Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1564 - August 3, 2007

Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1564 with a
release date of Friday, August 3, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a Q-S-T. The ARRL Board of
Directors say NO to lifestyle and checks of ham
radio volunteers. Also, the ARRL will not
revisit Regulation by Bandwidth right now, the
FCC says yes to a 700 MHz rescue radio bandplan
and NCVEC meets with the FCC. Find out the
details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number
1564 coming your way right now.


(Billboard Cart Here)

**

ARRL POLITICS: ARRL BOD SAYS "NO" TO BACKGROUND CREDIT CHECKS

The ARRL Board of Directors has issued a policy
statement saying no to the demand by served
agencies for lifestyle and financial background
checks on Amateur Radio volunteers. The action
came at the recent Board of Directors Meeting
held July 20th and 21st. Don Carlson, KQ6FM, is in Reno with mo

--

A major concern to the ARRL Board of Directors
was the topic of served agencies and background
investigations. An Ad Hoc Background
Investigation Committee empanelled by the ARRL
some time ago agreed that pursuing federally
recognized credentialing for Amateur Radio
volunteers was critical for the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service to function. The Committee
chairman, Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar,
N3LLR, proposed that the Board adopt a policy
with regard to Memoranda of Understanding with the various served agencies.

After some discussion the Board did approve a
policy on this issue. One that says
communications volunteers participating in ARRL
sponsored programs should not be required by
served agencies to undergo background
investigations of any kind. The Directors did
however note that criminal background checks as
performed by law enforcement agencies are generally acceptable.

But the policy statement also seemed to refute
the American Red Cross demand that its
contractor, mybackgroundcheck dot com, be given
free reign to delve into a volunteers personal
finances and lifestyle. While the ARRL Board did
not name the American Red Cross in its policy
statement, to anyone familiar with the position
of the American Red Cross on this issue the
intent is hard to miss. The ARRL policy continues -- and we quote:

"It is not reasonable for a served agency to
require these volunteers to consent to credit
checks, mode of living investigations or
investigative consumer reports. In negotiating
or renegotiating Memoranda of Understanding that
commits the League to provide volunteer emergency
communications support, the League must be
assured that these volunteers will not be
required by the partner organization to consent
to credit checks, mode of living investigations
or investigative consumer reports." - End quote.

The ARRL policy stopped short of telling those
radio amateurs wanting to volunteer to agencies
that require credit and lifestyle checks not to
do so. That said, many hams will likely now
think twice before clicking away their financial
information to any group that wants them to work for free.

In Reno, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, for the Amateur Radio Newsline.

--

The bottom line.: It appears that the ARRL Board
of Directors has now thrown the hot issue of
lifestyle and credit check demands back in the
lap of the American Red Cross and any other
served agency that might make such a demand of
ham radio volunteers. That also leaves the next
move is up to them. (Adapted from ARRL)

**

ARRL POLITICS: BOD VOTES TO EVEN ELECTION PLAYING FIELD

The ARRL Board of Directors has leveled the
proverbial playing field in regard to the
election process for Directors, Vice Directors
and Section Managers. This by clarifying the
Rules and Regulations concerning mass
communication of campaign material at the ARRL's
expense. Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, reports:

---

For years, challengers in ARRL divisional
elections have claimed that incumbents have had
an unfair advantage in that they had access to
materials that the challenger did not. Now the
Board of Directors has acted to prohibit all
types of mass communications by any candidate
for these three offices where-in the ARRL winds
up paying any of the costs involved.

Specifically prohibited is any communications
where the material is distributed at League
expense by mail, electronic distribution
including Web sites, hand delivery or any other
means to League members in the particular
Division or Section involved in an
election. This if the material might reasonably
be expected to affect the outcome of the election during the campaign
period.

According to ARRL specialist Dave Patton, NN1N,
this basically means that all candidates running
for office candidates cannot use ARRL resources
to campaign. However, the new rule does not
prohibit a candidate from creating his or her own
materials and distributing them using any means
he or she may desire, as long as its done at the candidates own expense.

For the amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Henry Feinberg, K2SSQ, in New York.

--

The new election rule is effective immediately. (ARRL, ARNewsline(tm))

**

ARRL POLITICS: ARRL ASKS COORDINATORS TO COORDINATE D-STAR

The American Radio Relay League has at least
tacitly endorsed the JARL-developed D-STAR
digital voice and data communications scheme for
relay system use on the VHF and UHF ham
bands. Its also asking current FM repeater
coordinators to both recognize and accommodate it
and other digital voice ciphers through the
formal coordination process. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is here with mo

--

Though D-STAR and, to a lesser degree, APCO 25
protocols are gaining in popularity as a
replacement for analog F-M repeaters, some
coordinators have come to wonder to what extent
either of these systems fall within the FCC
definition of an Amateur service relay device? A repeater if you will.

But the ARRL is leaving that to be decided by the
FCC at some later date if the regulatory agency
ever chooses to do so. For its part the ARRL
Board has requested that coordinators begin now
to extend their efforts to recommend operating
channels to digital voice systems and to consider
the bandwidths that they actually required for successful operation.

Currently only Icom supplies D-STAR ham radio
gear but other manufacturers are expected to
quickly jump on the D-STAR bandwagon. Especially
now that there are more than 60 D-STAR repeaters
in operation across the United states and more on their way.

The main reason APCO 25 is lagging so far behind
D-STAR is the licensing fee required by its codec
patent owner. While the P 25 platform is public
domain, the encoder decoder is not and carries
with it a fairly steep cost. On the other hand
D-STAR requires no license fee be paid. The
Japan Amateur Radio League saw fit to put its
technology fully in the public domain. Anyone
with the ability to do so can design a codec for
it, but it must be made available to anyone to use.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Bill
Pasternak, WA6ITF. I'm in the studio in Los Angeles.

--

How the more than fifty repeater coordinators
nation wide will react to this ARRL Board request
to coordinate digital repeaters will take some
time to be known. The ARRL Board did thank all
existing VHF/UHF frequency coordination groups
for their efforts to promote orderly use of Amateur Radio frequencies.
(ARRL)


**

RADIO RULES: ARRL WILL NOT REFILE NOW ON REGULATION BY BANDWIDTH

Sometimes its what you don't say that means a
lot. While the ARRL is vocal regarding digital
in the world above 50 MHz, it's a different story
on the high frequency bands. This with word what
the ARRL Board did not appear to even discuss
another petition to the FCC on the controversial
subject of Regulation by Bandwidth. Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, reports:

--

While the League has yet to make a formal
announcement, word leaked to the ham community by
those with knowledge of what transpired at the
recent ARRL Board of Directors meeting. They say
that the matter was only briefly touched on and
that the directors have at least unofficially
decided to take a wait and see position. This,
while the nations ham community continues to
discuss and debate the issue on the air and on-line.

It was only last April that the ARRL withdrew the
controversial November 2005 Regulation by
Petition for Rule Making RM-11306. It did so it
cited what it called "widespread misconceptions"
surrounding the petition as a primary reason for
deciding to remove it from FCC consideration. At
that time the ARRL left open the option of
refileing the same or a similar request in the
future, however it appears as if now is not that time.

But this does not mean the issue of Regulation by
Bandwidth is dead. Its quite conceivable that
one or more petitions asking for a change away
from designated subbands and over to some form of
regulation by bandwidth will be generated from
various interest groups within the ham community.

I'm Don Wilbanks, AE5DW.

--

As we go to air there are no Regulation by
Bandwidth petitions currently awaiting any action
before the FCC. (ARNewsline(tm), listener input)

**

Break 1

From the United States of America, We are the
Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin
stations around the world including the
Hamfesters Radio Club net serving Bedford Park, Illinois

(5 sec pause here)


**

ON THE AIR: 6 AND 2 OPEN THE LAST WEEK OF JULY

An amazing last week of July foir D-X on 6 and 2
meters. Hams around the world are reporting
superb conditions in the world above 50 MHz that began on the 28th U-T-C.

For example, Scott Avery, WA6LIE, up in Silanas,
California reports that he was alerted to the
opening by his television set. That from 1600 to
2200 UTC he saw television channel 2 from Seattle
with a clear picture and 59 audio. On the ham
bands Scott says there were a lot of double and
triple hop signals on both bands. At 2110 UTC he
talked to VE6EGN ingrid square DO23 on 144.200
Mhz while running only 45 watts to a 13 element beam at 40 feet.

Meantime, Bob Brown, KR7O, says over the VHF
Reflector that he made contact with stations in
grids CM 97 and CM98 during that same frame of
time. KR7O adds that at 2125 UTC that 6 meters
was wide open again to Washington, Idaho, Montana and up into Canada as
well.

On July 29th, at 23:53, Bob Cox, K4AVO, in
central North Carolina reported over the 50 MHz
Prop Logger that he was hearing the VE1SMU
propagation beacon on 50.001. Its located in
Halifax Nova Scotia almost a thousand miles away.

On the other side of the world, Hatsuo
Yoshida, JA1VOK, in grid square QM05 reports
hearing the BV2NT propagation beacon in Taipei,
Taiwan also on 50.001 MHz. It was hitting his
QTH in Chiba, Japan, with a very strong 599 signal.

And on July 30th Bob Cox, K4AVO, in Grid FM06
reported hearing CO8LY calling C-Q on 50.095 in C-W. CO8LY is located in
Cuba.

Lots of D-X out there on 6 and 2 meters. All you
have to do is fire up and keep an ear on the
calling frequencies of 50 point 125 and 144 dot
200 MHz. Its there for you to enjoy. (ARNewsline(tm))

**

RADIO LAW: FCC CREATES INTEROPERABLE 700 MHZ RESCUE RADIO BANDPLAN

The FCC has revised its 700 MHz bandplan and
service rules to promote the creation of a
nationwide interoperable broadband network for
public safety. The congressionally mandated
change will also facilitate the availability of
new and innovative wireless broadband services for consumers.

In a Second Report & Order adopted on Tuesday,
July 31st, the Federal Communications Commission
revised the band plan which runs from 698-806
MHz. This spectrum is currently occupied by
television broadcasters but will be made
available for other wireless services, including
public safety and commercial use, as a result of
the digital television transition.

The Digital Television and Public Safety Act of
2005 set a firm deadline of February 17, 2009,
for the completion of the DTV transition. In
implementing Congress' directive to reallocate
the 700 MHz airwaves, the Commission was focused
on serving the public interest and the American
people. The service rules that the Commission
has now adopted should help create a national
broadband network for public safety that will
address the interoperability problems of today's
system. It should also provide for a more open
wireless platform that will facilitate the
emergence of next generation wireless broadband
services in both urban and rural areas. (FCC)

**

RADIO TESTING: FCC AND NCVEC HOLD ANNUAL MEETING

The 2007 meeting of the National Conference of
Volunteer Examination Coordinators and the FCCs
was held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday,
July 27. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennent, K6PZW, tells us what went
on:

--

There were 11 Volunteer Examination Coordinators
represented at this years gathering between the
National Conference of Volunteer Examination
Coordinators and the FCC. Together these groups
represent more than 98% of all examinations
administered in the Amateur Service in the United States.

Also in attendance were FCC staffers Donna Scott,
Sandra Eckenrode, Terry Fishel and Riley
Hollingsworth. Bill Cross, W3TN, from the
Wireless Telecom Bureau acted as moderator for the FCC discussions.

Cross first reviewed recent Commission decisions
that have affected the VEC's including Wireless
Telecommunications Bureau docket items 04-140 and
05-235. He was followed by Riley Hollingsworth
who said that complaints have been greatly reduced over the past two years.

In his remarks Hollingsworth noted that
enforcement of amateur service rules will
continue to be a permanent part of the FCC's
regulatory effort. He also noted that although
the licensing structure is now simpler, that VECs remain vigilant.

Question Pool Committee Chairman Jim Wiley, KL7CC
of the Anchorage VEC gave a preliminary
report. He said that the committee is now
looking ahead to revising the Element 4 question
pool to be used for Extra Class written
examinations effective July 1, 2008. The
Question Pool Committee is planning to release
the entire pool which will include the syllabus
on or around December 1st of this year.

Another of the agenda items was a discussion on
whether or not the NCVEC should develop a
position and issue a statement about foreign
language exams. In this regard the ARRL VEC made
a motion that N-C-V-E-C approved Spanish language
question pools and make them available in
addition to the English language version. That motion did not carry.

For the Amateur Radio Newsline. I'm Bruce Tenbnent, K6PZW, in Los Angeles

--

The VEC Conference has been held annually since
1985 with the exception of 1999. The complete
report on this years NCVEC and FCC meeting is on
line on the front newspage at www.qrz.con (NCVEC, QRZ.COM)

**

ENFORCEMENT: HAM ASKED TO EXPLAIN HIS OPERATIONS

Turning to enforcement news, the FCC has written
to Robert J. Langston, W2ENY, of Cornwall on
Hudson, New York asking him to explain a
complaint regarding the operation of his
station. The FCC says that the complaint alleges
transmission of recordings, including recordings
of the radio transmissions of other operators,
and false identification of transmissions.

The FCC says that if the information in its
possession if true, it raises serious questions
regarding Langston's qualifications to retain an
Amateur license. It asks him to respond in
detail to a number of questions regarding the
complaint and to support his response with a
signed and dated affidavit or declaration. One
that under penalty of perjury, verifies the truth
and accuracy of the information submitted in his response.

The FCC also told Langston that his license is
due for renewal in December of this year. As
such the Commission the authority to obtain
information from applicants and licensees about
the operation of their station and their
qualifications to remain a licensee. (FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: THAT FREQUENCY IS NOT FOR USE

The FCC is asking Frederick C. Severa, AH8I, of
Pago Pago, American Samoa, to explain why he has
been monitored as operating SSB on 7.055
MHz. This, back on February 12th of this year.

In its July 25th letter to Severa sent via the
American Samoa DX Society in California, the
Commission says that such operation may reflect
adversely on his qualifications to retain an Amateur Radio license.

The letter directs Severa to contact the FCC
within 30 days to discuss the matter with peial
Counsel Riley Hollingsworth. It also asks Severa
to verify his current address since the
Commission's first attempt to contact him was returned as undeliverable.
(FCC)

**

ENFORCEMENT: UNLICENSED OPERATION BRINGS $10000 FINE

A big fine for a Texan who put a radio on the air
without FCC permission to do so. Again, Amateur
Radio Newsline's Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, has mo

--

The FCC has issued a a monetary forfeiture in the
amount of $10,000 to Michael Thomas McCollum of
Houston, Texas. This for his alleged willful and
repeated violation of Section 301 of the
Communications Act by operating a radio
transmission apparatus without a license.

By way of background, on May 23, 2007, the FCC's
Houston Office issued a Notice of Apparent
Liability for Forfeiture in the amount of $10,000
to McCollum. The FCC says that McCollum has not
filed a response to the N-A-L. So based on the
information before it, the FCC acted on July 13th to affirm the forfeiture.

--

McCollum was given the customary 30 days to pay or to file an appeal. (FCC)

**

RADIO EDFUCATION: FAR ANNOUNCES 2007 SCHOLARSHIP AWAR WINNERS

The Foundation for Amateur Radio has announced
the winners of 56 scholarships for the 2007
academic year. The list is far to long to
include here but will shortly be available in
numerous ham radio print publications.

The Foundation for Amateur Radio is a District of
Columbia based non profit organization
representing one 50 radio clubs along the central
Atlantic coast. The scholarships it administers
are open to all licensed radio amateurs who meet
the qualification and residence requirements of
the various sponsors More information about the
foundation and the scholarship program is on line
at www.amateurradio-far.org/ (FAR)

**

BREAK 2

This is ham radio news for today's radio
amateur. From the United States of America, We
are the Amateur Radio Newsline with links to the
world from our only official website at
www.arnewsline.org and being relayed by the
volunteer services of the following radio amateur:

(5 sec pause here)

**

ON THE WEB: FREE ON-LINE REPEATER MAP LOCATOR FROM K5EHX

A new free service for those who want to know
where a repeater is located and its approximate
service area. Thanks to Tom White, K5EHX, in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, such a place in cyberspace now exists.

Toms repeater database is tied to Google Maps and
lets you search by tags, city, state or zip
code. Tom says that the original idea was to
make it easier to search for repeaters in a given area for planning a trip.

You can try it for yourself at
http://k5ehx.net/repeaters/ We did. Its fun and
it works very, very well.. (K5EHX)

**

EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NEW DIGITAL HAM RADIO REMAILER FORMED

And a new cyberspace retailer dedicated
exclusively to the emerging world of digital
Amateur Radio communications has been formed on
Yahoogroups. This e-mail reflector will
primarily discuss the use of digital voice and
data communication techniques on the VHF and UHF
bands. Technology to be addressed will include
D-STAR, APCO P25, packet radio including APRS,
High Speed Multi Media, Wi-Fi, P-S-K and
F-S-K. To join the group just take your web
browser to
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/illinoisdigitalham/
and follow the sign up instructions. (WB9QZB)

**

RESTRUCTURING - FOLOOW
UP: DENMARK LICENSES 40 MHZ HAM RADIO BEACON ACTIVATED

A follow-up to last weeks story on Denmark's
telecommunications regulator having approved a
permit for a ham radio beacon on 40.021
MHz. According to OZ7IS, the OZ7IGY beacon came
to life at 18.20 UTC on July 26th. The output
power is 22 watts to a dipole antenna. That will
shortly be changed to an
omni-directional Turnstile radiator. The license
for OE7IGY is valid for a year. Reception
reports from around the world 64-oz-beacon go by
e-mail to oz7is at qrz.dk (Southgate)

**

PUBLIC SERVICE: MARSGRAM SERVES KIDS AT CAMP

The Army MARS new Winlink Messaging System has
provided real-life connections for some 200 boys
and girls whose separation from family members
had very special significance. Capt. Jeff Hammer
N9NIC who holds the MARS call sign AAR5WL is an
Afghanistan veteran. HE recently set up his
portable MARS station at the Indiana Guard's
Family Program Youth Camp at Camp Atterbury . He
briefed each camper's family on sending a MARSgram.

MARSgrams are free radio messages that connect
service personnel and their family and
friends. As in many summer programs, phone calls
and e-mail were not allowed. The MARSgram was Hammer's solution.

Before e-mail and the cell-phone, amateur radio
operators in the Military Affiliate Radio System
handled hundreds of thousands of them for troops
in the Korean War, Vietnam and the first Gulf
War. The service is still available though not
as frequently utilized as it once was. (ACapitalNewsOnline)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: P3E HARDWARE TO BE READY BY YEARS END

The hardware for the eagerly awaited AMSAT Phase
3E ham radio satellite should be completed by the
end of 2007. The announcement came at the
recently concluded AMSAT-UK International Space
Colloquium. That's where it was also made known
that Phase 3E will be the first Amateur satellite
to operate at 47 GHz. It is also will use 145
MHz and 435 MHz along with the 1.260, 2.4, 5, 10
GHz Amateur Radio Microwave bands.

As yet there is no launch date. AMSAT is
exploring possibilities of an Arianne launch from
the ESA site at Kourou in 2008 or on a Soyuz
launcher from the new Russian launch site under
construction also at Kourou. (ANS)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: AMSSAT-UK BEGINNERS WORKSHOP A HIT

The recent AMSAT - UK Beginners Workshop is being
described as a truly smashing success and
attracted a lot of newcomers to the hobby. Among
the many attendees were six members of the
University of Surrey Electronics and Amateur
Radio Society, all of whom hold Foundation or Intermediate licenses.

AMSAT-UK has held Beginners Workshops at its
Annual Colloquium in Guildford, England for 20
years. The aim of these workshops is to show new
hams how to get started in the exciting world of
Amateur Satellite Communications. It was
AMSAT-UK that successfully campaigned to have
access to the Amateur Satellite Service available
to all United Kingdom amateurs, regardless of the
license class that they hold. (Southgate)

**

HAM RADIO IN SPACE: JAPAN AMSAT DONATES 1,000,000 YEN TO P3E

Peter Gülzow, DB2OS reports on the AMSAT D L web
site that Japan AMSAT has donated 1,000,000 Yen
in support of the Phase 3-E satellite. 1,000,000
yen is the equivalent of 6,136 Euros or $8,407
U-S dollars at the current rate of exchange. The
monies will be used to help complete and launch
the Phase 3 E bird. More is on-line, in German.
At the U-R-L in this weeks Amateur radio Newsline report. (ANS)

**

WORLDBEAT - SOUTH AFRICA: SARL WT ATTEND GAREC O7

The South African Radio League has added its name
to the growing list of groups that will be
represented at the upcoming 2007 Global Amateur
Radio Emergency Communications Conference.

The gathering is slated to be held in
Huntsville, Alabama, on August 16th and 17th just
prior to the opening of the 2007 Huntsville
Hamfest. This years meeting is focussing on the
application of advanced technologies in emergency communications.

The two-day conference will be packed with
practical information, and experts will arrange
demonstrations of the capabilities of 21st
century communications technology. This will
include many diverse aspects Amateur Radio as
applied to emergency and disaster response. (Southgate)

**

DX

Six members of the Japan Amateur Radio League's
Kyoto Club will be operating JA3YAQ portable J60
through August 6th. This, to celebrate the 60th
anniversary of their club on the island of
Pohnpei. The operation will use CW, SSB, FM,
RTTY and PSK31 on 160 through 6 meters from the
South Park Hotel. QSL as directed on the air.

Also on right now are DL2RMC and DL1RTL who will
be active portable TK from Corsica through
August 8th. Look for them on 160 through 6
meters on CW and the Digital modes. They will
have vertical antennas for the low bands with
their activity also being a holiday style operations.
QSL via their home callsigns.

And, listen out for W1ADX, will be active
portable 9A from a few of
the Dalmatian Islands through August
7th. Activity will be holiday style as time permits. QSL via IN3DEI.

Lastly, for those of you who worked KL7FF in June
there is now a QSL route. You can send your QSL,
along with an Self Addressed Stamped Envelope to
to Paul Kiesel, K7CW , P.O. Box 112 Tahuya,
Washington, 98588. Paul says that he has
received the cards from the printer and will send
you a KL7FF card immediately on receipt of your card.

(Above from various DX news sources)

**

THAT FINAL ITEM: THE ARTISTRY OF ANCIENT GREECE IS IN THE SOUND

And finally this week, another kind of
communications. That of the human voice and the
way it could be heard for thousands of feet long
before microphones, amplifiers and loud speakers
were invented. The story is from ancient
Greece. A not so ancient Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF,
takes us back in time to about the 3d Century BC:

--

Science Daily reports that researchers at the
Georgia Institute of Technology have pinpointed
the elusive factor that makes the ancient
amphitheater the ancient Greek amphitheater at
Epidaurus an acoustic marvel. It's the seats.

The scientists say that the rows of limestone
seats at Epidaurus form an efficient acoustics
filter that hushes low-frequency background
noises like the murmur of a crowd. At the same
time it reflects the high frequency noises of the
performers on stage off the seats and back toward
the seated audience member. This in turn carries
the performers voice all the way to the back rows of the theater.

While many experts speculated on the possible
causes for Epidaurus' acoustics, few guessed that
the seats themselves were the secret of its
acoustics success. There were theories that the
site's wind which blows primarily from the stage
to the audience was the cause. Others credited
masks that may have acted as primitive
loudspeakers or the rhythm of Greek speech. More
technical theories took into account the slope of the seat rows.

The report appeared in the April issue of the
Journal of the Acoustics Society of America.

From Auckland, New Zealand. for the Amateur
Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF,

--

The theater at Epidaurus permits almost perfect
intelligibility of un-amplified spoken word from
the stage to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of
their seating. What's not known if whether or
not those who designed it were aware of the
science of acoustics or if it was all nothing more than a lucky guess.

More about Epidaurus and its famed theater is
on-line at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epidaurus
and
http://www.greeklandscapes.com/greece/epidaurus.html (Science Daily OnLine)

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE

With thanks to Alan Labs, AMSAT, the ARRL, the
CGC Communicator, CQ Magazine, the FCC, the Ohio
Penn DX Bulletin, Radio Netherlands, Rain, the
RSGB, the Southgate News and Australia's W-I-A
News, that's all from the Amateur Radio
Newsline(tm). Our e-mail address is
. More information is
available at Amateur Radio Newsline's(tm) only
official website located at
www.arnewsline.org. You can also write to us or
support us at Amateur Radio Newsline(tm), P.O. Box
660937, Arcadia, California 91066.

For now, with Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the
editors desk, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW and I'm Jeff
Clark, K8JAC, saying 73 and we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

William M. Pasternak wrote:

Regarding ARRL's position on the background check issue


"It is not reasonable for a served agency to require these volunteers to
consent to credit checks, mode of living investigations or investigative
consumer reports. In negotiating or renegotiating Memoranda of
Understanding that commits the League to provide volunteer emergency
communications support, the League must be assured that these volunteers
will not be required by the partner organization to consent to credit
checks, mode of living investigations or investigative consumer
reports." - End quote.


While a criminal activity check is a fine idea - and pretty painless,
the business of conducting lifestyle checks and credit checks is just
plain invasive. If they check lifestyle, they make judgments on it.


The ARRL policy stopped short of telling those radio amateurs wanting to
volunteer to agencies that require credit and lifestyle checks not to do
so. That said, many hams will likely now think twice before clicking
away their financial information to any group that wants them to work
for free.

Good point. I'll happily submit to any of the State Police background
checks. But it they want more than that, I'll find some other way to
give back to the community.

After all, I have something to hide.... I'm a registered Independent
voter!, heheh...


- 73 de Mike KB3EIA -