[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for March 25, 2010

Thu Mar 25 15:12:08 EDT 2010

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            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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March 25, 2010

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

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

- ARRL Executive Committee Examines Proposed Vanity Call Sign Changes,
Legislative, Regulatory Issues, More
- FCC News: FCC Issues Notice of Proposed Rule Making on Government
Disaster Drills and Amateur Radio
- Glitch Delays Launch of New ARRL Web Site
- Dayton HamventionÂ®: Announcing the 2010 Dayton Hamvention Award
Winners
- Legislative Affairs: ARRL Requests Support for S 1755
- ARRL Seeks Input for New IARU Region 2 Band Plan
- Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio

==> ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE EXAMINES PROPOSED VANITY CALL SIGN
CHANGES, LEGISLATIVE, REGULATORY ISSUES, MORE

   The ARRL Executive Committee (EC) held its first 2010 meeting
Saturday, March 13 in Denver. The EC worked through a lengthy agenda
that for the first time had been shared in advance with ARRL members --
the result of an ARRL Board action at its January meeting intended to
increase transparency in the governance of the organization.

The EC administers the League's affairs in between Board meetings. It
consists of the President (Kay Craigie, N3KN), five Directors elected
annually by the Board, and - without vote - the First Vice President
(Rick Roderick, K5UR) and Executive Vice President (David Sumner,
K1ZZ). For 2010 the Director members are Tom Frenaye, K1KI (New
England), George R. Isely, W9GIG (Central), Brian Mileshosky, N5ZGT
(Rocky Mountain), Bob Vallio, W6RGG (Pacific) and Dr David Woolweaver,
K5RAV (West Gulf). Also in attendance at the meeting were General
Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD; Vice President Bruce Frahm, K0BJ, and
International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/25/11404/?nc=1>.

==> FCC NEWS: FCC ISSUES NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE MAKING ON GOVERNMENT
DISASTER DRILLS AND AMATEUR RADIO

   On March 24, the FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM) proposing to amend the Commission's Amateur Radio Service rules
"with respect to Amateur Radio operations during government-sponsored
emergency preparedness and disaster readiness drills and tests." While
current rules provide for Amateur Radio use during emergencies, the
rules prohibit communications where the station licensee or control
operator has a pecuniary interest, including communications on behalf
of an employer. In October 2009, the FCC released a Public Notice
clarifying the Commission's rules relating to the use of Amateur Radio
by licensed amateurs participating in drills and exercises on behalf of
their employers. To date, the FCC has granted several dozen waivers
under this new policy.

The FCC notes that while there are some exceptions to this prohibition,
"there is none that would permit amateur station control operators who
are employees of public safety agencies and other entities, such as
hospitals, to participate in drills and tests in preparation for such
emergency situations and transmit messages on behalf of their employers
during such drills and tests." Based on that, the Commission proposes
to amend the rules to provide that, under certain limited conditions,
Amateur Radio operators may transmit messages during emergency and
disaster preparedness drills, regardless of whether the operators are
employees of entities participating in the drill. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/25/11405/?nc=1>.

==> GLITCH DELAYS LAUNCH OF NEW ARRL WEB SITE

The ARRL's launch of a new Web site has been delayed following problems
that appeared as the huge computer programs were being transferred to
their main Web server. Normally the Web site connects ham radio
operators around the world, dynamically presenting the services that
ARRL offers the ham radio community at www.arrl.org. "When we tried to
switch over to the new Web site on Wednesday, we encountered
unanticipated technical issues during the process of transferring to
the new Web site," said ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer,
WJ1B. "It appears that with all of the new technology and vast
simultaneous hits to the site, the code had problems keeping up. We are
working to fix the issues and should be online very soon. We have
temporarily switched back to the old Web site until these issues are
resolved. Obviously, we are trying to complete this transfer as quickly
as possible and we will keep you informed of our progress."

==> DAYTON HAMVENTIONÂ®: ANNOUNCING THE 2010 DAYTON HAMVENTION AWARD
WINNERS

   Three Amateur Radio operators who have made significant
contributions to the Amateur Radio Service will be honored guests when
the 2010 Dayton HamventionÂ® opens in Hara Arena on May 14. In addition,
Hamvention organizers will recognize a Club of the Year in keeping with
the 2010 Hamvention theme: Amateur Radio Clubs Worldwide: The Lifeline.
"Choosing the finalists was a difficult process due to the number of
fine nominations," said Hamvention Awards Committee Chairman Frank
Beafore, WS8B. Click here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/25/11403/?nc=1> to read more
about these three deserving individuals and a club that personifies
what Amateur Radio is all about.

==> LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS: ARRL REQUESTS SUPPORT FOR S 1755

   Senate Bill 1755 -- The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications
Enhancement Act of 2009 introduced in October 2009 by Senators Joe
Lieberman (ID-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME) -- has unanimously passed
the US Senate and has been sent to the US House of Representatives for
consideration and now sits in the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce. The ARRL is asking its membership to contact the leadership
of the Energy and Commerce committee, requesting support and action on
moving S 1755 through the committee. S 1755 accomplishes the same
things as HR 2160; HR 2160 was introduced in April 2009 by Rep Sheila
Jackson Lee (D-TX-18). Since S 1755 has already been approved by the
Senate, moving it forward in the House will simplify the process. Click
here <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/10/11385/?nc=1> for more
information, including instructions on how to encourage the committee's
leadership to support S 1755.

==> ARRL SEEKS INPUT FOR NEW IARU REGION 2 BAND PLAN

   The International Amateur Radio Region 2 conference -- to be held
later this year in El Salvador -- brings together delegations from the
national Amateur Radio Societies in the Western Hemisphere. One of the
topics on the agenda will be the Region 2 HF band plan. This band plan
is "harmonized with" -- spectrum management-speak for "very similar to"
-- the IARU Region 1 and Region 3 band plans. At this year's
conference, the IARU Member-Societies will consider possible changes to
the Region 2 band plan.

The ARRL is cooperating with this procedure by inviting input to be
sent to the ARRL Board of Directors' Band Planning Committee. The
committee will review the existing Region 2 band plan, consider input
from the amateur community and make recommendations to the ARRL Board
for submission to IARU Region 2. Be sure to get your comments in by
Monday, April 5. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2010/03/04/11374/?nc=1>.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad "We are too much like oysters observing the Sun through the
water, and thinking that thick water the thinnest of air
<http://www.classicreader.com/book/309/7/>" Cook, K7RA, reports: The
average daily sunspot numbers were down nearly 5 points this week from
last week -- 24.6. A new sunspot group 1057 appeared on March 23, and
by March 24, it was 25 times its original size. It covered 10
one-millionths of the solar hemisphere on Tuesday; on Wednesday, it
grew to 25 one millionths. This is the largest area seen since February
11. Just past the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox, radio
conditions are good and geomagnetic indices are still quiet. In fact,
the mid-latitude A index for March 21-23 was 0 for all days. Look for
more information on the ARRL Web site on Friday, March 26. For more
information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>. This week's "Tad
Cookism" brought to you by Herman Melville's Moby Dick
<http://www.classicreader.com/book/309/7/> (Chapter 7, "The Chapel").

==> THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

   This week, the CQ WW WPX Contest (SSB) is March 27- 28. Next week,
look for the Lighthouse Spring Lites QSO Party on April 1-11. The QRP
ARCI Spring QSO Party, the SP DX Contest and the EA RTTY Contest are
April 3-4. The Missouri QSO Party is April 3-5 and the Low Power Spring
Sprint is April 5. All dates, unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the
ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL
Contest Update <http://www.arrl.org/contests/update/> and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for
more info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out
the ARRL Special Event Station Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html>.

==> ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

   Registration remains open through Sunday, April 25, 2010, for these
online course sessions <http://www.arrl.org/cep/student/> beginning on
Friday, May 7, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1;
Antenna Modeling; Radio Frequency Interference; Antenna Design and
Construction; Propagation; Analog Electronics, and Digital Electronics.
To learn more, visit the CEP Course Listing page
<http://www.arrl.org/cep/student> or contact the Continuing Education
Program Coordinator <cce at arrl.org>.

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