CHECK YOUR CALENDAR

Feb 2 ..................... TRARC Meeting @ LEC 7 PM

Feb 7 ................... Tech Class @ LEC 1 PM

Feb 14.................... Tech Class @ LEC 1 PM

Feb 21.................... Tech Class @ LEC 1 PM

Feb 28.................... Tech Class @ LEC 1 PM

Mar 1 ..................... TRARC Meeting @ LEC 7 PM

TEST SESSIONS

If you are in need of a test session, contact either Bill Bosch, KØUB or Emil Wieglenda, NØDK. Bill is associated with ARRL VEC and Emil is W5YI. They will let you know when the next test session will be held.

Bill 701-483-3869 Emil 701-483-4953

Theodore Roosevelt Amateur Radio Club

Meeting Minutes

January 5, 2004

Minutes submitted by KCØEAK, Brandon Wehner, Secretary/Treasurer.

President Curtis Freeman, KCØJVJ, called the meeting to order at 7:02 PM.

Introductions of members and guests followed.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved on a motion by Emil, NØDK and seconded by Stan, WDØDAJ. Motion carried.

The treasurer’s report was given by Brandon, KCØEAK. The club netted about $1000.00 at the Christmas Party with 81 people in attendance. Motion for approval by Bill, KØUB and seconded by Joe, NØQAU. Motion carried.

Old Business

A. Repeaters – 442 is still down. 82’s temperature sensor is still not working. The Sentinel Butte repeater is on its way back from Yaesu, the backup repeater is working well.

B. APRS – Thanks to Stan, WDØDAJ, for getting the digipeater up and running.

C. Please don’t be timid about submitting bills for gas, etc. spent on club activities.

D. The Christmas baskets have been delivered and the recipients were very pleased.

New business

A. Tech Class – We have 1 student. We still have openings to teach 9 of the classes. We will be ordering books and there was a motion to reimburse Emil, NØDK for the cost of 6 books to be sold to class members with a total cost will be about $80 by Joe, NØQAU and seconded by Bill, KØUB. Motion carries.

B. Thank you from the Kurt Carufel family.

C. Elections – Laurie, KCØNHW, was nominated to the position of Secretary/Treasurer. A motion to suspend the rules and cast a unanimous ballet for Laurie was made by Jerry, KØDIK. Seconded by Emil, NØDK. Motion carries

Darrel, KCØAPN, was nominated to the position of Vice-President. A motion to suspend the rules and cast a unanimous ballet for Darrel was made by Joe, NØQAU and seconded by Stan, WDØDAJ. Motion carries.

Bill, KØUB, was nominated to the position of President. A motion to suspend the rules and cast a unanimous ballet for Bill was made by Jerry, KØDIK and seconded by Joe, NØQAU. Motion carried.

D. Curtis’ Moments – Thank you to everyone who helped in the past and thanks to the new officers.

Motion to adjourn by Joe, NØQAU. Seconded by Irene, WDØDAW. Motion passed. Adjourned at approximately 8:00 PM.

Birthdays for January

Lee Larsen KBØNCV
2 - 4

Chris Lohman KBØNXB
2 - 6

Duane Brockel KB7RGN
2 - 8

Michael Hastings NØUDG
2 - 13

Emil Wieglenda NØDK
2 - 20

Art Ekblad KØQQ
2 - 28

SB QST @ ARL $ARLB003
ARLB003 ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

ZCZC AG03
QST de W1AW
ARRL Bulletin 3 ARLB003
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT January 20, 2004
To all radio amateurs

SB QST ARL ARLB003
ARLB003 ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access

The ARRL will ask the FCC to create a new entry-level Amateur Radio license that would include HF phone privileges without requiring a Morse code test. The League also will propose consolidating all
current licensees into three classes, retaining the Element 1 Morse requirement--now 5 WPM-only for the highest class. The ARRL Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved the plan January 16 during its Annual Meeting in Windsor, Connecticut. The proposals--developed by the ARRL Executive Committee following a Board instruction last
July--are in response to changes made in Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations at World Radio communication Conference 2003 (WRC-03). They would continue a process of streamlining the amateur licensing structure that the FCC began more
than five years ago but left unfinished in the Amateur Service license restructuring Report and Order (WT 98-143) that went into effect April 15, 2000.

''Change in the Amateur Radio Service in the US, especially license requirements and even more so when Morse is involved, has always been emotional,'' said ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, in presenting the Executive Committee's recommendations. ''In fact, without a doubt, Morse is Amateur Radio's 'religious debate.'''

The entry-level license class--being called ''Novice'' for now--would require a 25-question written exam. It would offer limited HF CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters as well as VHF and UHF privileges on 6 and 2 meters and on 222-225 and 430-450 MHz. Power output would be restricted to 100 W on 80, 40, and 15 meters and to 50 W on 10 meters and up.

''The Board sought to achieve balance in giving new Novice licensees the opportunity to sample a wider range of Amateur Radio activity than is available to current Technicians while retaining a motivation to upgrade,'' said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. Under the ARRL plan, current Novice licensees--now the smallest and least active group of radio amateurs--would be grand fathered to the new entry-level class without further testing.

The middle group of licensees--Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit) and General--would be merged into a new General license that also would not require a Morse examination. Current Technician and Tech Plus license holders automatically would
gain current General class privileges without additional testing. The current Element 3 General examination would remain in place for new applicants.

The Board indicated that it saw no compelling reason to change the Amateur Extra class license requirements. The ARRL plan calls on the FCC to combine the current Advanced and Amateur Extra class licensees into Amateur Extra, because the technical level of the
exams passed by these licensees is very similar. New applicants for Extra would have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the written exam would stay the same. Sumner said the Board felt that the highest level of accomplishment should include basic Morse
capability. Current Novice, Tech Plus and General licensees would receive lifetime 5 WPM Morse credit.

''This structure provides a true entry-level license with HF privileges to promote growth in the Amateur Service,'' Harrison said.

Among other advantages, Sumner said the plan would allow new Novices to participate in HF SSB emergency nets on 75 and 40 meters as well as on the top 100 kHz of 15 meters. The new license also could get another name, Sumner said. ''We're trying to recapture the magic of the old Novice license, but in a manner that's appropriate for the 21st century.''

The overall proposed ARRL license restructuring plan would more smoothly integrate HF spectrum privileges across the three license classes and would incorporate the ''Novice refarming'' plan the League put forth nearly two years ago in a Petition for Rule Making (RM-10413). The FCC has not yet acted on the ARRL plan, which would alter current HF subbands.

The ARRL license restructuring design calls for no changes in privileges for Extra and General class licensees on 160, 60, 30, 20, 17 or 12 meters. Novice licensees would have no access to those bands.

See ''ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access'' on the ARRL Web site, www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/, for the specific subband allocations ARRL is proposing for each class.