Address Changes: Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

• Slight delay for Phase 3D
• Mir changes frequency again
• ARRL files spread spectrum reply comments
• Contact filming at NRAO
• ITU progress report
• Call for papers
• Solar update
• Dennis Caton KF0JT, SK
• Rick Robinson, K1JRW, SK
• In Brief: This weekend on the radio; Correction; ARRLWeb catalog updated; Video Library Vol 9 available; W0TX special event; Colonel Palm? Forum set on new licensing system

AMSAT Phase 3D officials remain optimistic despite another delay in the launch of the Ariane 502 that is scheduled to carry Phase 3D aloft in mid-September. The European Space Agency, ESA, announced this week that the Ariane 502 launch will be delayed a couple of weeks--until September 30 at the earliest--while the rocket gets another engine. It's the second delay announced this year for the Phase 3D vehicle. In March, the launch date was moved from early July to mid-September. AMSAT-NA President Bill Tynan, W3XO, remains philosophical about the schedule changes. "It's more of the same," he said. "We're trying to use all the time they give us productively."

Orbital Report On-Line said this week that a faulty component was detected in the liquid oxygen turbopump of the Vulcain engine due to fly on Ariane 504. Since the origin of the flaw was identified as a possible production defect and a similar element is known to be in the pump of the engine already mounted on the Ariane 502 rocket that recently arrived in Kourou, French Guyana, the European Space Agency and the launch consortium (CNES) have decided to remove the engine and replace it with the one originally scheduled for Ariane 503, which features a component from an older production batch.

Any delay increases the overall cost of the project, but Tynan characterized the additional cost factor of the most recent delay as "noise level." He did not have a precise cost estimate. Tynan, who was at the Phase 3D Integration Lab in Orlando, Florida, said everything is going along well in the process. "The RF equipment integrated fine," he noted.

For more information on Phase 3D, including pictures of the assembly and integration process, see http://www.amsat.org/amsat/sats/phase3d.html. --Orbital Report On-Line; AMSAT

For the third time in less than a year, the Mir FM voice and packet frequency changed again June 15. But even as it was made, the switch to 145.985 MHz simplex was being called "tentative" and "experimental." It also was controversial. As a result, Mir officially will end the worldwide "experiment" on 145.985 MHz as of June 23, but leave the frequency available as an option to the Mir crew only while Mir is over the US. Mir packet sysop Miles Mann, WF1F, said US astronaut Mike Foale, KB5UAC, now aboard Mir, can use "any channel he wants" when he's over the US, including 145.985, but he has to switch to 145.200/800 when Mir is elsewhere. Also, the radio will remain on the split pair when the crew is sleeping. The new frequency may be used for both voice and packet operation.

The Mir International Amateur Radio Experiment--MIREX--cited "numerous complaints from around the world" that the 145.200/800 split-frequency combination did not work very well as the main reason for trying 145.985. Last November, Mir changed from 145.550 MHz simplex to the split-frequency pair. "The radio has been almost impossible to use since November 1," said Mann, who called 145.985 MHz "an excellent compromise."

In a posting to the AMSAT bulletin board, John O'Hara, KB8TJX, in Wellsville, Ohio, reports he worked KB5UAC aboard Mir on 145.985 MHz for several minutes right after the changeover. "Mike said that it was working out a lot better for him also. He said he had trouble sorting out the voice contacts from the packet and that the duplex was also confusing to him," said O'Hara, who's AMSAT coordinator for Eastern Ohio, Western Pennsylvania and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.

When the "experiment" was announced, Mann had expressed the hope that if the 145.985 MHz channel worked much better, the Mir crew might be more inclined to get on the air than previously. Mann said the 145.800/200 MHz split-frequency operation suffered from interference from terrestrial users and drew widespread complaints from hams in the US, Japan and Australia (145.200 MHz is a repeater output or input frequency in many countries). He said the new frequency will reduce desensing of Mir's 2-meter station by commercial VHF activities taking place aboard spacecraft in the 143-MHz range. Mann said MIREX is working on a fix for the desensing problem and hopes to have it in operation by this fall.

A return to the 145.55 MHz frequency used previously by Mir was rejected because it's too close to a popular simplex frequency in Europe. Switching to 145.79 MHz also was out because it's in use by many semi-permanent packet operations.

Equipment aboard Mir includes a Kenwood TM-733, a PacComm Handi-Packet modem, a dual-band antenna, and a new, huskier power supply capable of powering the TM-733 to its full 50 W output. Mann said the output power typically is 10 W, however.

MIREX requests reports on the 145.985 MHz channel. Signal and interference reports go to Dave Larsen, N6CO, Box 1501, Pine Grove, CA 95665; e-mail doc@volcano.net.

Replying to comments filed in response to the FCC's plans to relax Amateur Radio spread spectrum (SS) rules, the ARRL has suggested that the Commission "arrived at a balanced approach" in its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 97-10, released March 3, 1997). The Notice proposed to amend Part 97 rules to facilitate spread spectrum communication by means of additional spreading codes and the incorporation of automatic power-limiting circuitry. The League said the Commission's notice was "carefully crafted to accommodate competing interests," including more flexibility for ham SS operation and avoidance of problems with other users, including narrowband ham operation and unlicensed Part 15 devices. The ARRL had originally petitioned for the SS rules changes.

The comments were split among those who felt the rules changes were too liberal and those who felt they didn't go far enough. Among the recurring themes were issues involving the incompatibility of narrowband modes and SS on the same bands and the requirement for automatic power control (amateur SS operations are currently restricted to a maximum of 100 W output). Under the proposed rule, operation about 1 W would require provisions to reduce power automatically to the minimum necessary. Some commenters recommended that the FCC also permit in-mode station identification and permit SS emissions on all ham bands above 50 MHz. The League noted that concerns about possible SS interference with weak-signal and satellite work in the same bands were beyond the scope of the proceeding, because the Notice "does not propose to either increase power for SS emissions, nor expand the frequencies on which SS transmissions may be conducted." The ARRL said that because commenters cited no instances of interference, "there is thus no justification for imposition of additional restrictions on SS emissions." The ARRL filing added that informal band planning was the best approach to avoiding interference to narrowband users. The ARRL also deflected opposing comments of Part 15 users by noting that they "generally have no [legal] standing to object to Amateur Service rules changes."

The League urged the FCC to adopt the changes spelled out in its March Notice "without delay." The rules changes "will permit increased experimentation and continued protection against any increase in interference potential," the League's filing stated.

Dave Finley, N1IRZ, of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Socorro, New Mexico, is looking forward to seeing the Warner Bros movie, Contact, due to appear in theaters this summer. That's because Finley and many of his NRAO colleagues were heavily involved in helping to bring the film to fruition--including a week of filming at NRAO last fall. "I've never been that big a movie fan," Finley said, "but I was impressed with the actors and the crew."

Finley also was impressed with Contact star Jodie Foster. She plays astronomer Ellie Arroway, who, as a girl, gets her ham ticket along with her father in the late 1960s, then goes on to become a radio astronomer and the first person to decipher a message received on Earth from extraterrestrial intelligent life. Eventually, she's among the team sent into space to explore the message's origin. The story is based on Carl Sagan's 1985 novel of the same name. Finley says Foster had done her homework on radio astronomy. "She's quite sharp," he said. But he doesn't think the experience was enough to entice Foster to get her ticket in real life.

Realism was a major goal of the filmmakers, Finley said. "They were a very professional group of people." The crew got in touch with NRAO very early on in the project, he said, noting that the first person to call them was none other than Carl Sagan himself. In the movie, the first signal is received at the Very Large Array (VLA) at New Mexico. "They used the actual VLA" in the movie, Finley said.

Finley, who served as the liaison between the film company and the observatory, called the week of filming "an intense experience." The potential of RFI from the crew's wireless mikes and communication gear was a big concern for the sensitive ears of the NRAO. The observatory also was not able to stop work to accommodate the filming, but the Warner Bros crew was able to work around the NRAO to get the shots it needed. "It was a different way of operating for both of us," he said. Despite the movie crew's "overwhelming presence," Finley said the encounter, like the movie's plot, "opened my eyes to a world I'd not seen before."

Filming in some locations was simply impractical. In one instance, WB completely and accurately replicated one of the facility's radio telescope control rooms in meticulous detail on another set. "When I walked up to their set, you would really think you were in the control room," Finley said. He hopes the same sense of realism carries over into the ham radio aspects of the movie.

The NRAO, which is run by the US government, gained from the experience too. In exchange for disrupting the observatory's maintenance schedules to get shots of the large arrays being aimed a particular way, Warner Bros reimbursed the government. In addition, WB gave money to the NRAO's educational fund to redo the visitors' center. "All of our visitors will eventually benefit," said Finley.

In addition to Foster, Contact stars James Woods and Matthew McConaughey. Robert Zemeckis directed the film. The ARRL provided the filmmakers with an ARRL map and other League publications of the 1960s, while staff members supplied vintage QSLs and advised Warner Bros on the types of antennas and equipment they'd need to make the movie set realistic.

Contact is due out in mid-July. For more information, see http://www.contact-themovie.com.

During the week of June 9, ARRL International Vice President Larry Price and Technical Relations Manager Paul Rinaldo were in Geneva representing the IARU and ARRL, respectively, at the meeting of ITU Radiocommunication Study Group 8, which deals with mobile, amateur, radiodetermination and related satellite services.

Rinaldo presented his final progress report as chairman of Task Group 8/2, which has been dealing with wind profiler radars. He reported that the results of the group's work had been accepted by the recently concluded 1997 Conference Preparatory Meeting (CPM-97). Task Group 8/2 produced a new ITU-R report and three new recommendations, which have now been approved. While sharing could not be avoided entirely, it was possible to influence the choice of frequencies to minimize interference to the amateur and amateur-satellite services.

There was consideration of the structure of SG 8. The outcome was that the amateur services will continue to be part of Working Party 8A along with land mobile. WPs 8B aeronautical/maritime mobile) and 8C (radiodetermination) will be merged as WP 8B.

The new chairman of ITU-R Working Party 8D (mobile-satellite service), Takeshi Mizuike, of the KDD R&D Lab, is familiar with Amateur Radio. He will be dealing with technical studies related to Little and Big LEOs.

IARU raised the question of whether a special Task Group should be established to handle WRC-99 preparatory studies related to Radio Regulations Article S25, which has been assigned to Study Group 8. The question was considered to be premature, as the Chairman of SG 8 wants to wait until immediately after WRC-97 to decide how the Study Group will prepare for WRC-99.

Some European countries at the SG 8 meeting raised objections about ITU recommendations containing numerous national, regional or commercial standards. The subject came to a head over a draft recommendation on digital voice radio dispatch systems for land mobile. The issue demonstrated how industry has gained a stronger voice in ITU affairs in recent years. The debate over which standards will be included is to be passed to the 1997 ITU Radiocommunication Assembly, October 20-24, in Geneva.

Papers are invited for the 16th annual ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference, set for October 10-12, 1997, in Baltimore, Maryland. Anyone interested in digital communications is invited to submit a paper for publication in the Conference Proceedings. Presentation at the conference is not required for publication. Papers are due by August 20, 1997 to Maty Weinberg, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; e-mail lweinberg@arrl.org. Paper submission guidelines are available at http://www.tapr.org/dcc.

For conference details, see http://www.tapr.org/dcc or contact the TAPR, Tucson Amateur Packet Radio, 8987-309 E Tanque Verde Rd No 337, Tucson, AZ 85749-9399; tel 940-383-0000; fax 940-566-2544; e-mail tapr@tapr.org; http://www.tapr.org. --Greg Jones, WD5IVD

Propagation pundit Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar activity is still low. Although average sunspot numbers were up from 18.3 to 30.1 from last week to this, average solar flux was down to 70.6 from a low average of 73.1 the week before. Solar flux was below the 90 day average of 74 on every day over the past week.

The projection for this month shows the solar flux staying in the mid to low 70s. No geomagnetic disturbances are forecast.

Now that we are moving into the summertime propagation period, expect sporadic-E layer openings on 10 meters through August. Because fewer people are using 10 meters now than at the peak of the solar cycle, many 10 meter openings may go unnoticed. While solar flux remains far too low to sustain reliable activity on 10, sporadic-E skip does provide some interesting short and medium-path length openings, with single-hop propagation out to about 1,300 miles and multi-hop propagation to about twice that distance.

Sunspot numbers for June 12 through 18 were 26, 27, 31, 29, 38, 31 and 29 with a mean of 30.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 69.6, 70.1, 70.6, 70.7, 72.1, 69.6 and 71.2, with a mean of 70.6, and estimated planetary A indices were 6, 3, 3, 6, 5, 5, and 4, with a mean of 4.6.

Dennis Caton, KF0JT, of Black Forrest, Colorado, died June 5 after a long illness. He was 61. A native of England, Caton authored the popular UP/DOWN program that many hams use to calculate uplink and downlink frequencies of analog satellites. He was an ARRL member and a long-time AMSAT supporter and satellite enthusiast. He once served AMSAT's coordinator for activities at the Air Force Academy. Caton was retired from IBM. His wife and two grown children survive. Services were June 11. Messages to the family may be sent care of Jim White, WD0E, e-mail wd0e@amsat.org. --Jim White, WD0E

Well-known VHF DXer Rick Robinson, K1JRW, of Shutesbury, Massachusetts, died June 14. He was 77. An ARRL member, Robinson was one of the first VHFers to earn his DXCC on 6 meters (he held DXCC No 12). "He was a vigilant watcher who was always glad to alert others to band conditions and share news of interest. This upcoming cycle won't be quite the same without Rick," said Ron Klimas, WZ1V. A daughter survives. A service was held June 17. --Ron Klimas WZ1V

• This weekend on the radio: The Kid's Day Operating Event, All Asian DX Contest (CW), and SMIRK QSO Party are scheduled for this weekend.

• Correction: A report in The ARRL Letter, Vol 16, No 24, on the upcoming STS-94 SAREX flight contained a typographical error. The story should have said: "QSLs go to ARRL EAD, STS-94 QSL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111-1494. Include the following information in your QSL or report: STS-94, date, time in UTC, frequency and mode (FM, voice or packet). You must also include a business-sized SASE."

• ARRLWeb catalog updated: The ARRL Web catalog has added a new product category, "Public Service." It houses four of the Field Service Department's public service manuals (no shipping charge for domestic orders of these items): ARES Field Resources Manual (#5439), $5; Special Events Communications Manual (#FSD4), $5; Emergency Coordinator's Manual (#FSD9), $5; and Public Service Communications Manual (#PSCM), $1. The New Products page was updated to include some new items, and current availability info. New products added include Radio Amateur Callbook CD-ROM; Tech Class Video Course (shipping later this summer); ARRL MicroSmith ver 2.3 (#4084) (the latest version of the popular Smith Chart simulation program) and RadCom CD-ROM (1996). The "Products by Title" listing provides an alphabetical listing of all ARRLWeb catalog items. For more, see http://www.arrl.org/catalog. --Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R

• Video Library Vol 9 available: The Educational Activities Department has readied the ninth volume in its Video Library series for sale to clubs and individuals. Volume 9 is called "Amateur Radio History" and contains these three programs: 1935 Tour of ARRL HQ (15 mins, narrated by retired League staffer George Hart, W1NJM), The Trans-Atlantic Tests and Station 1BCG (28 min, produced by the Antique Wireless Association), and An American Inventor--Major Edwin Howard Armstrong (50 min, produced by the Antique Wireless Association). The price is $12 (shipping and handling included). To order, call Jean Wolfgang, WB3IOS, 860-594-0200. --Rosalie White, WA1STO

• SAFEX is back: The SAFEX 70-cm repeater aboard Mir is back in service. Receive (downlink) on 437.950 MHz and transmit (uplink) on 435.750 MHz. The CTCSS access tone is 141.3 Hz. --SpaceNews

• W0TX special event: The Denver Radio Club is operating special event station W0TX as a special event station to mark both the club's 80th anniversary and the Group of Eight economic summit in Denver this weekend. Operation is on or about 3937, 7237, 14237, 21237 and 28337 kHz on SSB and on the lower end of the General class segments on CW. Operation will continue through Monday, June 23, UTC as bands are open. A commemorative QSL card is available. Send QSLs to Box 44173, Denver, CO 80201. --Lys Carey, K0PGM

• Colonel Palm? Due to the efforts of Kentucky SM Bill Uschan, KC4MIS (who was at HQ last week for a Section Manager Workshop), ARRL Field Services Manager Rick Palm, K1CE, was made a member of the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels by Gov Paul Patton. This is the highest honor awarded by the State of Kentucky. Palm received a handsome proclamation personally signed by the Governor and the Secretary of State. What he did to deserve this is a total mystery, but it was a nice gesture by the Kentucky SM and will look good on the blank wall of Palm's office. (Other luminaries among the Kentucky Colonels are Lyndon Johnson, Winston Churchill, John Glenn, and Bing Crosby--and now our own Colonel Palm). For more information on the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, see http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~ltf/larkern.html.

• Forum set on new licensing system: The FCC has scheduled a public forum to discuss the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau's plans to replace its ten separate licensing-application processing systems with a single, integrated system and database. The new system--the Universal Licensing System or ULS--is projected to be on-line next year. Goals include expanding electronic filing capabilities and speeding licensing. The forum will be July 8, 10 AM, at the Commission Meeting Room (Room 856), 1919 M St NW, Washington, DC. --FCC

The ARRL Letter is published by the American Radio Relay League, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259. Rodney J. Stafford, KB6ZV, President; David Sumner, K1ZZ, Executive Vice President.

Circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org.

Editorial, Rick Lindquist, N1RL, e-mail elindquist@arrl.org.

Visit the ARRLWeb page at http://www.arrl.org.

The purpose of The ARRL Letter is to provide the essential news of interest to active, organizationally minded radio amateurs faster than it can be disseminated by our official journal, QST. We strive to be fast, accurate and readable in our reporting.

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• The ARRLWeb page (http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/). This version of The ARRL Letter includes any photographs.

• The HIRAM BBS: 860-594-0306.

• The ARRL Technical Information Server (Info Server): Send an e-mail message to info@arrl.org. The subject line should be blank. In the message body, type send ltrmmdd.txt, where mm represents two digits for the month and dd represents two digits for the day (The ARRL Letter is published every Friday). For example, to request The ARRL Letter file for Friday, January 3, 1997, you'd type send ltr0103.txt. Then, on a separate line, type quit.

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• The Netcom server, run by the Boston Amateur Radio Club and Mike Ardai, N1IST: Send e-mail to listserv@netcom.com (no subject needed). The body of the message should say subscribe letter-list.