December's monthly meeting of the Elk County Amateur Radio Association will be held on Sunday, December 17^th 1:30 PM at the Elk County EMA 911 Center, 2 miles south of Ridgway on US 219.

The Elk County Amateur Radio Association Web Page is found at http://www.qsl.net/kb3boe/. This page contains club information, email addresses, and homepages of members. If you would like to have your page included or have suggestions for the web page content, please email to: kb3boe@qsl.net.

ECARA Club Officers

President: N3RJH Rick Wehler

Vice President: N3UGB Joe Lewis

Treasurer: N3UDN Mary Lewis

Secretary: N3WRN Lois Devilling

Others:

Publicity: KB3CQT Val Biel

Newsletter: WA8RZR Jan Blair

Reprographics: Sandy Leitner

Distribution: N3UDM Bernie Jarbeck

ECARA Web Page: N3WRJ Alex Quirk

Emergency Coordinator: N3SGY Bob Devilling

Nets of Interest:

Western PA EMA Net 3990.5 kHz 9:00AM Sunday

Western PA Phone Traffic Net

3883.0 kHz 6:00PM Daily

Sunday Evening ARES Nets:

Jefferson/Clearfield County

146.865 PL 100.0 7:00 PM

Elk County

147.000 No PL 8:00 PM

Cameron County

147.180 No PL 8:30 PM

Centre County

146.850 No PL 9:00 PM

McKean County

147.240 PL 173.8 9:30 PM

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – 2001

Welcome to the December 2000 edition of the Elk County Amateur Radio Association newsletter. Your newsletter ideas and suggestions are welcome. Call me or send me an email at WA8RZR@ARRL.NET.

November Highlights

· The group welcomed our guests in attendance. The guests were Mike and Carole Miller from Clearfield County and Alvaro Rodriguez who is an exchange student from Brazil who is staying with the Davis family in Ridgway during the current school year.

· Bob, N3SGY, apologized for not having followed up with preparations to have someone act as the control station for the SET test. As it turned out, no one did actually participate except for John Guthrie, W3GJ. Part of the problem was due to the fact that County Control is being renovated and no one could get into the radio room. Another reason was that no radio operators were available on the day of the test.

· Alex, N3WRJ, brought up getting facilities for a second command station for emergency communications. Alex thought it would be better to get other communities involved. Grant Rd. and Boone Mountain sites both have towers and power. Fred, KA3UVC, gave an overview of what McKean County has.

· The annual Christmas party will be held at the next regular monthly meeting on December 17, 2000, following the regular meeting. Families are invited and everybody is asked to bring a covered dish or cookies. Please give net control a rough idea of how many will be attending.

· Find the 2001 Membership Renewal form attached to this newsletter. Please send in your 2001 dues to Mary Lewis or give to her at the next meeting.

· The bylaws call for a nomination committee to be picked. This year's committee will be Alex, N3WRJ, and Val, KB3CQT. Nominations are open until January and the new officers take office at the February meeting. If you are interested in serving as an officer of the club, let Alex or Val know. Officers are needed for President, Vice President, and Secretary. Mary, N3UDN, will stay on as Treasurer. Someone brought up about getting copies of the bylaws and giving them to members. Alex will put them on the website. They were also recently published in this newsletter.

· Dale, N3HYW, made a motion and Lee, N3NWL, seconded it to cancel Sunday night nets on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve. The motion was carried.

· Congratulations were given to Mike Miller, N3HBH, from DuBois and to John Frantz, K3TMD, on their recent upgrades to Amateur Extra.

Net Control Operators Schedule

December N3UGB Joe

January N3SGY Bob

John, K3TMD, offers his service anytime a replacement Net Control Operator is needed. Contact John if you cannot act as Net Control for one evening.

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 19, No. 44

November 17, 2000

FCC ORDER DECLINES TO INCLUDE CC&RS IN PRB-1

The FCC has denied an ARRL Petition for Reconsideration calling on the Commission to declare that PRB-1 applies to amateurs living in areas governed by CC&Rs or condominium regulations just as it does to hams regulated solely by local zoning laws. The FCC Order also seeks to "amplify" the definition of the oft-cited "reasonable accommodation" phrase in PRB-1 with respect to local land use and zoning.

The FCC Order said the League failed to demonstrate any "significant change in the underlying rationale of the PRB-1 decision" that would necessitate revisiting the issue.

"The Order provides some additional clarification on the extent of PRB-1 preemption, but it falls short of providing the relief that ARRL was seeking," said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. Because Deputy Wireless Telecommunications Bureau Chief Kathleen O'Brien Ham issued the November 13 Order under what's known as "delegated authority," the ARRL was mulling whether to submit an application for review by the full Commission.

Sumner said the ARRL believes the issue is "critically important." He said the League continues to gather additional information and to plan on how to present its arguments more persuasively before the FCC.

The FCC Order said that even if the Commission does have authority to address CC&Rs within the context of Amateur Radio facilities, "this alone does not necessarily warrant revisiting the exclusion of CC&Rs" from PRB-1. The ARRL has argued that the FCC has Congressional authority to prohibit restrictive covenants that could keep property owners and even renters from installing antennas to receive TV, satellite and similar signals. The same principle, the ARRL asserts, applies to Amateur Radio.

The FCC Order says, however, that ham antennas are not like over-the-air reception device antennas, "which are very limited in size in residential areas." Regardless of the extent of the FCC's discretion with respect to CC&Rs generally, "we are not persuaded by ARRL's arguments that it is appropriate at this time to consider exercising such discretion with respect to amateur station antenna preemption," the Order said.

In its initial denial a year ago, the FCC strongly encouraged associations of homeowners and private contracting parties to "follow the principle of reasonable accommodation" with respect to Amateur Radio.

The FCC Order also took the opportunity to clarify by example what PRB-1 means by "reasonable accommodation" in terms of amateur antennas. The Order says the FCC does not believe that zoning that provides for extreme or excessive prohibition of amateur communications "could be deemed to be a reasonable accommodation." As an example, the Order said, "we believe that a regulation that would restrict amateur communications using small dish antennas, antennas that do not present any safety or health hazard, or antennas that are similar to those normally permitted for viewing television" is not reasonable accommodation or minimum practicable regulation.

On the other hand, the Order said, communities wanting to "preserve residential areas as livable neighborhoods" would be free to adopt zoning that forbids antennas "commonly and universally associated with those that one finds in a factory area or an industrialized complex." The FCC conceded that while such rules could constrain amateur communications, "we do not view it as failing to provide reasonable accommodation to amateur communications."

The FCC Order also stuck to the earlier conclusion that the current standards for "reasonable accommodation and minimum practicable regulation" spelled out in PRB-1 "are sufficiently specific to cover any concerns related to unreasonable fees or onerous conditions."

The Order said the FCC continues to believe that it should "not specify precise height limitations below which a community may not regulate, given the varying circumstances that may occur."

The Order combined the FCC's response to the ARRL petition with its response to a similar filing from Barry N. Gorodetzer, N4IFE, and Kathy Conrad-Gorodetzer, KF4IDH, of Ft Lauderdale, Florida. The FCC Order is at http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/rm8763.html.

ISS CREW CHECKS OUT HAM GEAR

The International Space Station crew of US astronaut and ISS Expedition 1 Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and Yuri Gidzenko checked out the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station initial station ham gear last weekend.

"With the successful execution of engineering test communications passes, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station project has passed a significant milestone," said ARISS team member Will Marchant, KC6ROL.

Two initial Amateur Radio test passes were conducted via R3K at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City near Moscow, with Russian ARISS delegate Sergej Samburov, RV3DR, at the controls. AMSAT Russia President Eugene Labutin, RA3APR, and Vladimir Zagainov, UA3DKR, also were on hand for the commissioning pass.

A subsequent test pass via NN1SS at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center was equally successful. The crew reiterated its interest and support for Amateur Radio activities on the ISS. School Amateur Radio contact schedules and casual QSOs are pending at this point, however, as the crew tackles a very busy work regime in space.

Shepherd reports that all equipment aboard the ISS appears to be operating well, although he and the other crewmembers have complained about the noisy air conditioner. The crew spent its first week installing an oxygen generator, a carbon-dioxide removal unit and other life-support systems.

Things will get busier when a Russian cargo ship filled with food, parts, trash bags and another air conditioner arrives November 17. The crew must unload the rocket, stow the gear, then fill the rocket with trash to jettison before the shuttle Endeavour lifts off at the end of the month with a new set of solar panels for the ISS.

The crew is not getting Thanksgiving off, and crewmembers did not request turkey and the trimmings be sent into space.

Students at the Burbank School in Burbank, Illinois, were tentatively scheduled to have the first Amateur Radio contact with the Expedition 1 crew next month. Another 18 schools are under consideration for ARISS school contacts.

Tentative operating frequencies are: Worldwide downlink for voice and packet, 145.80 MHz; worldwide packet uplink, 145.99 MHz; Region 1 (Europe/Africa) voice uplink: 145.20 MHz; Region 2 and 3 voice uplink, 144.49 MHz. Crew members may use their personal call signs or one of the "club station" call signs issued for ISS use--NA1SS, RZ3DZR, or DL0ISS. The Keplerian elements bulletin from ARRL now includes data for the ISS.

For more information, visit http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

IN BRIEF:

· ARRL Ham Radio insurance to cover antennas, towers, rotators: Seabury & Smith, the ARRL "All Risk" Ham Radio Equipment Insurance Plan administrator (formerly Albert H. Wohlers and Company) has announced that, effective immediately, the plan will insure antennas, towers and rotators. Coverage for antennas, towers and rotators may be written only as an endorsement—or rider--to an existing policy. As in the existing program, the policy is that all the equipment must be scheduled. Members may not insure antennas, tower, and rotators without also purchasing coverage for their other station equipment. The cost of coverage is $1.50 for every $100 of valuation—the same as that for station equipment. Amateurs with further questions can contact the Seabury & Smith Customer Service Department at 800-503-9230.

· Ham radio relay brings helicopter help to ill hunter: According to a report in the Eugene Register-Guard, a Coos Bay, Oregon, man who fell ill while hunting November 12 can thank Amateur Radio for his rescue. James Pichette, 58, was hunting east of Reedsport with his stepson, Matt Grigsby, KC7PZH, when Pichette experienced apparent heart problems. Grigsby called for help via ham radio. The call was picked up by an unidentified ham in Florence who relayed the message to one of Pichette's sons. The son called Reedsport police, who, in turn, contacted the Coos Bay Coast Guard office. The Coast Guard transported Pichette to a Eugene hospital. Grigsby says his stepfather has been transferred out of intensive care and is doing fine. --Thanks to Patrick Roberson, WA7PAT

· Sue Miller, W9YL, SK: ARRL Life Member Sue Miller, W9YL, of Waldron, Indiana, died November 10, reportedly after suffering a heart attack. She was 78. Sue Miller was the xyl of well-known SSTVer Don Miller, W9NTP, operator of Wyman Research Incorporated. Services were November 13. —Chuck Crist, W9IH

· ARRL seeks transmission line info: ARRL Headquarters is looking for detailed technical information on commercial coax and open-wire transmission lines to augment the information appearing in Table 19.1 of The ARRL Handbook and in Table 1 of Chapter 24 of the 19th Edition of The ARRL Antenna Book. Please contact Senior Assistant Technical Editor Dean Straw, N6BV, n6bv@arrl.org or to R.D. Straw, N6BV, 5328 Fulton St, San Francisco, CA 94121.

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 19, No. 45

November 24, 2000

BOARD TO CONSIDER MORSE CODE POLICY REVIEW

The ARRL Board of Directors will review the League's position on the Morse code as an international licensing requirement when it gathers for its annual meeting in January. Because the issue is expected to come up at the IARU Region 2 Conference next October, the ARRL Executive Committee decided at its November 11 meeting in Irving, Texas, to place the issue on the Board's January agenda.

The ARRL's Morse policy was formalized by Board resolution in 1993. It supports the retention in the International Radio Regulations of the provision obliging administrations to require that applicants demonstrate ability to send and receive Morse code before they may operate below 30 MHz. Consistent with that policy, ARRL International Affairs Vice President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, cast the lone dissenting vote earlier this year at the IARU Region 3 Conference in Australia on a motion calling for the eventual elimination of Morse as an ITU requirement for HF operation.

In January, the Board may decide to reaffirm this policy, to modify it, or to seek additional input from members. In the past, a majority of members has supported the policy.

The Executive Committee also proposed that the Board determine a process for soliciting membership input on possible repartitioning of the HF bands in restructuring's wake. As part of its original restructuring package, the League had proposed "refarming" the current Novice bands to allow for more efficient use of the most crowded HF allocations. The FCC has declined to take up any possible repartitioning, however, until it's had a chance to gauge the effects of restructuring. Amateur Radio license restructuring became effective last April 15.

In other action, Stafford and ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, reported briefly on preparations for WRC-2003. Stafford is focusing on developing support for the Amateur Radio 7 MHz position within Region 2. The IARU seeks a 300-kHz worldwide amateur allocation in the vicinity of 7 MHz. Sumner has been named to the core IARU delegation to that conference.

The Executive Committee also heard a wide-ranging update of other FCC matters, including the League's efforts to gain primary amateur status at 2400 to 2402 MHz and at 2300 to 2305 MHz.

Sumner observed during the meeting that the Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act bills--HR 783 and S 2183--were not likely to be enacted during the "lame duck" session of Congress that's just ahead. Principal sponsors of both bills are returning to Congress in January and may be asked to reintroduce the legislation. The Executive Committee also briefly discussed legislative restrictions on the use of cell phones that have been popping up in various localities. Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, noted that an effort is under way in New Jersey to exempt Amateur Radio operation from the effects of such legislation.

SHEPHERD MAKES FIRST CASUAL QSOs FROM ISS

The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program has announced that Commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, made the first casual Amateur Radio contacts from Space Station Alpha last week. Details were not available.

Shepherd reports that he was able to take a few minutes out of his busy schedule last Friday, November 17, to engage in contacts with a few lucky hams. Before then, the only Amateur Radio contacts involved engineering test passes between the ISS and Russian and US amateur facilities.

ARISS spokesman Will Marchant, KC6ROL, says that with the recent arrival at ISS of a Progress cargo craft, the crew will have to redouble its work pace. The space shuttle Endeavour STS-97 mission to the ISS will launch November 30, so the Expedition 1 crew will continue to put in some long hours preparing for its arrival. Endeavour is carrying a large new solar panel for the ISS that will permit the station to be fully powered for the first time.

More information about Amateur Radio on the International Space Station is available on the ARISS Web site, http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.--ARISS news release

ARRL VEC ANTICIPATES $10 TEST FEE FOR 2001

ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, says the ARRL VEC plans to set its test fee for calendar year 2001 at $10. The current fee of $6.65 is based on a provision in the Communications Act, adopted in 1984, that established a $4 cap on reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs with an annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index. More recent legislation removed this cap. An FCC announcement of changes in its rules, reflecting the change in the law, is expected toward the end of the year.

ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, says the higher fee reflects the fact that the ARRL VEC is doing more of the work on behalf of the FCC than was envisioned at the time Congress set the original cap. "We're doing the data entry for all new and upgrade license applications that are handled by the ARRL Volunteer Examiners," Sumner explained. "Originally, we simply reviewed and organized the paperwork and the FCC staff did the data entry. The current system is better for the applicants because they get their licenses faster, but it's also more costly for us."

Jahnke said a $10 ARRL VEC test fee will be formalized as soon as the FCC gives the word that it has made the necessary adjustments to Part 97 to bring it in line with the updated Communications Act. As soon as that happens, the ARRL VEC will make a formal announcement to establish the new fee. Until then, ARRL VEC volunteer examiners will continue to charge applicants at the 2000 test fee rate of $6.65.

JUST IN:

ARRL VEC to Increase Test Fee for 2001

NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 4, 2000--Now that the FCC has suspended its regulatory limit on the reimbursement fee for Amateur Radio examinations, the ARRL VEC has announced a $10 test fee starting January 1. An FCC Public Notice released today explained that the Commission did not plan to announce a maximum reimbursement fee for 2001 since the requirement to do so no longer appears in the Communications Act. For now, the FCC says, it will suspend enforcement of the fee provision, which continues to appear in Part 97 of the FCC rules. Some, if not all, of the nation's other Volunteer Examiner Coordinators are expected to follow suit, although at least one VEC charges no test fee whatsoever. ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, says the ARRL VEC's current fee of $6.65 was based on the provision in the Communications Act, adopted in 1984, that established a $4 cap on reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs with an annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index. The new, higher fee reflects the fact that the ARRL VEC is doing more of the work on behalf of the FCC than was originally envisioned when the provision was included in the Communications Act. That effort includes data entry for all new and upgrade license applications once done by FCC staffers. "The current system is better for the applicants because they get their licenses faster, but it's also more costly for us," said ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ. ARRL VEC volunteer examiners will continue to charge applicants $6.65 through the end of 2000. The FCC Public Notice can be found at http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov:8888/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-207876A1.txt

SECTION MANAGERS ELECTED IN TEN ARRL SECTIONS

The ballots have been counted, and ARRL section managers have been elected in races in Eastern Massachusetts and South Carolina. Incumbent SMs were returned to office in eight other ARRL sections without opposition.

Candidates in eight other ARRL sections were unopposed. All were incumbents. Returning to office are Dale Bagley, K0KY, Missouri; Bill McCollum, KE0XQ, Nebraska; George Tranos, N2GA, New York City-Long Island; Thomas Dick, KF2GC, Northern New York; Jean Priestley, KA2YKN, Southern New Jersey; David Armbrust, AE4MR, West Central Florida; John Rodgers, N3MSE, Western Pennsylvania; and Bob DeVarney, WE1U, Vermont.

Ballots were counted November 21 at ARRL Headquarters. The terms of office for all successful candidates are two years, beginning January 1, 2001.

IN BRIEF:

· Ham help solicited in owl searches: ARRL Amateur Radio Direction Finding Coordinator Joe Moell, K0OV, says hams in the Central US found an unusual form of ham radio public service this fall. Many have been listening intently just above 172 MHz for brief transmissions from radio tags on 52 endangered burrowing owls. The rare birds have left Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada for warmer weather in the south, probably in southern Texas and northern Mexico. Burrowing owls were seen in Texas in late October, according to the latest report from Canadian biologists, but no leg bands have been spotted. Now that the fall migration is complete, hams in Texas and surrounding states are being asked to monitor for the tags this winter. Meanwhile, biologist Scott Weidensaul of the Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art in Pennsylvania wants hams from Maryland to South Carolina and points west to listen for tags now being put on northern saw-whet owls. For details of both owl-tracking efforts, visit Moell's Web site, http://www.homingin.com. The site lists all of the tag frequencies as well as histories of the monitoring efforts and interesting information about these bird species, plus suggestions for equipment for monitoring and

direction-finding on 172 MHz.

· DSP satellite transceiver project reflector open: An e-mail reflector for those interested in designing a DSP-based satellite communications transceiver project has been established. To join the list, visit http://www.qth.net. The list name is dsp-radio. Technical skills are not a prerequisite for membership. The list is a discussion area for RF, software, and other system-related project discussion. For more information, contact Simon Lewis, GM4PLM, simon@creoch.freeserve.co.uk. For starters, the list will collect information on previous and current work done on software-defined radios and DSP radios, then focus on a wish list of features and specifications.--Simon Lewis, GM4PLM, and Darrell Bellerive, VE7CLA, via SpaceNews

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 19, No. 46

December 1, 2000

PRESIDENT SIGNS CB ENFORCEMENT BILL

President Bill Clinton has signed legislation that permits the enforcement of certain FCC Citizens Band regulations by state and local governments. Amateur Radio operators are exempt from the provisions of the law, now PL 106-521. Congressional lawmakers saw the measure as a way to give a voice to those experiencing radio frequency interference resulting from illegal CB radio operation. The FCC will not yield its authority to regulate Citizens Band or other radio services, however. In short, the measure authorizes states and localities to enact laws that prohibit the use of unauthorized CB equipment-consistent with FCC regulations. This would include the use of high-power linear amplifiers or equipment that was not FCC-certificated. FCC-licensed stations in any radio service-including the Amateur Service-are excluded from such state or local enforcement, and state or local laws enacted under this legislation must identify this exemption. The bill-HR.2346 is the House version; it was S.2767 in the Senate-actually is the old Senate "Feingold bill" from several sessions ago. The bill's sponsor, Rep Vernon Ehlers of Michigan says local hams asked him to support the bill because of the bad rap they were getting from illegal CBers using high-power linear amplifiers that resulted in TV and telephone interference while the CBers involved hid behind federal preemption. As did Feingold before him, Ehlers asked the ARRL to review his measure to ensure that it would not unintentionally harm Amateur Radio. A copy of the new legislation is available on the ARRL Web site at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2000/11/29/3/cbbill.html.

ARES/RACES ACTIVATED AS BUFFALO IS BRIEFLY BURIED

They say that when it rains it pours-or, in the case of the upstate New York snow belt recently, when it snows, it snows! The Erie County Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service found themselves literally snowed under just before Thanksgiving when more than two feet of "lake effect" snow covered the greater Buffalo area like a big, heavy winter blanket. More than two dozen amateurs volunteered to help their community through the severe weather that struck November 20. Karl Weir, N2NJH-who's ARES Western New York District Emergency Coordinator and RACES Officer for Erie County-activated an emergency net, and an informational net was brought up on another area repeater. "At this point, the City of Buffalo and suburbs of Amherst, Cheektowaga and Lancaster had received 24.3 inches of snow in less than 24 hours," Weir said. Traffic was at a standstill, and hundreds-perhaps thousands-of schoolchildren found themselves stranded on buses, while many others were still stuck at their schools. "Dave [Quagliana], K2MTW, was one of the teachers stranded with about 30-plus students at Buffalo Public School #28 who checked into our net," Weir said. By Monday evening, Buffalo and Erie County were declared disaster areas, and motorists were banned from the roads as first-response emergency crews hit the highways. Stranded school buses were evacuated, and several shelters were opened. ARES was activated at 7:30 Tuesday morning in Erie County. Because he was snowbound, Assistant Emergency Coordinator and RACES Officer Eugene Kremzier, N2OBW, had to handle net control duties from his home. Weir says Erie County emergency services activated RACES with a specific request to garner as many 4x4 vehicles as possible and to establish a ham station at the county emergency operations center. With a station established at the EOC, Weir said, "our first order of business was to take Red Cross people to examine the shelters and make any critical deliveries of food and medication." The Millard Fillmore Hospital was happy to accept the assistance of three ham-driven 4x4s and an additional ham volunteer to assist in transporting medical staff, Weir said. In addition, he escorted Red Cross officials delivering medications to stranded residents. By 4:30 on the afternoon of November 21, road crews had egun to open up major highways in the affected area to remove abandoned vehicles. And ARES and RACES stood down at the end of a very long Tuesday. Winter doesn't arrive until December 21, but Buffalo will be ready.

FCC TO ACCEPT INTERNET DATA TO IDENTIFY SILENT KEYS

The FCC now is prepared to accept a printout from an Internet Web site as sufficient proof of death to cancel a license in the Amateur Service. The FCC will continue to accept death certificates and published obituaries, and now can accept multiple cancellation requests. According to a spokesperson in the FCC Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch in Gettysburg, the FCC now can accept a printed copy of information appearing on the Internet as adequate proof of death "provided the printout contains certain, verifiable, information." The Licensing Bureau also will accept a list-with supporting documentation-of multiple requests for cancellation of amateur licenses. "It's basically no different than us taking requests today, other than a person can now send multiple cancels in one request and can also send documentation printed from a reliable Web site," the Licensing Branch spokesperson said. "We still require the same information." According to information on the FCC's vanity Web site, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/amateur/vnityfaq.html, individuals can report the death of a licensee by submitting a signed request for license grant cancellation accompanied by a copy of an obituary or death certificate to the Licensing Branch. The FCC says it's been able to match up the name, address and birth date of the deceased included on some submittals it's received via the Ancestry.com site (http://www.ancestry.com) on the Internet. "The validity of these printouts as proof of death is equal to the same level of sufficiency as an obituary, in terms of reducing the risk of the inadvertent cancellation of a valid amateur call sign," the FCC spokesperson said.

IN BRIEF:

· CQ introduces Amateur Radio Hall of Fame: CQ magazine has announced the establishment of the "CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame." The new hall of honor joins CQ's "DX Hall of Fame" and "CQ Contest Hall of Fame." CQ says the dual goals of the new program are to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions and to focus public attention on the far-reaching and longstanding value of Amateur Radio in society. Nominees will be judged on the basis of qualifying in one of two broad areas: Individuals, licensed or not, who have made significant contributions to the Amateur Radio hobby; and radio amateurs who have made significant contributions to society in general. CQ is accepting nominations for the inaugural class of the Amateur Radio Hall of Fame until March 31, 2001. A nomination form, along with full details, will be available on the CQ Web site, http://www.cq-amateur-radio.com. Initial selections will be announced at the 2001 Dayton Hamvention next May.-CQ news release

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 19, No. 47

December 8, 2000

"THE BIG PROJECT" ATTRACTING BIG DONATIONS

Before it's even officially off the ground, "The Big Project"-the educational initiative of ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP-already has attracted a few substantial donations plus several smaller ones. The project, known formally as "The ARRL Amateur Radio Education Project," is aimed at providing a turnkey Amateur Radio curriculum at the middle school level plus resources and equipment to bring it to life for youngsters. "Without asking we've already received approximately $125,000 for the project," Haynie said. "This tells me people are very serious about this initiative." Haynie has been courting corporate dollars and seeking foundation grants for the project. So far, the project has received two substantial donations of stock from anonymous donors. Since the ARRL is a 501(c)(3) organization, donations are tax deductible-at the appreciated value in the case of securities. In addition, the ARRL Foundation has pledged $50,000 in start-up funds for the project. A formal check presentation is scheduled for the January ARRL Board of Directors meeting. As conceived by Haynie and under the guidance of ARRL Vice President Kay Craigie, WT3P, the ARRL Amateur Radio Education Project will work directly with teachers who use Amateur Radio as a teaching strategy in the classroom. "The goal is to improve the quality of education for kids by providing educationally valid techniques involving Amateur Radio for teaching all sorts of subjects-science, geography, languages, speech," Craigie said. "Kids get the hobby of a lifetime and preparation for good careers-that's the ultimate goal." Craigie said the project's philosophy is that Amateur Radio can be a "powerful resource" for teachers in attaining their educational goals-whether or not licensing is involved. "It's about improving education." Growth in the amateur ranks could be a delayed effect of the program. "Some children will want to study for licenses immediately," Craigie said. "Others will return to the idea in later life." If nothing else, those exposed to ham radio through The Big Project "will remember Amateur Radio as a good thing that made school more fun," she said. "These kids who have good school experiences with ham radio will grow up to be our neighbors, zoning board members, and political officials," Craigie said. "Amateur Radio can never have too many friends." Haynie has been testing out some of the program's concepts at the DeGolyer Elementary School in the Dallas area. "The kids are like sponges," Haynie said of the sixth graders involved. "They learn it faster than we even want them to." Donations are encouraged to the ARRL Amateur Radio Education Project, c/o Barry Shelley, N1VXY, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. Contact Shelley, bshelley@arrl.org; 860-594-0212, to discuss details.

FCC SEEKS TO REQUIRE FCC REGISTRATION NUMBER

The FCC has proposed requiring that everyone it does business with obtain and use an FCC Registration Number-or FRN. Many amateurs registered with the Universal Licensing System already have been assigned a 10-digit FRN by the Commission Registration System-or CORES. The FCC has not made FRN use mandatory, however. The FCC released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (MD Docket 00-205) December 1. The FCC says requiring individuals and entities to obtain an FRN will help it to better track and manage the collection of fees. The FCC proposes requiring that FRNs be provided with any filings that require payment of a fee, such as the vanity fee for amateurs. The FCC is proposing to reject filings requiring an FRN that do not include the number. The Commission said its proposed rules "would make the use of the FRN mandatory in certain circumstances so that anyone not yet assigned an FRN or who has not yet obtained one must obtain one." An individual does not have to hold an FCC license to obtain an FRN. The FCC says the information collected by CORES includes the "entity name and type," Taxpayer Identification Number or TIN-typically a Social Security Number for an individual, contact address and e-mail address. CORES information is not made public. Comments on the FCC rulemaking notice are due 30 days from the date of publication in The Federal Register. Reply comments are due by 45 days from the date of publication. The FCC began implementing CORES earlier this year. CORES registration eventually will replace Universal Licensing System, or ULS, registration. The FRN will co-exist with the Licensee ID Number issued by the ULS, an FCC spokesperson said this week. More information on CORES is available on the FCC Web site, http://www.fcc.gov (click on the CORES registration link).

AO-40 ACTIVATES S-BAND TELEMETRY; TESTING CONTINUES

AMSAT News Service reports that general AO-40 housekeeping tasks continue as ground stations test the complex systems onboard the next-generation Amateur Radio satellite. Magnetorquing operations also continue, prior to moving the new satellite to its final orbit. Launched November 16, AO-40—formerly Phase 3D-for now remains in a geostationary transfer orbit. North American P3D Command Station operator Stacey Mills, W4SM, reports an S-band (2.4 GHz) transmitter has been activated and has been sending 400 b/s BPSK telemetry. The satellite will transmit S-band telemetry only at certain times, such as when reasonable squint angle and visibility are available. Doppler correction at this frequency and at this point in the orbit will be dramatic, he said. The 2-meter transmitter (145.898 MHz) will remain on during S-band operation. Information on PSK demodulators is available from AMSAT-NA at http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/ao40/ao40-tlm.html. There's been no word on when or whether AMSAT and the AO-40 ground controllers will permit a limited period of general amateur operation while the satellite is still in the geostationary transfer orbit. AO-40 is the largest Amateur Radio satellite ever put into space.

ARRL'S "RADIOS ON-LINE" SERVICE NOW FREE TO MEMBERS

Listing a classified ad to buy and sell Amateur Radio-related equipment on the ARRL's Radios On-Line service now is free to League members. Listings will continue to be available for viewing by everyone, but now that Radios On-Line is an ARRL membership benefit, only League members may post ads. ARRL members now will be able to post free ads up to 100 words-subject to a few rules. Members first must register for access to the ARRL members-only pages and be logged on as a member in order to post ads. Classifieds listed on Radios On-Line will remain posted for 30 days unless canceled earlier. Radios On-Line is for noncommercial, personal use. There are no provisions for nonmembers to post classified advertising. The service provides for listings in more than two dozen categories. Members may list ads seeking or selling Amateur Radio-related equipment. The site includes a search engine to look for specific items. The ARRL does not warrant any items advertised on Radios On-Line, nor are individual advertisers subject to scrutiny. The ARRL reserves the right, at its discretion, to decline a listing or to discontinue an ad without prior notice. Visit the Radios On-Line site http://www.arrl.org/RadiosOnline/ to place or

view ads. For information on how to join the ARRL, visit ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org, and click on the "JOIN ARRL" button.

IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The ARRL 10-Meter Contest and the 28 MHz SWL Contest 2000 (which runs concurrent with the ARRL 10-Meter event) are the weekend of December 9-10. The USS Wisconsin Radio Club N4WIS special event continues through December 10 on 40-10 meters from the Nauticus National Maritime Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, to commemorate the 59th anniversary of the attack at Pearl Harbor and the permanent berthing of the Wisconsin at the Museum. JUST AHEAD: The Croatian CW Contest and the OK DX RTTY Contest are the weekend of December 16-17. The W3T/W3F special event from Cobb Island, Maryland, commemorating the first AM transmission by Reginald A. Fessenden in 1900 will be December 16. See the ARRL Special Event Calendar http://www.arrl.org/contests/spev.html for details on special events. See December QST, p 97, for more information on contests.

* Pennsylvania ham snags ISS contact: It was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, says ARRL member Randy Shriver, KG3N, of Hanover, Pennsylvania. He managed to snag the first-and so far only-"informal" contact with ISS Expedition 1 crew commander William "Shep" Shepherd, KD5GSL, early on the morning of November 13. "I only had 20 seconds or so," said Shriver. Space Station Alpha was over Newfoundland at the time and had just completed an "engineering pass" contact with NN1SS at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland when Shriver dropped in a quick call, and Shepherd came back to him using his own call sign. "Well Randy, you are my first contact from the space station," Shepherd responded. A ham for about 20 years, Shriver says he built his station specifically for SAREX contacts (he's got four stacked 22-element arrays and 100 W). In 1985, Shriver worked Tony England, W0ORE, aboard the shuttle Challenger. WGAL-TV, Channel 8 in Lancaster included a report on Shriver's ISS QSO in its newscasts.

· QSL postage to remain at 20 cents: While first-class domestic postage in the US will increase to 34 cents starting January 7, 2001, the cost of mailing a postcard-such as a QSL card-within the US will remain at 20 cents. The governors of the US Postal Service this week announced that the price of a first-class letter will rise to 34 cents, but the cost of each additional first-class ounce will decrease from 22 cents to 21 cents. The new 34 cent letter-rate stamps go on sale December 15. International mailing rates also will rise January 7. An airmail postcard (QSL) will cost 50 cents if bound for Canada or Mexico and 70 cents to anywhere else in the world. For other mail, the basic unit rate has been raised to one ounce—60 cents/ounce for Canada and Mexico; 80 cents elsewhere in the world, meaning users actually will be able to mail more for less. The complete rate schedule is available on the USPS Web site, http://www.usps.gov/news/2001rate.htm -USPS news release

DX NEWS

DX Bulletin 50

From ARRL Headquarters

Newington CT December 7, 2000

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by Tedd, KB8NW, The OPDX Bulletin, The Daily DX, QRZ DX, 425DXnews, DXNL and Contest Corral from QST. Thanks to all.

ETHIOPIA, ET. Claudio, ET3VSC, has been QRV on 17 and 12 meters around 2000z and 1300z, respectively.

GUANTANAMO BAY, KG4. Bill, W4WX, will be QRV as KG4GC from December 12 to 18. He plans to concentrate on RTTY and 6 meters. QSL to home call.

MARIANA ISLANDS, KH0. A group of JA operators will be active from December 8 to 11. Activity is on 40 to 10 meters, and possibly 6 meters, using CW and SSB. Look for W1VX/KH0, KZ5C/KH0 and KH0/JR1IBD from Saipan Island. QSL W1VX/KH0 via JF1OCQ, KZ5C/KH0 via JA0QBY and KH0/JR1IBD via JR1IBD.

ARUBA, P4. Rob, W9RB, is QRV as P40RB. He will be active in the ARRL 10-Meter contest. QSL to home call.

SWEDEN, SM. John, SM7CRW, will be QRV in the ARRL 10-Meter contest as 8S7A from Oland Island, IOTA EU-037. QSL via W3HNK.

POLAND, SP. Special event station 3Z0KOR is QRV from Olsztyn during the month of December to celebrate 25 years of the Polish Reserve Officers' Club. QSL via SP4KSY.

CANADA, VE. Dennis, K7BV, will be QRV as VY1/K7BV from the QTH of Jay, VY1JA, in Whitehorse, Yukon, during the ARRL 10-Meter contest. He will use mostly CW. QSL via KU9C.

TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS, VP5. Bruce, AA5B, is active from North Caicos as VP5/AA5B. He may be active in the ARRL 10-Meter contest as VP5K. He will be looking for QRP contacts. QSL to home call.

CONTEST DATES

Please visit these ARRL & CQ Web Pages for the latest details

www.arrl.org/contests

www.cq-amateur-radio.com/infoc.html

UPCOMING EXAM SESSIONS

Courtesy ARRL Web Page

http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/examsearch.phtml

ATLANTIC DIVISION HAMFEST CALENDAR

Visit the Atlantic Division Web page at

http://www.bfdin.com/atlantic/index.htm

http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html

ATLANTIC DIVISION HAMFEST CALENDAR 2001 (as of 24 October 2000)
+ indicates ARRL Hamfest
Note that this list only includes those hamfests that have been approved by the Director thus far. A more complete listing will be issued periodically as additional hamfests are scheduled. Hamfests that have not been sanctioned by ARRL will not be included.

Jan 13 +        Skyline ARC, Cortland, NY
Jan 28 +        Maryland Mobileers ARC, Odenton, MD
Mar 31-1 Apr + Greater Baltimore Hamboree, Timonium, MD (MD State Convention)
May 6 +        Antietam Radio Assoc, Hagerstown, MD
May 6 +        Warminster ARC, Wrightstown, PA
Jun 1-3 +        Rochester Hamfest/Atlantic Division Convention, RARA, Rochester, NY
Detailed listing of all hamfest can be found at http://www.arrl.org/hamfests.html
Organizations wishing to sponsor a hamfest should file the application for ARRL-approved status in sufficient time to enable ARRL Hq to publish an announcement of the event in QST.
73-
Bernie Fuller, N3EFN
Director, Atlantic Division

Bill Edgar, N3LLR
Vice Director, Atlantic Division