[SFDXA] A Message from Jeff
Bill
bmarx at bellsouth.net
Tue Mar 1 13:29:50 EST 2016
Greetings to all,
February was a busy month beginning with the ARRL National Convention
held in conjunction with the 70th annual Orlando Hamcation. Three days
chock full of activities with flea market, dealer displays & sales,
forums & eyeball QSO's with new & old friends. Hope you had a chance to
visit the ARRL Expo & meet your League representatives & staff as well
as the opportunity to pick up items from the ARRL Store. I had the
pleasure to meet with many of you during the hamfest. Kudos to the
members of the Orlando ARC for another great show.
In addition to local meetings, I visited with members of the Gold Coast
ARA and the Martin County ARA with ASM Barry Porter, KB1PA.
Look forward to seeing you at these SFL activities during the month of
March:
Link McGarity WV4I Memorial Free Flea
03/12/2016
Location: JFCS of Palm Beach County
5841 Corporate Way
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Website: http://www.palmswestradio.org
Sponsor: Palms West Amateur Radio Club
Talk-In: 147.045 (PL 110.9)
Public Contact: Robert Pease , KS4EC
Phone: 561-358-9999
Email: ks4ec at att.net
Stuart Hamfest
03/19/2016
Location: Martin County Fairgrounds
2616 SE Dixie Highway
Stuart, FL 34994
Website: http://www.stuarthamfest.com
Sponsor: Martin County Amateur Radio Association
Talk-In: 147.060+ (PL 107.2)
Public Contact: Doug Shields , W4DAS
Phone: 772-349-7820
Email: hamfest at mcaraweb.com
03/26/2016 Titusville ARC Free Tailgate Hamfest
Fox Lake Park 4400 Fox Lake Road
8 AM- 1 PM
Talk in- 146.910 rptr, 107.2 Hz PL
Info: ku4zo at cfl.rr.com
Congratulations to the following SFL Clubs on their anniversary of
affiliation with ARRL:
Titusville Amateur Radio Club 50 years
West Palm Beach Amateur Radio Club 45 years
Gold Coast Amateur Radio Association 40 years
The ARRL National Parks on the Air activity has really taken off ! I
have received reports of activations at Everglades NP, Canaveral NS,
Dry Tortugas NP and Big Cypress NP. In addition to these, Biscayne NP
is in our Section. Get on the air and work these and other NP
activations or venture out with your club and put one on the air
yourselves. More info on NPOTA is available at https://npota.arrl.org/
We bid farewell to Assistant OOC Marshall Paisner, K4MAP who has moved
to Cincinnati, OH for a new job opportunity. Marshall was active with
ARRL and the FL Repeater Council. GL & 73, OM.
KE4PT Wins February QST Cover Plaque Award
The winner of the February 2016 QST Cover Plaque award is “Radio Wave
Propagation: How Waves Attenuate with Distance” by Kazimierz “ Kai
“ Siwiak, KE4PT.
The QST Cover Plaque Award -- given to the author or authors of the
most popular article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL
members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll web page. Cast a ballot for your
favorite article in the March issue today.
Kai’s plaque will be presented to him at an upcoming SFDXA meeting by
SFL SM Jeff Beals, WA4AW
ARISS Celebrates its 1000th Educational Amateur Radio Contact with
Video
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS), the
first-ever ISS payload activated by the crew, is gearing up for its
1000th educational ham radio contact in March. A jointly produced
ARRL-NASA-AMSAT video “Celebrating the 1000th Contact” has been
posted on YouTube.
ARISS celebrated 15 years of a permanent ham radio presence in space
last December. In 2000, several pupils and a teacher got to chat on 2
meters with the first ISS Commander, William “Shep” Shepherd,
KD5GSL. Since that first ARISS school contact, astronauts and
cosmonauts aboard the station have talked with students in 44 states in
the US and in 51 other countries. ARISS anticipates the 1000th
educational radio contact will occur during March.
On an application basis, ARISS organizes scheduled Amateur Radio
contact between ISS crew members and students at a school or
less-formal education venue. Experienced amateur radio volunteers work
with ARISS and individual schools to handle the technical aspects.
Before and during these radio contacts, students, educators, parents,
and communities learn about space, space technologies, and Amateur
Radio.
ARISS touches tens of thousands of students per year. One ARISS goal is
to inspire an interest among young people in science, technology,
engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and in STEM careers.
Another is to provide an educational opportunity for students,
teachers, and the public to learn about space exploration and
satellites, as well as about wireless technology and radio science
through Amateur Radio.
ARISS is a cooperative venture of the ARRL and AMSAT in cooperation
with international Amateur Radio societies and NASA.
List of US House Amateur Radio Parity Act Sponsors Continues to Grow
Three more members of the US House of Representatives have stepped
forward to cosponsor The Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301. That
brings the total to 123.
The latest to sign on are Reps Evan Jenkins (R-WV), Stephen Knight
(R-CA), and Charles Boustany Jr (R-LA).
On a voice vote on February 11, the US House Subcommittee on
Communications and Technology, chaired by Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI, sent
H.R. 1301 to the full House Energy and Commerce Committee with a
favorable report for further consideration.
H.R. 1301 would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to
reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private
land-use restrictions, such as deed covenants, conditions, and
restrictions.
More information on The Amateur Radio Parity Act is on the ARRL
website.
Amateur Radio Parity Act Gets Favorable Subcommittee Report
On a voice vote, the US House Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology has sent the Amateur Radio Parity Act, H.R. 1301, to the
full House Energy and Commerce Committee with a favorable report for
further consideration. The measure was among three bills the
Subcommittee considered during a February 11 "markup" session. The
Subcommittee is chaired by Rep Greg Walden, W7EQI (R-OR).
“I’m optimistic that we can put the finishing touches on these
bills in the weeks ahead and once again produce important, bipartisan
legislation that protects consumers, small businesses, and access to
the latest communications services,” Walden said after the hearing.
During the markup session, Walden and the bill’s sponsor, Rep Adam
Kinzinger (R-IL) made impassioned statements in favor of the
legislation. Kinzinger said that while he can appreciate some of the
concerns expressed by those who do not agree with his bill, he believes
that the time has come to adopt a “reasonable accommodation
standard” with respect to the erection of outdoor antennas in
neighborhoods governed by private land-use restrictions.
Walden agreed. “You don’t necessarily need to have a giant tower
blocking everybody’s view,” he pointed out to the Subcommittee. He
suggested that more modest antenna systems often are sufficient. He and
Kinzinger noted that there is common ground between proponents and
opponents of the measure and that “it’s important to get this
done.” Rep Anna Eshoo (D-CA) also spoke to recognize the work all
parties have been doing to ensure the bill’s passage in the House.
At a Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1301 last month, Walden called it
“a commonsense bill" and urged his colleagues' support. Kinzinger
also spoke in favor of H.R. 1301 at the January 12 hearing, saying that
his bill's "reasonable accommodation standard" would not mandate
placement, size, or aesthetics regarding an outdoor antenna, leaving
ham radio operators and homeowners associations to decide those
issues.
H.R. 1301 would direct the FCC to extend its rules relating to
reasonable accommodation of Amateur Service communications to private
land-use restrictions, such as deed covenants, conditions, and
restrictions. The bill has attracted 120 cosponsors from both sides of
the aisle. An identical US Senate measure, S. 1685, has attracted three
cosponsors. It cleared the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation last November.
FCC Seeks Comments on Petition to Grant Lifetime Amateur Radio
Licenses
The FCC is seeking comments on a Petition for Rule Making (RM 11760)
that asks the FCC to grant lifetime Amateur Radio licenses. Mark F.
Krotz, N7MK, of Mesa, Arizona, filed his request with the FCC last
November. He wants the FCC to revise § 97.25 of its rules to indicate
that Amateur Radio licenses are granted for the holder’s lifetime,
instead of for the current 10 year term. Krotz noted that the General
Radiotelephone Operator License (GROL) already is issued on a lifetime
basis, and he maintained that not having to renew licenses would
lighten the FCC’s workload.
“It would be mutually beneficial for the FCC and Amateur Radio
operators to update Part 97 to grant operator licenses for lifetime,
Krotz said in his filing. “The FCC would benefit by reducing
administrative costs.”
In 2014 the FCC granted lifetime credit for examination elements 3 and
4, but applicants seeking relicensing under that provision still must
pass examination element 2.
Individuals may submit comments via the FCC’s Electronic Comment
Filing System (ECFS).
FCC Invites Comments on ARRL Petition That Seeks 80/75 Meter
Adjustments
The FCC has put the ARRL’s January Petition for Rule Making (RM
11759) on public notice and invited interested parties to comment on
what the League has called “minimal but necessary changes” to 80
and 75 meters. The ARRL petitioned the FCC to fix a “shortfall in
available RTTY/data spectrum” that the Commission created when it
reapportioned 80 and 75 meters 10 years ago.
The League’s petition asked the FCC to shift the boundary between the
80 meter RTTY/data subband and the 75 meter phone/image subband from
3600 kHz to 3650 kHz. The proposed change received strong support from
ARRL members, and the ARRL Board of Directors adopted it as policy at
its July 2015 meeting. At that time the Board also agreed to seek RTTY
and data privileges for Novice and Technician licensees within their
current 15 meter CW subband, and to do the same on 80 meters, depending
on the outcome of the 80/75 meter subband revision.
The petition asks the FCC to make the following changes to the Part 97
Amateur Radio Service rules, with respect to 80/75 meters:
• Modify the RTTY/data subband, so that it extends from 3500 kHz to
3650 kHz.
• Modify the phone/image subband, so that it extends from 3650 kHz to
4000 kHz.
• Make 3600-3650 kHz available for General and Advanced Class
licensees, as was the case prior to 2006.
• Make 3600-3650 kHz available to Novice and Technician licensees for
telegraphy — consistent with existing rules permitting Novices and
Technicians to operate CW in the 80, 40, and 15 meter General and
Advanced RTTY/data subbands.
• Modify the rules governing automatically controlled digital
stations (ACDS), to shift the ACDS segment from 3585-3600 kHz to
3600-3615 kHz, consistent with the IARU Region 1 and 2 band plans.
According to the ARRL, the FCC Report and Order in Docket 04-140
released in 2006 departed substantially and without justification from
the rules proposed in the FCC’s so-called “Omnibus” Notice of
Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), with respect to 75 and 80 meters. Among
other actions, the resulting changes expanded voice privileges on
additional frequencies in various bands, including 75 meters. The FCC
shifted the phone/image subband from 3750-4000 kHz to 3600-4000 kHz,
trimming the 80 meter RTTY/data subband from 3500-3750 kHz to 3500-3600
kHz and substantially changing “the entire dynamic of this band,”
the League said.
Although the Omnibus R&O had indicated that incumbent licensees would
not lose any operating privileges, some clearly did, the ARRL has
pointed out. The most substantial adverse effect of the “unexpected
and vast expansion” of the 75 meter phone/image subband, the League
said, was the elimination of access to 3620-3635 kHz by ACDS.
The Omnibus R&O rule changes limited 80 meters to 3500-3600 kHz, and no
longer authorized RTTY and data emissions above 3600 kHz. That the
Omnibus R&O did not modify § 97.221 of the rules to provide for ACDS
“was clearly an oversight by the Commission.”
After the FCC denied a subsequent ARRL Petition for Reconsideration,
the Commission replaced the inadvertently deleted 3620-3635 kHz ACDS
segment with 3585-3600 kHz.
“Far from fixing the problem created by the error in the Omnibus R&O,
the moving of the inadvertently deleted digital subband downward in
frequency below 3600 kHz made the situation in the 80 meter RTTY/data
subband even worse than it was,” the ARRL said. The result has been a
shortfall in available RTTY/data spectrum at 80 meters.
“ARRL has analyzed the regulatory limitations as part of a
comprehensive effort to make more efficient the use of those HF
allocations, especially with respect to encouraging further
experimentation and proficiency in narrowband digital communications
technologies,” the League said in concluding its Petition. “The
recommendations for modified band plans developed by ARRL necessitate
the few, but important regulatory changes proposed.”
ARRL Signs New Memorandum of Understanding with the American Red Cross
The ARRL and the American Red Cross have signed a new Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU). The document, signed in January, succeeds one
agreed to in 2010; it will remain in place for the next 5 years. The
MoU spells out how League Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
volunteers will interface with the Red Cross in the event that ARES
teams are asked by the Red Cross to assist in a disaster or emergency
response.
“Whenever there is a disaster requiring the use of Amateur Radio
communications resources and/or facilities, the local Red Cross region
or chapter may request the assistance of the local ARES organization
responsible for the jurisdiction of the scene of the disaster,” the
MoU provides. Such assistance would include mobilization of ARES
personnel in accordance with a prearranged plan, and the establishment
of communication as necessary during a disaster or emergency. “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” within the scope of the
MoU, the agreement says.
Generally, the MoU sets the parameters of the partnership between the
ARRL and the Red Cross to provide assistance to communities affected by
disasters. It calls upon both organizations to encourage and maintain
open lines of communication at the state and local levels, sharing
current data regarding disasters, situational and operational reports,
changes in policy or personnel, and any information pertaining to
disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
For its part, the League will encourage ARES units to engage in
discussions with local Red Cross entities to develop plans for local
response or disaster relief operations. The Red Cross will encourage
its field units to engage in discussions with the ARRL Field
Organization to develop plans for local response or disaster relief.
Facilitating this is a Statement of Cooperation to provide methods of
cooperation between the two organizations on the local level in
providing services to communities during or after a disaster event,
“as well as other services for which cooperation may be mutually
beneficial.” The ARRL signatory is either the appropriate ARRL
Section Manager or Section Emergency Coordinator.
The new MoU also clarifies that ARES volunteers assisting the Red Cross
but not registered as Red Cross volunteers do not have to undergo a
prior background check. Radio amateurs who register as Red Cross
volunteers, though, must abide by the Red Cross’s background check
requirement.
January ARES Report from SEC Larry, W4LWZ
Total number of ARES members: 324
Change since last month (+, -, same): +4
Number of DECs/ECs reporting this month: 8
Number of ARES nets active: 8
Number of nets with NTS liaison: 2
Calls of DECs/ECs reporting: WW4RX, KB1PA, W9GPI, K1UQE, N4ZIQ, AD4RZ,
KK4ENJ, WA4PAM
Number of drills, tests and training sessions this month: 29
Person hours: 242.4
Number of public service events this month: 1
Person hours: 8
Number of emergency operations this month: 3
Person Hours: 24
Total number of ARES operations this month: 33
Total Person hours: 274.4
EC-001 graduate- Brad Magill, KW1P
Comments: We had a couple of tornado touch downs. 2 in the Palm Beach
area and 2 in the Fort Myers-Cape Coral Area. Fortunately, there were
no injuries and little property damage. The Gulf Coast district is
planning a district conference in the near future and the section
annual conference will be held in the next 2 months.
January Traffic Report from STM Mike, KM2V
SAR - January 2016
CALL TOTAL
WA4BAM 172
KE4CB 061
W9GPI 011
K9GZT 011
KK4KAH 005
K4KFF 046
KA3PYO 005
KR4ST 017
KD8SYP 011
KM2V 211
W4ZE 008
PSHR - January 2016
Callsign Total
WA4BAM 110
KE4CB 130
KM2V 130
NETS - January 2016
NET ABB. QNI QTC QND SESS MGR
All Florida CW Traffic Net QFN 591 50 378 31 WA4BAM
Florida Medium Speed Net FMSN 234 54 446 31 AG4RJ/AB4XK
Southeast Florida Traffic Net SEFTN 538 95 867 31 KM2V
Southwest Florida Traffic Net SWFTN 410 44 1625 27 KE4CB/N9WS
Jupiter-Tequesta Repeater Group W4JUP 32 0 80 4 K4VMS
Please let me know about any events that your club or ARES group are
sponsoring such as picnics, free fleas, operating events, etc. as they
can be added to this newsletter to better keep the members of SFL
informed of your activity.
Well, I guess that’s about it for now. My thanks for all that you do
for Amateur Radio. Get on the air, Elmer a new ham, support your local
club and ARES group but most of all, have fun with ham radio.
Vy 73,
Jeff, WA4AW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Southern Florida Section
Section Manager: Jeff Beals, WA4AW
wa4aw at arrl.org
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