlands. One of the International Space Station's Expedition 5 crew
members and the only woman, Whitson on October 20 answered questions posed
by the scouts via Amateur Radio. The direct, 2-meter contact with PA3HGQ
was arranged as part of the Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) program.

"The scouts were very impressed by the quality of the radio link and
delighted to have an astronaut joining the Jamboree On The Air right from
the International Space Station," said ARISS Vice Chairman Gaston Bertels,
ON4WF. On hand for the official opening of the JOTA in The Netherlands was
Dutch astronaut Andre Kuipers, who congratulated the Ascanen scouting
group of Lelystad for their ARISS QSO with Whitson.

More than 100 scout groups from all over The Netherlands listened in on
the downlink while Whitson answered about a dozen questions. At the
contact site, parents and friends of the 20 youngsters selected to take
part assisted with the space chat, and local radio and TV stations covered
the event.

Several of the questions the Dutch youngsters asked mirrored those often
put to crew members by their American counterparts. One Scout asked about
how the ISS crew prepared its meals. Whitson explained that meals in space
are pre-cooked and stowed in foil packages or cans. "It's just a matter of
warming it up or adding water," she said.

Whitson told another questioner that the crew can see weather from space.
"It's beautiful up here," she said, noting that the crew can recognize
such systems as hurricanes. "At night, we can even see thunderstorms," she
added. Whitson said the crew can see the aurora borealis (northern lights)
too. "They're beautiful from here!" she declared.

Bertels said the NA1SS downlink also was monitored at Flanders Expo in
Ghent, Belgium, where a science exhibition for youth drew a big audience.
At a booth set up by the Royal Belgian Amateur Radio Union (UBA) and
devoted primarily to ARISS, visitors--mostly youngsters, parents and
teachers--followed the pass of the ISS on a screen showing the world map.

"The UBA also was very pleased to use this opportunity to demonstrate
Amateur Radio at its best to the public visiting a popular scientific and
technological event," Bertels remarked. He said many amateur stations all
over Western Europe tuned into the downlink and reported excellent copy.

ARISS is an international project with US participation by NASA, ARRL and
AMSAT.--Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, provided information, photographs and
audio-video for this report

==>"THE TOWER IS UP!" ANTENNA BATTLE FINALLY PAYS OFF

A New York amateur who credits both the limited federal preemption PRB-1
and the ARRL with helping him win approval for an antenna support
structure on his property, now reports his new tower is up. Fred Fitte,
WA2MMX, spent months trying to gain the necessary approvals from the Town
of Kinderhook. He saw his new tower become reality in late September--more
than a year after his zoning battle began.

"I was finally able to erect my 50-foot self-supporting tower with the
help of my local ham buddies who have supported me through the fight,"
Fitte said recently. Some VHF and UHF antennas already are up on the
tower, and an HF tribander is in the offing.

The Town of Kinderhook would not allow a ham radio antenna support
structure in excess of 35 feet without a variance. "PRB-1 is what saved my
bacon," said Fitte. PRB-1, spelled out in the FCC Amateur Service rules
under '97.15(b), requires municipalities to "reasonably accommodate"
amateur communication. Fitte finally got a building permit last May after
what he called "a really ugly battle"--winning approval of his request to
erect a 50-foot tower on a 3 to 1 vote of the town's Zoning Board of
Appeals.

Among those who had helped Fitte in his battle with the town was ARRL
Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, who says WA2MMX's situation
"was not your run-of-the-mill ham tower case." As Fallon explains it,
Fitte ran into problems after he moved approximately 300 feet into a new
development and filed for a building permit for a tower 10 feet shorter
than his old one.

"His first hearing, only days before the 9/11 attack on the World Trade
Center, did not go well," Fallon said, adding that Fitte "was shocked at
the hostile response from his new neighbors."

What followed was a series of seven hearings over nine months, during
which he confronted several hostile neighbors, aided by a local attorney
and a medical doctor. The neighbors attacked the proposed support
structure as a health and safety hazard and an aesthetic blight that would
lower property values. Their attorney also wanted the town to require
WA2MMX to move his antennas outside the development.

"Fred, with a lot of help from his friends, finally prevailed," Fallon
said. Fitte and his wife, Terry, hosted a celebratory "thank you" picnic
over the September Labor Day weekend for friends and expert witnesses who
had helped. Only his attorney, Al Millus, WB2EQR, was unable to attend.

In addition to Fallon, among those who did turn out was ARRL Lab
Supervisor Ed Hare, W1RFI, who voluntarily attended five of the hearings
to present testimony. Dr George Wilner, K2ONP, the head of the Hematology
Department at Albany Medical Center, attended one hearing session to
debunk the issue of potential biomedical hazards. One friendly neighbor--a
real estate appraiser--came forward to put to rest the claim that Fitte's
antenna would lower property values.

==>TALK BY HIRAM PERCY MAXIM'S GRANDSON ENTHRALLS HAMS

Hiram Percy Maxim II held members of Connecticut's Newington Amateur Radio
League (NARL) spellbound October 7 with tales of his famous grandfather,
Hiram Percy Maxim, 1AW, also known as HPM. As most ARRL members know,
Hiram Percy Maxim co-founded the ARRL in 1914 with Clarence Tuska, and he
became its first president.

"HPM II"--who bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather--was around a
year old when the elder Maxim--who often referred to himself in QST as
"The Old Man" or simply "TOM"--passed away in 1936. "What he knows of our
founder was gleaned from family stories and the films and writings that
were passed down to him," said Joe Bottiglieri, AA1GW, an ARRL staffer and
a NARL member who attended the talk.

HPM was an amateur film buff, and a highlight of his grandson's
presentation was a short 16-mm film that showed the elder Maxim and some
of his friends working, relaxing and frolicking on the grounds of the
family's summer home in Lyme, Connecticut, where HPM II now lives.

"No evidence of radio activity appeared on that clip," Bottiglieri said,
"but 'The Old Man' comes across as a real cutup!" The elder Maxim also
founded another "League"--the Amateur Cinema League--in 1926.

Not a ham, HPM II says he doesn't feel he shares the inventive talents of
his grandfather and great-grandfather, who held many patents between them.
HPM II told the club audience that his grandfather took on radio and
filmmaking as diversions from inventing--an endeavor he considered
extremely hard work. He also thought of Amateur Radio as a means to "bring
together" individuals from distant locations and believed that
communication was a key to better understanding other people and cultures.

Filmmaking was an extension of that same philosophy, HPM II said. His
grandfather's interest in astronomy--he was fascinated by the planet
Mars--was born of similar motivations, and he died while on his way to
visit Lowell Observatory in Arizona.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Mighty morphin' solar power ranger Tad "Ain't No Sunshine" Cook, K7VVV,
has morphed this week into Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, Ft Wayne, Indiana,
who reports: Geomagnetic field activity for the first five days of the
reporting period, October 18-24, was quiet to unsettled. This increased to
a major storm level at the end of the period, which was fueled by high
speed solar wind emanating from a large coronal hole in the western solar
hemisphere. There were no significant proton events during the period.

X-ray flare activity during the period ranged from low to moderate. The
largest flares were M1 events on Sunday and Tuesday. These flares did not
cause any significant radio blackouts.

The book Storms from the Sun by Carlowicz and Lopez--discussed in two
previous bulletins--is reviewed in the December 2002 issue of Sky &
Telescope.

Propagation is generally expected to be very good for the CQ World Wide DX
Phone contest the weekend of October 26-27. There is a chance of
geomagnetic field activity at the minor storm level at the start of the
contest, but it is expected to subside after that.

There is also a chance of an X-class flare from Region 162, which could
cause a short-term blackout on the daylight side of Earth. Remember this
is all a roll of the dice, so be sure to jump in and have fun working lots
of DX!

Sunspot numbers for October 17 through 23 were 215, 200, 156, 179, 139,
132 and 116, with a mean of 162.4. The 10.7-cm flux was 178.9, 172.6,
179.5, 180.3, 182.5, 169.4 and 163.6, with a mean of 175.3. Estimated
planetary A indices were 11, 13, 11, 10, 11, 12, and 10, with a mean of
11.1.

_________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The CQ Worldwide DX Contest (SSB), the ARRL
International EME Contest and the 10-10 International Fall Contest (CW)
are the weekend of October 26-27. JUST AHEAD: The ARRL November
Sweepstakes (CW), the IPA Contest (CW/SSB), the Ukrainian DX Contest, the
North American Collegiate ARC Championship (CW), the ARCI Running of the
QRP Bulls, the High Speed Club CW Contest and the DARC 10-Meter Digital
Contest are the weekend of November 2-3. 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 for the ARRL Satellite Communications course (EC-007) opens
Monday, October 28, 4 PM Eastern Daylight Time (2000 UTC). Registration
will remain open through Sunday, November 3. Class begins on November 4.
Registration for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level III
(EC-003) and HF Digital Communications (EC-005) courses remains open
through Sunday, October 27. If you have not yet let us know what you'd
like to see for future C-CE course offerings, visit the C-CE Course Survey
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/cce/ccesurv.html> page on the ARRL Web
site through midnight, October 27. To learn more, visit the ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce>
and the C-CE Links found there. For more information, contact
Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins,
W1HSR, hrobins@arrl.org.

* JOTA participants requested to complete ARRL survey: If you or your club
participated in JOTA 2002 over the October 19-20 weekend, we'd appreciate
your completing the ARRL JOTA Survey
<http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/jotalog/> on the ARRL Web site to let us
know about it. The Boy Scouts of America K2BSA call sign was on the air
from Camp Wisdom in Dallas, Texas, where members of Cub Scout Pack 591
talked to other Scouts on 15 meters while Dave Cummings, WA5TET,
supervised. Also on the air was ST2BSS from the Sudan (QSL to Magdi Osman
Ahmed, PO Box 2--Khartoum Airport, Khartoum, Sudan). Mike Cizek, W3MC,
headed up a JOTA group with 500 scout visitors near Ft Meade, Maryland. In
addition to certain detailed information, the survey seeks feedback on
your overall JOTA experience and on whether your club has scheduled any
follow-up ham radio classes. If you have JOTA photos to share, send them
via e-mail or USPS to ARRL Educational Programs Coordinator Jean Wolfgang
WB3IOS, jwolfgang@arrl.org, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
Wolfgang reports that some 150 JOTA stations signed up on the Youth Skeds
page <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/youthskeds/> prior to the annual
Scouting-ham radio event. In addition to letting Scout groups know where a
JOTA station planned to be set up, the site also let JOTA groups set
schedules with one another.--some information from The Daily DX

* DXCC digging out: The ARRL's DXCC Branch is digging out following the
annual "September rush," says ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne
Mills, N7NG. Applications postmarked by September 30 have been accepted,
and updates received by that date will be included in The DXCC Yearbook,
which will be published in the spring. "Although the DXCC Branch was able
to become current last summer, the September deadline has come again along
with its inherent increase in workload," Mills said. "We are currently
working on about 2400 applications which include more than 240,000 QSL
cards." This represents nearly half of all applications--and
cards--received each year. Mills said that as applications are logged into
the DXCC system, they are listed on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/appstatus.html>. With new DXCC software
in place next year, the League hopes to be able to publish DXCC standings
on the ARRL Web site on a near-real-time basis, Mills said, eliminating
the need for the September deadline. "This will spread the workload
throughout the year and, along with the introduction of electronic DXCC
applications, minimize turnaround time for DXCC applications," he
predicted.

* Former ARRL staffer returns to the fold: Former ARRL Lab staff member
Mike Gruber, W1MG, rejoined the laboratory staff October 14 as the new
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and radio frequency interference (RFI)
engineer/specialist. He replaces John Phillips, K2QAI, who is retiring.
"We are delighted to have him back," said ARRL Lab Supervisor Ed Hare,
W1RFI. During his previous stint at ARRL HQ--from 1990 until 1997--Gruber
focused mainly on product review testing. He also has written a number of
interesting articles for QST and QEX, including "QST Product Reviews: A
Look Behind the Scenes," which appeared in the October 1994 issue of QST
and "Synchronous Detection of AM Signals," which ran in the September 1992
issue of QEX. Members may address RFI concerns via e-mail to rfi@arrl.org.
Welcome back, Mike!

* QCWA's W2MM Memorial Station on the air: The Quarter Century Wireless
Association (QCWA) Memorial Station W2MM will be on the air October 25-27
from the site of the 2002 QCWA convention in Orlando, Florida. In view of
the CQ World Wide DX Contest (SSB) under way this weekend, the W2MM
operators may concentrate on 17 and 12 meters to avoid QRM. Serving as
hosts for this year's QCWA convention is Orlando's Citrus Chapter #45. For
more information, visit the QCWA Web site <http://www.qcwa.org/>.

* Missouri clubs to field Halloween special event: The Mid-Missouri
Amateur Radio Club and the Warrensburg (Missouri) Amateur Radio Club will
sponsor a Halloween special event "FunXpedition" to Frankenstein,
Missouri. Special event W0O (as in "Woooooo!) will be on the air from
approximately 2100 UTC October 31 until approximately 1500 UTC November 1.
The operation will be by several stations at two locations in
Frankenstein, CW and SSB, on 80, 40, 30, 20, 15 and 10 meters. QSL to Tom
Hammond, N0SS. Additional information is available on the Mid-Missouri ARC
Web site <http://www.mmccs.com/mmarc>.

* Former ARRL West Gulf Director Grady Payne, W5ETA, SK: Grady A. Payne,
W5ETA, of Cleveland, Texas, died October 6. He was 90. Payne served as
ARRL West Gulf Division Director from 1957 until 1961. Licensed in 1934,
Payne was a member of the ARRL and the Quarter Century Wireless
Association (QCWA) as well as a founding member of the Sam Houston Amateur
Radio Klub. He was active in public service. Early in his career, Payne
worked as a railroad dispatcher and telegraph operator in his home town of
N Zulch, Texas. Later, he was employed by the Humble Pipe Line, and,
following his retirement, he opened his own business repairing meters for
Humble. Survivors include his daughter, Sherry Taack, KC5VWJ. The family
invites memorial donations to the American Diabetes Association, Memorial
and Honor Program, PO Box 2680, N Canton, OH 44720.--ARRL thanks Sam Neal,
N5AF, and The Cleveland Advocate for this information

* Correction: The address provided for the new W5 incoming QSL bureau in
The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 40 (October 11, 2002), was incorrect. The
correct address is Claremore, OK 74018-2591

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of
interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely,
accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org for
the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRLWeb Extra at
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra offers ARRL members access to
informative features and columns.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
==>ARRL News on the Web: http://www.arrl.org
==>ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or call
860-594-0384

==>How to Get The ARRL Letter

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To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery:
ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site,
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The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
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Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 42
Date: Fri, 25 Oct 2002 19:34:49 -0400
To: ardai@maven.atb.teradyne.com
From: "ARRL Letter Mailing List" <letter-dlvy@arrl.org>

From n1ist@arrl.net  Thu Oct 31 16:05:17 2002
From: n1ist@arrl.net (Michael L. Ardai)
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2002 11:05:17 -0500
Subject: [Letter-List] The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 43
Message-ID: <02103111051774@maven.atb.teradyne.com>

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Subj:	The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 43

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 21, No. 43
November 1, 2002
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +New cosponsors step forward for CC&R bill
* +NTIA opposes SAVI Technology's RFID proposals for 70 cm
* +Philly youngsters meet astronaut via ham radio
* +Texas amateurs do tornado duty
* +ARRL resurrects Frequency Measuring Test
* +Vanity application reminders bear repeating
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     VY1JA to be on the air for both Sweepstakes weekends
     ARRL Emergency Communications course registration
    +ARRL Diamond Club off to "a great start"
     New on-line edition of The ARRL PIO's Handbook debuts
     UK holding the line on additional 5 MHz experimenters
     Indian pirates persist

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================
NOTE: To accommodate vacation schedules, this week's editions of The ARRL
Letter and ARRL Audio News are being distributed October 30. The Solar
Update will be available November 1 on the ARRL Web site as well as via
W1AW/ARRL bulletin.
===========================================================

==>NEW CC&R BILL COSPONSORS CONTINUE TO STEP FORWARD

Despite the fact that action on the CC&R bill, HR 4720, is highly unlikely
as the current session of Congress winds down, additional cosponsors
continue to register their support for the measure. The
latest--representatives Todd Platts (R-PA), Larry Combest (R-TX), Duke
Cunningham (R-CA), and Mary Bono (R-CA)--raise the total cosponsor count
to 34.

The recent spurt in cosponsors may have resulted from an eleventh-hour
initiative in late September, when the bill's sponsor, Rep Steve Israel
(D-NY), and the only two amateurs in the US House of Representatives--Mike
Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR) and Greg Walden, WB7OCE (R-OR)--appealed by letter to
their colleagues who had not already done so to agree to cosponsor the
measure.

HR 4720 is aimed at providing relief to amateurs faced with private deed
covenants, conditions and restrictions--CC&Rs--in erecting antennas. No
more votes will occur until a post-election "lame duck" session that
begins November 12 to complete several appropriations, homeland security
and other high-profile bills. Another lame duck session in December also
is possible.

With further progress on the bill unlikely this year, the effort to secure
a congressional solution to the CC&R issue will start all over again after
the new Congress convenes in January. The current list of HR 4720
cosponsors and more information are available on the HR 4720, The Amateur
Radio Emergency Communications Consistency Act of 2002 page of the ARRL
Web site <http://www.arrl.org/govrelations/hr4720>.

==>NTIA STUDY IS BAD NEWS FOR SAVI 425-435 MHz PROPOSALS

A National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) study
supports the ARRL's position that the FCC would be making a mistake to
permit SAVI Technology to deploy RF identification (RFID) tag devices at
433 MHz at much greater duty cycles than current Part 15 rules permit for
such devices. RFID tags are used for tracking shipments and packages,
among other applications.

"NTIA has grave concerns about the Commission's proposal to amend its Part
15 rules to permit the operation of RFID tags in the band 425-435 MHz at
increased power levels and increased duty factor (or activity factor) and
data transmission by remote control devices," wrote Fredrick R. Wentland,
the NTIA's acting associate administrator in the Office of Spectrum
Management. "Given the likelihood of interference to critical government
radars, NTIA is unable to support the Commission's proposal."

The NTIA filed initial comments in the proceeding, ET Docket 01-278, last
March but requested additional time to document an NTIA staff study with
respect to field strength limits for RFID tags in the band.

ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, said the NTIA staff study
bears out what the League has been saying all along. "RFID tags represent
a significant source of potential interference to sensitive receivers,"
Sumner said, adding that use of the 425-435 MHz band would be incompatible
with ongoing requirements of incumbent services--military and amateur. "We
trust that the FCC will now terminate this portion of the proceeding and
that the RFID proponents will focus their attention on other, more
appropriate parts of the radio spectrum."

That's exactly what the NTIA advised. It recommended that the FCC "explore
other bands that might be able to accommodate the technology without
causing unacceptable interference to critical incumbent users." Among the
suggestions was 450 to 470 MHz, which provides nearly the same propagation
characteristics as the band SAVI picked. The NTIA also noted that 902 to
928 MHz--an amateur allocation--or 2400 to 2483.5 MHz--which includes part
of an amateur microwave allocation--might accommodate the proposed RFID
tags as spread spectrum devices.

Accompanying Wentland's letter was a six-page NTIA technical analysis. The
study asserts that the FCC's proposal to permit increased duty cycles and
field strengths for the 425-435 MHz RFID emitters "would result in
received power levels in excess of the required interference-to-noise
ratio" that could adversely affect "critical government radar systems."

SAVI this week filed its own detailed study that rebuts the NTIA's
position. SAVI suggested it would be willing to have the FCC limit the
available band for "advanced RFID" products to 433 to 435 MHz, lower the
peak-to-average ratio to 14 dB, strengthen the definition of RFID products
to add language forbidding voice transmissions and limit use of RFIDs to
"commercial or industrial locations."

More than 130 amateurs filed comments in opposition to SAVI Technology's
RFID tags proposal, and most supported the ARRL's position that the
proposed rules are flawed and should not be adopted. A copy of the NTIA
letter and study and SAVI's rebuttal study in ET Docket 01-278 are
available via the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System page
<http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html>. Click on "Search for Filed
Comments" and enter "01-278" in the "Proceeding" field.

==>PHILLY YOUNGSTERS MEET ASTRONAUT PEGGY WHITSON VIA HAM RADIO

US Astronaut Peggy Whitson, KC5ZTD, told students in Philadelphia that she
thinks it's possible there's life on other planets somewhere in the
universe. Using NA1SS aboard the International Space Station October 22,
Whitson answered several questions from youngsters attending Spruce Hill
Christian School. The contact was arranged via the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) project.

"Actually, I think with the thousands and thousands of universes that we
can see," Whitson said, "and knowing that there are even thousands and
thousand more that we can't, I think that on all those planets somewhere
there probably is going to be life somewhere else--maybe not exactly like
ours, but I imagine there's going to be some kind of life."

Whitson said one of the most "fun" things she does aboard the ISS is look
out the window. "Seeing the earth from this vantage point of over 200
miles above the earth is really impressive. It's really a beautiful place
that we live on, and I think we take it for granted sometimes, when we
live there." She said she also enjoys exercise--a necessity for long-term
spaceflight. "We obviously aren't exposed to the effects of gravity, so we
have to work very hard to maintain our physical fitness," she said.

Life in microgravity leads to demineralization of bones, Whitson
explained. When the Expedition 5 crew returns to Earth next month, she
said, it will take months before their bones return to normal. The crew
likely will recover much more quickly from the other aftereffects of
several months in space, she added, such as the dizziness or
lightheadedness experienced by some returning astronauts.

The ARISS QSO got off to an uncertain start when Whitson and ground
control operator Nancy Rocheleau, WH6PN, in Hawaii, apparently got on
different frequencies. Initially, Rocheleau was able to copy NA1SS, but
Whitson did not hear WH6PN. Once things got under way for real, the
contact lasted a little more than seven minutes.

Remote audio between the school and the ISS via WH6PN in Hawaii was
handled through a WorldCom teleconferencing circuit. Whitson, who is
related to the wife of the school's principal, Seth Cohen, asked ARISS to
arrange the Spruce Hill contact as a "crew pick." ARISS is an
international project with US participation by NASA, ARRL and AMSAT.

==>TEXAS AMATEURS VOLUNTEER AS TORNADO STRIKES CORPUS CHRISTI

Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers activated October 24 as
a tornado struck Corpus Christi, Texas. One person died after a wall at
the library of Del Mar College collapsed. The twister also caused perhaps
two dozen other injuries as well as considerable property damage. ARRL
South Texas Section Manager Ray Taylor, N5NAV, said the Texas Department
of Public Safety was unable to get helicopters in to rescue stranded
people due to the storm's turbulence. Gov Rick Perry declared a state of
disaster for Corpus Christi and Nueces County.

The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army and the Texas Men's Baptist
Kitchen were among the responding organizations. According to the Texas
Division of Emergency Management, feeding and shelter operations continue
in the impacted areas.

SKYWARN volunteers and South Texas Amateur Repeater Club weather station
N5CCW were activated in advance of the severe weather that hit Corpus
Christi. ARRL South Texas District Emergency Coordinator Robert Lobaugh,
W5JYJ, said rainwater runoff depth ranged from 18 inches to several feet,
depending upon the location. He reported downed power lines and roads
blocked by debris and water. ARES teams and individual amateurs assisted
as needed, Taylor said.

The tornado swept through about three miles from the shop of Mark Mireles,
AD5CA. "It was impressive," Mireles said of the tornado damage. "People
here are not used to that type of thing." Mireles said the Corpus Christi
emergency operations center was activated, and amateurs staffed the radio
room from noon until 10 PM October 25 and from 8 AM until shortly before
noon October 26. Anticipated severe weather from Hurricane Kenna failed to
materialize, so emergency volunteers were able to stand down.

"We have been well-received by all the city officials, from the city
manager to the police chief," Mireles said, "and I almost have the EMS
director talked into becoming a ham." Amateurs made use of a networked
repeater system to facilitate communication.

The Corpus Christi tornado was the most severe weather problem for the
Lone Star State in a week that had included heavy rains and flooding
elsewhere. According to Lobaugh, San Patricio County, some 30 miles north
of Corpus Christi, suffered storm damage October 23. Roads were closed due
to high water, and utility poles were downed. Power has since been
restored, he said. Taylor said wet weather earlier in the week caused some
residents in Seguin and Gonzales near the Guadalupe River to be evacuated.
"The people in New Braunfels along the same river had to leave while they
were in process of rebuilding from storm damage earlier this year," he
added.

By the end of the week, the remnants of Hurricane Kenna exacerbated the
situation in some areas after the storm dumped additional precipitation
that led to more flooding in Pearland and possibly elsewhere. Weather
problems continued this week as tornado and thunderstorm watches were in
effect for more than a dozen Texas counties. Taylor reports that another
tornado October 29 in the Beaumont area caused one death by drowning and
did some damage.

The Hurricane Watch Net conducted an abbreviated session October 25 to
disseminate Hurricane Kenna advisories. The eastern Pacific storm, once a
treacherous Category 5 hurricane, moved across Mexico toward southern
Texas. Well-known Cuban amateur and International Amateur Radio Union
Region 2 Area C Emergency Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, said Cuban
amateurs monitored the Mexican emergency net on 7065 kHz during the storm.

==>ARRL RESURRECTS FREQUENCY MEASURING TEST

The Frequency Measuring Test (FMT)--an ARRL staple for nearly 50
years--will return in early November. A FMT transmission will replace the
W1AW SSB bulletin on November 7, 0245 UTC (Wednesday, November 6, in US
time zones). The resurrected FMT will kick off a series of measuring
tests.

"These tests will exercise the capabilities of hams to measure important
operating parameters, improve their understanding of complex radios and
give them a better mental picture of their transmitted signals,"
Contributing Editor Ward Silver, N0AX, said in an October 2002 QST article
describing the art and science of frequency measurement. "The goal is a
more technically aware amateur confident of compliance with FCC
regulations." Silver's article, "The ARRL Frequency Measuring Tests,"
appears on page 51 of the October issue.

Today's amateurs tend to take for granted the accuracy of their
transceiver's frequency readout. But, as Silver notes in his article,
relying simply on a transceiver's digital readouts could mean part of your
signal is outside the band edge--in violation of FCC Part 97 rules.
Transceiver or receiver readout accuracy "depends entirely on the quality
of the receiver's master oscillator," he points out in QST.

Increasing technical quality of amateur gear was one of the primary
reasons for the decline and fall of FMTs in 1980. In prior decades,
however, thousands of amateurs took part in the FMTs, and participation
was required of ARRL Official Observer and Official Relay System stations.
The first FMT, held in October 1931, employed three transmitting
stations--W1XP at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, W9XAN at Elgin
Observatory in Illinois and W6XK at Don Lee Broadcasting System in Los
Angeles--and drew more than 200 measurement reports.

"Winners demonstrated better than 99.99% accuracy, and more than half
received certificates for better than 99.90% accuracy," Silver
reported--not too shabby for the state of the art back then.

The 2002 FMT will begin at the appointed time--0245 UTC November 7 (9:45
PM EST November 6)--with a general Morse code "QST" from W1AW on four
amateur frequencies. The test itself will consist of 20 seconds of carrier
followed by a series of CW dits followed by a station ID. The test will
last about five minutes and will conclude with a series of Vs and another
station ID. The approximate frequencies are 3580, 7047, 14,048 and 21,068
kHz.

FMT 2002 participants should include time of reception, measured frequency
and signal report, as well as their name, call sign and location.
Participants are encouraged to submit reports on more than one of the
frequencies. A Certificate of Participation will be available to all who
send in reports. Those who come closest to the measured frequency will be
listed in the test report and will receive special recognition.

Send FMT 2002 entries postmarked by December 6, 2002, to W1AW/FMT, 225
Main St, Newington, CT 06111. More information and background on the 2002
FMT is available on the ARRL Frequency Measuring Tests - Supplement page
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/fmt/>.

==>VANITY APPLICATION REMINDERS BEAR REPEATING

When applying for a vanity call sign, the application purpose on FCC Form
605 should always be "Modification" (MD). ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke,
W9JJ, advises that vanity applicants within their 90-day license renewal
window should not attempt to do a "Renewal/Modification" (RM) when
applying for a vanity call sign.

"I would recommend that you renew first," Jahnke said. "If vanity
processing is delayed for some reason--as happened last fall and
spring--your license could expire while awaiting processing, and your
application would be dismissed."

The fee for a vanity call sign increased to $14.50 in September. Jahnke
says it is possible for vanity applicants to register a name, address or
contact information (eg, e-mail or telephone number) change with the FCC
while also applying for a vanity call sign, since both actions can be
dealt with as a Modification. Note, however, that if you're only changing
such data as name, address or contact information and not applying for a
new call sign, you should check "Administrative Update" (AU) as the
application purpose--and, yes, this is confusing.

By the way, unlike a vanity application, which requires a fee and goes to
the FCC's fiscal agent in Pittsburgh, an Administrative Update application
requires no fee and goes directly to the FCC in Gettysburg.

Amateur applications may be filed electronically via the FCC's ULS Web
site <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> or on paper (using FCC Form 605). The
FCC says that anyone filing any application with the FCC--whether for a
vanity, license renewal, upgrade or modification--first must be registered
with the Commission Registration System (CORES) and have obtained an FCC
Registration Number (FRN).

For more information on vanity filing, visit the Amateur Radio Vanity Call
Signs page <http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/vanity.html> on the ARRL Web site.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The ARRL November Sweepstakes (CW), the IPA
Contest (CW/SSB), the Ukrainian DX Contest, the North American Collegiate
ARC Championship (CW), the ARCI Running of the QRP Bulls, the High Speed
Club CW Contest and the DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest are the weekend of
November 2-3. JUST AHEAD: The Japan International DX Contest (SSB), the
WAE DX Contest (RTTY), the OK/OM DX Contest (CW) and the Anatolian ATA
PSK31 Contest are the weekend of November 9-10. 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.

* VY1JA to be on the air from Yukon Territory for both Sweepstakes
weekends: J Allen, VY1JA, in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, is in his new
house and will be active for both November ARRL Sweepstakes weekends (CW
and SSB) as his schedule permits to hand out that rare SS multiplier
(Yukon Territory counts for the NWT multiplier). "I plan to put in a
serious effort on each, but I take time for Tae Kwon Do and for church, so
I miss some of the best time of the contest," he said. For the lower
bands, he'll be running 500 W to a "V-beam" dipole (450 feet per leg); for
the higher bands, he hopes to have a tribander up on his tower by contest
time, if the weather cooperates. QRP ops take note: VY1JA does listen for
SS participants in the QRP (5 W or less output) category every hour on the
half hour. Other times, VY1JA has been active on 6 meters running low
power. CW SS is November 2-4; SSB SS is November 16-18 (UTC).  For more
information on ARRL November Sweepstakes, visit the 2002 ARRL November
Sweepstakes Rules page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2002/nov-sweeps-rules.html>.

* ARRL Emergency Communications course registration: Registration opens
Tuesday, November 5, at 4 PM Eastern Time (2100 UTC) for the Level I
Emergency Communications course (EC-001). Registration remains open
through the November 9-10 weekend or until all available seats have been
filled--whichever comes first. Class begins Tuesday, November 19. Thanks
to the federal homeland security grant from the Corporation for National
and Community Service, the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will
be reimbursed after successful completion of the course. During this
registration period, approximately 200 seats are being offered to ARRL
members on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more, visit the ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce>
and the C-CE Links found there. For more information, contact Emergency
Communications Course Manager Dan Miller, K3UFG, dmiller@arrl.org;
860-594-0340.

* ARRL Diamond Club off to "a great start": Following announcement of the
ARRL Diamond Club membership a month ago, 126 charter members have
enrolled, including three at the top Director level. "Contributions total
$28,131," reports ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH. "This
is a great start, and we look forward to growing these numbers daily."
Joining the Diamond Club is very easy. Membership is a one-year commitment
and is renewable annually. Each year you select the contribution level
that fits your budget and circumstances, and ARRL does the rest. Before
your Diamond Club membership expires, we will notify you so that you can
tell us what level of commitment you want to make for the coming year.
Benefits include an extension of your ARRL membership (including QST, of
course) for one calendar year as well as additional benefits at each
Diamond Club contribution level. A Diamond Club membership is a great gift
idea for someone who shares your commitment to the League. Diamond Club
contributions are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law--as are
all contributions to ARRL above and beyond basic membership. Those who
become Diamond Club charter members before year's end will receive an
extra thank-you gift. Diamond Club details
<https://www.arrl.org/diamondclub/> are on the ARRL Web site. Members also
can call (860-594-0397) or e-mail <mhobart@arrl.org> the ARRL Development
Office for more information.

* New on-line edition of The ARRL Public Information Officer's Handbook
debuts: The latest edition of The ARRL Public Information Officer's
Handbook <www.arrl.org/pio/handbook> now is available the ARRL Web site.
Formerly a hard-copy publication and then an Adobe PDF scan, the new PIO
Handbook is now an updateable electronic document. It contains 12 chapters
packed with helpful advice for anyone interested in promoting Amateur
Radio. Over the past few months, the League's Public Relations Committee
has been developing the new Web-based manual, based in part on a previous
publication by Gene Pressler, W3ZXV. The PIO Handbook is perfect for ARRL
Public Information Coordinators, Public Information Officers, club PIOs
and anyone with the desire to help raise public awareness--predominantly
via the media--about Amateur Radio in their communities. The PIO Handbook
covers many of the basics, such as how to identify what is news and how to
write a press release. Other topics include how to write for magazines,
how to deal with major breaking stories, the how-tos of media interviews,
getting ham radio into the public spotlight and much more. "Because this
is a Web document, we'll easily be able to add information and keep the
PIO Handbook timely," said ARRL Media Relations Manager Jennifer Hagy,
N1TDY. "I hope our PR volunteers find this to be a useful tool in their
efforts to provide a very important service for the League and also for
Amateur Radio on the local level." ARRL thanks the members of the PR
Committee who contributed to the PIO Handbook and also to Gene Pressler,
who had the vision to create the original manual that served PR volunteers
for a number of years.

* UK holding the line on additional 5 MHz experimenters: The Radio Society
of Great Britain (RSGB) reports that the Radiocommunications Agency (RA)
in the UK on October 31 put a temporary moratorium on applications from
full Class A amateurs who wish to experiment in the 5 MHz band. Eligible
amateurs in the UK have had to apply for a Notice of Variation (NoV) to
experiment in the band using five spot frequencies. The RA says
applications for 5 MHz NoVs exceeded its expectations; it now worries that
the risk of congestion may be detrimental to the overall success of the
experiment. The RA says it will monitor occupancy of the five channels and
review its position. "It is likely that an announcement will be made later
this year for action early in the new year," the RSGB said.--RSGB

* Indian pirates persist: Sahruddin, VU2SDN, the president of the Amateur
Radio Society of India, reports a spate of pirate operations using call
signs VU4A, VU7A and similar other call signs continues. These have all
been pirates, he says. A blanket ban exists on operations from Andaman,
Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands, so VU4 and VU7-prefix call signs have not
being assigned for 10 years, although the brief 1993 VU2JPS from the
Andaman Islands was valid. Sahruddin reported last April that India's QSL
Bureau was receiving many QSL requests for contacts apparently made by
bootleggers using VU call signs. Sahruddin has explained that call signs
that begin with VU2 followed by two or three letters or with VU3 followed
by three letters are the only valid call signs for India.--The Daily DX

===========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main
St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of
interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely,
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the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRLWeb Extra at
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informative features and columns.

Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.

==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
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==>ARRL News on the Web: http://www.arrl.org
==>ARRL Audio News: http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or call
860-594-0384

==>How to Get The ARRL Letter

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Subject: The ARRL Letter, Vol 21, No 43
Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2002 17:49:29 -0500
To: ardai@maven.atb.teradyne.com
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