[TCARC-NTX] ARRL Letter

[David Johnson KB5YLG]

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 39
October 7, 2005
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +ARRL kicks off 2006 Spectrum Defense Fund drive
* +Amateur radio "saved the day" in Southern
Mississippi
* +Welsh high schoolers ask astronaut about life on
ISS
* +Another BPL trial shuts down
* +FCC orders license revocation hearing
* +New ARRL Section Managers gather for workshop
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education
course registration
    +Vanity call sign processing hiatus continues
    +SSETI Express launch date reset
     CEPT working group adopts early-access
recommendation
     New Connecticut law not expected to affect radio
amateurs
     Dale Hunt, WB6BYU, wins September QST Cover
Plaque Award
     Cape Verde D4B contest station now QRT

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

===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery
only!):
letter-dlvy at arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist,
N1RL, n1rl at arrl.org
===========================================================

==>SPECTRUM DEFENSE FUND 2006: PROTECTING AMATEUR
RADIO'S ABILITY TO 
RESPOND

The ARRL officially kicks off its 2006 Spectrum
Defense Fund campaign
Monday, October 10, by once again emphasizing that
Amateur Radio 
spectrum is
one of our nation's most valuable assets. Amateur
Radio and everything 
it
accomplishes during disasters and emergencies would
cease to exist 
without
access to the range and variety of frequencies it
enjoys, says ARRL 
Chief
Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH.

"Public service is number one on the FCC's §97.1 hit
parade of reasons
Amateur Radio exists," Hobart said. "The events of
September 2005--like
those of September 2001--demonstrate the power of
Amateur Radio in 
spades."
She says ham radio volunteers who've been taking part
in the hurricane
Katrina and Rita relief and recovery, whether on the
Gulf Coast or from
home, "testify to what hams have known for years--the
value of Amateur 
Radio
frequencies when disaster strikes."

Southern Baptist Disaster Relief volunteer Christy
Hardin, KB7BSA, just
returned home to Alabama after two duty tours in
southern Mississippi
following Hurricane Katrina. "This is the essence of
why we need to 
fight
for our frequencies and maintain what we have," she
said, looking back 
on
her experiences of the past several weeks. "This is
what it's about."

Amateur Radio volunteers have employed a wide range of
modes and
capabilities to provide needed communication support
following the Gulf
Coast hurricanes, Hobart points out. The mix includes
extensive use of 
HF,
VHF and UHF as well as Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) systems such 
as
EchoLink and IRLP, and data modes--primarily Winlink
2000.

In a 2006 Spectrum Defense Fund appeal going out to
ARRL members, ARRL 
CEO
David Sumner, K1ZZ, calls the past month "a
challenging one" for those
directly affected by the twin Gulf Coast hurricanes.
Amateur Radio was 
in
the forefront of those responding to help, he said,
from the time 
Amateur
Radio nets began tracking Katrina's course as a
tropical storm to the
response on the ground in Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama. "Amateur 
Radio
operators continue to do what no one else can
do--provide reliable 
emergency
communications."

"In recent weeks the demand for information about ham
radio from the 
press,
and the helping hands extended by official Washington
and our Amateur 
Radio
industry have validated what hams have been doing for
decades," 
Sumner's
appeal goes on to say, "using our treasured
frequencies to save lives, 
move
emergency resources and relay messages across the
country."

Amateur Radio's spectrum is available because the
League works hard 
every
day to protect and enhance it, Sumner noted. "Each
year ARRL expends
thousands of staff hours and provides funding to work
with agencies and
organizations to protect Amateur Radio spectrum," he
said. "Amateur 
Radio
volunteer operators are always glad to help . . . to
ensure that our
frequencies are there for disasters, drills, nets and
just plain fun, 
we
must continue to protect them."

Donations to the League's Spectrum Defense Fund give
the League the 
means to
represent Amateur Radio at critical meetings in
official Washington and 
at
international conferences, prepare FCC filings and
presentations and 
even to
work to eliminate harmful interference from such
sources as BPL and 
power
line noise.

Hobart says every radio amateur has reason to feel
proud of the service 
that
ham radio volunteers have provided in the most recent
disaster. "I hope 
that
every ham, active or not, ARRL member or not, will
translate that pride 
into
a contribution to support defense of our frequencies,"
she said.

Giving is easy. Radio amateurs may contribute online
via the ARRL's 
secure
donor Web site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/fdefense/>.
Those 
contributing
$50 or more may request a gift as a token of the
League's appreciation.

The ARRL has been included in the 2005 Combined
Federal Campaign (CFC)
National/International list <http://www.opm.gov/cfc/>.
This means 
federal
government civilian employees as well as postal
workers and members of 
the
military can designate their CFC pledges to the ARRL
during the 
campaign
season, which ends December 15. The League's CFC donor
code is 9872. 
Federal
employees who participate in the CFC can donate all or
part of their 
CFC
contribution to the League to support ARRL's efforts
on behalf of 
Amateur
Radio.

For more information about the 2006 Spectrum Defense
Fund or to discuss
other ways you can support the ARRL's continuing work
on behalf of 
Amateur
Radio, contact ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary
Hobart, K1MMH
<k1mmh at arrl.org>; 860-594-0397.

==>HAM RADIO SAVES THE DAY IN MISSISSIPPI; RITA
RECOVERY CONTINUES IN 
TEXAS

Amateur Radio volunteers in Jasper County, Texas,
continue to support
mass-feeding operations by The Salvation Army, which
has been 
coordinating
with other relief groups to provide meals to Hurricane
Rita-displaced
residents. Amateur volunteers plan to meet with
Salvation Army 
personnel to
discuss the need for Amateur Radio support beyond this
weekend. 
Meanwhile,
ARRL Alabama SM Greg Sarratt, W4OZK--who's been
handling the intake of
American Red Cross volunteers in Montgomery,
Alabama--has been visiting 
ARC
shelters along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Shelters
there are in the 
process
of closing down. In Gulfport, Amateur Radio volunteers
continue to 
support
communication for the emergency operations center
(EOC) in Harrison 
County,
where they've been a mainstay since Hurricane Katrina
struck in late 
August.

"If it hadn't been for Amateur Radio operators, we
would not have had
communications with other agencies," said Col Joe
Spraggins of the 
Harrison
County Emergency Management Agency. "Even with the
advancements in our 
radio
technology, ham radio saved the day! Thank you."

Christy Hardin, KB7BSA, a Southern Baptist Disaster
Relief volunteer 
from
Alabama, and husband Rick, KB4BSA, have been in the
Gulf Coast twice
following Hurricane Katrina. She had nothing but
praise for those who 
have
been volunteering to maintain communication at the EOC
24/7 in some 
cases
despite having lost their own homes to the storm. "The
four or five
operators who worked around the clock for nearly a
month are the true
heroes," she said.

In particular, she cited ARES District Emergency
Coordinator Tom 
Hammack,
W4WLF, Ray Taber, WX5AAA, Glover Hayden, W5BLV, and
John Moore, W5EG, 
for
serving unselfishly on behalf of Mississippi Gulf
Coast residents. 
Hammack
has been living in the EOC since the storm flooded and
badly damaged 
his
house. An instructor for all three levels of the ARRL
Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications course, Hardin says she was
"thrilled to see 
it in
action" as the EOC volunteers performed as true
professionals.

South Texas ARRL Section Manager Ray Taylor, N5NAV,
this week estimated
upward of 60 Amateur Radio volunteers were on the
ground in Texas, many
supporting shelters scattered throughout the area.
North Texas SEC Bill
Swan, K5MWC, has been helping to recruit and schedule
ARES members from 
his
section to assist in mass-care operations in Jasper
County.

Taylor says radio amateurs in North Texas and Arkansas
have been 
helping to
cover net control shifts and to serve as relay
stations for the West 
Gulf
ARES Emergency Net on 7.285 MHz days/3.873 MHz
evenings.

Scott Pederson, KI5DR, reports he just returned home
from three days in
Jasper County, Texas, working with John Wagner,
WA5VBP, Charles 
Fletcher,
N5BOY, and John Barber, N5JB. "Our job was to deliver
hot meals to 
various
locations around a three-county area with five
Salvation Army trucks 
and
also several Red Cross trucks working together," he
said. Ham radio, he
explained, helped to coordinate the delivery routes by
the various 
agencies
involved. While VHF FM simplex was okay for local
work, the West Gulf 
ARES
Emergency Net on HF was very reliable.

"Even though regular phones are working most of the
time, it's really 
the
hams that are the communicators of the group," he
said. Pederson also 
lauded
the efforts of The Salvation Army, American Red Cross
and Arkansas 
Methodist
Men's volunteers. "Everyone is focused and cares
deeply about their 
tasks,"
he said, "and things are happening at lightning speed
throughout the 
day."

In Louisiana, SEC Gary Stratton, K5GLS, said earlier
this week that 
some 45
Amateur Radio volunteers remained on hurricane
recovery duty there. 
"Things
are settling down," Stratton told ARRL.--Christy
Hardin, KB7BSA, 
supplied
information for this article

==>TEARS AND FEARS AMONG TOPICS OF ARISS SCHOOL GROUP
CONTACT

Students at Tregaron Secondary School in Tregaron,
Wales, questioned
Expedition 11 ISS NASA Science Officer John Phillips,
KE5DRY, September 
29
about life aboard the International Space Station.
Serving as the Earth
station for the event was the Radio Society of Great
Britain's (RSGB) 
mobile
ham station GB4FUN, controlled by Carlos Eavis, G0AKI,
and operated by 
AMSAT
UK's Howard Long, G6LVB. The contact between GB4FUN
and NA1SS was 
arranged
by the Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) 
program. One
student asked Phillips what happens to tears if you
cry in space.

"Well, that may be the most interesting question of
the day," Phillips
responded. "I think that the tears would just stay
right there on your 
eyes
or possibly on the edge of your cheeks. They wouldn't
go very far. I 
think
maybe they'd just stay in your eyes until they
evaporate."

Other students at Tregaron asked Phillips if he had
any fears or 
concerns
about living in space. Phillips told the students he
didn't spend much 
time
worrying about possible problems. "I make sure I'm
prepared, but beyond
that, I don't worry," he said.

As for being scared, Phillips recounted "a sort of a
joke" among the US
astronaut corps: "The main thing you're scared of in
space is you might 
do
something wrong and look bad, and there's a certain
amount of truth to
that." Phillips says he worries "a little" that he
might make a 
mistake, but
he's not frightened of anything because he has
confidence in the ISS, 
his
training and the ISS ground crew

In response to a later question asking if he'd ever
had any 
"embarrassing
moments" in space, Phillips said only when he makes a
mistake or loses
something. "The work we do is watched all the time by
the folks on the
ground," he pointed out. Answering another question
about the 
spacesuits the
crew wears for space walks, Phillips said they are
"very functional," 
but he
wouldn't call them comfortable.

In all, Phillips answered 18 questions before the ISS
went over the 
horizon
and contact with the school was lost. ARISS-Europe's
Gaston Bertels, 
ON4WF,
says Phillips nonetheless continued on to answer the
remaining two 
questions
on the list, and "ground stations further east could
hear his answers 
and
his signing off."

Upward of 350 students, faculty members and VIPs
filled the room at
Tregaron, and BBC-TV covered the event. The contact
marked the first 
ARISS
school group QSO for a school in Wales and the last
for Phillips during 
his
current ISS duty tour.

ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international
educational 
outreach
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

==>PENNSYLVANIA UTILITY CITES UNFAVORABLE ECONOMICS IN
ENDING BPL TRIAL

PPL Broadband announced this week that it's
terminating its broadband 
over
power line (BPL) experiment in Pennsylvania's Lehigh
Valley. According 
to
media reports, the company is citing the high cost of
a full-scale BPL
rollout and competition from cable and DSL service in
the region as the
reasons for the shutdown. Approximately 300 households
participating in 
the
trial were said to be paying $40 a month for the
high-speed Internet
service. Although Amateur Radio stations in some of
PPL Broadband's 
service
area reported BPL interference, the company did not
cite it as a factor 
in
its decision to drop out of the BPL race.

"Several local amateurs reported interference to their
home stations," 
said
ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, who visited
the Lehigh Valley
several times to take BPL system emission
measurements. "While this was
resolved in whole or in part by PPL, in one case the
interference was
'fixed' by turning off BPL completely to the street in
front of the 
amateur
reporting the interference." Even so, Hare says, the
amateur continued 
to
experience moderate interference from other parts of
the system.

PPL claimed it had no BPL equipment operating on the
spectrum the 
complaint
targeted. During a visit a few weeks later, however,
Hare said he was 
able
to quickly pinpoint the source "on the band PPL
claimed it wasn't 
using"
about a half mile away from the ham's location,
although PPL was never 
able
to completely resolve the case.

Hare reports the BPL system was creating S9 noise on
entire ham bands 
within
a "rather large" deployment area. "Had this system
continued to build 
out,
additional reports of interference from mobile and
fixed amateur 
operation
would have been inevitable," he predicted.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he wasn't surprised
to learn of PPL's
decision to get out of BPL. "It bears out what
knowledgeable economists 
have
been saying about BPL's prospects for some time," he
said. "PPL has
considerable excess fiber capacity and was trying to
leverage that
investment by offering broadband service to consumers
via BPL. If they
couldn't make it pay, it's doubtful anyone else can."

The Allentown company first offered BPL Internet
service in Whitehall
Township and Emmaus, later expanding to parts of
Bethlehem, Upper 
Macungie
Township, Hanover Township and Northampton County. In
its formal 
comments in
the FCC BPL proceeding, the ARRL cited measurements
taken at one site 
within
the BPL test system in Emmaus that "exceeded FCC Part
15 limits by up 
to 20
dB or more."

An October 4 article in Allentown's The Morning Call
newspaper quoted 
PPL
spokesman Jim Santanasto as saying that the utility
couldn't charge 
enough
in the face of stiff cable and DSL competition and
that its pool of
potential customers was too small. "The economies of
scale wouldn't 
work,"
the paper quoted Santanasto as saying.

==>FCC ORDERS LICENSE REVOCATION HEARING FOR CONVICTED
FELON

The FCC has issued an Order to Show Cause that
initiates a hearing
proceeding to determine if an Amateur Radio licensee
now serving time 
on a
felony conviction is qualified to remain an FCC
licensee or should face
license revocation. The Order, released September 29,
involves the case 
of
David Edward Cox, W5OER, of Pride, Louisiana. Over the
past several 
years,
the FCC has been applying its so-called "1990
Character Order," 
initially
intended to apply to Broadcast Service licensees, to
Amateur Radio 
licensees
and applicants. The FCC said Cox's multiple felony
convictions "raise
serious questions" about his character qualifications,
and it's 
designated
the matter for a hearing before an Administrative Law
Judge.

"David Edward Cox is hereby ordered to show cause why
his authorization 
for
Amateur Radio Advanced class license W5OER should not
be revoked," the 
FCC
said in its Order. FCC licensing records indicate,
however, that Cox 
holds a
Technician class license.

An applicant's character is among factors it considers
during its 
review to
determine whether an applicant "has the requisite
qualifications to 
operate
the station for which authority is sought," the FCC
said in its Order. 
The
FCC said felony convictions "raise potential questions
regarding an 
amateur
licensee's qualifications."

First convicted in January 2004 for simple burglary, a
felony, Cox was
sentenced to five years in prison, but the judge
suspended the sentence 
and
put him on supervised probation for five years, the
FCC said. Cox was
arrested again in September 2004, the FCC continued in
its recitation, 
and,
earlier this year, following a plea agreement, a US
District Court 
judge
sentenced him to concurrent terms of 41 months for
felony violations of
various firearms provisions.

If it goes forward, the hearing would attempt to
determine the effect 
of
Cox's felony convictions on his qualifications to be
and remain an FCC
licensee and, in the light of evidence, whether Cox is
qualified to 
remain a
Commission licensee and whether his Amateur Radio
license should be 
revoked.


The FCC sent copies of the show cause Order to his
home address as well 
as
to Catahoula Correctional Center in Harrisonburg,
Louisiana. Cox has 30 
days
from the Order's release to file written notice that
he will appear for 
the
hearing and present evidence. The FCC Enforcement
Bureau would bear the
burden of proof in the proceeding.

==>LEARNING TAKES CENTER STAGE AT WORKSHOP FOR NEW
SECTION MANAGERS

The focus was on achieving results through working
with volunteers when 
10
new ARRL Section Managers met at ARRL Headquarters
September 23-25 for 
the
annual Workshop for New Section Managers. ARRL
staffers Steve Ewald, 
WV1X,
Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG, and Leona Adams organized the
event and served as
primary hosts during the weekend session. The primary
purpose of the 
session
was to share ideas, to provide some basic
administrative, management,
leadership, and motivational training--including
working with served
agencies--and to outline the functions of the SM and
ARRL.

"The SM Workshop was really a great learning
experience for me," said
incoming West Virginia SM Ann Rinehart, KA8ZGY, of
Charleston, who 
began her
term October 1. "The group really shared concerns,
issues and 
experiences
which were very helpful."

The session also provided an opportunity for the new
SMs to get 
acquainted
with ARRL Headquarters, some for the first time, to
meet various ARRL 
staff
members and to learn about the variety of services the
League offers 
its
members and Amateur Radio.

Serving as discussion guides and presenters for the
workshop in 
addition to
Ewald and Skolaut were ARRL Webmaster Jon Bloom, KE3Z;
ARRL Marketing
Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R; Regulatory Information
Specialist John
Hennessee, N1KB, and Media and Public Relations
Manager Allen Pitts, 
W1AGP.
Skolaut discussed the Amateur Auxiliary and Official
Observers program,
while his wife Mary, N0TIK, volunteered to address the
importance of
ARRL-Affiliated Clubs from her perspective as a club
member and 
elementary
school teacher.

With Hurricane Rita threatening, then striking, the
Gulf Coast while 
the
workshop was in session, attendees got to participate
in 
teleconferences
with SMs and Section Emergency Coordinators in the
affected region. As 
a
result, workshop attendees North Texas SM Tom
Blackwell, N5GAR, and 
Arkansas
SM David Norris, K5UZ, were able to discuss the
progress of the 
hurricane
and the ARES response to it directly with their SECs.

Arizona SM Tom Fagan, WB7NXH, said the 2005 SM
Workshop exceeded his
expectations. "Being able to meet and share thoughts
with other section
managers was quite valuable," he said. "The seminars
taught me all 
sorts of
facets of the section manager job that I had not
thought about. And I 
never
could have anticipated the rush I got when I caused a
pileup just by 
calling
CQ from W1AW."--Steve Ewald, WV1X

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Solar flash Tad "Shining Star" Cook, K7RA, Seattle,
Washington, 
reports:
This week's Solar Update is being posted one day
earlier than usual. 
Solar
activity was down for the week. In fact we saw several
days of no 
sunspots
at all. October 1, 2 and 3 each had a daily sunspot
number of zero. 
Sunspot
numbers are slowly rising as sunspot 813 rotates to
face Earth, but the
average for the week dropped more than 18 points to
11.6. Sunspot 
numbers
and solar flux may rise but probably not by much. As
mentioned last 
week,
we're waiting to see what the return of giant sunspot
798 will bring, 
but as
that area shifts into view, only a few wisps are
visible. This would
indicate that the area is magnetically much less
complex than what came
around the past two rotations.

Over the next year as this cycle 23 bottoms out, we
will see long 
stretches
of days--maybe even weeks--with no sunspots at all.
This is based on 
the
behavior of past solar cycles.

Over the next week expect sunspot activity to remain
low, and solar 
flux
should hover around 85. Planetary A index for the next
five days, 
October
6-10 is predicted at 8, 10, 5, 8 and 12. The next
period of moderately
active geomagnetic conditions is forecast for October
12, based on the 
last
solar rotation.

Sunspot numbers for September 29 through October 5
were 22, 13, 0, 0, 
0, 15
and 31, with a mean of 11.6. The 10.7 cm flux was
73.8, 72.2, 72.1, 
74.9,
74.3, 82.7, and 81.3, with a mean of 75.9. Estimated
planetary A 
indices
were 6, 11, 13, 13, 7, 4 and 4, with a mean of 8.3. 
Estimated 
mid-latitude
A indices were 5, 6, 10, 8, 5, 2 and 2, with a mean of
5.4.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The German Telegraphy
Contest is October 
3. The
YLRL Anniversary Party (CW) is October 5-7. the 432
MHz Fall Sprint is
October 5 and the SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is October
6. The 
Pennsylvania QSO
Party, the FISTS Fall Sprint, the North American
Sprint (RTTY), the
Makrothen RTTY Contest, the Oceania DX Contest (CW),
EU Autumn Sprint 
(CW)
and the UBA ON Contest (CW) are the weekend of October
8-9. The 10-10
International 10-10 Day Sprint is October 10. The
NAQCC 80/40 Straight
Key/Bug Sprint is October 12. The NCCC Thursday Sprint
is 0230Z-0300 
UTC
October 14, and the YLRL Anniversary Party (SSB) is
October 14-16. The
Jamboree On The AIR (JOTA), the JARTS WW RTTY Contest,
the Microwave 
Fall
Sprint, the Worked All Germany Contest, the
Asia-Pacific Fall Sprint 
(CW),
the UBA ON Contest (2 m), the RSGB 21/28 MHz Contest
(CW) and the 
Illinois
QSO Party are the weekend of October 15-16. 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 remains open through Sunday, October16,
for these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) Program
on-line courses:
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level I
(EC-002), Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications Level III (EC-003), Antenna
Modeling (EC-004),
VHF/UHF Beyond the Repeater (EC-008), Propagation
(EC-011) and HF 
Digital
Electronics (EC-013). Classes begin Friday, October
28. To learn more, 
visit
the CCE Web site <http://www.arrl.org/cce> or contact
the ARRL CCE
Department <cce at arrl.org>.

* Vanity call sign processing hiatus continues: As
ARRL reported in The 
ARRL
Letter, Vol 24, No 38 (Sep 30), the FCC discontinued
the processing of
vanity call signs on or about September 23. The
Commission's Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau this week announced that,
while it continues 
to
accept new vanity call sign applications, these
applications "will not 
be
processed until further notice." The FCC says the
suspension of vanity
processing is consistent with extended filing and
regulatory deadlines 
it
announced for hurricane-affected licensees under
public notices 
released
September 1 and September 24. Because the filing
extensions apply to 
Amateur
Radio's two-year "grace period," they could adversely
impact the vanity 
call
sign system. "When processing is resumed, all pending
vanity call sign
applications will be processed consistent with the
date order in which 
they
were received," the FCC said October 5 in an alert on
the Universal
Licensing System (ULS) Web site.

* SSETI Express launch date reset: The launch of the
Student Space
Exploration and Technology Initiative (SSETI) Express
satellite, which 
will
carry an Amateur Radio package, has been rescheduled
for later this 
month.
"We have been advised that a new launch date has been
agreed--Thursday 
27
October from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome--with 28 October
as a back-up 
date,"
said Graham Shirville, G3VZV. The SSETI Express will
carry three 
CubeSat
picosatellites. Plans call turning the satellite into
a single-channel
amateur FM voice mode U/S transponder after the
transmitter serves 
initial
telemetry duty. The AMSAT-UK Web site
<http://www.uk.amsat.org/> 
provide
additional information.

* CEPT working group adopts early-access
recommendation: The CEPT 
Electronic
Communications Committee (ECC) Working Group FM (WGFM)
has adopted a
recommendation, ECC/REC(05)05, regarding early access
in the band 
7100-7200
kHz. The recommendation states that administrations
within CEPT may 
allow
stations in the Amateur Service to use the band
7100-7200 kHz on a 
secondary
basis, provided that the transmitter output power does
not exceed 250 
W.
Following public consultation of the draft
recommendation, the WGFM 
adopted
ECC/REC(05)05 on September 28 at its meeting in
Koblenz, Germany. The 
number
of countries that allow early access is growing. The
Russian Federation 
and
Singapore joined the list last week, and the
Netherlands and Austria 
are
expected to permit access soon. Additional information
and a list of
countries that have adopted early access to 7100-7200
kHz are available 
on
the IARU Region 1 Web site
<http://home.planet.nl/~pa3ebt/IARU-R1/7_mhz_early.htm>

* New Connecticut law not expected to affect radio
amateurs: A 
Connecticut
state law restricting the use of handheld mobile
electronic devices 
while
driving went into effect October 1. The new statute,
Public Act 05-220, 
in
general prohibits drivers from using "a hand-held
mobile telephone to 
engage
in a call" or from "using a mobile electronic device"
while the vehicle 
is
in motion. ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD,
says he believes the 
new
law was intended to apply principally to cellular
telephones, but he
concedes it's not entirely clear that the new term
"mobile electronic
device" excludes Amateur Radio transceivers. Even so,
Imlay said, 
"there is
a good argument that they are, in fact, excluded."
Imlay concludes, 
however,
that it would be better to have a specific exemption
for Amateur Radio
equipment. Radio amateurs cited under the new statute
are asked to 
contact
John Hennessee, N1KB, at ARRL Headquarters
<jhennessee at arrl.org>.

* Dale Hunt, WB6BYU, wins September QST Cover Plaque
Award: The winner 
of
the QST Cover Plaque Award for August is Dale Hunt,
WB6BYU, for his 
article
"A Simple Direction-Finding Receiver for 80 Meters."
Congratulations, 
Dale!
The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award--given to the
author or 
authors of
the best article in each issue--is determined by a
vote of ARRL members 
on
the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast
a ballot for your
favorite article in the October issue by October 31.

* Cape Verde D4B contest station now QRT: Al
Teimurazov, D4B/4L5A 
(photo),
announced in late September the closing of the D4B
contest station on 
Monte
Verde, Mindelo, Cape Verde Islands. "I have achieved,
and in some cases
exceeded, all my goals that I set out to do from D4,"
Teimurazov said 
in a
farewell statement. "I am proud and honoured to have
played an active 
part
in the ham radio contest community for the past few
years." Additional
information and photos are on the D4B Contest Station
Web site
<http://www.qsl.net/d44tt/pictures.html>.



--- automatic signature follows...

David Johnson
MCP,MCSE,MCSD,MCDBA,CWS
david at justcalldavid.com
kb5ylg at yahoo.com

---

Emergency and public service communications,
a hobby of myriad facets, an enhancement to any
other hobby:  The Amateur Radio Service.

Find out more at http://www.arrl.org


	
		
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