[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter, Vol 23, No 41

Sat Oct 16 09:32:02 EDT 2004

 ***************
> The ARRL Letter
> Vol. 23, No. 41
> October 15, 2004
> ***************
>
> IN THIS EDITION:
>
> * +FCC adopts rules for BPL
> * +ARRL calls for shutdown of New York BPL system
> * +AMSAT-NA Symposium gets greeting from space
> * +ARRL invites input on digital systems
> * +Repeater coordinator drops controversial all-tone policy
> *  Solar Update
> *  IN BRIEF:
>      This weekend on the radio
>      ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
>      Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration
>      ARRL Web site glitch
>     +No news is . . . no news
>     +RAC Board appoints new President, First Vice President
>      New world record set on 47 GHz
>      Amateurs join Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame
>      Alan B. Caplan, K4AVQ, SK
>      Former landline telegraphers to gather
>      DXCC Desk accredits DX operations
>
> +Available on ARRL Audio News
>
> ===========================================================
>
> ==>FCC ADOPTS NEW BPL RULES, ACKNOWLEDGES ITS INTERFERENCE POTENTIAL
>
> As expected, the FCC this week adopted revised Part 15 (unlicensed
> services) rules to specifically regulate broadband over power line (BPL)
> systems. Meeting October 14 in open session, the Commission adopted a
> Report and Order in ET Docket 04-37. In comments before voting, three
> members of the Commission, including Chairman Michael Powell, specifically
> cited the concerns of Amateur Radio operators and expressed either
> assurances or hope that the new BPL rules will adequately address
> interference to licensed services. Republican FCC Commissioner Kevin
> Martin mentioned Amateur Radio's and broadcasters' interference concerns
> in a written statement. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said he was
> encouraged to see the Commission acknowledge interference to amateurs as a
> genuine issue in the proceeding.
>
> "What the League has done in the last year and a half on this issue showed
> in the Commission's public meeting today," Haynie said Thursday. He cited
> the FCC's approval of three major points that the League had been pushing
> for: Certification of BPL equipment instead of verification, a requirement
> for a public BPL database--something the BPL industry did not want--and
> mechanisms to deal swiftly with interference complaints. Haynie conceded,
> however, that the devil is in the details of the R&O, which likely will
> not be made public for at least a few weeks.
>
> Anh Wride of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET),
> acknowledged that Access BPL devices "pose a somewhat higher potential for
> interference to licensed radio services than typical Part 15 devices."
> But, Wride continued, "we believe the specific benefits of BPL warrant
> acceptance of a small degree of additional risk, and that this
> interference potential can be satisfactorily managed."
>
> Commissioner Michael Copps, a Democrat, said he remains concerned about
> interference to Amateur Radio users. "I take the concerns of this
> community very seriously and believe that the FCC has an obligation to
> work hard to monitor, investigate and take quick action, where
> appropriate, to resolve harmful interference."
>
> Copps said if interference occurs, "we must have a system in place to
> resolve it immediately," and he expressed the hope that the new rules
> would include such "rapid turnaround" provisions. Copps, who dissented in
> part with the R&O, raised the question of whether utility ratepayers
> should have to "subsidize an electric power company's foray into
> broadband."
>
> The Commission's other Democrat, Jonathan Adelstein, said the interference
> question made the proceeding a challenging one because it had to
> accommodate concerns raised by Public Safety licensees, federal government
> users and Amateur Radio operators. "These are important services that we
> need to protect from harmful interference," Adelstein said.
>
> Adelstein also said that while it's clear that some BPL systems can
> co-exist with existing licensees, others "haven't fared so well." He said
> those systems shouldn't be deployed commercially until it's assured that
> they won't cause harmful interference.
>
> Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy, a Republican, said the FCC had to "make
> some hard compromises" to deal with questions about interference. But she
> expressed confidence in "technical solutions."
>
> Chairman Powell called it "a banner day" for communications in the US
> because, he said, BPL promises "ubiquitous service to all Americans at
> affordable rates." The chairman, a Republican, conceded that BPL will
> affect some spectrum users--including "all those wonderful Amateur Radio
> operators out there." Powell said the FCC has taken Amateur Radio
> interference concerns seriously from the start and has put protections in
> place "to allow that service to continue." At the same time, Powell
> implied that the FCC must balance the benefits of BPL against the relative
> value of other licensed services.
>
> Powell said BPL's potential for the US economy "is too great, too
> enormous, too potentially groundbreaking to sit idly by and allow any
> claim or any possible speculative fear" keep the Commission from promoting
> adoption of BPL technology.
>
> ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, suggested that Powell was overstating the
> necessity of yet another broadband pipeline. "It's astonishing to me that
> the chairman of the FCC can talk about needing a 'third way' to provide
> broadband to consumers when multiple technologies already are available,
> including wireless broadband," he said.
>
> The United Power Line Council (UPLC) applauded the FCC's action, saying
> the new rules should encourage BPL deployment while protecting licensed
> services from harmful interference. "We didn't get everything we wanted,"
> said UPLC President and CEO William R. Moroney, who called the R&O "the
> result of close cooperation and compromise" with the National
> Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to address its
> concerns about potential interference.
>
> For more information on BPL, visit the "Broadband Over Power Line (BPL)
> and Amateur Radio" page on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/bpl>.
>
> ==>ARRL ASKS FCC TO SHUT DOWN NEW YORK BPL FIELD TRIAL
>
> The ARRL this week asked the FCC to shut down a BPL field trial system in
> Briarcliff Manor, New York, that has been the subject of past interference
> complaints. The ARRL says the system, operated by Ambient Corporation
> under an FCC Experimental license, continues to cause "harmful
> interference" to amateur stations and that the FCC must require it to
> cease operation immediately.
>
> "The operator of the system has attempted what it referred to as
> 'adjustments' in this system in order to reduce the severe interference
> potential to licensed radio services such as the Amateur Service," said
> ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD. "These 'adjustments' have come to
> be inaccurately referred to as 'notching' of certain bands, and as a
> solution to interference to Amateur Service stations, they are incomplete
> and inadequate."
>
> The ARRL's October 8 letter of complaint asserts that the Briarcliff Manor
> system not only is currently causing interference but fails to comply with
> either applicable FCC Part 15 regulations or with the terms of its FCC
> experimental authorization.
>
> ARRL said the BPL facility at Briarcliff Manor should not be permitted to
> resume operation until it can demonstrate "full compliance" with FCC
> rules. The League also called on the FCC to impose "appropriate monetary
> forfeitures" against Ambient.
>
> Accompanying the League's complaint were technical exhibits substantiating
> the degree of interference the League alleges. One exhibit shows the
> results of frequency-shifting adjustments Ambient made to the system in
> the wake of "multiple interference complaints from licensed radio
> amateurs." The complaint maintains that the adjustments failed to reduce
> interference on "a substantial portion" of the HF amateur allocations. The
> ARRL study says Ambient has been trying for more than a year to mitigate
> interference by using "notching" techniques, "but to no avail."
>
> The ARRL said measurements taken at 14.3 MHz at one point in the system
> "revealed 30 to 40 dB of degradation to Amateur Radio operations along a
> stretch of road over a kilometer in length." A sweep at another location
> showed that BPL signals occupying the entire 15-meter band remained strong
> more than a quarter mile from the BPL injector.
>
> "The levels of interfering BPL signals are sufficient to obscure virtually
> all Amateur Radio received signals and preclude Amateur Radio
> communications in the areas and on the bands identified in the report,"
> the ARRL concluded.
>
> ARRL member Alan Crosswell, N2YGK, a resident of the community, has
> documented interference, complaints and related information on his "BPL in
> Briarcliff Manor" Web site <http://www.columbia.edu/~alan/bpl/>.
>
> The Briarcliff Manor BPL system, which is operated by the electric utility
> Consolidated Edison, was the focus of a March 2004 front-page Wall Street
> Journal article, "In This Power Play, High-Wire Act Riles Ham-Radio Fans,"
> by technology writer Ken Brown. ARRL staff members accompanied Brown to
> the BPL site so he could hear the interference firsthand.
>
> ==>GREETING FROM SPACE, CHANGE OF GUARD HIGHLIGHT AMSAT-NA GATHERING
>
> A congratulatory greeting <http://www.ericsatcom.net/NN1SS%201st.wav> via
> ham radio from the crew of the International Space Station was among the
> highlights of the 2004 AMSAT-NA Symposium and Annual Meeting October 8-10
> in Arlington, Virginia. The gathering--for the first time held in
> conjunction with this week's Amateur Radio on the International Space
> Station (ARISS) International delegates meeting--attracted upward of 200
> attendees--among them some of the best-known names in the amateur
> satellite world. Fincke joined the celebration vicariously by working
> ARISS Ham Radio Technical Manager Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, during an ISS
> pass October 9.
>
> "I'd like to send a greeting to all the people attending the AMSAT
> conference and congratulate you all on 35 years of Amateur Radio in
> space," astronaut Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, said from NA1SS on behalf of
> himself and Expedition 9 Commander Gennady Padalka, RN3DT. "Wishing you
> all the best from the International Space Station!" Fincke jumped in to
> work Ransom and several other stations while the ARISS amateur gear was in
> FM repeater mode.
>
> "Thanks to you guys, people in the world are a little bit closer
> together," Fincke added. In a second QSO
> <http://www.ericsatcom.net/NN1SS%202nd.mp3> with WF5X, Fincke reiterated
> his greeting and expressed gratitude to AMSAT--an ARISS partner--for the
> amateur equipment aboard the space station. Fincke briefly switched to
> Russian to also greet ARISS-Russia delegate Sergei Samburov, RV3DR, who
> was with Ransom in Arlington during the QSO.
>
> The annual gathering marked the official changing of the guard at AMSAT-NA
> as Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, presided over his last Board of Directors
> meeting October 8 before turning over the gavel to incoming president Rick
> Hambly, W2GPS. At the board session, members agreed to file a Petition for
> Reconsideration of the recent FCC Second Report and Order in IB Docket
> 02-54 dealing with orbital debris.
>
> Haighton's four-year tenure spanned this year's success of the Echo/AO-51
> satellite, which has helped the organization to rebound from the earlier,
> less-than-successful outcome of the now-defunct Phase 3D/AO-40--the most
> expensive and elaborate amateur satellite project in history. Planning for
> the proposed Project Eagle satellite also got under way under Haighton's
> AMSAT-NA leadership. That work will continue under Hambly.
>
> Haighton had the pleasure of announcing that AMSAT finally was able to
> recover the entire $110,000 Echo launch cost, thanks to donations from
> individuals attending the AMSAT Symposium and matching funds.
>
> Hambly hopes to proceed with new satellite projects already on the drawing
> board as well as to expand AMSAT-NA's educational mission. He also faces
> the challenge of finding a new home for the AMSAT Lab. The Orlando
> building where Phase 3D was integrated was damaged beyond repair by
> Hurricane Charley.
>
> In addition to hearing updates on satellite projects present and future,
> Symposium attendees were able to choose from a rich menu of presentations.
> Among them, AMSAT-DL President Peter Gülzow, DB2OS, outlined plans for a
> Phase 3 Express (P3E) satellite--essentially a scaled-down and
> less-complex version of AO-40. AMSAT-NA is a partner in the P3E
> high-altitude-orbit satellite, which will be a prelude to an ambitious
> Mars-orbiting spacecraft. Other presentations covered such diverse topics
> as Voice over Internet Protocol communication for the ARISS program, the
> AMSAT-UK Student Space Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI)
> satellite, CubeSats, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence and a
> proposal for a satellite with an onboard robot to repair it.
>
> ISS Expedition 4 crew member and astronaut Carl Walz, KC5TIE, keynoted the
> October 9 banquet. Among the many high points of his duty tour was a 2002
> space walk with Expedition 4 Commander Yuri Onufrienko, RK3DUO, to install
> the first of four ARISS antennas on the ISS.
>
> ==>ARRL DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS STUDY UNDER WAY
>
> The ARRL Ad-Hoc Committee on Amateur Radio Emergency
> Service--ARES--Communications (ARESCOM) is seeking the assistance of the
> amateur community in documenting what digital communications systems now
> are in use today on the VHF and UHF bands. While the majority of digital
> communication is via packet, there are many different packet systems in
> use, and they are interconnected using a variety of methods.
>
> The ARRL Board of Directors resolved at its July 2004 meeting to encourage
> the deployment of e-mail via Amateur Radio--"as exemplified by Winlink
> 2000"--to meet the needs of served agencies and others involved in
> providing disaster communications.
>
> ARESCOM now wants to gather input on systems already in place. "We are
> seeking input from packet System Administrators, not individual users, as
> we need information on how the packet nodes are linked and what
> connectivity methods the packet systems use with systems outside their
> coverage area," said ARRL Ad-hoc ARESCOM Committee Chair Dick Mondro,
> W8FQT. The committee plans to wrap up data collection December 31.
>
> The study seeks detailed information on current packet infrastructure, and
> one person may respond on behalf of several system operators if they all
> approve. "We simply ask that the names and call signs of all involved be
> listed," Mondro said.
>
> To participate download the on-line form
> <http://www.arrl.org/digtest/TestSurvey.pdf> or
> <http://www.arrl.org/digtest/testSurvey.doc>. After providing all
> applicable information, submit the survey form via e-mail <dcti at arrl.org>
> or via surface mail to ARRL, DCTI Study, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111.
>
>
> Those interested in sharing comments and ideas are invited to subscribe to
> the DCTI Reflector <DCTI-subscribe at yahoogroups.com>. For more information,
> visit the ARRL Digital Communications Study Web page
> <http://www.arrl.org/digtest>.
>
> ==>SOUTHEASTERN REPEATER ASSOCIATION RESCINDS CONTROVERSIAL REPEATER TONE
> POLICY
>
> The SouthEastern Repeater Association (SERA) Board of Directors has
> rescinded a controversial policy that would have amended SERA's
> coordination policy and guidelines to require CTCSS or DCS receive and
> transmit tones on all new FM voice repeaters. Existing voice repeaters
> would have had to comply by July 1, 2006. The Board adopted the "all tone,
> all the time" policy during its summer meeting in June. SERA President
> Roger Gregory, W4RWG, said the SERA Board repealed the policy "after much
> discussion" on October 4.
>
> "We may revisit this issue at a later date, but with input from the
> membership," Gregory told ARRL. He said that while SERA received many
> positive comments as well as negative ones, complaints from repeater
> owners prompted the Board's change of heart on the tone policy.
>
> "Some [repeaters] had been untoned for years without any interference
> issues," he said. "They did not wish to tone. North Carolina, South
> Carolina and Tennessee seemed to have more concerned repeater owners."
>
> The largest Amateur Radio repeater coordinating body in the US, SERA
> provides voluntary frequency coordination for repeaters in Georgia, South
> Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and parts of
> Virginia and West Virginia. In a letter on the SERA Web site
> <http://www.sera.org>, Gregory called the tone requirement "just another
> tool we thought was needed to help us to continue to do our job." He noted
> that SERA has been requiring tones on 10-meter, 6-meter and 70-cm
> repeaters "for years."
>
> Some of those upset with SERA's June decision to require tones tried to
> get the FCC involved. The Amateur Repeater Society of East Tennessee
> (ARSET) <http://arset.org>, which sprang up because of the controversy,
> wanted the FCC to recognize it as the official coordinating body for
> eastern Tennessee.
>
> FCC Special Counsel for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth said the
> Commission does not recognize or certify specific coordinators in the
> Amateur Service, as it does in the Land Mobile services, and had no plans
> to get involved in the SERA controversy. But he said requiring tones is a
> good idea.
>
> "From a spectrum efficiency standpoint, tones will be the wave of the
> future and have been in regular use in the Land Mobile services for
> decades," said Hollingsworth, who oversees Land Mobile as well as Amateur
> Radio Service enforcement. He said if tones will cure an interference case
> in the Land Mobile services, he tells the parties to implement them.
>
> "It is surprising that tone systems are not used more in the Amateur
> Service, a service we expect to be on the leading edge of technology
> instead of being wedded to old ways of doing things," Hollingsworth added.
> "As for tones, it's only a matter of time, just as it was with transistors
> and integrated circuits."
>
> ==>SOLAR UPDATE
>
> Sunspot seeker Tad "You Are My Sunshine" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
> reports: Solar activity has been very low. In fact, on Sunday and Monday,
> October 10-11, the sunspot count was zero. Images of the sun on the
> Spaceweather.com site ,http://spaceweather.com/> for those days show a
> blank, spotless sun. Check the archive section by dialing in the dates on
> the upper right of the Web page, and look at the sun images on the left.
>
> October 10-11 were the first days with a sunspot count of zero since
> January 27-28, 2004. To find another period before that with a zero
> sunspot number, you have to go back six years to January 7-9, 1998. There
> was one day prior to that with a zero sunspot number, October 23, 1997,
> and there were several zero days in the summer of that year.
>
> For the next week and through the end of the month, daily solar flux is
> expected to hover around 90. A solar wind stream from a recurring coronal
> hole may cause some unstable geomagnetic conditions today and tomorrow,
> October 15-16. Geomagnetic conditions are expected to be very quiet for
> the week of October 22-28.
>
> Sunspot numbers for September 30 through October 6 were 36, 37, 35, 39,
> 41, 40 and 39, with a mean of 38.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 88.2, 88, 88, 89,
> 90.7, 90.8 and 92.1, with a mean of 89.5. Estimated planetary A indices
> were 4, 4, 12, 15, 10, 5 and 5, with a mean of 7.9. Estimated mid-latitude
> A indices were 2, 2, 8, 7, 8, 3 and 2, with a mean of 4.6.
>
> Sunspot numbers for October 7 through 13 were 38, 28, 24, 0, 0, 14 and 41,
> with a mean of 20.7. The 10.7 cm flux was 93.8, 90.6, 88, 89, 86.9, 87.6
> and 88.5, with a mean of 89.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 4, 7, 6,
> 8, 11, 11 and 35, with a mean of 11.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices
> were 4, 4, 3, 5, 9, 7 and 17, with a mean of 7.
>
> __________________________________
>
> ==>IN BRIEF:
>
> * This weekend on the radio: Jamboree On The Air (JOTA)
> <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/jota.html>, the JARTS World Wide RTTY
> Contest, the Microwave Fall Sprint, the Worked All Germany Contest, the
> Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint (CW). the UBA ON 2-Meter Contest, the RSGB 21/28
> MHz Contest (CW) and the Illinois QSO Party are the weekend of October
> 16-17. JUST AHEAD: The ARCI Fall QSO Party, the W/VE Islands QSO Party,
> the 50 MHz Fall Sprint and the FISTS Coast to Coast Contest are the
> weekend of October 23-24. The CQ World Wide DX Contest (SSB) and the 10-10
> International Fall Contest (CW) are the weekend of October 30-31. See the
> ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM
> Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/> for more info.
>
> * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration:
> Registration for the ARRL Antenna Modeling (EC-004) and Radio Propagation
> (EC-011) on-line courses remains open through Sunday, October 17. Classes
> begin Friday October 29. The Antenna Modeling course is an excellent way
> to learn the ins and outs of computerized modeling of antenna designs.
> Computer-modeling expert and noted author L.B. Cebik, W4RNL, has combined
> the expertise of his long career as a college professor with his love and
> antennas and antenna modeling to offer a comprehensive, yet practical,
> course of study. Propagation students will study the science of RF
> propagation, including the properties of electromagnetic waves, the
> atmosphere and the ionosphere, the sun and sunspots, ground waves and sky
> waves, and various propagation modes--including aurora and meteor scatter.
> To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web
> page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/> or contact the ARRL Certification and
> Continuing Education Program Department <cce at arrl.org>.
>
> * Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration: Registration
> for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level III on-line
> course (EC-003) opens Monday, October 18, 1201 AM EDT, and remains open
> through the October 23-24 weekend or until all available seats have been
> filled. Amateurs aged 55 and older are strongly encouraged to participate.
> Class begins Friday, November 5. Thanks to our grant sponsors--the
> Corporation for National and Community Service and the United Technologies
> Corporation--the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be
> reimbursed after successful completion of the course. During this
> registration period, 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>.
> For more information, contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan
> Miller, K3UFG, dmiller at arrl.org; 860-594-0340.
>
> * ARRL Web site glitch: Some updates to ARRL members' Web site records
> made since October 1 may have been lost due to a server problem this week.
> This affects updated e-mail addresses and automatic e-mail delivery
> selections. It does not include changes to mailing addresses, call signs
> or other membership data. If in doubt, check your record on the Member
> Data page <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/memdata.html>. ARRL regrets
> the inconvenience.
>
> * No news is . . . no news: There have been no changes to the Amateur
> Radio Part 97 rules nor any news to report regarding FCC action on
> proposals that address the number of license classes, the 5 WPM Morse code
> requirement (Element 1) to obtain a General or Extra license, or other
> amateur licensing qualifications or privileges. The FCC continues to
> review the thousands of comments it received on 18 petitions for rule
> making--including a petition from the ARRL--that, in general, address
> various facets of license restructuring and the Morse code requirement.
> Prompting most of these petitions were actions taken during World
> Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03). The FCC first must issue a
> Notice of Proposed Rule Making and assign it a docket number, then invite
> comments on what it decides to propose, based on the petitions it has
> before it. The ARRL estimates that the FCC is only about one-third of the
> way through its review of the petitions, however, and does not anticipate
> any final FCC action--in the form of a Report and Order--until sometime in
> 2006. The ARRL has posted answers to frequently asked questions on its own
> restructuring initiative on its Web site
> <http://www.arrl.org/news/restructuring2/faq.html>.
>
> * RAC Board appoints new President, First Vice President: Radio Amateurs
> of Canada <http://www.rac.ca> has announced that Earle Smith, VE6NM, is
> the RAC's new president, and John Iliffe, VE3CES/VA3JI, is the
> organization's new First Vice President. Smith and Iliffe will fill the
> remaining terms of Daniel Lamoureux, VE2KA, and Bob Nash, VE3KZ,
> respectively, which run through next year. Lamoureux and Nash stepped down
> recently for medical reasons. Smith and Iliffe were appointed by the RAC
> Board of Directors during a special meeting October 12. Smith has been the
> RAC Director for the Alberta/Northwest Territories/Nunavut Region. The RAC
> Board will announce a new director soon.
>
> * New world record set on 47 GHz: On September 19 during the ARRL 10 GHz
> and Up Cumulative Contest, Frank Bauregger, W6QI, and Gary Lauterbach,
> AD6FP, claimed a new world distance record on 47 GHz after they completed
> a contact over a distance of 290 km. W6QI operated from Shuteye Peak
> (DM07gi) just south of Yosemite, while AD6FP operated from Frazier
> Mountain (DM04ms) north of Los Angeles. Although it was officially still
> summer, W6QI had to brave 30-degree temperatures and snow while modifying
> the radio in order to complete the contact. Signal margins were 40 dB on
> the W6QI end and about 8 dB on the AD6FP end. The contact was completed
> using a combination of narrowband FM and CW. The two reported weather
> conditions were quite unusual for September with scattered rain showers in
> the central California Valley between Shuteye and Frazier.
>
> * Amateurs join Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Hall of Fame: Two
> League members have been inducted into the Air Force Space and Missile
> Pioneers Hall of Fame. Rodney C. Pratt, K2AFK, of Holland Patent, New
> York, and William O. "Bill" Troetschel, W7LVO, of Saratoga, California,
> also will receive the Air Force Space and Missile Pioneers Award, which
> recognizes individuals who played a significant role in the history of Air
> Force space and missile programs. Pratt and Troetschel were honored during
> a September 1 ceremony at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. The Air
> Force Space and Missile Pioneers Award consists of an engraved trophy.
> There were six honorees in 2004.
>
> * Alan B. Caplan, K4AVQ, SK: Alan B. Caplan, K4AVQ (ex-W0RIC), of Apple
> Valley, Minnesota, died October 8. He was 63. Licensed as a young teenager
> while living in Virginia, he eventually went to work in the Amateur radio
> industry. Caplan was customer service and sales manager for Hy-Gain from
> 1976 through 1993 and more recently was sales manager at Timewave. "I am
> deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Alan Caplan," said Chip
> Margelli, K7JA, of Vertex-Standard (Yaesu). "We both worked in the
> manufacturing/distribution side of the Amateur Radio industry for a number
> of years, and he was always a steady and knowledgeable person who
> represented his company with dignity and distinction. And he was just one
> of the nicest guys you'll ever know." Caplan was an ARRL member and a
> veteran of the US Navy. Survivors include his wife Rebecca Harman, a son
> and a daughter.--some information contributed by Randy Gawtry, K0CBH
>
> * Former landline telegraphers to gather: Telegraphers from throughout the
> US and Canada will gather in person at the Steam Railroading Institute in
> Owosso, Michigan, Saturday, October 16, to formally dedicate the
> Institute's newly constructed telegraph office and a national telegraph
> hub. Others will participate "on-line" via a nationwide telegraph circuit.
> Sponsors say the event will provide a rare glimpse into an earlier era, as
> numerous telegraph operators will be on the wire exchanging telegrams and
> conversing in American Morse Code. K8QMN will retransmit the proceedings
> October 16 on 14,050 kHz (±3 kHz) from approximately 1600 to 2000 UTC,
> providing radio amateurs throughout North America with a rare opportunity
> to hear American Morse code being used by experienced telegraphers. This
> code, developed by Morse and Vail, is the predecessor to the International
> Morse Code that radio amateurs use. QSL with a business-size SASE to Morse
> Telegraph Club, PO Box 457, Allegan, MI. 49010.
>
> * DXCC Desk accredits DX operations: The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved these
> operations for DXCC credit: 9U6PM, Burundi, effective August 20, 2004;
> ZS8MI, Prince Edward & Marion Island, April 1-May 9, 2004. A new feature,
> "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/faq/>,
> can answer most questions about the DXCC program. For more information,
> visit the DXCC Web page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc>. Current ARRL DX
> bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins for 2004 page
> <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/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.
>
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>
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>
> ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
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> ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
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>
> ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter
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