Nominations for BARC officers for 2001 are due at the September meeting. The Nominating Committee members are Bob Fainter, KV4RF, John McCoy, K4KBB, Wayne Ross, WD4JPQ, and Dave Langley, W4YDY. Anyone interested in holding office or nominating someone, please inform one of the committee members. All positions are up for the election. Several of the positions will be new persons because the term limit is two years.

Nominations will be presented by the committee and also will be accepted from the floor at the Sept. meeting. There will be no more nominations after the close of the September meeting. Write-ins will be accepted. Absentee ballots will be ready at the October meeting with the elections in November.

While BARC doesn’t have a Sergeant-at-Arms certainly Mac could fill the bill since he is the Pitt County Sheriff. Born and raised in Martin County, Mac came to Greenville to go to East Carolina University in 1978, and stayed. Important in this move was his involvement in the Pitt County Sheriff’s office during an internship where he remained after his graduation in 1982 with a degree in Corrections specializing in Community Law Enforcement. He progressed from the office to dispatcher and November 1983 became a deputy starting as a patrol office. In 1990 he was promoted to investigator and on December 7, 1998 he took office as the sheriff.

His interest in Amateur Radio came early from his uncle, Joe Melton, WB4SLF, (also a current BARC member) when he would go to Joe’s house and listen to the radio. Secondly, and much later, was in 1984 when he was impressed with what Amateur Radio could do during the hurricanes. He got his Novice license in 1991 and upgraded to Tech Plus. He has "good intentions" about upgrading.

Most of Mac’s current activity is in 2 meters and he reports he listens a lot more than he talks, so watch it out there. His 2 meter rig is a Kenwood 241A. HF was also an interest of Mac’s and he did CW on a straight key. Now living in a condominium, he has trouble finding room for antennas. When he was on HF it was using Joe’s old Drake TR4C and a G5RV as an inverted vee. As you can imagine, now his greatest limitation is time. Long days and take home work don’t leave much time for the radio. (Mac, don’t forget to have some fun!)

At my prodding, Mac reiterated his interest in a 800 MHz radio service. Pitt County is in need of a communications upgrade and for law enforcement and fire/rescue to be able to communicate with each other. (I saw this first hand in the Sheriff Command Center during Field Day. An incident took place around east Greenville Blvd. Police, deputies and State Highway Patrol were all on the scene, but unable to talk directly to one another - it’s a wonder one of the good guys didn’t get shot.)

Mac and his wife, Gail, have been married for six and a half years and they have one daughter Frances. There are no other hams in the family .

Well my big news is that the tower is up. It has been quite an odyssey of over the last year. It came to a close one week when Bernie, WA4MOK, Wayne, KG4CCZ, Kim, KG4CCY (expecting a son), Gary, AF4XV, my son Mark and my next door neighbor John put the first two sections in cement. The next week Bernie, Wayne, WD4JPQ, Bill, WA4SLC, Patrick, KD4NNA, and Tom Bladen (Bernie’s friend ...and future ham?) put up the rest of the tower and the beam. Thanks to all. While I haven’t had much time to be on the air, comparing it to the reception of my dipole, it is encouraging.

Later we went to Bill’s to help with his tower - that makes the fourth tower Patrick has climbed with Bernie.

This may be a little dated, but I think it is still accurate. In April I got the ARRL Roanoke Division Newsletter over the internet. It listed the officers - we are really lacking representation in eastern North Carolina.

July’s issue of QST noted that the Simulated Emergency Test (SET) will be Oct 7 and 8 this year. The article gave last year’s totals. North Carolina was number one in the county with 9245 points with number two being Michigan at 6986! Maybe of more interest is that Pitt County was number three in the state with 1151 points (more than many states) (QST; Jul, 2000; page 52). Congratulations to Doug, K4ROK, and the rest of the amateur radio operators who participated. It is my understanding that the activity from hurricane Floyd and the flood were used for our data. This effort was a great assistance to the rescue work and the citizens of Pitt County. Our inclusion in Operation Strong Angel and getting the trailer were also a result of this effort.

The start date of the new ham class is Sep 7 and will be twelve classes ending on Nov 30. I’ve contacted all the instructors from last year and haven’t gotten any conflicts with the dates yet. If you are not an instructor now, but are interested let me know so if there is an need for an instructor I can call on you.

We have been talking openly about a new location since Simon, KQ2V, left. While I have not received any indication that we have worn our welcome, it may be an opportune time to relocate. Obviously we need space to hold our membership, availability, convenience and parking. Please seriously consider the resources you are aware of and check on their potential use before our next meeting. It would be good if we could also use the location for the Board meeting, VE testing and the new ham class, but that’s not essential.

We published the roster in June. There may be some errors. Please let me, Lil, KV4AW or Dave, W4YDY know so we can make the correction.

Ham radio, pass it on.

There is an article on page five in this Ham Chatter about making a minor change in the Morse code exams. Presently, the written exams may be either multiple choice or fill in the blanks. Future exams given at BARC were already set to be fill in the blank only. I heard that samples had been run in the past by giving young school students fill in the blank exams and they had no Morse code experience and did not take a code test. They just took the exams and about 30 percent guessed enough to make 70%! Personally, now that the code test is only 5 WPM, it looks like the exams could be eliminated and just have a code test by copying one minute of the five minute test. That’s only 25 characters!

The original Amateur’s Code was written by Paul M Segal, W9EEA in 1928. Every other month one of the six elements of the code will be covered. The Code is a good guide for good Amateur Radio practice and for other aspects of our life. The fourth element is ...

We, as amateur radio operators, have a common bond - the love of wireless communication. The operative word is bond. Our similar interests have drawn us together - in our clubs, the ARRL or on the air. This bonding is a natural phenomenon. With this bonding comes interaction in one form or another. That’s where the "friendly" comes in. Amateur Radio has all levels of competency new to old timer - not every one is on our level of proficiency. Quite often we come across those less experienced and giving them a helping hand, taking time to explain or slowing down the code speed is a friendly thing to do. On the other hand, coming in contact with a more experienced person we need to be respectful of their advice and perspective.

The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators has voted to set up revised standards for the administration of Morse code examinations in the US. The move at the NCVEC's July 21 meeting in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, comes in the wake of the FCC's December 30, 1999, action to establish 5 WPM as the sole Amateur Radio Morse code requirement.

Under the revised standards, examinees would have to show 25 character-count solid copy on their test sheets or successfully answer seven out of 10 questions of a fill-in-the-blank quiz on the sent text. The plan would bar the use of multiple choice tests for Morse code testing.

Morse examinations would specify use of the Farnsworth method, where characters are sent faster than the overall speed and additional spaces added between characters, words and sentences. Farnsworth "character speed" would be in the range of 13 to 15 WPM at an audio pitch of between 700 and 1000 Hz. Standard 5 WPM tests with 5 WPM character speed could be administered only as a special accommodation.

The new Morse testing standards are to be in effect by next July 1, but VECs may implement them sooner.

Representatives of 11 of the nation's 14 Volunteer Examiner Coordinators attended the session. Also on hand were six FCC staff members. The FCC's Bill Cross, W3TN, and Steve Linn, N4CAK, conducted FCC presentations. FCC staff members indicated that any decision on petitions for reconsideration of the FCC's Amateur Radio restructuring Order would not come until this fall or winter. The FCC also said that an FCC Order appointing amateur club station call sign administrators is pending, but gave no indication of when it would be released. The ARRL-VEC, the W5YI-VEC and W4VEC have applied to be call sign administrators.

Cross also advised the conference that an overlooked amendment to the Communications Act has eliminated the test fee reimbursement basis. The ARRL initially had requested this change several years ago. The FCC plans to issue a Public Notice by year's end clarifying how this will affect 2001 test fees. In the meantime, the current fee schedule remains in place.

FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, also addressed the session. In his remarks, Hollingsworth discussed recent enforcement actions and emphasized the VEC's obligations to uphold the integrity of the volunteer examiner system.

The NCVEC Question Pool Committee was re-elected at the Gettysburg gathering. Ray Adams, W4CPA, will continue as chairman.

The FCC has begun implementing the Commission Registration System, to be known as CORES. While the action has few immediate implications for Amateur Radio licensees, CORES registration eventually will replace Universal Licensing System, or ULS, registration.

Described as an agency-wide registration system for anyone filing applications with or making payments to the FCC, CORES will assign a unique 10-digit FCC Registration Number, or FRN to all registrants. Once the system is fully deployed, all Commission systems that handle financial, authorization of service, and enforcement activities will use the FRN. The FCC says use of the FRN will allow it to more rapidly verify fee payment. Amateurs mailing payments to the FCC--for example, as part of a vanity call sign application--would include their FRN--once assigned--on the revised FCC Form 159.

The on-line filing system and further information on CORES is available by visiting the FCC Web site and clicking on the CORES registration link.

For the time being, using an FRN is voluntary, although the Commission says it will consider making it mandatory in the future for anyone doing business with the FCC. That's not expected to happen until sometime next year, however. The FCC says it will modify its licensing and filing systems--including ULS--over the next several months to accept and use the FRN.

The FCC's Steve Linn confirmed this week that while CORES registration will supplant ULS registration, the ULS itself will remain the licensing database system for Wireless Telecommunications Bureau licensees, including amateurs. For now, the ULS remains available to new registrants. Amateurs who registered in the ULS prior to June 22 automatically have been registered in CORES and will receive an FCC Registration Number in the mail. ULS registrants also may search for their FRN on-line at the FCC's CORES site. The FCC says ULS passwords will become CORES passwords in most cases. It's possible to register on CORES using a paper Form 160.

As with the ULS, those registering with CORES must supply a Taxpayer Identification Number, or TIN. For individuals, this is usually a Social Security Number. Club stations must obtain an Assigned Taxpayer Identification Number (ATIN) before registering on CORES or ULS.

Linn says anyone can register via CORES and obtain an FRN. "CORES/FRN is entity registration," he said. "You don't need a license to be registered." Linn says the FCC is making every attempt to minimize the impact of CORES/FRN on Amateur Radio licensees, and no action will be required on the part of amateur licensees already registered in ULS.

At the Dayton Hamvention, the FCC's Bill Cross, W3TN, referred to his agency's Universal Licensing System as "the licensing system you love to hate." That might have been a bit of an overstatement, but questions about ULS to ARRL do suggest that not everyone in the Amateur Radio community has a handle on the system.

The FCC deployed the ULS for the Amateur Service last August 16, and most initial wrinkles were worked out by year's end--including a huge backlog of vanity applications. The ULS recently added filing capability via the Internet.

Some confusion remains between ULS registration and ULS filing. All Wireless Telecommunications Bureau licensees, including amateurs, first must register with the ULS before filing any applications--and that includes license renewal. Registration requires providing a "Taxpayer Identification Number" or TIN to the FCC--a Social Security Number for individuals. The FCC maintains it must collect SSNs under provisions of the Debt Collection Improvement Act.

Registration provides each licensee with a Licensee Identification Number--which may be used in place of the SSN/TIN in future applications. Registrants also select a password so they can access the system.

Amateur applicants who appear at a volunteer examiner session are automatically registered in the ULS when upgrading or qualifying for a new license. These individuals then must contact the FCC's Technical Support Hotline (202-414-1250) in order to obtain a temporary ULS password. Registered amateurs may change their passwords online via the ULS.

The ULS site permits you to update your registration information, but doing so does not change your FCC licensee record. That requires filing an application. Filing includes such things as applying for a vanity call sign, renewing a license, or changing a mailing address. The ULS home page has instructions to accomplish these and other application functions.

The "SGIN" has been another point of confusion. Amateurs registering on the ULS should ignore references to the SGIN (which stands for "Sub Group Identification Number"). The SGIN does not apply to amateur applicants. Creating an SGIN when registering causes problems. Amateurs who inadvertently completed the SGIN section during ULS registration should go back and eliminate it. Otherwise, future ULS transactions could run afoul of the ULS' built-in error-checking system.

It's still not possible to apply for a club station license via the ULS. That requires using the paper FCC Form 610B. An FCC Order designating a system of club station license administrators is expected later this year. It is possible to register an existing club station on the ULS in order to make later changes to the license record, however.

To apply for a new license or to register, the club trustee first must obtain an Assigned TIN from the FCC by calling the Technical Support Hotline (202-414-1250). For a new club station application, the ATIN should appear on the upper righthand corner of the Form 610B. Doing this automatically registers the club station in the ULS. A current club station licensee must register on ULS as "A business entity," completing the "Licensee Information" and "Contact Information" sections, listing the call sign, and providing a "Personal/Corporate Identifier" (the club station call sign will suffice). Club station registrants also must select a ULS password. Club station registrants should not complete the SGIN section.

FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth says he expects to continue his amateur enforcement effort at the current pace despite fewer complaints in recent months. "There's a lot of work to be done," he said July 20 during a visit to ARRL Headquarters.

At the same time, Hollingsworth said, amateurs wielding their newly minted HF privileges as a result of restructuring have generated no enforcement problems whatsoever. "In fact, had I not known about the restructuring, I wouldn't know it from an enforcement standpoint," he said. "I've noticed no difference." Hollingsworth encouraged veteran operators to bring newcomers to the HF bands "into the fold" and teach them to be proficient, compliant operators.

Hollingsworth noted that while the pace of amateur complaints continues to slow, the Amateur Service still is not where it should be from a compliance standpoint. "Today, the equipment seems to be better than a lot of the operators," he said, adding that he did not expect to change his enforcement pace for the next several years.

The trend toward fewer overall complaints, he said, will provide the FCC with an opportunity to concentrate on the more complicated cases, including unlicensed operation. "We can't tolerate unlicensed operation," he said. "The whole allocation system breaks down if you tolerate unlicensed operation."

Hollingsworth also said the federal government has ramped up its efforts to collect fines in those cases where they've been levied on violators. In the meantime, he said he plans to continue to curry voluntary amateur compliance, without fines or license revocations. "The main goal is not to take licenses. The main goal is compliance," he said.

CLAYTON, NC: The FCC requested July 11, 2000, that Ronald A. Neal, KE4KFZ, retake the General examination elements under the supervision of an ARRL-VEC volunteer examiner team. Neal must appear for retesting by September 15, 2000, or his license will be canceled. Applicants appearing for re-examination are granted an Amateur Radio license consistent with the elements passed.

ELM CITY, NC: The FCC requested July 11, 2000, that Woody B. Bradley Jr., NC4OK, retake the Advanced examination elements under the supervision of an ARRL-VEC volunteer examiner team. Bradley must appear for retesting by September 30, 2000, or his license will be canceled. Applicants appearing for re-examination are granted an Amateur Radio license consistent with the elements passed. -

Present: Wayne, Bob, Lily, Murray, Dave

Treasurer: Treasurer report

Secretary: new member, Jeff Hardee, KG4HMF, Technician

Instructor group--class to begin mid-September, need publicity in all media

Nominating Committee to be set up for July, slate in September.

Trailer still in limbo.

Ham Chatter--check web for pictures of Strong Angel; send copies to Balch, Igoe

Suggestions for new meeting location--Gaskins/Leslie Center (parking problem); BBT/AHEC building

Membership--discussion on how long to collect dues before considering them late and publication of roster. Decided on March meeting as last official on-time date, after that, dues are late. Publish roster in April. Murray would like to send a letter to non-reupping members. Discussion on putting together a new member packet, with possibly a membership certificate, roster, constitution, etc.

Discussion on putting together a list of formal duties for each officer.

Awards Manager--part of special service club services. Check with club members for volunteers.

BARC Meeting of 7/11/00

The meeting began at 7:35.

Minutes of the last meeting were approved.

Treasurer--Bob, KV4RF, reported working capital and equipment fund amounts. The fundraiser was a success and the three winners were presented or mailed their winnings. Anyone who wishes to see the actual accounting is welcome to check with Bob.

Secretary--no report other than various hamfest invitations.

President’s report--In an effort to reduce the time of the business part of the monthly meetings the Board minutes will be published in Ham Chatter from now on. Also, a general call for committee reports will be made, rather than going down the list.

New members will get a New Member packet, consisting of the roster, constitution and by-laws and a welcome letter.

The deadline for dues will be the March meeting and the roster will be published in April.

Non-renewing members will get a follow-up letter.

Joyce, KF4RB, of Colonial Mall Radio Shack has donated three Now You’re Talking books which Murray, K4MHM, will distribute to libraries at Carver, East Branch and Bethel with a note recognizing Radio Shack and BARC. One other copy will go to St. Peter’s School. Many thanks to Joyce for the donation and to Murray for distribution.

Programs--Jim, KE4VHH, has Mike, KD4MTT, to talk on hurricane preparedness tonight, Gary, AF4XV, and Dave, W4YDY, to talk on nets and collecting states in August and possibly a Site A visit in September.

Strong Angel--Paul, KS4YF, reported that the exercise went well although better organization and more timely receipt of equipment would have facilitated things. There may be another trial in Central America and/or Korea in the winter.

Field Day--Patrick, KD4NNA , reported 371 phone contacts, 100 contacts on 10m, and probably more than 1000 by the end of the 24 hours. Ken, N8FF, logged 627 contacts on his own, with only 7 dupes. Way to go, Ken. Patrick thanks everyone in the club who participated in any way and has also sent letters of thanks to the Sheriff’s Department and Mac Manning, KD4AFL, for use of the Mobile Command Center, to Mss. Smeltzer and Weaver for use of the Surgicenter site, to R. Moore for breakfast and snacks and to Jim’s Porta potties for you-know-what. Please let him know if you think of any others that need to be thanked.

There were 3 radio teletype contacts but no frequencies listed. If anyone knows them, please get in touch with Patrick.

Trailer--Murray, K4MHM, reports no change in status.

Special Service Club--Gary, AF4XV, volunteered to be Awards Manager for us.

VHF

• BARC Net, Mondays, 2000 on 147.09 MHz, W4GDF Repeater.

• Pitt County Emergency Communications Net, Mondays, 2100 on 147.09 MHz. (131.8 Hz Tone)

• Kinston Amateur Radio Society Net, 1,3,4 Tuesdays, 2000 hrs. on 145.47 MHz., W4OIX repeater in Kinston.

• Eastern North Carolina Traffic Net, Every night, 2030 on 146.685 MHz.

• New Bern Amateur Radio Club/Eastern NC 220 Association for the WD4JMS & WA4DAN Net, Monday, 2000 on 146.61 and 224.84 MHz

• Wilson Amateur Radio Club Net, Monday 2030 on 146.76 MHz.

• Piedmont Coastal Traffic Net, Nightly 2030 on 146.88 MHz.

• Newport WFO SKYWARN Net, Wednesday, 2100 on 145.21 MHz

• Coastal Emergency Linking Net, Wednesday, 2100 ET on Williamston 145.410 & 444.250, Columbia 146.835 & 443.300, Rocky Mount 147.120, Ahoskie 146.910, Franklin, VA 147.300, Farmville 145.270, (Buxton 145.150 Coming Soon)

• Beaufort County Emergency Communications Net, Thursday 2000 on 147.345 MHz. Preceded by Newsmen at 1930.

HF

• Tar Heel Emergency Communications Net on 3923 kHz Nightly 1930.

NTS CW Nets

Regular Meeting - 2nd Tuesday @ 7:30 PM
Board Meeting - Last Tuesday @ 7:00 PM