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Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) Report 1574 - October 12, 2007
The following is a special announcement. Last weeks report on the decision to disqualify a candidate for the ARRL Directors position in the Southwestern Division brought some very mixed reaction. While most hams in the division and a few activists elsewhere were interested, the majority outside the Southwestern Division were not. As there is more information on this situation this week, we are presenting it in a separate program that follows the regular newscast. Those interested can stay on-line to hear it. Others can pull away at the end of the normal newscast. We hope this satisfies most of you. Now to this weeks news anchor, Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.. Amateur Radio Newsline report number 1574 with a release date of Friday, October 12, 2007 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a Q-S-T. Two new low noise digital modes are unveiled for ham radio and cross border interference to a repeater brings a Washington state ham a proposed $7000 fine. Find out the details on Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) report number 1574 coming your way right now. (Billboard Cart Here) ** EMERGING HAM RADIO TECHNOLOGY: NEW JT2 & JT4 DIGITAL MODES ANNOUNCED Two new digital modes JT2 and JT4 are being supported by an experimental version of the popular WSJT weak signal software. Both are both designed for making QSOs under extremely weak-signal conditions while using the same message structure and source encoding as that used in J T 65. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has mo -- The new mode called JT2 has a bandwidth of just 8.75 Hz enabling dozens of contacts to take place in the 2.4 kHz SSB stock filter bandwidth found in most of today's transceivers. The system uses 2-tone Frequency Shift Keying modulation for synchronization and differential BPSK for the encoded user information. In this way both a sync bit and a data bit can be transmitted with each channel symbol. Symbols are sent at a rate of 4.375 baud, and tone separation for the 2 tone FSK modulation is 4.375 Hz. The performance of JT2 may eventually be as good as JT65, or slightly better at 144 MHz and below. If it can be made to work up to its potential, JT2 could be a great boon to random digital E-M-E operation on 2 meters, especially for those without panoramic wideband receivers and software like MAP 65. JT2 may also be attractive for use on the Very Low Frequency, Medium Frequency and High Frequency bands under weak-signal conditions. JT4 is similar to JT2 except that it uses 4-tone Frequency Shift Keying . This, so it can also include both a sync bit and a data bit in each symbol. Again the keying rate is 4.375 baud, and a number of different tone spacings are offered For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, at the studio in Los Angeles. Jim. -- WSJT version 5.9.8, r558 is the experimental release that contains both of the new operating modes. Further information on JT2 and JT4 is on line at http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/JT2_JT4.TXT. More about WSJT is at http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT (Southgate) ** RADIO HAPPENINGS: THE ITU AT 60 Tuesday September 25th marked the 60th Anniversary of the conclusion of a conference of the International Telecommunications Union held in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A conference that was very beneficial to the Amateur Radio community worldwide. At that gathering a new High Frequency band was obtained at 21MHz. The 15 meter band as it became known. Also, above 30 MHz the basic structure of the amateur bands up to 10 GHz was established. This included the VHF 2 meter band and the UHF 70 cm band along with microwave bands at 2.4 GHz. Much of this original infrastructure still remains in place today. (WIA News) ** RESCUE RADIO: THIRD EMCOM PARTY ON THE AIR If you are into public service work, mark Sunday, November 11th, from 11.00 to 15.00 UTC on your contest calendar. This, as International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 invites the headquarters stations of IARU member societies and stations of emergency communications groups to participate in the Third EmCom party on the Air. Operations take place on and near the emergency Center-of-Activity frequencies on 80, 40, 20, 17 and 15 meters. The objective of the party is to increase the common interest among member societies in emergency communications while testing the usability of these Center of Activity frequencies perform across the various International Telecommunications Union regions. This is the first time that all IARU regions are invited to participate the EmCom Party. This years exercise will be limited to SSB operation only, but plans do call for the introduction of digital modes in 2008. (Via E-Mail) ** ENFORCEMENT: CROSS BORDER INTERFERENCE TO REPEATER BRINGS A $7000 FINE In the first case of its kind that we know of, the FCC has issued a $7000 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to a United States ham for interfering with a Canadian repeater. -- That's right Jim. The FCC says that James J. Grinton, K7VNI, of Bellingham, Washington apparently, willfully and repeatedly violated Section 97.113(b) and Section 97.119(a) of the Commission's Rules. This, by transmitting one-way communications and by failing to transmit his assigned call sign in the Amateur Radio Service. The one way transmissions interfered with the VE7RPT repeater in British Columbia, Canada. That system sits atop Mt. Seymour and operates on the popular 146.34 in and 146.94 MHz out channel pair. Back on December 7, 2006, in response to a complaint alleging intentional interference to communications on the VE7RPT repeater, an agent from the FCC's Seattle Enforcement Bureau used mobile direction finding to locate the source of the signal. His efforts lead him to the residence of amateur radio operator James Grinton, K7VNI, in Bellingham. As a follow-up, during the period of December 9, 2006 to January 1, 2007, the Seattle agent monitored the repeater input frequency of 146.340 MHz. He observed 59 transmissions of varying lengths from Grinton's residence. On January 19, 2007, the Seattle Field Office issued a Warning of Interference to Communications Letter to K7VNI. It informed Grinton that his station may be the source of willful or malicious interference to Amateur communications. Also, that if the transmissions continue, he would be investigated during ongoing FCC enforcement efforts. And if such an investigation indicated that he has violated the Communications Act or any FCC Rules, that he could be subject to severe penalties. On February 27, 2007, in response to continued complaints, a Seattle agent again located the source of a signal on 146.340 MHz to coming from Grinton's residence. This time the agent recorded 17 minutes of a continuous transmission of one-way communications of music alleged to be transmitted by Grinton on 146.340 MHz. And during the period of January 19th to June 23rd the agent monitored 146.340 MHz and observed 163 transmissions by Grinton in which he failed to transmit his assigned call. Now, based on the Commission's Forfeiture Policy Statement the FCC has fined Grinton $4000 for unauthorized emissions. It also tacked on another $3000 for Grinton's alleged multiple failures to properly I-D. Jim- -- The Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Grinton was issued on September 25th. He was given the usual 30 days to pay the $7000 fine or to file an appeal. (FCC) ** BREAK 1 From the United States of America, We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the Reading Club station W3BN serving Reading Pennsylvania. (5 sec pause here) ** HAM RADIO AND SCOUTING: JOTA 2007 OCT 20 - 21 The 50th anniversary of Scouting's Jamboree on the Air is scheduled for October 20th and 21st .. JOTA at it is known is the largest official scouting event in the world, with an expected 500,000 participants this year. Amateur Radio Newsline's Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, is himself a big supporter of the scouting movement and has this preview of JOTA 2007; -- The event is sponsored by the World Scout Bureau of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Radio amateurs bridge the continents and the miles using their radios to help young people gathered at their QTH connect with young people in another community, another state or another country. Typically, in the United States, ham operators hook up with their local Boy and Girl Scout councils to set up stations at camping events, camporees, or Scout camps. In other cases, hams open their shacks to groups to come in to take part. That's right, this is an event open to boys and girls in the Scouting movement and Girl Guides, too. Here in the United States, the K2BSA call sign of the national Boy Scouts of America will be heard in a number of call areas. You'll also hear other variations of the BSA call held by Scout groups as you tune up and down the band. There are also activities at the HB9S, the headquarters of the World Scout Bureau in Geneva, and GB2GP, from Gilwell Park in the United Kingdom. It's a special year for the Boy Scouts of the world as well as this is the 100th anniversary of the founding of the movement by Lord Robert Baden Powell. The thing to remember is this isn't a contest; it's not designed to work as many stations as possible. It's really aimed at introducing young people to the capabilities of amateur radio whether it be SSB or even the digital modes such as PSK-31. The bottom line: We as amateurs need to make it a fun experience. You'd be amazed at how many youngsters are "mike shy" and need some prompting when they're offered a chance to get on the air. Have a sheet of paper prepared at the camporee or in the shack which asks the guest operator to write their first name, their rank in Scouting, their home town, and their hobbies, maybe their pets. You'll need to act as control operator to make sure the QSO goes smoothly. Also, it's important for U.S. operators to brush on third-party agreements among the countries. You'll find more about them in the JOTA section of the American Radio Relay League website. http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/reg.../3rdparty.html JOTA can be a rewarding experience for the operator, too. And, it can spark interest in the next generation of amateur radio operators. From eastern Pennsylvania, listen for KC3BSA - the call sign of Venture Crew 59 from the Hawk Mountain Council at the Hawk Mountain Scout Reservation. We'll be operating from the Cub Scout Tiger Day event. Hope to hear you and your Scouts on the air! For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Mark Abramowicz, NT3V, in Philadelphia. -- For more information on your nearest station take your web browser to www.scout.org/jota (ARNewsline(tm)) ** RESCUE RADIO: W4WYT INJURED IN GYROCOPTER CRASH A Blacksburg, Virginia, ham is in critical condition after the gyroplane ne was piloting crashed, killing his passenger. On Saturday, October 6th, Ranson Pelt Jr, W4WYT, was flying the ultra-light aircraft on what witnesses say was a sightseeing trip when it fell to the ground and caught fire in a residential neighborhood. According to the Roanoke Times on-line, neighbors described seeing the gyroplane or gyrocopter -- a two-seat aircraft similar to a helicopter -- circle above the neighborhood about 1 p.m. before dropping to the ground behind a house and bursting into flames. Some who rushed to the scene found the Pelt reaching into the flames to free the passenger from the wreckage. According to a witness identified as Kirk Cowser, helpers had to restrain Pelt as he begged the them to get the woman out of the wreck. The unidentified passenger died in the blaze. Pelt was eventually airlifted first to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital and then transferred to the University of Virginia Medical Center. He was last reported in critical but stable condition. Pelt's crash was the 14th aircraft accident in Blacksburg since 1962, but the first fatal one. The Federal Aviation Administration has been called in to investigate. (Roanoke Times On-Line, eHam.net) ** ENFORCEMENT: APPLE I PHONE UPDATE THWARTS CELL CARRIER HACKS If you own an Apple I Phone that's been hacked to operate on any cell carrier than ATT, you likely now own a very expensive door stop. One that will no longer let you make phone calls. PC on-line says that the I Phone 1.1.1 update, released on Thursday, September 27th, disabled phones that had been hacked so to work with providers other than AT&T. AT&T is the only U.S. cellular provider Apple has allowed to carry its mobile phones and users of hacked units are reporting that the new update is making previously unlocked I Phones unusable. . In recent weeks, a number of software tools have been developed to allow I Phone users to break away from Apple's AT&T-only restriction, but Apple has said that it would fight any attempts to unlock the iPhone. Several weeks ago the company released a warning that unlocking the unit would likely result in the modified I Phone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied automatic software updates are installed. This has now happened and modified phone will not operate even if a legitimate AT&T SIM card is re-installed. SIM is an acronym for Subscriber Identity Module. That's the memory chip that contains account information and are used to authenticate devices on certain types of mobile networks. Unlocked I Phones had been able to use SIM cards from non-AT&T networks. (Science OnLine) ** RADIO LAW: SOME IN CONGRESS FEAR DISASTROUS OUTCOME OF DTV CUTOVER Some United States lawmakers are worried that too few Americans know that the analog television sets they have been using for years could become big cathode-ray paperweights after February 18, 2009. That's when broadcasters are mandated to shut off their analog signals and transmit only digital. During a recent Senate Commerce Committee hearing examining the government-mandated transition to digital TV, lawmakers aired their views that too little was being done to get the message to Americans. They cite a poll released in January by the Association for Public Television Stations that indicates 61% of respondents had no idea the digital transition was going to take place. Of those that did know, most were not aware of a $40 per unit government subsidy that will be offered on the purchase of converter boxes that will permit current analog sets to display digitally transmitted pictures. An even bigger problem is where to buy a set top digital converter box. While there are several companies including Philips and Motorola making them, they seem to be scarcer than hens teeth in the current consumer electronics marketplace. Few of the on-line sellers have them and we have yet to have a reporter walk into a brick and mortar establishment and find one on the shelf. And if you ask a salesman for help, he will likely try to sell you a new T-V rather than finding you the converter box you want. Good luck on February 18, 2009 if you receive your television for free over the air. ** CHANGING TECHNOLOGY: THE END OF TIME IN SOCAL It's the end of time in southern California. At least as far as AT&T is concerned. A brief note in customers' bills declared that "Effective September 2007, Time of Day information service will be discontinued." What this means is that people throughout southern California will no longer be able to call 853-1212 to hear a woman's recorded voice stating that, "At the tone, Pacific Daylight Time will be...." Check for details http://tinyurl.com/ytsjkd (CGC) ** NAMES IN THE NEWS: VE7DXD ELECTED NEW BC SECTION MANAGER Mike Hale, VE7DXD, has been elected British Columbia Section Manager for a two-year term of office that begins November 1st. Hale was elected through mail-in ballot by a two-vote margin. He replaces out-going Section Manager Drew Watson, VA7DR. A spokesman for Radio Amateurs of Canada says that the very close election results indicate that both men enjoy wide recognition and support in British Columbia Section. (RAC) ** THE SOCIAL SCENE: AMSAT NA SPACE SYMPOSIUM - OCT 26 - 28 IN PA The 2007 AMSAT Space Symposium will be held at the Pittsburgh Airport Marriott Hotel on Friday, October 26th through Sunday, October 28th. Among the events planned will be technical forums focusing on the latest planning and technology of Amateur Radio in space along with technical demonstrations of prototype flight hardware and software for the upcoming AMSAT Eagle ham satellite. Also planned are discussions and demonstrations of SuitSat-2, ARISS and AO-51. This year AMSAT is also focusing efforts to attract local middle and high school students to the Saturday sessions. To accomplish this some special programs were put on the agenda and invitations were made to local Pittsburgh area science teachers. Also taking place will be the annual AMSAT-North America Annual General Meeting and the AMSAT-North America Board of Directors Meeting. This means that AMSAT Directors and Officers will be available to answer attendee questions More information on this years AMSAT North America Space Symposium is in cyberspace at www.amsat.org (ANS) ** BREAK 2 This is ham radio news for today's radio amateur. From the Auckland New Zealand and 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) ** RADIO IN SPACE: CELEBRATING THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF SPUTNIK 1 Its been a half century since the race to the final frontier began. That was in October of 1957 with the launch of Sputnik 1. Jim Linton, VK3PC, takes us back in time: -- Confirmation that the Soviet Union had launched the first man-made earth orbiting satellite came with a radio signal that was heard half a century ago last Thursday, October the 4th. Around the world amateur radio enthusiasts picked up the satellite's beacon signal on a frequency of 20.007MHz. Now let's listen to how Sputnik 1's weak signal was heard in October 1957 as it orbited once every 96 minutes. -- Actual Sputnik 1 Audio -- Its history making orbit of earth had a permanent impact on many of today's baby-boomers, whose interest in space and technology was awakened by Sputnik 1, the true beginning of man's space exploration. For the Amateur Radio Newsline' I'm Jim Linton, VK3PC -- A number of radio amateurs had their five minutes of fame through media reports of their claims of hearing the satellite. Others had a house full of friends and neighbors drop by at the oddest hours to hear the radio signal from the first man made object in space. But it does not end there. One day shy of a month after Sputnik 1 made history as the world's first man-made satellite, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2. This time, in addition to radio transmitters like that of its predecessor, the satellite carried the first animal into orbit. A dog named Laika (WIA News) ** HAM RADIO IN SPACE: A NEW SCHOOL CONTACT RECORD At 1832 UTC, on Wednesday October 10th students at the Isummasaqvik School in Quaqtag, Canada successfully contacted Clay Anderson on the International Space Station. Anderson answered all 20 questions prepared plus 2 more before the ISS went out of range of the ARISS volunteer ground station ON4ISS in Belgium. This marked the 39th school contact for a member of the Expedition 15 crew and surpasses the previous record of 38 set by Expedition 12. Contributors to the Exp. 15 record include Astronauts and Cosmonauts Sunita Williams, Fyodor Yurchikhin and Clay Anderson. (ANS) ** RADIO IN SPACE: AEGIS - MAPPING THE SKY Radio is part of a massive project to map a distant region of the Universe in multiple wavelengths. AEGIS, an acronym for the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey combines the efforts of nearly 100 researchers from around the world observing the same small region of sky in all available wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. The target area, called the Extended Groth Strip, covers an area the width of four full moons just past the end of the Big Dipper's handle. The AEGIS region has now been surveyed more intensively from visible light through x-rays and the radio spectrum using more telescopes and radio telescopes than any other region of the sky. The first information derived from this experiment is now bring released to the public using the capabilities of Google Sky. This is a new feature of Google Earth. (Science Daily) ** WORLDBEAT - SOUTH AFRICA: SARL PRESIDENT ADDRESSES COLLEGE TEACHERS In news from around the world, the president of the South Africa Radio League has told his nations educators that ham radio can be an important teaching tool. Addressing a group of teachers who attended a training course for Further Education and Training arranged by the Department of Communications, Graham Hartlett, ZS6GJH, cited amateur radio not just as a fun pastime, but as an activity that has a positive outcome on the further training of young people in the disciplines of science, engineering and technology. Hartlett said that Amateur Radio can make a valuable contribution in a students career choice. It also has the ability to teach basic technical and communication skills that will equip young people to render services to their community such as disaster communication and communication during large sporting events. The objective of the course where Hartlett spoke is to train teachers to take amateur radio into their colleges and universities. (SARL) ** WORLDBEAT - UK: A COLOSSUS CODE BREAKING EVENT To celebrate the completion of the British-built World War 2 decrypting machine called the Colossus Mark 2, there will be an on the air ham radio operating event on November 15th and 16th. And in this one the challenge is truly complex. Here's how it goes. A series of messages will be enciphered on a World War 2 Lorenz cipher machine. They will then be transmitted using six tone RTTY from the Heinz Nixdorf Computer Museum in Paderborn, Germany. The challenge is for anyone to break the cipher settings and decipher these messages before the rebuilt Colossus Mark 2 at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom does it. The Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society which is based at Bletchley Park has already been involved in making test transmissions with the Heinz Nixdorf Computer Museum. The actual frequencies, tones for Mark are 900, 1620 and 2340 hertz. For Space they are 540, 1260 and 1980 hertz. At airtime the operating frequencies for the event have not been announced. Bletchley Park is the historic site of secret British code breaking activities during World War Two and the birthplace of the modern computer. More is on-line at http://www.codesandciphers.org.uk/cevent.ht (Southgate, GB2RS) ** DX In D-X, DL2AH, will be on the air from the Juan Fernandez Islands from March 18th to April 7th, 2008 operating portable C-E-Zero-Z. Activity will be holiday style on 40 through 10 meters mainly on SSB and RTTY using a FT-897. QSL via DL2AH, direct or by the Bureau. Also, listen out for hams in Syria to use the special prefix 6C60 during the period from October 15th to November 15th. This, to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Amateur Radio in Syria. Operations will be on all of the High Frequency bands. QSL as directed on the air. And W2GB, will be active from Jamaica as 6Y0B from October 23rd to the 30th. He states that he will be active before and after the CQ World Wide DX SSB Contest not jut during it. QSL direct to W2GB. Lastly, G0UIH, will be active as VK2IAY/4 from Great Keppel Island from December 16th to the 2nd. As with his previous DXpeditions the main operation will be centered around 14 point 260 MHz, but with some possibility of time spent on 17 and 15 meters as well. QSL either direct or via the bureau. (Above from various DX Newsletters and other sources) ** THAT FINAL ITEMS: SHOES THAT SIGN APRS IN THE NIGHT And finally this week the story of some shoes. Not your ordinary footwear. These are women's platform shoes that are equipped with A-P-R-S technology. But even the developer of says that these shoes are not for everybody. Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, reports on the latest electronic footwear walking the streets: -- The Aphrodite Project bills itself as a series of new media artworks inspired by the cult of Aphrodite. Its website notes that the Aphrodite Project consists of three multi-media artworks called Sanctuary, Platforms, and Kestos Imas. And it's the Platforms or platform shoes that have hit home at ham radio. Website advertising for the shoes says that safety is one of the main concerns of contemporary urban sex workers. To help protect those wearing them, each sandal will have an audible alarm system, which emits a piercing noise to scare off attackers. The shoes are also outfitted with a built in GPS receiver and an emergency button that relays both location and a silent alarm signal to public emergency services using the Automatic Position Reporting System. The Aphrodite Project website says that use of position awareness and transmission systems to aid communities was inspired by the Automatic Position Reporting System. It says that APRS uses Amateur Radio to transmit position reports, weather reports, and messages between users. It also claims that APRS is free and open to the public. To be clear, the website does not say where in the RF spectrum these shoes will operate. At the same time it does not say that they will not appears on bands like 2 meters, 220 or 70 cm where hams have established APRS networks. It just says that the technology is borrowed from ham radio. So will these shoes with their APRS transponders soon start showing up on ham radio frequencies? We have tried to compact the Aphrodite Project to find out. As of airtime there has been no response from the group. For the Amateur radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. -- More about these APRS equipped shoes and whom they were designed for is on-line at http://theaphroditeproject.tv/ (CGC, Science OnLine, The Aphrodite Project) ** 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 WIA 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 Meachen, ZL2BHF saying 73 from Auckland, New Zealand and we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2007. All rights reserved. --- SPECIAL REPORT ON THE DISPUTED ARRL SOUTHWESTERN DIVISION ELECTION This is a special report on the disputed ARRL Southwestern Division Election. Hers Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF: -- The American Radio Relay League's Executive Committee has issued an in-depth explanation as to why it decided to uphold the Ethics and Election Committee's decision to disqualify Carl Gardenias, WU6D, as a candidate for Director of the organization's Southwestern Division. Amateur Radio Newsline's Don Carlson, KQ6FM, has seen it and has the key points: -- As previously reported, in late September the League's Ethics and Elections Committee declared Carl Gardenias, WU6D, disqualified to stand for election in the Southwestern Division race. Over the weekend of October 6th and 7th, the ARRL Executive Committee met in Little Rock, Arkansas. One item on their agenda was the appeal filed by Gardenias concerning his disqualification. What follows are the key points the ARRL's Executive Committee's summary of the decision affirming the decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee. The Executive Committee release states that a series of subsequent actions and inactions, by and on behalf of Carl Gardenias, WU6D, is what led the Ethics and Elections Committee to disqualify him as a candidate and to declare the one remaining eligible candidate, Dick Norton, N6AA, re-elected. WU6D subsequently appealed this decision to the ARRL Executive Committee. After conducting its own rather in-depth investigation the Executive Committee found that the series of events began on August 30th. That's when Carl Gardenias' wife Cathy, K6VC, identifying herself as Assistant Section Manager responsible for the Orange Section newsletter, asked ARRL Secretary Dave Sumner, K1ZZ to review an article about the division election for the section newsletter. Sumner responded, pointing out several changes that should be made. On September 3rd, Dave Sumner received an inquiry from Dick Norton forwarding a copy of an e-mail signed by Cathy Gardenias that had been sent on September 1st using an an e-mail address that is used by both Carl and Cathy Gardenias. That e-mail had gone to 22 addressees in the Orange as well as other Southwestern Division Sections. The e-mail contained the article with the requested changes made. But says the Executive Committee, material not reviewed by Dave Sumner had been added along with the unauthorized and inaccurate statement, quote: "Approved by the ARRL k1ZZ." The Executive Committee says that this additional material, having to do with candidates' Web sites, was incomplete and in any case was not appropriate for inclusion in an official ARRL communication. This, because of restrictions on the distribution of campaign material via official channels. Early on September 4th, Director Norton filed a complaint with the Ethics and Elections Committee on the basis of the September 1st message and sent copies to both Carl and Cathy Gardenias. Norton proposed several remedies, none of which included disqualification. Later that day, Cathy Gardenias purportedly sent e-mails to a number of addressees with -- quote -- "Corrections to information sent out on August 28, 2007 regarding up coming elections." The ARRL says that the reference to August 28th was erroneous and caused some confusion. The Executive Committee says that WU6D later confirmed that the message had been sent to some other addressees on August 30th and 31st, it had not been sent as early as August 28th. Neither did the September 4th message correct everything that was wrong with the original message. The Ethics and Elections Committee met by teleconference on Tuesday evening, September 4th, to discuss several matters including Dick Norton's complaint. Under ARRL election rules, a standard of truth applies to all mailings by candidates. The committee concluded that the appropriate remedy in this case was to require Carl Gardenias to distribute specific text of a correction and apology to everyone who had received the original message, including addressees who were not known to the committee. On September 5th Dave Sumner communicated specific instructions to Carl Gardenias. WU6D acknowledged. He also said -- and we quote: "Thank you. Cathy has already made the corrections to Los Angeles, Orange and Arizona and will finish San Diego and Santa Barbara tomorrow." At that point it appeared that the matter was well on its way to a resolution. Unfortunately, no evidence appeared over the next two days that the correction ordered by the committee actually had been distributed. On Friday, September 7th, Dave Sumner sent a follow-up message to Carl Gardenias requesting copies of the corrective e-mails, showing the addressees. An unsigned e-mail from came back almost immediately saying -- and again we quote: "Okay on Monday we are at the convention." Dave Sumner replied, "Carl, I hope this means that on Monday you will send me a copy of the message that was sent soon after the Ethics and Elections Committee ordered that it be sent, last Wednesday. You acknowledged that instruction on the same day it was sent. A delay of several days in complying would not be acceptable to the committee." The ARRL ays that nothing more was received from Gardenias over the next several days. Having received no evidence that its instructions had been complied with, the Ethics and Elections Committee voted unanimously to disqualify Carl Gardenias. It also asked Dave Sumner to convey its decision to Gardenias. He did so by e-mail on September 13th. The decision was announced on the ARRL Web site on September 14th. Also on that day, two messages of protest from Carl Gardenias were received by Dave Sumner. On Monday, September 17th , Carl Gardenias filed an appeal with the ARRL Executive Committee. The appeal included a copy of the message forwarded to Dave Sumner on the previous Friday except that the date line read "Sent: Friday, September 07, 2007 10:30 PM." The Executive Committee then requested that Sumner try to determine whether any of the addressees had actually received the message that Carl Gardenias claimed had been sent on or about September 7th. K1ZZ sent separate messages to each of the other 22 addressees, except for two that clearly were bad. Of the remaining 20, 11 responded that they definitely had not received the message. Two others recalled seeing messages related to the election but could not say that they had seen the specific message in question. The others did not respond. Some addressees did provide copies of a different "correction" message from Cathy Gardenias dated September 11th. The text of this message was inconsistent with the instructions that were given by the Ethics and Elections Committee on September 5th and that Carl Gardenias claimed on September 14th had been complied with on September 5th or 6th and later changed to September 7th. On September 26, ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, and General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, contacted Carl Gardenias by telephone to seek clarification of the apparent discrepancies. Gardenias reportedly said that the first time he understood exactly what the Ethics and Elections Committee had instructed him to do was when Arizona Section Manager Tom Fagan, WB7NXH, explained it to him at the convention. Gardenias claimed that he used Fagan's laptop to send the corrective message from the convention. In a separate conversation, Fagan said that he observed Carl and Cathy Gardenias prepare the corrective e-mail using his laptop. The discrepancy in dates and the fact that none of the addressees appears to have received the message have not been explained. The Committee report goes on to state that while Carl Gardenias has acknowledged the instruction to send the specific corrective message to everyone who received the original message, he has not produced evidence nor has he claimed that the correction was sent to anyone other than the 22 addressees on the September 1st message. On September 27th the Executive Committee met by teleconference and voted unanimously, based on its own independent review, to affirm the decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee to disqualify Carl Gardenias as a candidate for Director of the ARRL Southwestern Division. This decision was communicated to WU6D on October 1st, along with detailed "Findings of Fact and Conclusions" of the committee. In summary, the Executive Committee says that had the instructions of the Ethics and Elections Committee been followed on September 5th or reasonably soon thereafter -- as Gardenias said at the time would be done -- the Southwestern Division Director election would have proceeded normally. It says that the responsibility for failure to do so rests with the candidate. The Executive Committee also states that it was not necessary for it to decide whether the failure was intentional or merely the result of negligence in order to affirm the decision of the Ethics and Elections Committee. However, the committee also concludes that the discrepancies in the Gardenias' various claims and explanations are troubling and might well provide a separate and independent basis for disqualification. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Don Carlson, KQ6FM, in Reno. -- Meantime, Cathy Gardenias, K6VC, the wife of disqualified candidate Carl Gardenias, WU6D, has responded to the ARRL Executive Committee findings. In a posting on the QRZ.com website, Mr. Gardenias expresses her belief -- and we quote -- "that evidence was presented to Mr. Sumner as secretary for the Election and Ethics committee and Executive Committee via his e-mail address and some of the evidence appears to have not been received by the Executive Committee." Mrs. Gardenias also addresses several unanswered questions. This includes asking why the League keeps insisting that the Gardenias's used the ARRL server and website when they say that they did not do so. K6VC claims the ARRL report is presented that way to make it appear as if they did something dishonest or misleading using their positions in the League's Orange Section which she says is defiantly not the case. K6VC also expresses her view that the ARRL does not mean anything to her anymore. That she no longer believes in it and find that it cannot be trusted to represent the Amateur Radio community. She says that it only represents an organization of what she describes as "Good Ole Boys." This she says is sad because we will be the losers. Her complete statement and the comments of others both pro and con are at: http://www.qrz.com/ib-bin/ikonboard.cgi?s{31e2b3b41709267de508588be912a9 ;act=ST;f=3;t0569;st% -- This has been a special report on the disputed election in the ARRL Southwestern Division. This newscast is copyright 2007. All rights are reserved. |
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