[Letter-List] The ARRL Letter for November 8, 2012

Thu Nov 8 13:24:22 EST 2012

********************************************
            The  ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
********************************************

November 8, 2012

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

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

- + FCC News: FCC Rejects Maryland Ham's Plan for Amending Message
Forwarding System Rules
- + Public Service: Do Not Self-Deploy to Areas Affected by Hurricane
Sandy
- + IARU: IARU Administrative Council Plans for WRC-15 at Annual
Meeting
- + W1AW Announces 2012-2013 Winter Operating Schedule
- + Logbook of The World Expected to Be Back Online on November 9
- ARRL Executive Committee Examines Regulatory Matters, Organizational
Issues and More at September Meeting
- ARRL in Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately
- ARRL Atlantic Division Presents "Virtual" Convention
- + ARRL Says "Thank You" to Veterans
- + USPS Seeks to Phase Out IRCs
- Solar Update
- New QuickStats Poll Now Available on ARRL Website
- This Week in Radiosport
- Upcoming ARRL Section, State and Division Conventions and Events

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

==> + FCC NEWS: FCC REJECTS MARYLAND HAM'S PLAN FOR AMENDING MESSAGE
FORWARDING SYSTEM RULES

   On Monday, November 5, the FCC issued a letter dismissing a Petition
for Rulemaking filed in February 2012 by Rolan Clark, W3FDK, of
Adamstown, Maryland. In his Petition, Clark had asked the FCC to amend
Section 97.219, specifying that control operators of the first
forwarding station in a message forwarding system of stations should
not be obligated to authenticate the identity of a station from which
the message forwarding system accepts messages, and that the first
forwarding station should not accept accountability for any violative
content of the messages put into the system, Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-rejects-maryland-ham-s-plan-for-amending-message-forwarding-system-rules>.

==> + PUBLIC SERVICE: DO NOT SELF-DEPLOY TO AREAS AFFECTED BY HURRICANE
SANDY

Amateur Radio operators who want to assist those Sections affected by
Hurricane Sandy should not self-deploy to those areas. "There are many
ARRL Sections involved in the impact area, and each has different
requirements on how they locate, credential and deploy volunteers,"
explained ARRL Emergency Preparedness Manager Mike Corey, KI1U. "If a
need for manpower is identified that cannot be met locally or in the
Section, Section leadership may contact other Sections for assistance.
If the need is still not met, Section leadership may then contact ARRL
HQ for assistance."

==> + IARU: IARU ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL PLANS FOR WRC-15 AT ANNUAL
MEETING

   The Administrative Council (AC) of the International Amateur Radio
Union (IARU) held its Annual Meeting November 2-4 in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam. The AC -- which consists of the three IARU International
Officers and two representatives from each of the three IARU regional
organizations -- is responsible for the policy and management of the
IARU and. According to IARU Secretary Rod Stafford, W6ROD, the meeting
was a somber occasion due to the passing of IARU Region 3 Chairman
Michael J. Owen, VK3KI. Owen had been a member of the Administrative
Council for most of its existence, and had been a longtime contributor
to the efforts of IARU to promote and preserve Amateur Radio. Read more
here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/iaru-administrative-council-plans-for-wrc-15-at-annual-meeting>.

==> + W1AW ANNOUNCES 2012-2013 WINTER OPERATING SCHEDULE

With the switch from Daylight Saving Time to Standard Time this past
weekend, W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, has updated the W1AW
operating schedule to reflect the change. The standard times have not
changed, but the UTC times have. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/w1aw-announces-2012-2013-winter-operating-schedule>.

==> + LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD EXPECTED TO BE BACK ONLINE ON NOVEMBER 9

   ARRL Information Technology Manager Michael Keane, K1MK, is
reporting that while Logbook of The World (LoTW
<http://www.arrl.org/logbook-of-the-world>) system is currently down,
it is expected to be back up by 9 AM EST (1400 UTC) on Friday, November
9. "While the system is temporarily down, radio amateurs are not able
to access LoTW or upload their logs," Keane explained. "No data has
been lost, and everyone's records are intact. We understand the problem
and we are in the process of restoring service to LoTW. Since both the
Logbook of The World service and the Online DXCC
<http://www.arrl.org/news/online-dxcc-application-to-debut-april-2>
service are connected to the ARRL Awards System, radio amateurs are not
able to access either service until the system is restored. We
apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and want to assure the
amateur community that the ARRL is working diligently to restore
service to these popular programs."

==> ARRL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE EXAMINES REGULATORY MATTERS,
ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES AND MORE AT SEPTEMBER MEETING

   The ARRL Executive Committee (EC) held its second 2012 meeting
Saturday, September 29 in Denver, Colorado. The EC is responsible for
administering the League's affairs in between Board meetings. According
to the ARRL Articles of Association, the EC meets during the intervals
between meetings of the Board of Directors. It meets at the call of the
President, but no less often than semi-annually; the last meeting of
the EC was March 24, 2012.

At the meeting, the EC discussed the lack of visibility of Amateur
Radio enforcement actions, the FCC's study of the Amateur Radio study
mandated by Congress, the status to the followup of the report of the
ARRL's National Broadband Plan Committee, the future implementation of
the secondary MF allocation of 472-479 kHz and the Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking -- expected, but yet not released at the time of the meeting
-- that seeks to change the way Amateur Radio licenses are administered
and granted, as well as a change to the TDMA rules. The Committee also
discussed the upcoming Centennial Celebration and voted to approve
conventions and affiliated radio clubs, and recognized new ARRL Life
Members. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-executive-committee-examines-regulatory-matters-organizational-issues-and-more-at-september-mee>.

==> ARRL IN ACTION: WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO LATELY

   This feature is a concise monthly update of some of the things that
the ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment -- which
covers the month of October -- takes a look how affected ARRL Sections
handled the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the 2012 ARRL National
Convention in California, the annual ARRL On-Line Auction, new ARRL
publications, W1AW activities during JOTA, reports from the Official
Observer Desk and more. Read more here
<http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-in-action-what-have-we-been-up-to-lately-51>.

==> ARRL ATLANTIC DIVISION PRESENTS "VIRTUAL" CONVENTION

   The Atlantic Division Leadership is turning the traditional
convention model on its head! This year -- through the use of
multimedia -- the Division will host its convention on the Internet
<http://www.atldiv.org/convention> on Saturday, November 10. ARRL
President (and former Atlantic Division Director) Kay Craigie, N3KN,
will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Atlantic Division Convention!
"We will be doing the convention as an educational event," explained
ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. "We have some
world-class presenters and topics for the convention, including NBEMS;
an emergency communications discussion panel, information on stealth
antennas, a DX forum and a forum on RF propagation." Find information
and the presentations schedule for the convention here
<http://www.atldiv.org/convention>. There is no cost for registration
and Edgar said that there are still some seats available, but
registration will close when there are no more seats available.

==> + ARRL SAYS "THANK YOU" TO VETERANS

On Sunday, November 11, here in the US and abroad, we will celebrate
Veterans Day, also called Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Originally
a holiday that marked the end of World War I -- the "War to End All
Wars" -- this day has been set aside to honor all who have served their
country. It was on November 11, 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day
of the 11th month, that Germany signed the Armistice, formally ending
the hostilities that had been ongoing since 1914.

   The ARRL would like to take this opportunity to thank our service
veterans. Whether they served on active duty or reserve, during
peacetime or time of conflict, they served their county with honor. We
also would be remiss if we did not remember the families of those
veterans who kept the home fires burning bright; without their love and
support, our veterans would have indeed been alone.

ARRL Headquarters has its share of service veterans: Assistant VEC
Manager Perry Green, WY1O (Army); Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR
(Army); News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA (Coast Guard);
Instruction and Resource Coordinator Nathan McCray, K9CPO (Navy); DXCC
Manager Bill Moore, NC1L (Army); Reprints Specialist Tony Nesta, AA1RZ
(Navy); Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N
(Navy); Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA (Army);
Field and Regulatory Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG (Air Force),
and Education & Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME
(Air Force).

Thank you for your service -- your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your
fellow service members is not forgotten.

==> + USPS SEEKS TO PHASE OUT IRCS

   If the US Postal Service (USPS <https://www.usps.com/>) gets its
way, it will no longer sell International Reply Coupons (IRCs) after
January 27, 2013. According to the October 23 edition of the Federal
Register
<https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/10/23/2012-25992/international-mailing-services-proposed-product-and-price-changes#h-88>,
there is not sufficient demand for the USPS to continue offering IRCs
to customers; however, per the Universal Postal Union (UPU
<http://www.upu.int/en.html>) regulations, the USPS must continue to
exchange and redeem IRCs that have been purchased in foreign countries
and presented at USPS facilities. Comments on this proposed change will
be accepted
<http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=USPS-2012-0101-0001>
through November 23, 2012. IRCs provide foreign addressees with a
prepaid means of responding to inquiries, solicitations or other types
of communications -- such as QSL cards -- that are initiated by US
senders. IRCs are exchangeable for postage stamps by postal
administrations in member countries of the UPU. Each IRC is equivalent
in value to the destination country's minimum postage price for an
unregistered airmail letter. The purchase price is in the US is
currently $2.20 per IRC. -- Thanks to The Daily DX
<http://www.dailydx.com/> for some information.

==> SOLAR UPDATE

   Tad Cook, K7RA, reports: Solar activity retreated again this week,
with the average daily sunspot numbers declining 8.7 points to 49.7,
while the average daily solar flux was down nearly 20 points to 97.2.
The latest forecast shows solar flux at 100 on November 8-9, 105 on
November 10-11, 100 on November 12-13, 95 on November 14-15, 115 on
November 16-17, and 110 on November 18-20. The planetary A index
forecast predicts an index of 9 on November 8, 5 on November 9-10, 7 on
November 11-12, 5 on November 13-18, 8 on November 19, and back down to
5 on November 20-December 10. Look for more on the ARRL website on
Friday, November 9. For more information concerning radio propagation,
visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page
<http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals>.

==> NEW QUICKSTATS POLL NOW AVAILABLE ON ARRL WEBSITE

Four new poll questions have just been published on the QuickStats page
<http://www.arrl.org/quickstats> on the ARRL website. Let your voice be
heard!

   Questions in this month's QuickStats poll:

-  Will you be participating in the ARRL 160 Meter Contest
<http://www.arrl.org/160-meter> on November 30?
- Do you make a special effort to perform maintenance on your antenna
system in preparation for winter?
-  How many computers do you own (desktop, laptop or tablet)?
- How long do you keep your print editions of QST?

Visit the QuickStats page <http://www.arrl.org/quickstats> and be sure
to bookmark it in your browser. Results from this QuickStats poll will
be published in the February 2013 issue of QST on the QuickStats page,
located in the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with
monthly poll results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs
that highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.

==> THIS WEEK IN RADIOSPORT

This week:

- November 9 -- NCCC Sprint
- November 10-11 -- Kentucky QSO Party; WAE DX Contest (RTTY); 10-10
International Fall Contest (Digital); JIDX Phone Contest; OK/OM DX
Contest (CW)
- November 10-11 -- CQ-Western Electric Contest
- November 11 -- SKCC Weekend Sprintathon
- November 12 -- NAQCC-EU Monthly Sprint
- November 14-15 -- CWops Mini-CWT Test
- November 15 -- NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint

Next week:

- November 16 -- NCCC Sprint; YO International PSK31 Contest
- November 17 -- CQ SA SSB Contest; Feld Hell Sprint
- November 17-18 -- LZ DX Contest; All Austrian 160 Meter Contest; RSGB
2nd 1.8 MHz Contest (CW)
- November 17-19 -- ARRL Sweepstakes Contest (SSB)
<http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes>; North American Collegiate ARC
Championship (SSB)
- November 18 -- EPC PSK63 QSO Party; Homebrew and Old Time Equipment
Party
- November 19 -- Run for the Bacon QRP Contest

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

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

- November 10 -- ARRL Alabama State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/alabama-state-convention-1>, Montgomery,
Alabama
- November 17-18 -- ARRL Indiana State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/indiana-state-convention-fort-wayne-hamfest-computer-expo-1>,
Fort Wayne, Indiana
- December 1-2 -- ARRL West Central Florida Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/west-central-florida-section-convention-tampa-bay-hamfest-2>,
Palmetto, Florida
- January 18-19 -- ARRL North Texas Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-texas-section-convention-cowtown-hamfest-1>,
Fort Worth, Texas
- January 19 -- ARRL Southern Florida Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southern-florida-section-convention-3>,
Fort Myers, Florida
- January 25-26 -- ARRL Mississippi State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/mississippi-state-convention-capital-city-hamfest>,
Jackson, Mississippi
- January 26-27 -- ARRL Puerto Rico State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/puerto-rico-state-convention>, Hatillo,
Puerto Rico
- February 2 -- ARRL South Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/south-carolina-state-convention-2>, North
Charleston, South Carolina
- February 8-10 -- ARRL Southeastern Division Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/southeastern-division-convention-orlando-hamcation-1>,
Orlando, Florida
- February 15-16 -- ARRL Arizona State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/arizona-state-convention-yuma-hamfest-1>,
Yuma, Arizona
- March 8-9 -- ARRL Oklahoma Section Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/oklahoma-section-convention-green-country-hamfest-1>,
Claremore, Oklahoma
- March 30 -- ARRL North Carolina State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/north-carolina-state-convention-raleigh-hamfest-2>,
Raleigh, North Carolina
- April 20 -- ARRL Louisiana State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/louisiana-state-convention-northeast-louisiana-regional-ham-radiofest>,
Monroe, Louisiana
- April 26-28 -- ARRL Idaho State Convention
<http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/idaho-state-convention-3>, Boise, Idaho

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

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