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January 21, 2000
IN THIS EDITION:
* +Jim Haynie, W5JBP, tapped as ARRL President
* +ARISS alters plans to put ham radio in space
* +FCC continues South Carolina exam probe
* +JAWSAT launch to be rescheduled
* +League officials welcome new ARRL section
* +Spread spectrum inventor, actress Hedy Lamarr, SK
* Solar update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
Field Day scores available in traditional format
+1999 outgoing QSL stats reflect increased activity
+Exams a-plenty at Miami Hamboree
Ham Radio University 2000
Pending restructuring sparks bumper crop, confusion at VE session
Ham radio question makes Millionaire
VE5AQ gets Canadian Hall of Fame Award
Australia authorizes special prefix
+Available on ARRL Audio News
__________________________________
ARRL BOARD ELECTS NEW PRESIDENT, OFFICERS
Jim D. Haynie, W5JBP, of Dallas, Texas, will be the next president of
the ARRL. The ARRL Board of Directors elected Haynie January 21
shortly after convening in Memphis, Tennessee. Haynie, 56, is
currently the ARRL West Gulf Division Director. He will succeed Rod
Stafford, W6ROD, to become the League's 13th president.
Calling the recently announced FCC restructuring plan "a positive
thing," Haynie said his presidency will focus on the future of Amateur
Radio, and he suggested amateurs take the opportunity to regroup. "Now
that restructuring is behind us, I think it's time for all
amateurs--League members and nonmembers alike--to pull together to see
what we can do to make our hobby a thriving and vibrant hobby."
The President-elect pledged to work with the Board, his fellow officers, and
with all amateurs to bring respect to Amateur Radio and to enhance its
stature here and abroad. "I think it's time the League started changing," he
said. "I think there's a lot we can do." While not offering specific
programs at this point, Haynie said he favors even greater promotion of
Amateur Radio, especially among youth and in schools. He also said he'd like
to see programs to rekindle interest and activity among current licensees.
"The best interest for Amateur Radio as a whole is where the League Board of
Directors stand, and it's certainly where I stand," he said.
A ham for 27 years and an ARRL Board member for 12 years, Haynie says
Amateur Radio is his "escape" from the world of industry and commerce. An
Advanced class licensee, Haynie has been a manufacturer's representative in
the metals business for 30 years and runs his own firm in Dallas. He also
currently chairs the ARRL Board Administration and Finance Committee.
The Board also elected new vice presidents. Vice President Joel Harrison,
W5ZN, was elevated to First Vice President. Current Atlantic Division
Director Kay Craigie, WT3P, and Roanoke Division Director John Kanode, N4MM,
were picked as Vice Presidents. Current Vice President Hugh Turnbull, W3ABC,
was elected Honorary Vice President.
ARRL President Rod Stafford, W6ROD, was elected to succeed past ARRL
president Larry Price, W4RA, as International Affairs Vice President. Price
now serves as president of the International Amateur Radio Union and did not
seek re-election.
Haynie said the League Vice Presidents would become "more like a strike
team" during his term. "They're part of the team," he said.
Reelected as League officers were Treasurer James McCobb, W1LLU; Chief
Financial Officer Barry Shelley, N1VXY; and Secretary and Executive Vice
President David Sumner, K1ZZ.
Haynie's election means that West Gulf Vice Director Coy Day, N5OK, will
succeed Haynie as Director. The changes also mean that Atlantic Division
Vice Director Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, and Roanoke Vice Director Dennis Bodson,
W4PWF, will become Directors. The vacancies in the Vice Directors' seats
will be filled by appointment.
As do other ARRL officers, the League's president serves as an unpaid
volunteer. All League officers-elect formally will assume their positions
when the Board meeting concludes January 22. All terms are for two years.
In other business, the Board plans to discuss the implications of the FCC's
recently announced license restructuring plan that goes into effect April
15, 2000. In a related vein, the Board will hear the second installment of a
report from ARRL Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, on Amateur
Radio in the year 2010 and beyond. Sumner's report will expand on one of the
themes of his preliminary report delivered to the Board in July 1999:
voluntary certification programs to encourage continuing education and
skills development by radio amateurs above and beyond the licensing
requirements.
The Board also will hear plans to enhance the League's presence on the World
Wide Web.
RUSSIAN SETBACKS ALTER PLANS FOR AMATEUR RADIO'S ISS DEBUT
Despite launch delays, Amateur Radio will be available to the first crew
members to live on the International Space Station, thanks to some quick
shuffling of plans by those involved with the Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station project. Initial ham gear now will be installed
temporarily aboard the Functional Cargo Block module, already in space,
instead of aboard the Service Module. The station would use existing non-ham
antennas that can function on 2 meters.
Flaws recently revealed in the Russian Proton booster rocket further put off
the launch of the Zvezda (or "Star") Service Module that was to house
initial ISS crews and initial amateur gear.
An all-ham initial ISS crew and the amateur gear could go into space as
early as this summer, instead of this spring as planned. Original ARISS
plans had called for installation of basic VHF-UHF amateur gear and antennas
aboard the Service Module.
Russian space agency chief Yuri Koptev said this week that Russia plans to
put the Service Module into space at the end of July. But Koptev also
indicated that his country will need additional financial help to cover the
costs of its space endeavors. Those projects include rejuvenating the aging
Mir space station.
"Our ham equipment eventually will be installed in the Service Module,"
explained ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White,
WA1STO--a member of the SAREX Working Group. White says the shift in ARISS
plans meant the US and Russian ISS partners have had to tackle some new
issues, including connectors, feed lines, and attachment within the
Functional Cargo Block. Russian qualification testing for gear that will fly
in the Russian module was said to be nearly complete this week.
White will report in detail on the ARISS project's status to the ARRL Board
of Directors, meeting this weekend in Memphis.
The first ISS crew includes US astronaut Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian
Cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and the recently licensed Yuri Gaidzenko,
whose call sign was not available. Shepherd's designated backup is astronaut
Ken Bowersox, who just passed his Amateur Radio exam this month.
The SWG has tapped John Nickel, WD5EEV, to be Project Manager of ARISS.
He'll work with SAREX Principal Investigator Matt Bordelon, KC5BTL. Nickel
was SAREX Principal Investigator before he retired from NASA.
In her report to the ARRL Board, White said the multinational ARISS project
has generated a new dimension of challenges and difficulties. "If someone
had asked how much work it would take to have Amateur Radio onboard the
International Space Station, the SAREX Working Group would have never even
come close to guessing the correct number of hours," she said. In the spirit
of "one of the fine ham traditions we hold dear," White concluded, the ARISS
team would continue to find the time and know-how to work through the
challenges and problems ahead.
FCC CONTINUES SOUTH CAROLINA EXAM AUDIT
An FCC investigation continues into possible irregularities in some South
Carolina exam sessions last summer. On January 13, the Commission wrote
Volunteer Examiner William J. Browning, AB4BB (ex-AF4PJ), of Pendleton,
South Carolina. The letter was part of a continuing audit of a July 14,
1999, W5YI-VEC Amateur Radio examination session in Clemson. Browning was
listed as the manager of the session.
The FCC said the Manifest of Applicants Browning submitted was signed by
Eugene D. Watring, AF4DB, and Maurice D. "Dale" Martin, KT4NY. Watring and
Martin have told the FCC that they were not at the session and did not sign
the manifest. Seven FCC Forms 610 Browning submitted also bore Watring's and
Martin's signatures, but both have told the FCC they did not sign them.
In its letter to Browning, the FCC enclosed copies of the Manifest and Forms
610 and asked him to explain the apparent discrepancies "in detail" within
20 days.
FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth also
said the FCC was aware of allegations that Browning had "physically
threatened one or more of the Volunteer Examiners" listed on the July 14
session documents. Hollingsworth warned Browning that if the allegations are
true, the information would be turned over to law enforcement authorities.
The FCC also wrote Watring on January 13 regarding a second July 14 VE
session in Clemson that Watring managed. The FCC said the Manifest of
Applicants Watring submitted was signed by Grady P. Robinson, AK4N, and
Mikel T. Blackwell, N4OPD. The FCC said Robinson's and Blackwell's
signatures also appear on four Forms 610 Watring submitted. Robinson has
told the FCC he was not at the session and didn't sign any documents
relating to it. The FCC had not yet heard from Blackwell.
The FCC enclosed copies of the Manifest and Forms 610s and asked Watring to
explain the apparent discrepancies "in detail" within 20 days. The W5YI-VEC
has been cooperating with the FCC in its investigation in South Carolina.
JAWSAT LAUNCH TO BE RESET
The launch of an Air Force rocket carrying several Amateur Radio satellite
packages was postponed until late January after a last-minute glitch kept
the launcher earthbound January 14. The new US Air Force Minotaur booster
was scheduled to lift off then on its maiden flight from the new California
Commercial Spaceport at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
The launch was aborted just moments prior to liftoff. According to Eric
Lemmon, WB6FLY, the first attempt to launch the Minotaur rocket was aborted
around T minus 90 seconds due to a failure in the launch sequencer. At that
point, the schedule already had been delayed because of a problem with one
of the command-destruct transmitting sites. The sequencer problem was fixed,
but a second attempt was halted due to a low battery voltage. "There was
insufficient time to recycle before the launch window closed, so the launch
was scrubbed," Lemmon explained.
Lemmon says the next launch opportunity would be at least a week away, due
to the need to reconfigure the range to accommodate other launches. "It
appears that one or more of the batteries aboard the rocket must be removed
and serviced before another attempt will be made," he said. "Since there are
a number of other satellites hitching a ride on this rocket, there are many
issues to be considered."
The Minotaur's primary payload is the US Air Force Academy's Falconsat.
JAWSAT--Joint Air Force-Weber State University Satellite. It will serve as a
bus for several deployable payloads and for the Plasma Experiment Satellite
Test experiment. The telemetry stream from JAWSAT, including data from PEST,
will be transmitted on Amateur Radio frequencies.
Deployable payloads aboard JAWSAT are Stanford University's Orbiting Picosat
Automatic Launcher--or OPAL; Arizona State University's ASUSat1, and the Air
Force Research Lab's Optical Calibration Sphere.
ASUSat will contain amateur packet hardware and a 2-meter/70-cm FM voice
repeater. ASUSat1 is an ASU NASA Space Grant project and Arizona State
University's first student-designed satellite. Information on ASUSat is
available at http://nasa.asu.edu/asusat/.
OPAL, in turn, will release three tiny picosats. One of them, StenSat, will
have a crossband repeater aboard that will operate much like the popular
AO-27 satellite. Hank Heidt, N4AFL, of the StenSat team offers more
information at http://users.erols.com/hheidt/.
ARRL OFFICIALS CONGRATULATE NEW LEAGUE SECTION
At the stroke of midnight January 15, ARRL Executive Vice President David
Sumner, K1ZZ, was the first to offer his best wishes to the new ARRL West
Central Florida Section. Sumner worked WCF special event station W4C on
40-meter CW from his home in Coventry, Connecticut, and sent the section
leadership a 24-word radiogram of congratulations.
The new section, the League's 71st, formally came into being January 15. A
ribbon-cutting ceremony was held the same day at the Sarasota Hamfest to
mark the occasion, with ARRL First Vice President Steve Mendelsohn, W2ML, on
hand to do the honors. "This is a momentous occasion for ARRL members and
all Amateur Radio operators here as we begin the 21st century," Mendelsohn
declared.
The new Section Manager is Dave Armbrust, AE4MR. The ceremony capped a
year-long campaign to move Charlotte, DeSoto, Hardee, Highlands,
Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas, Polk and Sarasota counties into their own
ARRL section.
The special event, WCF-First Contact, continues until January 23 with
operation from each of the nine counties. Similar messages were received
from Southeastern Division Director Frank Butler, W4RH, and Vice Director
Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR. The West Central Florida Section Web site is
http://www.wcfarrl.org.
SPREAD SPECTRUM INVENTOR, ACTRESS HEDY LAMARR, DIES
Hedy Lamarr, the sultry, sexy screen star of the 1930s and 1940s who also
conceived the frequency-hopping technique now known as spread spectrum, has
died. She was believed to be 86.
Born Hedwig Kiesler in Austria, Lamarr came to the US in 1937 after being
signed by MGM. Among her most successful films was the 1949 Samson and
Delilah, directed by Cecil B. DeMille.
In her 1992 book Feminine Ingenuity, Lamarr describes how she came up with
the idea of a radio signaling device for radio-controlled torpedoes that
would minimize the danger of detection or jamming by randomly shifting the
frequency. She and composer George Antheil developed the concept and
received a patent for it in 1942.
The concept never saw fruition during World War II, but when the patent
expired, Sylvania developed the idea for use in satellites. Spread spectrum
also has found applications in wireless telephones, military radios,
wireless computer links, and Amateur Radio experimentation.
"I read the patent," Franklin Antonio, chief technical officer of the
cellular phone maker Qualcomm Inc, said in 1997. "You don't usually think of
movie stars having brains, but she sure did."
Lamarr lived in an Orlando, Florida, suburb in recent years and shunned
publicity.
A more-detailed version of Lamarr's role in spread spectrum is described in
the IEEE book Spread Spectrum Communications, published in 1983.--thanks to
Andre Kesteloot, N4ICK and Bill Ricker, N1VUX
SOLAR UPDATE
Sun watcher Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar flux was
up, geomagnetic activity was down. What could be better for HF propagation?
Average solar flux this week was up 35 points, or over 20 percent, compared
to the previous week. Geomagnetic conditions were quiet, with A indices in
the single digits. The most stable day was January 17, when the planetary A
index was three and the K index was one during five of the eight daily K
index reporting periods. There also was a three-hour period when the K index
was zero.
Solar flux has been rising, and reached a short term peak on Sunday with a
2000 UTC measurement of 207.7 and a 2200 UTC reading of 209.6. It has mostly
been falling since, dropping to 178.6 on Wednesday and 170.7 on Thursday.
The outlook for this weekend is a continued decline in flux, with values of
170, 165 and 160 for Friday through Sunday. The predicted planetary A
indices for the same three days are 12, 35 and 12.
After the weekend look for solar flux to decline to around 135 for the
period from January 27 through February 1, then rise above 150 around
February 5 and peak again above 200 around February 11 and 12. Expect
unsettled geomagnetic conditions from January 27 through the end of this
month, with the worst conditions on January 27 and 28.
Sunspot numbers for January 13 through 19 were 218, 228, 268, 262, 227, 185
and 196 with a mean of 226.3. The 10.7 cm flux was 202, 201.3, 210.7, 207.7,
196.4, 194.6 and 178.6, with a mean of 198.8. The estimated planetary A
indices were 10, 7, 5, 6, 3, 4 and 4, with a mean of 5.6.
__________________________________
IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes is January
22-24. Just ahead: the CQ WW 160-Meter DX Contest (CW), the REF French
Contest (CW), the UBA Contest (SSB), the YL International QSO Party (CW),
and the Kansas QSO Party are January 28-30. See January QST, page 100, for
more information.
* Field Day scores available in traditional format: The ARRL Contest Branch
has posted the 1999 Field Day Scores in the "traditional" format--with
entries sorted into battery and non-battery (ie, generator) categories.
Visit the Contest Branch Web Page,
http://www.arrl.org/contests/results/99/fd-tradscores.pdf --Dan Henderson,
N1ND
* 1999 outgoing QSL stats reflect increased activity: In 1999, the ARRL
Outgoing QSL Service shipped more than 1.8 million cards to DX stations, up
from nearly 1.6 million in 1998. The final tally was 1,853,870, according to
Martin Cook, N1FOC, who manages the Service at ARRL HQ. He says that works
out to approximately 5.8 tons of cards. The Service serves approximately 260
DXCC countries, including nearly every active country. Cards are forwarded
from the ARRL Outgoing Service to a counterpart bureau in each of the
respective countries. ARRL members can ship cards to DX bureaus for $6 a
pound (or $1 for 10 or fewer cards; $2 for 11 to 20 cards; $3 for 21 to 30
cards). For more information on the ARRL Outgoing QSL Service, contact Cook
at n1foc@arrl.org.
* Exams a-plenty at Miami Hamboree: Two exam sessions have been scheduled
for Sunday, February 6 at the ARRL Southeastern Division Convention/40th
Annual Tropical Hamboree. Arrangements have been made to accommodate up to
100 applicants at each exam session. The morning session (9 AM-noon) will be
conducted by the ARRL-VEC, and the afternoon session (1-3 PM) will be
conducted by the W5YI-VEC. Applicants may complete paperwork and ask
pre-exam questions February 5 at Booths 3 and 4 in the main entrance aisle
of the show building. FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement
Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, is scheduled to speak Saturday and Sunday. The
Hurricane Conference will the held at the National Hurricane Center in Miami
Saturday morning, February 5.--Evelyn Gauzens, W4WYR
* Ham Radio University 2000: Attention hams in the Long Island, New York,
area! Ham Radio University 2000, is Sunday, January 23, 2000, 10 AM, at the
Babylon Town Hall Annex in North Babylon. Not a hamfest, HRU 2000 is a day
of technical education about many areas of Amateur Radio, with continuous
forums as well as displays by organizations and clubs. Speakers include ARRL
Hudson Division Director Frank Fallon, N2FF, who will discuss Amateur Radio
license restructuring; technical expert Mike Kozma, WY2U, who will speak on
antenna theory and practical applications; and packet guru John Papson,
WB2CIK, who will discuss the latest packet radio innovations. For additional
details, visit the ARRL NYC/LI Web site,
http://www.arrlhudson.org/nli.--Diane Ortiz, K2DO/The Hudson Loop
* Pending restructuring sparks bumper crop, confusion at VE session:
ARRL-VEC Volunteer Examiner Emmett Freitas, AE6Z, of San Jose, California,
says his team held its largest VE session in years January 15. "Most were
Advanced class hams seeking testing on Element 4B," he said. "We tested 24,
with four of them failing." One woman who showed up hoping to file an
upgrade application prior to the April 15 implementation date. "When I
started to check her in, I found that she had a current Tech Plus license
and license copies proving she had been licensed [as a Technician] on March
21, 1987," he said. The woman wanted to prove her eligibility to become a
General after April 15 but have it on record now. Freitas advised the
applicant to return to a VE session after April 15, present her documentary
proof, and have the VE team process her General upgrade application then.
Freitas also says he encountered a lot of confusion among some hams about
what happens after April 15. "Technicians, in some cases, are misinformed."
he said. "Some think that a Tech Plus license can be upgraded to General
without further testing, and some think that a (no-code) Technician can do
the same," he said. (Wrong on both counts--Ed.)--Emmett Freitas, AE6Z
* Ham radio question makes Millionaire: Eric Hall, K9GY, reports that
Amateur Radio has even invaded the popular ABC Television show Who Wants to
Be a Millionaire. Hall says one $100 question asked what Amateur Radio
operators are called. The answer, of course, was "hams." Says Hall: "Someone
at ABC gave ham radio a little PR." Hall claims that watching the show was
his wife's idea.
* VE5AQ gets Canadian Hall of Fame Award: The Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of
Fame Board of Trustees has announced that Allan Davies, VE5AQ, has been
chosen as the 1998 recipient of the Hall of Fame Award. Davies soon will be
inducted into the Canadian Amateur Radio Hall of Fame as a member.--RAC
* Australia authorizes special prefix: Hams in Australia have been
authorized by the Australia Communications Authority to use the prefix AX
during Australia Day, January 26, 2000 (local time). Australian local time
is 8 to 11 hours ahead of UTC. For more information, visit
http://www.aca.gov.au/ --Julian Sortland, VK2YJS
==========================================================
The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American
Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax
860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, W6ROD, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ,
Executive Vice President.
Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org
Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.
Visit ARRLWeb at http://www.arrl.org.
The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide essential news of interest to
active amateurs promptly and efficiently, and in advance of publication in
our official journal, QST. The ARRL Letter strives to be fast, accurate,
concise, and readable.
Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part in any
form, including photoreproduction and electronic databases. Credit must be
given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.
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