***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 26, No. 21
May 25, 2007
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +League files federal appeals court brief in BPL review petition
* +Bill McArthur, Riley Hollingsworth are Hamvention hits
* +FCC leans on Ambient to demonstrate compliance with BPL license
conditions
* +ARRL Senior News Editor inducted into CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame
* +Oklahoma poised to be next state to adopt amateur antenna legislation
* +ARRL announces Section Manager election results
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
ARRL and MetLife® team up for new membership benefits!
ARRL approved as 2007 Combined Federal Campaign participant
FCC cites distributor for marketing unauthorized RF device

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

================================================== =========
==Delivery problems: First see FAQ
http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery, then e-mail

==Editorial questions or comments only: Rick Lindquist, N1RL,

================================================== =========
NOTE: ARRL Headquarters will be closed Monday, May 28, to observe the
Memorial Day holiday. There will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice
transmissions that day. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Tuesday, May 29, at 8
AM EDT. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday.
================================================== =========

==ARRL FILES FEDERAL APPEALS COURT BRIEF IN PETITION FOR REVIEW OF BPL
RULES

The ARRL has filed a federal appeals court brief outlining its case and
requesting oral arguments in its petition for review of the FCC's broadband
over power line (BPL) rules. The League has petitioned the US Court of
Appeals for the DC Circuit to review the FCC's October 2004 Report and Order
(R&O) in ET Docket 04-37 and its 2006 Memorandum Opinion and Order. In its
brief filed May 17, the ARRL contends, among other things, that the FCC's
actions in adopting rules to govern unlicensed BPL systems fundamentally
alter the longstanding rights of radio spectrum licensees, including Amateur
Radio operators.

"For the first time ever, the FCC has permitted new unlicensed devices to
operate in spectrum bands already occupied by licensees, even if the
unlicensed operations cause harmful interference to the licensees," the
League said in stating its case. "The orders under review reverse nearly
seven decades of consistent statutory interpretation and upset the settled
expectations of licensees without so much as acknowledging the reversal, let
alone justifying it."

The ARRL argues that the FCC's approach to adopting rules to govern BPL
flies in the face of Section 301 of the Communications Act, which requires
that operators of devices that emit radio frequency energy first obtain an
FCC license. "For years, the FCC has consistently read Section 301 to apply
to unintentional radiators, such as BPL devices, and has expressly embodied
that interpretation in its rules," the League's brief recounts.

The Commission then compounded its error by asserting that BPL devices do
not fall within Section 301 at all, the League said. "This hail-Mary attempt
at justification is another unexplained departure from prior policy that
independently requires invalidation of the orders," the ARRL remarked in its
brief.

The ARRL contends that the FCC orders under review "jeopardize the license
rights of ARRL's members and other license holders by authorizing providers
of a new device -- Access Broadband over Power Lines, or 'BPL' -- to send
radio signals across the electric grid in the frequencies the license
holders occupy, but without having to obtain an FCC license."

The League's brief further asserts that the FCC "has failed to discuss or
disclose significant information in the record that potentially contradicts
its key interference findings," and seeks to have the FCC produce the
information. The ARRL alleges that the Commission not only withheld its
internal studies until it was too late to comment but has yet to release
portions of studies that may not support its own conclusions. The FCC has
claimed that these are "internal communications" that it did not rely upon
in reaching its decision to adopt the BPL rules.

"If, as seems more likely, the Commission actually considered and rejected
the information contained in the redacted portions of its studies, then it
had a duty to disclose the information and reasons for rejecting it. Either
way, the FCC acted improperly."

The League also takes issue with what it argues is the FCC's "arbitrary and
capricious" adoption of a BPL emission measurement standard that's
unsupported by the record in the proceeding and ignores contrary evidence.
Additionally, the ARRL says, the FCC rejected a proposed alternative without
even considering it.

Said ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, in his "It Seems to Us . . ." editorial
for July QST: "The Commission's penchant for ignoring contrary evidence is
illustrated even more vividly with regard to how quickly RF emissions are
assumed to decay as one moves away from the source. This is important
because if the signal is assumed to decay more quickly than it really does,
the interference potential of the emissions will be underestimated."

As Sumner notes, the FCC has claimed that "many parties" have presented
experimental data supporting a 40 dB per decade (10 times increase in
distance) rate. "In fact, there is no such evidence in the record -- and
empirical evidence supporting a lower number was ignored," he asserts.

The League maintains that the Commission failed to consider the ARRL's
sliding-scale alternative that would have avoided what Sumner calls "the
logically indefensible situation that now exists in the rules: the
extrapolation factor is 20 dB/decade at 30.001 MHz and 40 dB/decade at
29.999 MHz."

In addition, the ARRL wants the court to determine if the FCC was arbitrary
and capricious in failing to limit BPL providers "to frequencies where
interference was less likely to occur without materially harming BPL
deployment." The League argues that the FCC ignored evidence that
restricting BPL to the 30-50 MHz frequency range would have obviated
interference to long-distance HF communications without causing problems for
public safety services.

The ARRL brief asserts that, for the first time ever, the FCC "has
authorized the operation of unlicensed devices that it concedes interfere
with licensed devices" and has declared that such devices "may continue
operating even where proven to cause interference."

The FCC, ARRL contends, has concluded that BPL's acknowledged interference
risks are manageable, but it bases that conclusion -- which ARRL calls "the
linchpin of the challenged orders" -- on FCC studies the Commission has
declined to make public in unedited form.

"It is clear," the ARRL contends in his brief, "that the withheld pages
contain information" that is at odds with the FCC's conclusion to adopt the
current rules governing BPL deployments.

"ARRL is not trying to stop the deployment of BPL," the League's brief
concludes. ARRL and other commenters have provided the FCC with alternative
proposals -- ones that have been demonstrated to work in the real world --
that would have allowed BPL to prosper without harm to licenses or to
Congress's licensing regime."

"What is perhaps most unfortunate about the FCC's radical actions in this
case is that they were entirely unnecessary."

The FCC's response to the League's brief is due July 2.

==ASTRONAUT, FCC ENFORCER ATTRACT SRO CROWDS AT UPBEAT 2007 HAMVENTION

Enthusiasm was the order of the day at the 56th Dayton Hamvention®
http://www.hamvention.org, May 18-20, near Dayton, Ohio. Business was
brisk among the hundreds of vendors in the indoor areas, despite generally
excellent weather outside, which tends to draw hordes to the outdoor flea
market area.

At ARRL EXPO, the sales staff was kept hopping as visitors from around the
US and around the world stopped by to join the ARRL, purchase publications
or just say hello.

On the ARRL Stage, the lineup of 15-minute presentations proved to be
popular again this year. Highlights were presentations by NASA astronaut and
ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR. He packed them in for a
talk about his ham radio experiences from space.

Special Counsel in the FCC Spectrum Enforcement Division Riley Hollingsworth
also attracted an SRO crowd with his commentary on the state of the Amateur
Radio Service.

McArthur, the ARRL's Guest of Honor at Hamvention 2007, also gave an
animated and informative talk at the annual Donor Recognition Reception
Thursday evening. The variety of questions he was asked following his talk
reflected the enthusiasm that greeted his presentation. About 120 donors to
various ARRL programs and scholarships attended the dinner, which was
sponsored by the ARRL Development Office.

Despite an Internet outage that affected the entire Hara Arena, QST Editor
Steve Ford, WB8IMY, uploaded his personal Dayton musings, including his
entertaining "alt" observations, photos and videos. Internet access was
never restored, so Steve was forced to leave the Arena premises to find WiFi
hotspots for uploading to the ARRL Web. His Hamvention blog remains
available http://www.arrl.org/blog/Dayton%20and%20ARRL%20Expo.

The ARRL EXPO area in the Ballarena featured exhibits that again this year
drew many thousands of Hamvention attendees. They included the US Power
Squadrons, Section Managers and other section officials, the International
Amateur Radio Union, Regulatory Information, National Association of Radio
and Telecommunications Engineers (NARTE), TravelPlus for Repeaters software
demos, Media and Public Relations, Education Services, the ARRL Development
Office and ARRL Foundation, Great Lakes Division officials, the ARRL
Volunteer Examiner Coordinator and QST/NCJ/QEX – in short, something of
practical value to just about every ham.

But wait -- there's more. Other ARRL EXPO booths featured DXCC card
checking, Youth Activities and commercial license exams sponsored by NARTE.

In addition, ARRL staff members and officers took part in nine different
Hamvention forums throughout the weekend.

At the awards dinner Saturday night, ARRL President Emeritus Jim Haynie,
W5JBP, was honored as Ham of the Year, while ARRL Lab Manager Ed Hare,
W1RFI, received the Special Achievement Award. The Technical Excellence
Award went to David Cameron, VE7LTD.

Perhaps it was partly due to the uncharacteristically pleasant weather, but
for whatever reason, visitors to this year's Hamvention seemed as
enthusiastic, upbeat and just plain glad to be there, as any Hamvention in
recent memory. Hamvention officials have not yet released an official head
count.

==FCC DEMANDS AMBIENT DEMONSTRATE COMPLIANCE WITH BPL LICENSE CONDITIONS

The FCC has called on BPL equipment manufacturer Ambient Corporation to
demonstrate that it's complying with all terms of its Part 5 Experimental
license or face possible enforcement action. Ambient operates the Briarcliff
Manor, New York, BPL pilot program under Experimental license WD2XEQ. In a
May 21 letter to Ambient Chief Engineer Yehuda Cern, FCC Spectrum
Enforcement Division Chief Kathryn S. Berthot noted that the FCC is
investigating ARRL complaints dating back to 2006 that Ambient's Briarcliff
Manor BPL system has caused and continues to cause harmful interference to
Amateur Radio stations. She said Ambient's most recent six-month report
failed to address one condition of its Part 5 license relating to emission
measurements to prove compliance.

"Access BPL systems are generally required to meet the pertinent radiated
emission requirements specified in Section 15.611(b) of the Commission's
rules," Berthot wrote. "However, Ambient's facility, operating under an
experimental license, is subject to the operating conditions contained on
its license."

Condition 4, Berthot pointed out, requires a progress report six months from
the date of grant, which was last August. Condition 5 provides that the
progress report "should include, but is not limited to, a description of
measurements and results demonstrating compliance" with the radiated
emission limits of §15.109.

Ambient's most recent six-month report indicated that the company had
notched out BPL signals on Amateur Radio bands, "demonstrating significant
advancements," the FCC noted. Still lacking, the Commission contends, is
information to satisfy Condition 5.

Berthot gave Ambient 20 days from the date of this month's letter to submit
the results of any measurements it conducted before its most recent progress
report to demonstrate compliance with §15.109. "Any measurements made in the
areas addressed in the ARRL complaint should be highlighted," she continued.
"If any area included in the ARRL complaint was not previously subject to
measurements, measurements must now be taken in that area to test for
compliance with §15.109."

Further, Berthot said, Ambient must note any measurements that reveal any
non-compliance with §15.109, and, in that case, it must include a
description of its plans to bring the system into compliance with the
conditions of its Experimental license.

"Furthermore," Berthot concluded, "Ambient must submit to the Commission a
follow-up report confirming compliance, once it has completed the necessary
system modifications. We caution you that failure to respond to this letter
may result in enforcement action."

Ambient operates the BPL system on power lines owned and operated by
Consolidated Edison, under an experimental FCC authorization. In January
2006, in the wake of continued FCC inaction in response to several previous
complaints, the ARRL filed a renewal of its complaint against Ambient's BPL
system in Briarcliff Manor.

Without adjudicating ARRL's repeated complaints about interference
throughout the amateur 20 meter band, the FCC renewed Ambient's experimental
license for an additional term, from August 1, 2005 to August 1, 2007.

==ARRL SENIOR NEWS EDITOR NAMED TO CQ AMATEUR RADIO HALL OF FAME

ARRL Senior News Editor Rick Lindquist, N1RL, has been inducted into the
2007 CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame. CQ magazine, which sponsors the honor,
cited Lindquist for keeping the amateur community updated on new
developments via The ARRL Letter, ARRL Audio News and the ARRL Web news
pages. He will retire June 1.

Commented QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY: "Rick Lindquist started as the ARRL
'Product Review' editor, but he quickly made the transition to news
reporting, which was his true calling. In a remarkably short time, Rick
became the most recognized name in Amateur Radio journalism."

ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, said, "Rick has been our
news editor and reporter through many of the major events in Amateur Radio,
including 9/11, Katrina and No-Code Licensing. He has been the print and
audio voice of the ARRL during these events and he has reported them
accurately, incisively and engagingly."

Kramer said Lindquist is "an active contester and DXer with an encyclopedic
knowledge of Amateur Radio. He has been especially effective at writing
Product Reviews and both writing and editing articles on all aspects of
Amateur Radio."

For his part, Lindquist said he was "very surprised and honored" to be
inducted into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.

Other 2007 inductees included:

* Roy Lewallen, W7EL, for the development of the EZ-NEC antenna modeling
software.

* Don Miller, W9NTP. An SSTV pioneer, he developed (with KB9VAK) the first
high-definition digital SSTV protocol and program.

* Durward J. Tucker, W5VU (SK), who helped promote and popularize RTTY in
the 1950s.

* Ade Weiss, W0RSP (ex-K8EEG), for being a leading proponent and promoter of
QRP (low-power communications) in the 1970s and 80s.

* Farrell Winder, W8ZCF, for sending the first SSTV signals to the Russian
Mir space station.

* ISS Expedition 12 commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, ARRL's guest of honor
at the 2007 Dayton Hamvention and the most active radio amateur aboard the
ISS to date.

* Phillip Catona, W2JAV (SK), an RTTY pioneer and inventor of the modern-day
terminal unit.

* Paul Flaherty, N9FZX (SK), co-inventor of Alta Vista search engine.

* John Geloso, I1JGM, an Italian Amateur Radio manufacturer.

* Michael Griffin, NR3A, NASA Administrator.

* James Hillier, ex-VE3SH (SK), co-inventor of scanning electron microscope
and former head of RCA Labs.

* Herb Johnson, W6QKI (ex-W7GRA) (SK), founder of Swan Electronics.

* Copthorne MacDonald, VY2CM, author and developer of slow-scan TV (SSTV).

* Louis Tristao, KG6VY (SK), inventor of the crank-up tower.

The CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame honors individuals who, whether licensed
or not, "have made significant contributions to Amateur Radio" and/or "have
made significant contributions either to Amateur Radio, to their
professional careers or to some other aspect of life on our planet."

Inducted into the CQ DX Hall of Fame were QST author Roger Western, G3SXW,
and Nigel Cawthorne, G3TXF. Both are avid DXpeditioners, activating many
rare locations with their two-man, CW-only, expeditions. To date, Cawthorne
has operated from 44 DX locations, while Western has been on the air from
37. Western is also a member of the CQ Contest Hall of Fame.

Other CQ DX Hall of Famers include Mauro Pregliasco, I1JQJ. He and his wife
Valeria, IK1ADH, are co-editors of 425 DX News. He's also a very active
DXer.

The CQ Contest Hall of Fame inducted three new members this year:

Fred Capossela, K6SSS, a past CQ World Wide DX Contest director. For the
past 40 years, he has maintained and annually updated the CQWW All-Time
Records List.

Phil Goetz, N6ZZ (SK), who held the distinction of having operated the CQ WW
DX Contest from each of the world's 40 CQ zones -- one of only two amateurs
ever to do so (ARRL Southwestern Division Director Dick Norton, N6AA, is the
other).

Tom Taormina, K5RC, has been contesting since 1959 and holds several records
and won several national and divisional championships. He has also mentored
a string of world-class contesters, who have themselves gone on to
record-setting performances.

==LEGISLATIVE END RUN NETS WIN FOR OKLAHOMA AMATEUR RADIO ANTENNA BILL

An Amateur Radio antenna bill has made it through the Oklahoma legislature
and now awaits the signature of Gov Brad Henry. Securing passage of the
essence of the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1
http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/PRB-1_Pkg/prb-1.pdf was no
mean feat, however. Proponents of the legislation had to switch to Plan B
after House Bill 1037 (HB 1037) failed to make the House calendar for a vote
after getting a "do pass" recommendation in the General Government and
Transportation Committee. Supporters of the measure were successful,
however, in getting the language of HB 1037 attached to Senate Bill 426,
which involves municipal annexations. SB 426 passed the Senate 45-2 and the
House 90-5.

"We expect Gov Henry to sign the bill soon and are networking with his
office to ensure his approval," said ARRL Oklahoma Section Manager John
Thomason, WB5SYT. "The Oklahoma Section members really rose to the task to
communicate our need to legislators, key community members including
emergency managers and the general public who benefit from Amateur Radio
emergency communications."

Thomason said the bill's supporters reminded lawmakers that some Oklahoma
Section members have been among those supporting emergency communication in
Kansas in the wake of the tornado that recently devastated the town of
Greensburg.

Thomason expressed particular appreciation to several key players who helped
make the antenna bill a reality. They include David Johansson, KA5GLT, who
set the legislative process into motion, Joe White, K5BQG, who advised
Section leadership, Assistant SM Eddie Manley, K5EMS, who tracked and
reported on the bill's progress and initiated a letter-writing campaign,
Melinda Jones, KE5IGK, for researching, composing and networking, and Hal
Deitz, W5GHZ, for spending "significant hours at the capitol, meeting,
greeting and informing" and keeping the SM apprised.

"It's a good day for Amateur Radio in Oklahoma," Deitz told ARRL this week.
"We're excited."

Thomason also offered "a special word of thanks" to Oklahoma State Rep Guy
Liebmann, K5GL, who provided support and served as a knowledgeable point of
contact at the State Capitol. In addition, he thanked ARRL Field
Organization Team Leader Steve Ewald , WV1X, for his help and encouragement.


Elsewhere ARRL Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Eric Olena, WB3FPL,
reports that Amateur Radio antenna legislation, Senate Bill 884, was
introduced May 18, but the measure has not yet been posted on the General
Assembly's Web site, nor has it been referred to committee, likely to be
either the Senate Local Government Committee or the Senate Communications
and Technology Committee.

"We are not ready for you to contact your Pennsylvania state Senators and
Representatives yet, but we are getting closer," Olena said on the Section's
Web page. SB 884 would incorporate language from PRB-1 into the state's
statutes.

Olena has credited the efforts of George Brechmann, N3HBT, of Bucks County
who has been working with Pennsylvania Sen Stewart Greenleaf, the bill's
sponsor. The proposed bill would restrict municipalities from adopting "an
ordinance, regulation or plan or take any other action that precludes
Amateur Service communications" or that fails to comply with PRB-1.

In the North Carolina General Assembly, an Amateur Radio antenna bill, House
Bill 1340 (H 1340) was reported favorably out of the House Ways and Means
Committee and received the unanimous approval of the full House in early
May. The measure has moved to the Senate, where it's under consideration by
the Senate Committee on Commerce, Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

H 1340 calls on municipalities to require ordinances based on health,
safety, or aesthetic considerations regulating placement, screening or
height of Amateur Radio antennas or antenna support structures "must
reasonably accommodate Amateur Radio communications and must represent the
minimum practicable regulation necessary to accomplish the purpose" of the
city or county.

Beyond that, however, the measure would establish a minimum regulatory
height of 90 feet "unless the restriction is necessary to achieve a clearly
defined health, safety, or aesthetic objective" of the city or county.

To date, 23 states have adopted PRB-1 legislation. While PRB-1 requires
municipalities to "reasonably accommodate" Amateur Radio communication, it
does not specify a minimum height below which local governments may not
regulate. Four states -- Alaska, Wyoming, Virginia and Oregon -- have
legislation in place that specifies antenna support structure heights, below
which municipalities may not regulate.

==SECTION MANAGER ELECTION RESULTS ANNOUNCED

In the only contested Section Manager race in the spring election cycle,
Sterling Eanes, AK1K, has been elected to a second term as ARRL New
Hampshire Section Manager. He received 277 votes, while challenger Russell
Santos, K1TSV, polled 236 votes. Ballots were counted May 22 at ARRL
Headquarters.

Elsewhere, John Dyer, AE5B, of Cisco, Texas, will be returning to the West
Texas Section Manager's post he held previously when he succeeds outgoing SM
Bill Lawless, W5WRL. Lawless did not run for a new term. Dyer, who ran
unopposed in the current election cycle, served as West Texas SM from
October 2002 through June 2005.

Several sitting ARRL Section Managers faced no opposition in their bids for
new terms and were declared elected. They a Bob Beaudet, W1YRC, Rhode
Island; Jim Cross, WI3N, Maryland-DC; Dick Flanagan, K7VC, Nevada; Charles
McConnell, W6DPD, San Joaquin Valley, and Mel Parkes, NM7P, Utah.

Terms for all successful candidates in the current election cycle begin July
1.

The ARRL will re-solicit nominations for Section Manager in Northern New
Jersey in the July and August editions of QST.

==SOLAR UPDATE

Solar Seer Tad "Little Miss Sunshine" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
reports: This week saw a return to active geomagnetic conditions after a
period of relative quiet. The planetary A index reached a high of 42 on
Wednesday, May 23, and the mid-latitude A index that day was 28. At the same
time, sunspot numbers are dropping -- from a high of 56 on May 16 to 44, 23,
15, 14, 12 and 0 on May 19-24. Currently the interplanetary magnetic field
points south, making Earth susceptible to geomagnetic upsets from solar
wind. We could see a blank sun through the end of May.

Geomagnetic indices should remain active for the next few days, with
predicted planetary A index for May 25-29 at 25, 25, 20, 10 and 5.
Geophysical Institute Prague predicts active conditions for May 25-26,
unsettled May 27, quiet to unsettled May 28, and quiet May 29-31. During the
CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest this weekend, expect no sunspots and declining
but still active or unsettled geomagnetic conditions.

Sunspot numbers for May 17 through 23 were 30, 45, 44, 23, 15, 14 and 12,
with a mean of 26.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.5, 75.8, 74.8, 74.1, 73.2, 72,
and 70.1, with a mean of 73.8. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 18, 12,
6, 6, 11 and 42, with a mean of 14.4. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
4, 15, 10, 6, 6, 10 and 28, with a mean of 11.3.

For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html.

__________________________________

==IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The CQ World Wide WPX Contest (CW), the
VK/Trans-Tasman 80-Meter Contest (CW), the SKCC Weekend Sprint, the ARCI
Hootowl Sprint and the Michigan QRP Memorial Day CW Sprint are the weekend
of May 27-28. JUST AHEAD: The NCCC Sprint Ladder is June 1, the Wake-Up! QRP
Sprint is June 2. The SEANET Contest, the RSGB National Field Day, the IARU
Region 1 Field Day (CW) and the Alabama QSO Party are the June 2-3 weekend.
The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data) is June 4. The ARS Spartan Sprint
is June 5. The NCCC Sprint Ladder is June 8. 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 remains open through Sunday, June 3, for these ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses beginning
Friday, June 15: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002),
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003R2), Antenna Modeling
(EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF -- Life Beyond the
Repeater (EC-008) and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). These courses
will also open for registration Friday, June 1, for classes beginning Friday
July 20. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page
http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html or contact the CCE Department
.

* ARRL and MetLife® team up for new membership benefits! The ARRL
inaugurated a partnership with MetLife® at Dayton Hamvention to provide new
membership benefits. An announcement to ARRL members went out last week
outlining the program, which offers group automobile and home insurance as
well as banking products. This program also makes available insurance for
renters, boats, condos, recreational vehicles (RVs) and fire. "I am very
excited to see this program launched after nearly a year of planning and
development," ARRL Membership Manager Katie Breen, W1KRB, said. At
Hamvention, MetLife representatives set up at ARRL EXPO where they held a
giveaway for a giant Snoopy -- MetLife's marketing mascot -- and handed out
nearly 8000 Snoopy toys. All ARRL members are eligible for this new program,
which offers a wide range of policies. For a free, no-obligation quote, just
call toll-free 800-GET-MET8 (438-6388). When calling, have your ARRL
membership number ready, and explain that you're inquiring as a group
member.

* ARRL approved as 2007 Combined Federal Campaign participant: The ARRL has
once again been approved as a participant in the Combined Federal Campaign
(CFC) http://www.opm.gov/cfc/ for 2007. Similar to the United Way, the CFC
encourages contributions from federal government civilian employees, US
Postal Service workers and members of the military on behalf of various
organizations. By designating the League as the donation's recipient,
contributors can support ARRL's efforts to represent its members and all
radio amateurs. Last year the CFC attracted more than $22,400 in
contributions to the League. The ARRL urges eligible radio amateurs to
consider the League when designating CFC donation recipients. To select the
ARRL to receive all or part of your payroll deduction, designate
organization 10099 (this is a new identifying number!) when completing the
2007 CFC donor form. Donations to ARRL can be designated for Diamond Club
contributions, the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund or the ARRL Education &
Technology Program. Or, donors may make unrestricted contributions to the
League. One important note: Since the CFC does not provide the ARRL with the
names of individual donors, the ARRL Development Office would appreciate a
copy of the donor form to ensure that each contribution is applied according
to the donor's wishes and the contribution or pledge can be properly
acknowledged.

* FCC cites distributor for marketing unauthorized RF device: The FCC has
sent an official Citation to Tower Products Inc of Saugerties, New York, for
marketing an unauthorized RF device capable of operating on 70 cm Amateur
Radio frequencies. The FCC contends that the product in question, the "Laird
Telemedia model LTM-WAVE-AG Wireless Monitoring System (LTM-WAVE-AG),
requires FCC certification. As an "intentional emitter," the device cannot
be operated legally under Part 15 rules. The device is not a Part 97
transmitter, which would not require FCC certification, because it can
transmit on spectrum not allocated to the Amateur Radio Service.
Additionally, the devices, the FCC said, bore an FCC identification number
assigned to another device. The FCC said Tower has acknowledged that the
LTM-WAVE-AG is not certified and that it marketed the device in the US,
apparently in violation of §302(b) of the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and §2.803(a) of the FCC rules. In addition, the FCC asserts, Tower
apparently violated §2.2304(a) of the rules by importing an RF device that
did not meet one or more of 10 specified import conditions, and §2.1204(b)
by being unable to document compliance with import conditions. The FCC
warned Tower that future such violations could lead to fines of up to
$11,000 "for each violation or each day of a continuing violation."

================================================== =========
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League: ARRL--the National Association For Amateur Radio, 225
Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259;
http://www.arrl.org. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President.

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and general news
of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web site
http://www.arrl.org for the latest Amateur Radio news and news updates.
The ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/ also offers informative features
and columns. ARRL Audio News http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ is a
weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. It's
also available as a podcast from our Web site.

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/American Radio Relay League.

==Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):

==Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL,
==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

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ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site
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The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these
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* ARRLWeb http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be
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* The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
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cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)