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The ARRL Letter

Published by the American Radio Relay League
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July 22, 2010

Editor: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA

ARRL Home Page http://www.arrl.org/ARRL Letter Archive
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/Audio News
http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ IN THIS ISSUE

- + Public Service: FCC Modifies Rules to Allow Limited Employee
Participation in Disaster and Emergency Drills
- + ARRL Board of Directors Holds Second 2010 Meeting
- ARRL CEO Presented with "BPL Spoils" Award
- + FCC: Vanity Call Sign Fees to Decrease August 17
- + Spotlight on Scouting: Connect with the National Scout Jamboree via
Amateur Radio
- + Solar Update
- This Week on the Radio

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

== + PUBLIC SERVICE: FCC MODIFIES RULES TO ALLOW LIMITED EMPLOYEE
PARTICIPATION IN DISASTER AND EMERGENCY DRILLS

In a Report and Order (R&O) released Wednesday, July 14, the FCC
amended Part 97.113 to allow amateurs to participate without an FCC
waiver in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills on behalf
of their employers participating in the exercise. The FCC also has
amended the rules to allow employees to participate in non-government
drills and exercises up to one hour per week and up to two 72 hour
periods during the year. The effective date of the R&O is to be
determined and will be 30 days after its publication in the Federal
Register. Read more here
http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-modifie...articipation-i
n-disaster-and-emergency-drills-on-behalf-of-an-e.

== + ARRL BOARD OF DIRECTORS HOLDS SECOND 2010 MEETING

The ARRL Board of Directors held its Second Meeting of 2010 July
16-17 in Windsor, Connecticut, under the chairmanship of President Kay
Craigie, N3KN. The Board considered and acted on a number of
organizational, regulatory and operating issues, including the
following: Approved a campaign to celebrate the 75th anniversary of
ARES® that is designed to promote and increase awareness of this
valuable program; allowed candidates for Division Director and Division
Vice Director to submit petitions via e-mail or facsimile; clarified
the VHF rules to allow monochromatic sources (such as laser or LED) to
count for contest credit, as long as the laser power is less than 5 mW;
voted in favor of allowing the Montenegrin Amateur Radio Pool (MARP) to
join the IARU as that country's Member-Society, and acknowledged those
ARRL staff members who also serve as Volunteer Examiners. The Board
also received reports from committees and individuals on a wide range
of subjects, and conferred several awards on deserving nominees. A more
in-depth report on the Board's actions, including the official Meeting
Minutes, will be posted in the coming days.

== ARRL CEO PRESENTED WITH "BPL SPOILS" AWARD

During the Friday morning portion of the July 2010 ARRL Board
meeting, ARRL Chief Executive Officer Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, received a
surprise plaque from the Amateur Radio Research and Development
Corporation (AMRAD http://www.amrad.org/). Titled "BPL Spoils," the
plaque featured a discarded BPL
http://www.arrl.org/broadband-over-powerline-bpl modem that was
rescued from surplus equipment belonging to a manufacturer that had
decided to exit the BPL business. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Brennan
Price, N4QX, presented the plaque to Sumner in recognition of his and
the ARRL staff's tireless work against radio interference generated by
BPL systems.

== + FCC: VANITY CALL SIGN FEES TO DECREASE AUGUST 17

On July 19, the FCC announced via the Federal Register
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-17331.pdf that the cost
of a 10 year Amateur Radio vanity call sign will decrease 10 cents,
from $13.40 to $13.30. The new fees take effect 30 days after
publication, making August 17, 2010, the first day the new fee is in
effect. In FY2010, the FCC anticipates granting 14,800 vanity call
signs, bringing in $196,840 from the vanity call sign program. Earlier
this year, the FCC released
http://www.arrl.org/news/fcc-looks-to-lower-fees-for-vanity-call-signs
a Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Order (NPRM
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-10-51A1.pdf),
seeking to lower the fee for Amateur Radio vanity call signs. The
notice in the July 19, 2010 edition of the Federal Register -- entitled
"Assessment and Collection of Regulatory Fees for Fiscal Year 2010;
Final Rule" -- includes all FCC regulatory fees; these fees are
expected to recover a total of $336,712,213 during FY2010, encompassing
all the Services the FCC regulates. The FCC is authorized by the
Communications Act of 1934, As Amended, to collect vanity call sign
fees to recover the costs associated with that program. The vanity call
sign regulatory fee is payable not only when applying for a new vanity
call sign, but also upon renewing a vanity call sign for a new 10 year
term.

== + SPOTLIGHT ON SCOUTING: CONNECT WITH THE NATIONAL SCOUT JAMBOREE
VIA AMATEUR RADIO

The National Scout Jamboree takes place July 26-August 4 at Fort AP
Hill, Caroline County, Virginia. A myriad of exhibits and activities
await the close to 40,000 Scouts, leaders and staff. Coming from all 50
states -- and even territories and foreign countries -- they will have
the opportunity to live, work and play together in an atmosphere of
Scouting fellowship. And just like the National Scout Jamborees in
1973, 1981, 1985, 1989, 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2005, the 2010 event will
feature Amateur Radio.

http://www.arrl.org/images/view/News/k2bsa-layout-ants.JPG A team
of 17 Scouters and two Scouts will activate K2BSA as a demonstration
station at the Jamboree. According to K2BSA Staff Member Larry
Wolfgang, WR1B, they will be demonstrating various operating modes to
the visiting Scouts, with activity primarily on HF, around the
published Scout frequencies. Wolfgang is the ARRL Liaison to the
National Scout Jamboree. Another group of 17 Scouters and one Scout
will assist other Scouts in earning the Radio merit badge, while seven
Scouters will be offering classes and will help administer Amateur
Radio licensing exams. Read more here
http://www.arrl.org/news/connect-wit...ree-via-amateu
r-radio.

== 2010 MARKS NINTH YEAR FOR ARRL PARTICIPATION IN COMBINED FEDERAL
CAMPAIGN

For the ninth year running, the US Office of Personnel Management
has designated the ARRL to participate in the 2010 Combined Federal
Campaign (CFC). In the past, this campaign for federal government
civilian employees, US Postal Service workers and members of the
military has generated almost $140,000 for ARRL programs since it first
became an option for giving by federal employees to the League. The CFC
provides an easy way to support ARRL's effort to represent its members
and all radio amateurs. Read more here
http://www.arrl.org/news/2010-marks-...ipation-in-com
bined-federal-campaign.

== + QUICKSTATS TO DEBUT ON WEB AND QST

Member polls have returned to the ARRL Web, but with a twist. Rather
than a single weekly poll, the new QuickStats page at
http://www.arrl.org/quickstats offers several polls at once with new
questions every 30 days. The results will be published in QST beginning
with the October issue. Start by visiting the QuickStats page
http://www.arrl.org/quickstats now. Be sure to bookmark it in your
browser! Watch for poll results in the special QST QuickStats page in
the rear advertising section of the magazine. Along with monthly poll
results, QST QuickStats offers colorful charts and graphs that
highlight interesting Amateur Radio statistics.

== + SOLAR UPDATE

Tad "The moon gazed on my midnight labours, while, with unrelaxed
and breathless eagerness, I pursued nature to her hiding-places
http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/chapter-04.html
"
Cook, K7RA, reports: Increasing sunspot activity has dominated the past
few days. Sunspot group 1087 has been visible for 13 days, but the size
has gradually decreased. Over the past seven days, in millionths of a
solar hemisphere, it was 60, 50, 20, 10, 10, 10 and 10. On July 19, new
sunspot group 1089 appeared quite strongly over the eastern horizon,
with an expanding relative size of 130, 150 and 310 for July 19-21. The
predicted solar flux is 90 on each day from July 22-28, which is quite
strong, considering that the average daily solar flux for each of the
past four weeks was 73.9, 72.8, 79.2 and 80.6. There is a slight
predicted rise in geomagnetic activity, with a predicted planetary A
index of 8, 10, 10, 8, 8, 10 and 10 from July 22-28. Look for more
information -- including updated predictions, 6 and 10 meter news and
an item from NASA about the collapsing thermosphere during this
extended solar minimum -- on the ARRL Web site on Friday, July 23. For
more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical
Information Service Propagation page
http://www.arrl.org/propagation-of-rf-signals. This week's "Tad
Cookism" -- in honor of the 41st anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon
landing -- is brought to you by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
http://www.literature.org/authors/shelley-mary/frankenstein/index.html
(Chapter 4).

== THIS WEEK ON THE RADIO

This week, there is a running of the NCCC Sprint Ladder on July 23. The
RSGB Islands on the Air (IOTA) Contest is July 24-25 and the SKCC
Sprint July 28. Next week, there is another running of the NCCC Sprint
Ladder on July 30. The SARL HF Phone Contest is August 1. The ARS
Spartan Sprint is August 3 and the QRP Fox Hunt is August 4. All dates,
unless otherwise stated, are UTC. See the ARRL Contest Branch page
http://www.arrl.org/contests, the ARRL Contest Update
http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update and the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Events Station Web page
http://www.arrl.org/special-events.

== ARRL CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE REGISTRATION

Registration remains open through Sunday, July 25, 2010, for this
online course session http://www.arrl.org/online-course-registration
beginning on Friday, August 6, 2010: Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications Level 1. To learn more, visit the CEP Course Listing
page http://www.arrl.org/online-courses or contact the Continuing
Education Program Coordinator .

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