[South Florida DX Association] The ARRL Letter, Vol 24, No 13

Sat Apr 2 09:12:49 EST 2005

***************
> The ARRL Letter
> Vol. 24, No. 13
> April 1, 2005
> ***************
>
> IN THIS EDITION:
>
> * +Utility pulls plug on Texas BPL pilot project
> * +ARRL takes issue with BPL proponents' reconsideration petitions
> * +ARISS school contacts to double in remaining weeks
> * +Ham radio provides crucial communications in quake's wake
> * +League says BPL equipment maker, FCC failing to address interference
> * +FCC adopts "Smart Radio" rules
> *  Solar Update
> *  IN BRIEF:
>      This weekend on the radio
>      ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
>     +FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations
>     +Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur
>      ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site
>      Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service
>      DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit
>
> +Available on ARRL Audio News
>
> ===========================================================
> ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
> letter-dlvy at arrl.org
> ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
> ===========================================================
>
> ==>TEXAS BPL PILOT PROJECT SHUTS DOWN, LEAGUE WITHDRAWS COMPLAINT
>
> An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL
complaint
> has shut down and removed its equipment. In mid-March, the League called
on
> the FCC to shut down the system and issue fines for causing harmful
> interference to Amateur Radio communications. The ARRL's March 15 filing
to
> the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, its Office of Engineering and Technology,
> system operator TXU and equipment manufacturer Amperion supported a
> complaint from ARRL member and North Texas Section BPL Task Force Chair
Jory
> McIntosh, KJ5RM, who regularly commutes through the BPL test zone in the
> Dallas-Fort Worth area.
>
> "I just got back from reviewing the site and can confirm that the BPL
> installation in Irving, Texas, has been removed and is no longer
operating,"
> McIntosh told ARRL this week. "Things are so quiet you can hear a pin
drop.
> Definitely quite a change!" He said when the system was running,
> interference in its vicinity was 20 dB over S9 or stronger on all amateur
> bands from 40 through 6 meters.
>
> The ARRL became involved after the FCC failed to respond to McIntosh's
> formal complaint last fall. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, also
> took measurements at the Texas site that verified McIntosh's observations.
> ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, thanked McIntosh for his help in bringing the
> situation to a head. "I hope your example inspires other amateurs facing
> similar situations to get involved," Sumner added.
>
> On the basis of McIntosh's report, the ARRL this week canceled its
complaint
> to the FCC. "ARRL therefore withdraws its complaint with respect to the
> TXU/Amperion site and requests that the Commission turn its attention to
the
> remainder of the BPL sites which are actively causing interference to
radio
> amateurs, including Briarcliff Manor, New York," ARRL General Counsel
Chris
> Imlay, W3KD, wrote the Commission.
>
> There's been no word from TXU as to its reasons for shutting down the
system
> and removing the equipment. The test report the League included with its
> complaint pointed out that the interference was not confined to Amateur
> Radio spectrum but included additional HF spectrum. The ARRL said the
system
> failed to protect many of the bands that the FCC's new BPL rules will
> require to be notched by July 2006.
>
> The Irving BPL test site is the third using Amperion BPL equipment to shut
> down following complaints from Amateur Radio operators. In Cedar Rapids,
> Iowa, last June, Alliant Energy cut short its BPL "evaluation system"
after
> the utility and Amperion were unable to resolve ongoing HF interference to
> amateurs. In the Raleigh, North Carolina, area last October, Progress
Energy
> Corporation shut down Phase II of its BPL field trial after pronouncing
the
> test a success.
>
> Despite an FCC inspection report to the contrary, local amateurs said
> Progress and Amperion had only limited success in mitigating interference
on
> amateur frequencies in that trial. While initially saying it had no plans
> for a large-scale commercial rollout of BPL in its service areas, Progress
> later backed away from that statement, contained in a memorandum
announcing
> the shutdown.
>
> The ARRL formally supported Amateur Radio complaints in Iowa and North
> Carolina.
>
> ==>LEAGUE FILES OPPOSITION TO BPL RECONSIDERATION PETITIONS
>
> The ARRL has filed an Opposition to three petitions for reconsideration in
> the broadband over power line (BPL) proceeding, ET Docket 04-37. The
League
> targeted points raised in reconsideration petitions from Current
> Technologies LLC, the United Power Line Council (UPLC) and Amperion Inc.
> Each is seeking reconsideration of certain aspects of the Report and Order
> (R&O) the FCC adopted last October 14 that spell out new Part 15 rules to
> govern BPL deployment. In its Opposition, the ARRL says the FCC should not
> eliminate a requirement that BPL providers give 30 days' advance notice of
> service initiation, as Current, UPLC and Amperion have requested.
>
> "Grant of the petitioners' request to eliminate the 30-day advance notice
> requirement would not only be antithetical to the Commission's goal of
> providing competitive, affordable and efficient broadband access;" the
ARRL
> said, "it would also eliminate even the most minimal means for Amateur
Radio
> licensees to be able to identify and contact the source of harmful BPL
> interference when it occurs."
>
> Current, UPLC and Amperion contended in their petitions that the 30-day
rule
> forces BPL providers to tip their hands to their competition. The League
> charged that the petitioners were, in effect, asking the Commission "to
> protect them by regulatory means from competition in broadband delivery."
>
> Keeping the 30-day notification period in place, the ARRL argued, offers
> radio amateurs a chance to determine baseline ambient noise levels ahead
of
> a BPL deployment and to be able to identify interference when it occurs
and
> the extent to which the HF and low-VHF operating environment is degraded.
>
> The ARRL also took issue with requests by Current and UPLC either to
extend
> the transition period for certification of BPL equipment made, marketed or
> installed on or after July 7, 2006, or to drop it altogether. Either
> approach, the League contended, "is tantamount to an abdication of any
> requirement to implement any of the admittedly inadequate interference
> mitigation requirements in the Report and Order at all."
>
> As the rule is written, the League's Opposition points out, "no BPL system
> placed in operation ever has to come into compliance with the interference
> requirements." The ARRL maintains that the FCC erred in its R&O by
> permitting the installation and operation of non-compliant equipment after
> the R&O's effective date.
>
> "The rule, as it now stands, actually encourages the installation of
systems
> incorporating non-compliant equipment which creates harmful interference
> over the next 18 months," the ARRL said. Based on actual interference
cases,
> the ARRL continued, "any reasonable analysis of BPL leads to the
conclusion
> that the rules adopted in the Report and Order are woefully inadequate in
> terms of interference prevention."
>
> Noting that Current's equipment already excludes all amateur allocations
but
> 60 meters, the League said everyone would be better served if the FCC had
> required BPL providers to avoid Amateur Radio spectrum altogether--or if
> they would so voluntarily.
>
> The ARRL also took the FCC to task with respect to how it's dealt with the
> BPL initiative and the industry itself. "The extent to which
> spectrum-polluting BPL systems have been accommodated by a Commission with
> its collective head in the sand about interference is shameful and an
> abdication of duty," the League's Opposition concludes. "To further
> deregulate this ill-advised polluting technology would, in this context,
be
> unconscionable."
>
> ==>UPPING THE ARISS ANTE
>
> International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, has decided to
> double up on the number of Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station
> (ARISS) school group QSOs during his remaining two weeks of operation from
> NA1SS. ARRL Field & Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO,
says
> Chiao has enjoyed speaking via ham radio with students on Earth during his
> ISS duty tour.
>
> "Sparking youth interest in science and technology is quite high on the
list
> of what's important to astronauts and to NASA," she said, noting that
NASA's
> Education Office has been strongly supporting Amateur Radio in space for
> more than a decade. Since Expedition 10 began last October, Chiao has
logged
> 19 ARISS school group contacts. During a direct contact March 29 between
> NA1SS and W5NGU, the astronaut spoke with youngsters at the Science
> Discovery Center in Denton, Texas.
>
> White said successfully putting together the many pieces of an ARISS
> school-group QSO is tricky at the eleventh hour. To accommodate the
change,
> ARISS moved up a scheduled QSO for a school in Zurich whose volunteers are
> well-prepared. For the second extra slot, ARISS scrambled to make
> arrangements with a NASA Explorer School from which a teacher interested
in
> using ham radio in class had submitted an ARISS application. For this
> QSO--with Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, in Moorpark,
California,
> ARISS plans to employ a combination of Amateur Radio and teleconferencing
> rather than attempt to set up a direct QSO.
>
> Arriving later this month, the next crew increment, Expedition 11, will
put
> two hams aboard the ISS--US Astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Russian
> cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. Krikalev, who will be Expedition 11 crew
> commander, will be doing his second tour of duty aboard the ISS. He served
> as flight engineer on the very first ISS crew and served aboard the
Russian
> Mir space station in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
>
> ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach
> with US support from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
>
> ==>AMATEUR RADIO LINKS EARTHQUAKE-STRICKEN ISLAND WITH OUTSIDE WORLD
>
> Working under harsh conditions, Indonesian Amateur Radio Emergency Service
> (ARES) volunteers this week established VHF links between
> earthquake-stricken Nias Island and northern Sumatra. Nias Island was hit
> March 28 by nearby magnitude 8.2 and 8.7 underwater earthquakes. More than
> 1000 people are reported to have died as a result of the earthquakes. The
> tremors affected some of the same areas still recovering from the December
> earthquake and tsunami. Although officials and residents remained on alert
> for tsunamis this week, none occurred. A magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred
> in the vicinity March 30.
>
> Organization of Amateur Radio for Indonesia (ORARI) headquarters in
Jakarta
> this week called on its members to be ready to assist. An ORARI team
> deployed by air to Nias Island March 29 set up "zulu" (emergency) station
> YB6ZAH in Gunung Sitoli, the island's largest city. YB6ZAH has been in
> contact with the ORARI District 6 command post in Medan, North Sumatra.
The
> ORARI team already had experience supporting communication following the
> December 2004 tsunami that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in South
Asia.
>
> In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, ORARI ARES members reportedly
were
> on duty with little or no food to eat, although they did have drinking
> water. At that point, many victims had not yet been evacuated, and some
> remained trapped in the debris.
>
> ORARI team members include Zulkarman Syafrin, YC6PLG, Herman Rangkuti,
> YC6IQ, and Soejat Harto, YB6HB--a medical doctor. Syafrin reports that the
> earthquake damaged the power, telecommunication and transportation
> infrastructure or took them out altogether on Nias Island. Buildings in
> Gunung Sitoli were reportedly flattened and roads severely damaged or
> impassable.
>
> In the early going, the team was using portable generators and had to
> restrict operation to every two hours to conserve scarce fuel. TELKOM, the
> Indonesian Department of Public Telecommunication, has since provided the
> ORARI ARES team with a bigger generator, and the operation has relocated
to
> the TELKOM building, where fuel is no longer a problem. ORARI District 6
> plans to supply more logistical and radio equipment, while Ady Susanto,
> YB6VK, was preparing a set of solar cells for the ORARI ARES team's use in
> Gunung Sitoli.
>
> New Mexico radio amateur Earl Campbell, N8TV, now working with the
> International Red Cross in Banda Aceh on post-tsunami relief, plans to set
> up an emergency Amateur Radio station on Simeulue Island, which also was
> affected by the earthquakes. Campbell's IT team reportedly is headed for
> Nias Island to set up a satellite Internet connection and to support the
> ARES team in Gunung Sitoli.
>
> Updates on ham radio earthquake relief activity in Indonesia are available
> on the AB2QV Web site <http://www.qsl.net/ab2qv/nias.htm>.--Wyn Purwinto,
> AB2QV
>
> ==>AMBIENT, FCC FAILING TO ADDRESS NEW YORK BPL COMPLAINTS, ARRL CHARGES
>
> The ARRL has charged BPL equipment maker Ambient Corporation and the FCC
> with being unwilling or unable to effectively deal with harmful
interference
> stemming from a New York BPL pilot project. The League also asked the
> Commission for the fourth time to shut down Ambient's Briarcliff Manor
> "non-compliant system without further delay" until Ambient addresses
> interference complaints. The League's latest salvo in the Briarcliff Manor
> BPL battle was in response to a February 10 letter from Bruce Franca,
deputy
> chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). Franca's
letter
> concluded that FCC measurements in response to Amateur Radio complaints of
> harmful interference showed no changes were required to the BPL system.
>
> "The Commission's failure to conduct a thorough investigation of this
> matter, and the tenor of your February 10, 2005, letter, lead to
speculation
> that the Commission is really not interested in finding the interference
> that exists at Briarcliff Manor or at other BPL test sites or in enforcing
> the Part 15 rules," the ARRL responded. "Ambient's apparent tactic of
making
> changes in the system after receiving interference complaints and then
> denying that the interference problems complained of ever existed is not
> helpful." Nor did it help, the League's filing continued, that Ambient's
> engineer refused last December to participate with ARRL in a demonstration
> of the interference. The League said it's no longer possible for the
> Commission or Ambient "to deny the ongoing, serious interference problems
at
> Briarcliff Manor."
>
> The League pointed out that a member of the FCC Enforcement Bureau's staff
> personally witnessed the interference from the Briarcliff Manor system at
> two locations that were the focus of complaints last December. Franca's
> February letter failed to acknowledge video documenting the visit and
> uploaded to the League's Web site, even though the ARRL has provided him
> with the URL <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/aud-vid.html>. At that
> time, ARRL Laboratory staff members took measurements at various points in
> the system to document problems.
>
> While subsequent ARRL measurements did turn up a reduction of BPL
emissions
> in some areas, emissions that would "substantially preclude Amateur
> communications" remain, the ARRL said, and along Dalmeny Road,
interference
> is still at levels essentially unchanged from those measured last December
> and appear throughout the 20-meter band.
>
> ARRL Laboratory staff members most recently visited Briarcliff Manor on
> March 11, and the League's filing to the FCC and Ambient March 17 included
a
> summary of their measurements and observations. At one point, RF emission
> levels from the BPL system exceeded the FCC's Part 15 permitted levels by
up
> to 20 dB, the League said.
>
> Elsewhere, emissions along Dalmeny Road--which the FCC did not revisit
> earlier this year--"continue to contribute 14 dB of degradation of ambient
> noise" on 20 meters, the ARRL said. BPL interference also has been
reported
> on 80 meters. The ARRL further faulted the FCC for not contacting the
> complainant, Westchester County ARES Emergency Coordinator Alan Crosswell,
> N2YGK, who routinely travels the roads in question and has experienced
> interference. Crosswell, who's also Westchester County RACES Officer, has
> documented BPL interference, complaints and related information on his
"BPL
> in Briarcliff Manor" Web site <http://www.columbia.edu/~alan/bpl/>.
>
> The League said the FCC's continued refusal to shut down the Ambient
> Corporation's BPL system in Briarcliff Manor "highlights the completely
> arbitrary and baseless findings in the Commission's Report and Order in
> Docket 04-37, adopted last October 14."
>
> In early January, the ARRL questioned Ambient's veracity and technical
> competence and criticized the FCC for not shutting the system down. The
> League requested then that the FCC rescind Ambient's WD2XEQ Part 5
> Experimental license for the BPL pilot project.
>
> The latest League filing is on the ARRL Web site
>
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/files/BPL-BCM-Reply2Franca031705.pdf>
>
> ==>FCC ADOPTS RULE CHANGES FOR "SMART RADIOS"
>
> The FCC has released a Report and Order (R&O) on cognitive or "smart
radio"
> systems. In its 42-page R&O, "Facilitating Opportunities for Flexible,
> Efficient, and Reliable Spectrum Use Employing Cognitive Radio
Technologies"
> (ET Docket 03-108), the Commission declined to adopt any new regulations
for
> Amateur Radio transceivers or for digital-to-analog (D/A) converters "at
> this time." The ARRL and the National Public Safety Telecommunications
> Council had commented earlier on the impracticality of incorporating
> hardware features to prevent out-of-band transmissions. The League,
AMSAT-NA
> and TAPR also opposed regulating the marketing of high-speed D/A
converters
> as burdensome, more costly to consumers and unnecessary because the
devices
> don't pose a risk of interference.
>
> "No parties have provided any information that shows that software
> programmable amateur transceivers or high-speed D/A converters present any
> significantly greater risk of interference to authorized radio services
than
> hardware radios," the FCC concluded in its R&O. The Commission went on to
> note that "certain unauthorized modifications of amateur transmitters are
> unlawful" and that it may revisit the issues "if misuse of such devices
> results in significant interference to authorized spectrum users."
>
> In its December 2003 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) leading up to
> this month's R&O, the FCC had proposed exempting manufactured software
> defined radios (SDRs) designed to operate solely in amateur bands from any
> mandatory declaration and certification requirements, provided the
equipment
> incorporated hardware features to prevent operation outside of amateur
> bands. The Commission also had sought comment on the need to restrict the
> mass marketing of D/A converters "that could be diverted for use as radio
> transmitters."
>
> In its comments last May, the ARRL sympathized with the Commission's
> concerns about out-of-band operation and expressed its appreciation for
the
> FCC's "sensitivity to the need to encourage, rather than discourage,
amateur
> experimentation and innovation." But, the League characterized the FCC's
> fears as "overstated."
>
> The Commission said its R&O, released March 11, is intended to "facilitate
> continued growth in the deployment of radio equipment employing cognitive
> radio technologies and make possible a full realization of their potential
> benefits." The hope is that cognitive radios will allow more-efficient use
> of the radio spectrum.
>
> "Given their technical and operational flexibility, smart radios make
> possible the improved use of vacant spectrum channels--that is, spectrum
> that may be available in a specific frequency range at a particular
> geographic location or during a particular period of time--spectrum that
> would otherwise go unused," the FCC explained in a Public Notice. "Smart
> radios have the technical capability to adapt their use of spectrum in
> response to information external to the radio."
>
> ARRL participates in international bodies that are currently working
toward
> establishing standards for SDRs and cognitive radios. These include
> International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Working Parties 8A (Land
Mobile
> Service, excluding IMT-2000; Amateur and Amateur-Satellite service) and 8F
> (IMT-2000 and systems beyond IMT-2000).
>
> The R&O is available on the FCC Web site
> <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-57A1.doc>
>
> ==>SOLAR UPDATE
>
> Sun gazer Tad "Black Hole Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports:
We
> saw a decline this week in average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux.
> Average daily sunspot numbers were down more than 10 points to 34 as
> compared to the previous week, and average daily solar flux declined
almost
> 12 points to 80.2.
>
> The short-term prediction shows solar flux values rising slowly over the
> next week, reaching 100 around April 8. The planetary A index should rise
> over the next few days. Predicted planetary A index for April 2-5 is 15,
25,
> 35 and 20.
>
> Cycle 23 continues its fall toward solar minimum, which is currently
> forecast to occur in the October 2006 to April 2007 time frame. We
shouldn't
> expect conditions to improve beyond what we've had recently until early
> 2008--a little less than three years from now. Current sunspot numbers are
> lower than they've been since 1997. The peak of the next cycle will
probably
> occur in 2010.
>
> Sunspot numbers for March 24 through 30 were 57, 65, 41, 35, 15, 15 and
11,
> with a mean of 34.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 87.1, 82.1, 77.7, 78.4, 79.7,
78.8
> and 77.6, with a mean of 80.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 18,
16,
> 13, 4, 5 and 9, with a mean of 10.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
> 4, 15, 12, 8, 2, 3 and 6, with a mean of 7.1.
>
> __________________________________
>
> ==>IN BRIEF:
>
> * This weekend on the radio: The SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the
> Missouri QSO Party, the QCWA Spring QSO Party, the AARC JR Kids Roundup
> Contest and the RSGB RoPoCo are the weekend of April 2-3. The 144 MHz
Spring
> Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) are April 4. The ARS
> Spartan Sprint is April 5, the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (CW) is April
6-8
> and the SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is April 7. JUST AHEAD: The JIDX CW
Contest,
> the ARCI Spring QSO Party, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Georgia QSO
> Party, the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest, the UBA Spring Contest
> (SSB) and the SARL Hamnet 40-Meter Simulated Emergency Contest are the
> weekend of April 9-10. The 222 MHz Spring Sprint is April 12, the RSGB
> 80-Meter Club Championship (SSB), is April 13 and the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL
> Contest (SSB) is April 13-15. 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 RFI (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction
> (EC-009) and Analog Electronics (EC-013) courses remains open through
> Sunday, April 3. Classes begin Friday, April 15. Antenna Design and
> Construction students will, among other things, learn about basic dipoles
> and ground planes and how to assemble combinations of these into more
> complex antennas. Students also learn about transmission lines, standing
> wave ratio, phased arrays and Yagis. Students participating in the RFI
> course will learn to identify various interference sources. Analog
students
> will learn about the use of instrumentation, Kirchhoff's laws, diodes,
> rectifier circuits, bipolar and field effect transistors, various
amplifier
> configurations, filters, timers, op amps and voltage regulators. To learn
> more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) Web
page
> or contact the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program
> Department cce at arrl.org.
>
> * FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations: The
FCC
> is expected to soon update its Web site listing of countries with which US
> Amateur Radio Service licensees may exchange third-party traffic (ie,
> messages on behalf of a party other than the control operator). The
updated
> list will include all amateur stations in the United Kingdom (the UK, the
> Channel Islands, including Guernsey and Jersey, Great Britain, the Isle of
> Man and Northern Ireland). The change is already effective. Section 97.115
> of the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules regulates communications from a
> station's control operator (first party) to another amateur station's
> control operator (second party) on behalf of another person (third party).
> No FCC-regulated amateur station may transmit messages for a third party
to
> any amateur station located within the jurisdiction of any foreign
> government not on the FCC list or whose administration has not made
specific
> arrangements with the US to allow amateur stations to transmit
international
> communications on behalf of third parties. The prohibition regarding
> third-party traffic does not apply to messages for any third party who is
> eligible to be the control operator of the station. The FCC list of
> countries that have third-party agreements with the US is on the FCC Web
> site <http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/about/intoperating.html>.
>
> * Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur: In
a
> case involving a California radio amateur but not amateur antennas, the US
> Supreme Court has ruled 9-0 to deny attorneys' fees and damages to ARRL
Life
> Member Mark J. Abrams, WA6DPB, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The
> justices demurred on an application of federal law that Abrams had argued
> entitled him to recover legal fees and damages. The case, which the
Supreme
> Court agreed to hear last fall, originated after Abrams erected commercial
> Land Mobile Radio Service antennas on his residential property, and the
city
> denied him a conditional use permit it said he needed for the commercial
> application. The California Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Abrams
> didn't need the permit in the first place. In the meantime, Abrams had
filed
> suit in US District Court asserting that the city's denial of the
> conditional use permit violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Again,
> Abrams prevailed, but the District Court turned down Abrams' request to
> recover monetary damages and attorneys' fees. The US Court of Appeals for
> the 9th Circuit reversed the US District Court, but the 3rd and 7th
Circuits
> ruled otherwise. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes then took the case to the
> US Supreme Court on the issue of damages and attorneys fees, and the high
> court agreed to hear the case because of the disparity in the Circuit
Court
> decisions. Some news accounts on the Supreme Court decision have reported
> incorrectly that the case had involved Abrams' efforts to get permission
to
> erect an amateur antenna system. Abrams got the city's okay for an
> approximately 50-foot Amateur Radio antenna support structure in 1989.
>
> * ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site: The ARRL Web
> site now makes it possible to access a list of ARRL Volunteer Examiner
> Coordinator (VEC) volunteer examiners (VEs) and the number of volunteer
exam
> sessions each has served. The listings via the "VE Session Counts
> <http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/veparti.php>" page are in alphanumeric call
> sign order according to VE location by state. Activity (count) is measured
> by being present and ready to serve--or providing service--at an
> ARRL/VEC-coordinated test session. "Celebrating 20 years of service, the
VEC
> system enjoys a reputation of high integrity and is a prime example of a
> successful privatized licensing system," said ARRL VEC Manager Bart
Jahnke,
> W9jj. "The VE Session Counts page serves to highlight the accomplishments
of
> the 25,000-plus current and actively accredited ARRL VEs."
>
> * Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service: Project OSCAR, the
> oldest Amateur Radio club dedicated to amateur satellites, has inaugurated
a
> service aimed at encouraging satellite newcomers. "The Satellite Beacon"
is
> a monthly column produced by Project OSCAR members that Amateur Radio
> newsletter editors may freely republish. Topics cover a wide range of
> satellite topics geared to new or novice satellite users. Project OSCAR
Vice
> President and Beacon Editor Emily Clarke, W0EEC, says that by publishing
> "The Satellite Beacon," Project OSCAR hopes to provide a reliable source
of
> information about amateur satellites at the local level and keep interest
in
> ham radio high as the solar minimum approaches. Newsletter editors may
> subscribe to a monthly electronic distribution or download any of the
> currently available articles directly from "The Satellite Beacon" Web page
> <http://www.projectoscar.net/beacon.php>. For more information, visit the
> Project OSCAR Web site <http://www.projectoscar.net>.
>
> * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
> approved these operations for DXCC credit: TT8AMO, Chad, current operation
> effective March 9, 2005; 6O0X, Somalia, November 18-26, 2004. For more
> information, visit the DXCC Web page. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions"
> <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/faq/> can answer most questions about the
> DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins
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.
>
> The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of
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> to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate,
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> and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org> for the latest news,
> updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers
> access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News
> <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast"
> compiled from The ARRL Letter.
>
> 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!):
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> ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
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> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call
> 860-594-0384
>
> ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter
>
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>
>