SOLID COPY  The Monthly Newsletter of the  Monongalia Wireless Association

Field Day 1997 was a great success. The weather was great, no rain. The Saturday Evening covered dish dinner was a success again. More food than could be eaten. Thank you to all who attended.

We missed those of you who were unable to be there. Hope to see you next year at Field Day.

http://www.greenepa.net/~ditzian/mwa2.html

Or you can simply point your browser at:

http://www.greenepa.net and follow the path to the user pages.
 

The next amateur radio license testing session (VE session) will be on Thursday, August 28, 1997 at 7 PM, on the ground floor of the WVU Engineering Sciences Building. Contact Jan, KX2A, (412) 324-9160, to register.

As of July 1, 1997, new question pools will be implemented for Novice and Technician licenses. At this time, five additional questions will be added to each of these written exam elements, testing knowledge of RF safety. The Novice element (element 2) becomes 35 questions, and the passing grade becomes 26. The Technician element (element 3A) becomes 30 questions, and the passing grade becomes 22. These changes will be reflected at our August 1997 session. There will be a similar change next year to add this information to the General Class examination element.

Jan, KX2A
 

The MWA Family & Friends Covered Dish Picnic will be held at N8HGL/N8ZJZ on 2 August 1997 from about 12:00 Noon until it is over, will eat around 1:00 PM. Soda pop, ice, grill and electric for crock pots, etc., will be available. As in the past, bring items for trade, barter, or give away, tailgaters will park in the shade. Talk in on .43 or .52.

Bring chairs, food, pictures, conversation, stories and any special fluid needs. Anyone wishing to present a program or conduct a project or demonstration, please do so. Need more information or have special needs, call Bob at 292-0742.

C U there, Bob/N8HGL
 

The long wait is over for Advanced class amateurs. The FCC has just announced that it will open filing Gate 3 of the Vanity Call Sign Program on Wednesday, August 6, 1997. Advanced class hams will be able to apply for a call sign appropriate to their license class on or after that date. Applicants must file either a paper FCC Form 610V or electronically via the FCC's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/amradsrv.html and pay the current 30 dollar fee.

The August 6 deadline squeaks under the implementation of the FCC's new fiscal year 1997 fee schedule, adopted June 16. Under the FY 97 schedule, which becomes effective September 16, 1997, the vanity application fee will jump to 50 dollars a year. The ARRL had asked the FCC to suspend implementation of the higher FY 1997 fee until after the remaining gates have been opened and applicants had an opportunity to file under the old schedule. The FCC's response, buried within the Report and Order adopting the higher fees, suggests the FCC could also be planning to open Gate 4 fairly soon. ''We expect our remaining vanity call sign 'gates' to open before the effective date of our FY 1997 regulatory fee payment requirement,'' the FCC said in turning down the request for a delay. But, the FCC added that applicants ''are expected to pay the fee applicable at the time they file.'' The bottom line is that hams applying for a vanity call sign on or after September 15 must pay the 50 dollar fee.

Payment of fees may be made by check (payable to FCC), bank draft, money order or credit card. If paying by credit card, you must also complete and submit FCC Form 159 with your FCC Form 610V. Do not send cash. Send your application package to: Federal Communications Commission, Amateur Vanity Call Sign Request, Box 358924, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5924.

If you file a paper application, remember that legibility is critical. If your application is not able to be deciphered easily by FCC personnel, you could experience a delay in processing, lose the opportunity to obtain a requested call sign or even obtain a callsign different from what you want. Be sure to include your current Amateur Radio call sign on your vanity application.

Under Gate 3, you must hold an unexpired Advanced class operator/primary station license to request a vanity call sign for your primary station. To request a vanity call sign for a club station under Gate 3, you must also hold an unexpired club station license grant listing you as the license trustee. Applicants should refer to the licensee database to verify that a requested call sign is not already assigned. A call sign is normally assignable two years following license expiration, surrender, revocation, set aside, cancellation, void ab initio, or death of the grantee.

Using Form 610V or its on-line electronic equivalent, applicants may request up to 25 call signs in the order of preference. The first assignable call sign on the list will be the one the FCC assigns. Remember: When requesting a call sign under Gate 3 for your primary or club station, the call sign must have been unassigned for at least two years. As an Advanced class operator, you may request a call sign only from groups B, C or D.

Any call sign requested must be one designated for the region of your mailing address, as follows:

One of the contiguous 48 states: Regions 1 to 10. Alaska: Regions 1 to 11. American Samoa: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 13 having numeral 8. Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 13 having numeral 0. Guam: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 13 having numeral 2. Hawaii: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 13 having numeral 6 or 7. Puerto Rico: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 12 having numeral 3 or 4. Virgin Islands: Regions 1 to 10, or Region 12 having numeral 2.

For explanations of Groups B, C and D and the geographic regions, see Fact Sheet PR5000 Number 206S, Amateur Station Sequential Call Sign System (or see The ARRL Letter Electronic Update, August 16, 1996, available on the ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org/). For more information on the vanity call sign program, see Fact Sheet PR5000 Number 206V Amateur Station Vanity Call Sign System.

If you file before the opening date or do not qualify under the Gate 3 eligibility standards, your application will be dismissed. General, Technician Plus, Technician, and Novice class operators will become eligible to request vanity call signs under Gate 4. The FCC has not indicated when it plans to open Gate 4.

For further information, contact the Consumer Assistance Branch at 800-322-1117 or call the FCC's National Call Center, 888-225-5322 (CALL FCC).

ARRL Bulletin 37
From ARRL Headquarters
Newington CT July 3, 1997
 

July 19, 1997 State Radio Council Mtg., Western Steer, Flatwoods, WV
August 23, 1997 State Radio Council Convention and Hamfest -- Jackson's Mill
 

Articles for the August 1997 issue of SOLID COPY are due to me by Tuesday, August 5, 1997.

The JULY meeting of MWA will be Tuesday, July 15, 1997 at 7:30 PM in the Engineering Sciences Building. The topic will be Tailgate Flea Market.