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ARRL Letter

 

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 28
July 22, 2005
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IN THIS EDITION:

* +FCC says code requirement should go
* +League Board okays modified regulation-by-bandwidth plan
* +Space station ham gear in repeater mode
* +ARRL Board announces award winners
* +Radio amateurs secure ops after Hurricane Emily
* +New ARRL video available for download
* +K2BSA/4 on the air from National Scout Jamboree
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF:
     This weekend on the radio
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
    +NASA sets July 26 for shuttle Discovery launch
     H ugh Brower joins ARRL Headquarters staff
     ARRL to host fall power-line interference workshop
     Contester's Rate Sheet timely, informative, humorous

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

===========================================================
NOTE: Due to the high volume of important news, this week's edition of The
ARRL Letter is significantly larger than usual.
===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
===========================================================

==>FCC PROPOSES DROPPING MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT

The FCC has proposed dropping the 5 WPM Morse code element as a requirement
to obtain an Amateur Radio license of any class. The Commission included the
provision in a July 19 Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM&O) in
WT Docket 05-235, but it declined to go along with any other proposed
changes to Amateur Service licensing rules or operating privileges. Dropping
the Morse code requirement or any other changes to Part 97 would not become
final until the Commission gathers additional public comments, formally
adopts any new rules and concludes the proceeding with a Report and Order
specifying the changes and an effective date. That's not likely to happen
for several months.

"Based upon the petitions and comments, we propose to amend our amateur
service rules to eliminate the requirement that individuals pass a
telegraphy examination in order to qualify for any amateur radio operator
license," the FCC said. The NPRM&O consolidated 18 petitions for rule making
from the amateur community. Several petitioners simply asked the FCC to drop
the Morse requirement, but some--including the ARRL--also proposed a wide
range of additional changes to the amateur rules. The FCC said the various
petitions had attracted 6200 comments from the amateur community, which soon
will have the opportunity to comment again--this time on what the FCC calls
"our tentative conclusions" in its NPRM&O.

The Commission said it believes dropping the 5 WPM Morse examination would
encourage more people to become Amateur Radio operators and would eliminate
a requirement that's "now unnecessary" and may discourage current licensees
from advancing their skills. It also said the change would "promote more
efficient use" of amateur spectrum.

To support dropping the code requirement, the FCC cited changes in Article
25 of the international Radio Regulations adopted at World
Radiocommunication Conference 2003. WRC-03 deleted the Morse testing
requirement for amateur applicants seeking HF privileges and left it up to
individual countries to determine whether or not they want to mandate Morse
testing. Several countries already have dropped their Morse requirements for
HF access.

ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said he was not surprised to see the FCC
propose scrapping the code altogether, although the League and others had
called for retaining the 5 WPM requirement for Amateur Extra class
applicants. Sumner also expressed dismay that the FCC turned away proposals
from the League and other petitioners to create a new entry-level Amateur
Radio license class.

"We're disappointed that the Commission prefers to deny an opportunity to
give Amateur Radio the restructuring it needs for the 21st century," he
said. "It appears that the Commission is taking the easy road, but the easy
road is seldom the right road."

Sumner said ARRL officials and the Board of Directors will closely study the
30-page NPRM&O and comment further once they've had an opportunity to
consider the Commission's stated rationales for its proposals.

In 2004, the League called on the FCC to create a new entry-level license,
reduce the number of actual license classes to three and drop the Morse code
testing requirement for all classes except for Amateur Extra. Among other
recommendations, the League asked the FCC to automatically upgrade
Technician licensees to General and Advanced licensees to Amateur Extra. In
this week's NPRM&O, the FCC said it was not persuaded such automatic
upgrades were in the public interest.

The FCC said it did not believe a new entry-level license class was
warranted because current Novice and Tech Plus licensees will easily be able
to upgrade to General once the code requirement goes away. The Commission
also said it already addressed some other issues petitioners raised in its
"Phone Band Expansion" (or "Omnibus") NPRM in WT Docket 04-140.

The NPRM&O is on the FCC Web site
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-143A1.pdf> A
60-day period for the public to comment on the NPRM&O in WT 05-235 will
begin once the notice appears in the Federal Register. Reply comments will
be due within 75 days.

==>ARRL BOARD ADOPTS MODIFIED REGULATION-BY-BANDWIDTH PROPOSAL

Following considerable discussion and debate, the ARRL Board of Directors
has approved a modified set of recommendations to regulate the use of
amateur spectrum by emission bandwidth rather than by emission mode. Last
April, the ARRL Executive Committee reached consensus on a set of
regulation-by-bandwidth proposals
<http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/04/13/1/> to serve as the basis of an
FCC Petition for Rule Making. Following additional fine tuning based on
hundreds of comments from the amateur community, the Board formally adopted
a further-modified plan at its July 15-16 meeting. The revised plan
stipulates that the League "will promptly undertake a procedure to establish
a band plan to be utilized with the proposed subband allocation petition."
Until that happens, existing band plans will remain. ARRL CEO David Sumner,
K1ZZ, remarked after Board's 12-3 vote that improved band planning is
critical to the success of the League's regulation-by-bandwidth proposals
and will require the support of the amateur community at large.

"I think it's fair to say that the Board recognizes that regulation by
bandwidth is not going to work without a spirit of cooperation among
amateurs pursuing different interests," he said, "any more than current
regulations would be adequate without a spirit of cooperation." As one
example, Sumner pointed out that under the current rules, RTTY and data
enthusiasts may, by rule, operate in the low end of the CW subbands. "They
don't, because to do so would disrupt amateur CW," he said.

Sumner said that if the FCC ultimately implements the modified ARRL
recommendations, there's no reason to believe that amateurs will operate
right up to the absolute limit of what the FCC says they may, any more than
they do now.

The regulation-by-bandwidth issue dominated the Board's second meeting of
the year in Windsor, Connecticut. After a great deal of give and take among
its members, the Board ultimately okayed raising the maximum bandwidth the
EC had proposed for frequencies below 29 MHz from 3.0 kHz to 3.5 kHz. A
provision permitting the continued use of double-sideband AM with bandwidth
of up to 9 kHz was retained.

Significantly, the Board also agreed that maximum permitted bandwidth should
be defined in terms of necessary rather than occupied bandwidth. In
addition, the modified proposal removes the exception for independent
sideband (ISB) emissions--apparently not used in the Amateur Service--and
drops certain mode restrictions on Novice and Technician class operators.

The ARRL proposal would leave two important FCC rules unchanged. §97.307(a)
says: "No amateur station transmission shall occupy more bandwidth than
necessary for the information rate and emission type being transmitted, in
accordance with good amateur practice." §97.101(a) reads: "In all respects
not specifically covered by FCC Rules each amateur station must be operated
in accordance with good engineering and good amateur practice."

Per the Board's motion, the ARRL Executive Committee will review the final
rule making petition, which will be filed with the FCC at the Committee's
discretion.
The Board began work on the bandwidth concept in 2002.

In other action, the ARRL Board adopted a resolution to establish an ARRL
VHF/UHF Advisory Committee (VUAC) to address contesting issues over a period
of no more than three years. The new panel, to be comprised of
"exceptionally qualified and recognized members of the VHF/UHF community,"
will seek input from VHF/UHF contesting "public," identify important issues
and "seek the sense of the 'public'" on those issues.

The Board also adopted five strategies to include in the League's 2006
Operational Plan. These address improvements in the ARRL advocacy program
and members-only features of the Web site, and review and analysis of ARRL
programs.

ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, chaired this month's Board meeting. Radio
Amateurs of Canada President Earle Smith, VE6NM, was a guest of the Board.

==>AMATEUR RADIO ON THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION IN REPEATER MODE

NA1SS aboard the International Space Station is now operational as a Mode
U/V (Mode B) FM voice repeater. Amateur Radio on the International Space
Station (ARISS) Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth Ransom, N5VHO, said July
20 that the system appears to be working well following a week of silence
during an initial attempt to activate the repeater.

"John Phillips, KE5DRY, gave it a second try after a scheduled contact with
Goddard Space Flight Center," Ransom told ARRL. "On the next pass, I was
able to work four stations." Just how long the repeater mode will be active
remains to be seen, and it could be switched off after the next ARISS school
group QSO or because of the space shuttle's arrival (NASA plan to launch
Discovery on Tuesday, July 26).

Phillips and crewmate Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, can step in and talk to Earth
stations if they wish; otherwise, the system acts as a crossband repeater
when the ISS is within range.

"Enjoy it while it lasts," Ransom remarked, "because we don't know when
they're going to shut it off."

The uplink frequency is 437.800 MHz; the downlink is 145.800 MHz. The RS0ISS
packet system is off the air while the voice repeater is in operation. Since
the ISS equipment is channelized, it cannot correct for Doppler shift, which
can be significant at 70 cm.

For more information, see "Success Tips for Using the ISS Voice Repeater,"
by Emily Clarke, W0EEC <http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2004/10/06/1/>.

==>ARRL BOARD DESIGNATES AWARD WINNERS

The ARRL Board of Directors has announced the winners of several prestigious
awards. The Board made the selections when it gathered for its second
meeting of the year July 15-16 in Windsor, Connecticut. With the exception
of the Philip J. McGan Memorial Antenna Award, awards recognize
accomplishments from 2004.

The Board honored Rebecca Rich, KB0VVT, of Raytown, Missouri, as the
recipient of the 2004 ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award. The Hiram Percy
Maxim Memorial Award goes annually to an amateur under age 21 who has
contributed in an exemplary manner to both the Amateur Radio community and
the local community. A rising senior at Raytown South High School, Rich, 17,
is president of her school's National Honor Society chapter and maintains a
4.0 grade point average while taking an accelerated course of study.

"I am really honored to receive the HPM Award," Rich said, expressing thanks
to the Board for choosing her and to her parents, Dave and Barb Rich, KG0US
and KG0UT, for introducing her to Amateur Radio nearly 10 years ago. "I
would like to thank Steve Lufcy, K0OU, for introducing me to CW contesting,
which I love so dearly," she added. She also thanked her teachers and the
Kansas City-area ham radio community for their support.

In its motion granting her the award--the League's highest youth honor--the
ARRL Board of Directors called Rich "an outstanding example of a young
amateur who epitomizes the precepts of The Amateur's Code." An ARRL member
who obtained her license at age seven and upgraded to Amateur Extra the
following year, Rich enthusiastically participates in local club activities
and amateur contesting and has been a regular presenter at youth-oriented
Amateur Radio forums, including at Dayton Hamvention.

In endorsing Rich's nomination, Carole Perry, WB2MGP, who moderates the
Hamvention "Youth in Amateur Radio Forum," called her an "inspiration to
many others" and "the perfect example of a youngster who loves the hobby and
service and is always out there helping to recruit other young hams." Sarah
Guild of the Raytown South High School Science Department said Rich
"epitomizes excellence in leadership and community service."

Her community service activities support Amateur Radio, her school and her
church, the Board noted. "Among her community service activities are working
with local homeless shelters, volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and
Special Olympics, tutoring middle school orchestra students and high school
students in mathematics and science." Additionally, Rich is an accomplished
violinist and member of her school's varsity color guard.

Concluded the ARRL Board: "Rebecca Rich is an extremely intelligent,
focused, well-rounded young woman perfectly suited to the honor of the Hiram
Percy Maxim Memorial Award."

Rich says she plans to pursue studies in engineering and mathematics when
she heads off for college. As winner of the 2004 HPM Award, she'll receive
an engraved plaque, to be presented at a suitable occasion, and a check for
$1500.

Rich Davidson, K9RD, of Lake Forest, Illinois, is the recipient of the 2004
ARRL Herb S. Brier (W9AD) Instructor of the Year Award. Named for the late,
long-time CQ "Novice" column editor, the award honors an individual who
represents the spirit of Brier's effective and caring Amateur Radio
instruction. The Lake County Amateur Radio Club of Crown Point, Indiana,
cosponsors the award. "My students teach themselves the material, and I
train their minds," says Davidson, who's taught at least three license
classes a year since 1994 and helped hundreds to get their ham tickets.
Davidson has been education director and ham class instructor of the North
Shore Radio Club for 10 years. A ham and ARRL member for 45 years, Davidson
said he was "ecstatic" to win the Instructor of the Year Award, for which
he'll receive an engraved plaque.

Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, of Bloomington, Indiana, is the winner of the 2004 ARRL
Professional Educator of the Year Award. This award goes to a teacher who
uses Amateur Radio within the curriculum. The Lambda Amateur Radio Club of
Philadelphia is the award cosponsor. A chemistry teacher at Bloomington High
School South and sponsor of the school's Amateur Radio Club, K9SOU, Rapp has
woven Amateur Radio into his classes for the past 11 years. Bloomington
South is an ARRL Education and Technology Program ("The Big Project")
participating school, and Rapp also mentors club members as part of the
club's extracurricular program. Rapp's classes emphasize hands-on building
and operating experiences. During the past school year the main project was
building a 220 MHz and 440 MHz repeater with a remote base. As the 2004 ARRL
Professional Educator of the Year Award winner, Rapp--who was first licensed
at age 5--will receive an engraved plaque.

Jerome E. "Jerry" Martin, KC9BDA, of Libertyville, Illinois, is the
recipient of the 2005 Philip J. McGan Memorial Silver Antenna Award. The
annual award honors an amateur who demonstrates outstanding public relations
success on behalf of Amateur Radio at the local, state or national level.
The recipient best exemplifies the volunteer spirit of the award's
namesake--the late journalist Philip J. McGan, WA2MBQ, the first chairman of
the ARRL's Public Relations Committee. In the wake of the South Asia
tsunami, Martin took an ARRL public service announcement (PSA) for radio,
added still photos and video, generated graphics and synched the voice track
with the video to create a widely seen TV PSA. "He helped get the right
message on the right topic to the right people at the right time," said Ron
Lane, N1FNE, who nominated Martin. The PSA's message is that Amateur Radio
works when other systems don't. The winner of the McGan Award receives an
engraved plaque.

Three radio amateurs were honored as recipients of the 2004 Doug DeMaw,
W1FB, Technical Excellence Award. The award honoring DeMaw, one of the most
widely published technical authors in Amateur Radio history, is bestowed
upon the author or authors of the best QST or QEX technical article during
the prior year, as judged by the ARRL Technical Advisor group.

For the best of 2004, the voting ended in a tie between the collaboration of
Tom McDermott, N5EG, and Karl Ireland for their article "A Low-Cost 100 MHz
Vector Network Analyzer with USB Interface," in July/August QEX, and widely
published author Jack Belrose, VE2CV, for his article "On the Quest for an
Ideal Antenna Tuner," in October QST. Accordingly, the ARRL bestowed the
Technical Excellence Award on both articles and their authors. The DeMaw
Award consists of an engraved nine-inch pewter cup.

Additional details and photos of the ARRL award winners are on the ARRL Web
site <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/20/3/>.

==>HURRICANE WATCH NET, WX4NHC, ARES SECURE EMILY OPERATIONS

After several days of involvement with Hurricane Emily, the Hurricane Watch
Net (HWN) <http://www.hwn.org/> and WX4NHC <http://www.wx4nhc.org/> at the
National Hurricane Center secured net operation on 14.325 MHz at 0430 UTC
July 20. The HWN activated several times as Emily crossed the Caribbean Sea,
the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall on the
coast of Mexico south of Brownsville, Texas, as a dangerous Category 3
hurricane. The storm rapidly lost strength over the mountainous terrain of
northern Mexico.

"Now with Emily safely behind us, it is time to take a breath, sit back and
get ready for the next one," HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, commented this
week. "Unfortunately, there is sure to be another." Emily arrived fast on
the heels of Hurricane Dennis, which came ashore in Florida and Alabama. At
week's end, the National Hurricane Center was eyeing Tropical Storm
Franklin, drifting erratically northeastward near the Great Abaco Island and
not far from the Bahamas.

Pilgrim recounted that during the course of seven days, Emily--the second
major hurricane of the still-early season--cut a swath across the southern
Caribbean barely missing Jamaica and the Caymans. "This is the earliest in
recorded history that we have had five named storms," he said. "We certainly
hope that is not a sign of what's to come.” The Atlantic Hurricane season
ends November 30.

All told, Pilgrim reports, the HWN maintained an active presence on 14.325
MHz for a total of 45 hours spread over various portions of five days and
nights. "A rough estimate yields approximately 600 voluntary person-hours
expended by HWN members and members of WX4NHC over that short period of
time," he said.

Meanwhile, South Texas Section Emergency Coordinator Jerry Reimer, KK5CA,
says Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) teams wound down their
activation for Emily July 20. South Texas ARES District 3 volunteers began
to prepare their homes and key operating sites for Emily on July 16, when
forecasts indicated a potential landfall along the lower Texas coast.

At the request of the Texas Governor's Division of Emergency Management,
South Texas ARES activated an emergency net on July 19 on HF, Reimer
reported. Supplementing the net were EchoLink and IRLP-linked repeaters
throughout the potential target area and at resource staging areas such as
San Antonio. "Some ARES leaders relied upon Winlink to maintain
communications when their Internet provider had unexplained difficulties,"
Reimer noted.

As things turned out, Emily's trajectory took it ashore some 90 miles south
of the Texas-Mexico border, sparing South Texas its most intense
winds--upward of 125 MPH when the storm hit land. Reimer noted that constant
onshore winds of 40-45 MPH along South Padre Island caused storm surges of 4
to 8 feet in some areas and localized coastal flooding.

ARES volunteers remained at emergency operations centers in Brownsville,
Cameron County, NWS Brownsville, Hidalgo County and elsewhere throughout the
night in case the storm changed direction. Reimer says reports came in of
intermittent rain and wind gusts of up to 50 MPH well inland from the coast.
One special-needs shelter opened July 19. "Many people heeded the call for
voluntary evacuation, especially those living on South Padre Island and
those with motor homes," Reimer said.

==>NEW ARRL GOES TO WASHINGTON VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD

The ARRL is making available a 10-minute video, The ARRL Goes to Washington,
that documents the League's activities on behalf of Amateur Radio on Capitol
Hill and at the FCC. Produced by Dave Bell, W6AQ, Alan Kaul, W6RCL, and Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF, The ARRL Goes to Washington now is available for
downloading from the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/pio/VTS-Video.mpg>.

Because it typically occurs behind the scenes, ARRL's advocacy in "official
Washington" in support of Amateur Radio receives little fanfare compared to
its importance and significance. This video offers an opportunity to call
attention to this critical ARRL function in an entertaining and informative
way. ARRL members often say that legislative and regulatory advocacy is very
important to them. Now clubs, public information officers and others will be
able to witness the League's leadership in action in the nation's capital
for themselves.

Featuring ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, and narrated by former CBS News
anchor Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, the presentation's debut at Dayton
Hamvention was resoundingly positive. Now you can download this video and
save it on your computer or on a CD. It makes a great centerpiece for an
Amateur Radio club program or meeting too.

This video is not intended, nor available, for telecasting or broadcasting
in any manner. It may be shown to groups or at hamfests, forums and clubs.
The file is 95 MB, so a high-speed connection is necessary. The video runs
10:42. A higher-resolution DVD is expected to become available in a few
weeks.

==>AMATEUR RADIO, TRAFFIC-HANDLING OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND AT SCOUT JAMBOREE

From Monday, July 25 until Wednesday, August 3, thousands of Boy Scouts will
converge on Fort AP Hill, Virginia, for the 2005 National Scout Jamboree.
K2BSA, the official Amateur Radio station of the Boy Scouts of America, will
be on the air (as K2BSA/4) for the duration of the Jamboree. Staff and
volunteers (including ARRL staff member Larry Wolfgang, WR1B) will assist
already-licensed scouts to operate the station and experience all that ham
radio has to offer. In addition to workshops for the Radio merit badge, the
K2BSA staff will offering licensing classes and examinations for those
bitten by the radio bug while at the Jamboree.

By monitoring the Scout frequencies and making a contact with K2BSA, you
just might be helping a Scout to earn his Radio merit badge or even be the
first to contact for a scout who's earned his new Amateur Radio privileges.

Band          SSB                CW
80 meters     3.940 MHz          3.590 MHz
40 meters     7.270/7.290* MHz   7.030 MHz
20 meters     14.290 MHz         14.070 MHz
15 meters     21.360 MHz         21.140 MHz
10 meters     28.360/28.990 MHz  28.190 MHz

* Note that 7.290 MHz is the AM Calling Frequency, according to the ARRL
Band Plan <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/40m>.

With a ban on cell phones at the Jamboree, K2BSA will serve as an important
contact point for message traffic into and out of the Jamboree. Those who
know scouts who will be attending the National Jamboree can surprise them
with a greeting via Amateur Radio! Make your station and traffic-handling
skills available to parents and Scout leaders back home and offer to send
messages to the campers.

Traffic handlers are encouraged to use the National Traffic System (NTS)
rather than the Scout frequencies to pass traffic. There's a list of traffic
nets on the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/nets/>.

To address traffic to a scout at the Jamboree, use the following address
format:

Scout's Full Name
Jamboree Troop XXXX
Subcamp No XX
2005 National Scout Jamboree
Bowling Green, VA 22428-Troop#

The Troop number used in the address is a special number assigned for use
during the Jamboree. It is not the scout's hometown troop number. Scouts and
parents can get the Jamboree troop number and subcamp number from the
Jamboree registration information they received. If you don't have the
Jamboree troop number and subcamp number, then use the scout's hometown BSA
council name.

July 25 until August 3 is also a good time to check into your local traffic
net, because scouts may be generating traffic home from the Jamboree.
Outlets are needed to clear traffic from the nets and deliver them to
parents and friends.

K2BSA/4 has been approved for a contact with the crew of the International
Space Station. The date and time of the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) QSO have not yet been established, however, and
current plans to launch the shuttle Discovery to the ISS on July 26 could
complicate matters.

For more information, visit the K2BSA Web site
<http://www.lightlink.com/bbm/k2bsa.html>.--Brian Cieslak, K9WIS

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Heliophile Tad "Sunshine Superman" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports:
This week, sunspots again declined to zero. There haven’t been any sunspots
on the Earth-facing disk of the sun for several days now. The average daily
sunspot number declined by more than 73 points to 18.1, while the average
daily solar flux was down by nearly 26 points to 77.5.

Expect sunspots to return. Remember July 4, when the sunspot count was so
high? That same area of the sun will return to view about 28 days later.
Look for a gradually rising solar flux and sunspot number peaking around
August 1-5. The predicted planetary A index for Friday through Monday, July
22-25, is 15, 10, 5 and 5.

Sunspot numbers for July 14 through 20 were 61, 38, 16, 12, 0, 0 and 0, with
a mean of 18.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 89.9, 87.2, 76.3, 74.1, 72, 71.2 and
72.1, with a mean of 77.5. Estimated planetary A indices were 11, 6, 9, 22,
34, 10 and 20, with a mean of 16. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 7,
4, 10, 15, 19, 8 and 14, with a mean of 11.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The Great Lakes Sweepstakes and the
VK/Trans-Tasman 160-Meter Contest (CW) are the weekend of July 23-24. JUST
AHEAD: The RSGB IOTA Contest and the ARS Flight of the Bumblebees are the
weekend of July 30-31. 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 HF Digital Communication (EC-005), ARRL
VHF/UHF--Beyond the Repeater (EC-008) and ARRL Digital Electronics (EC-013)
courses remains open through Sunday, July 24. Classes begin Friday August 5.
HF Digital Communication students will learn to use a variety of HF digital
modes. Students participating in VHF/UHF--Beyond the Repeater (EC-008) will
enjoy exploring some of the lesser-used and more intriguing aspects of
VHF/UHF operation. Digital Electronics students will learn about Boolean
essentials, basic gates, latches, buffers and drivers, encoders and
decoders, serial interfaces, input devices, displays, logic families,
microprocessor basics, interfacing with analog devices, understanding data
sheets and design resources. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education <http://www.arrl.org/cce/> Web page or contact the ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education Program Department cce@arrl.org.

* NASA sets July 26 for shuttle Discovery launch: With some work still to
go, NASA is moving ahead with plans to launch the shuttle Discovery on its
Return to Flight mission (STS-114) Tuesday, July 26, at 1439 UTC. US
Astronaut Eileen Collins, KD5EDS, is the commander for mission. She leads an
international crew of six astronauts that includes five other Amateur Radio
licensees. Discovery is set for a 12-day flight to deliver equipment and
supplies to the International Space Station, although Amateur Radio
operation by the licensed shuttle crew members from the space station's
NA1SS is considered doubtful. Onboard Discovery is the PCSat2 Amateur Radio
package, which will be installed outside the ISS during a spacewalk. NASA
says engineers are wrapping up a troubleshooting plan to address a fuel
sensor system anomaly that prompted shuttle managers to scrub the first
Discovery launch attempt July 13. The official countdown for the Discovery
launch begins Saturday, July 23. During the countdown, engineers will
closely watch the behavior of the sensor system circuit as the tank is
filled with super-cooled propellants. For the latest information on the
Space Shuttle's Return to Flight, visit the NASA Web site
<http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/main/index.html>.--some information from
NASA

* H ugh Brower joins ARRL Headquarters staff: H ugh Brower is the newest
addition to the ARRL Headquarters staff. He joined the ARRL Web/Software
Development Department July 5, where he'll primarily be responsible for
developing new Web applications and helping to maintain existing ones.
Brower has extensive prior experience in that area. He founded one of the
first Internet Service Providers in Connecticut and developed one of the
earliest e-mail SPAM-fighting programs. More recently he worked as an
Internet consultant in the areas of e-commerce and Internet security. He
previously established a "dot-com" startup that syndicated topical news
articles to various Web sites and newspapers, and he wrote a weekly
technology column for the syndicate. "I have also worked as an IT manager
for a number of Fortune 500 firms, including several stints overseas," he
says. "On the weekends I like to run trolleys and trains at the Connecticut
Trolley Museum in East Windsor, where I am also a member of the Board of
Trustees." Brower lives in South Windsor, Connecticut, with his fiancée,
Stephanie. Welcome aboard, H ugh!

* ARRL to host fall power-line interference workshop: ARRL will sponsor a
workshop on power-line interference conducted by Mike Martin, K3RFI, of RFI
Services of Maryland. The session will take place Tuesday and Wednesday,
October 11-12, at ARRL Headquarters in Newington, Connecticut. If there is
sufficient demand, a second workshop will be scheduled Thursday and Friday,
October 13-14. RFI Services provides classroom and on-site training for
power-company personnel on the techniques used to identify and cure
power-line interference and can also troubleshoot electrical noise problems
in the field. Registration is $995 per person. The workshop is designed for
utility professionals who are responsible for locating and dealing with
power-line related interference issues. For radio amateurs who work in the
utility industry, this course has the added benefits of being held at ARRL
Headquarters where participants will have a chance to operate W1AW. For more
information or a workshop application, visit the RFI Services Web site
<http://www.rfiservices.com/>.

* Contester's Rate Sheet timely, informative, humorous: What absolutely free
biweekly ARRL e-mail newsletter provides timely news, product releases,
technical tips and tricks, information about and results from radiosport
events, and even a sprinkle of ham radio humor? If you're one of the more
than 13,100 subscribers to the Contester's Rate Sheet you already know the
answer. Noted Amateur Radio writer Ward Silver, N0AX, edits each edition.
Signing up to receive it couldn't be easier. Just visit the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/about.html#get> and follow the
directions to bring the Rate Sheet to your e-mail inbox every other
Wednesday. Even non-contesters will find lots of good technical and product
information. Recent issues have featured notes on safe tower work, sources
for inexpensive Field Day logging software, new radio books, propagation
predictors, operating from Canada and a humorous list of new definitions.
Back issues are available on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/>. Spread the word!

===========================================================
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 interest
to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise,
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!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/>
==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call
860-594-0384

==>How to Get The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from
ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail
delivery:
ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site
<http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during
registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW
bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including
delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member
Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership
data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail
address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent
email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit
modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot
change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the
Members Only Web Site.)

The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
sources:

* ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be
posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.)

* The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net
<http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL
cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)


 

The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of interest to active amateurs that is available in advance of publication in QST, our official journal. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise and readable.

Much of the ARRL Letter content is also available in audio form in ARRL Audio News.

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.

Back issues published since 2000 are available on this page. If you wish to subscribe via e-mail, simply log on to the ARRL Web site, click on Edit Your Profile at the top, then click on Edit Email Subscriptions. Check the box next to The ARRL email newsletter, the ARRL Letter and you will receive each weekly issue in HTML format. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org

Editorial questions or comments: John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, at news@arrl.org.

Plain-Text

The ARRL E-Letter e-mail is also available in plain-text version:

Outlook Express

1. From the Inbox view, select the Tools menu and the Options selection.

2. Click the Read tab

3. Check the Read All Messages In Plain Text box.  When you open the e-mail, it will be in plain text without images. Other e-mail programs may be able to make a Mail Rule for e-mail received from the address memberlist@www.arrl.org so that the plain-text-only display is selected automatically.

Outlook 2007

Use the same procedure as for Outlook Express, although the global option is under "Tools/Trust Center/E-mail Security".

Thunderbird

Use the menu item "View/Message Body As/Plain Text" or "View/Message Source" options.

OS X Mail (Mac)

Use the "View/Message/Plain Text Alternative" menu item.

GMail

Use the "Message text garbled?" link in the drop-down menu at the upper right of the displayed message block. pine, alpine Set "prefer-plain-text" in your ~/.pinerc configuration file: feature-list=..., prefer-plain-text, ...

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