Volume 18, Number 21 (May 21, 1999)

The ARRL Letter Index
ARRL Audio News

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IN THIS EDITION:

• +FCC spikes restructuring rumors
• +ARRL urges FCC to expedite restructuring
• +Agreement near for Phase 3D launch
• +FCC's Hollingsworth is Dayton's Man of the Hour
• +FCC sets aside multiple club station grants
• +FCC comes to terms with Grizzly Peak licensee
• New Section Managers
• Solar update
• In Brief: This weekend on the radio; Correction; Vanity update; Audio interview with Joe Walsh, WB6ACU; KK5DO is on ARRL Audio News; Make that dot net; Canadian streamlining; PSK31 record

+Available on ARRL Audio News

FCC SPIKES RESTRUCTURING RUMORS AT DAYTON

The FCC's Bill Cross, W3TN, addresses the FCC Forum at the Dayton Hamvention. [Rick Lindquist]

The big FCC announcement about Amateur Radio license restructuring that many hams erroneously had been expecting at the Dayton Hamvention turned out to be that there would be no announcement. Speaking to a packed house at the Sunday FCC forum at Dayton Hamvention, Bill Cross, W3TN, of the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau spiked rumors that the FCC would have something substantive to say at Dayton about Amateur Radio restructuring, WT Docket 98-143.

"I can confirm without reservation that the rumors that have been flying fast and furious as to what the Commission has decided or will decide are just rumors," he said. According to Cross, the Commission had not decided anything as of May 13.

Cross said the FCC received 2250 comments from the amateur community in the proceeding. Comments have been read and filed, he said. Some comments continue to straggle in, although the deadline passed in January.

Cross offered his take on what the FCC might do, inferring that the Commission would propose either three or four license classes, no more, no less.

Based on the comments received, Cross said, many hams believe amateur examinations are not testing on the correct information. He invited hams to suggest questions to the Question Pool Committee, the body that comes up with the questions that appear on amateur exams. Suggested questions go to QPC Chairman Ray Adams, W4CPA, 6702 Matterhorn Ct, Knoxville TN 37918-6314. A copy to Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, ARRL VEC, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111, would be appreciated.

Cross said comments on Morse code testing standards "drew the most passionate responses." The League has suggested 5 WPM and 12 WPM testing tiers. Cross said those expecting a new top speed above 20 WPM would be disappointed, but he offered no other predictions on how the Commission might act on the CW requirements issue.

Cross also said the Universal Licensing System would be going into effect for Amateur Radio later this year, and it will incorporate the vanity call sign program. The system will replace the venerable Form 610 series with a new, inclusive electronic document known as Form 605. ULS will permit amateurs to file applications, modifications or renewals via the Internet. Individual hams will not be required to file electronically, however. He encouraged hams to register for the ULS.

For more information, visit the FCC's Amateur Radio page, http://www.fcc.gov/wtb/amateur/.

LEAGUE URGES FCC TO EXPEDITE RESTRUCTURING

The ARRL has urged the FCC to act "without delay" on Amateur Radio restructuring and has suggested that the Commission adopt the League's restructuring plan as its own in order to speed up the process. In a May 19 letter to the FCC, the League said that the state of limbo created by the current FCC Amateur Radio restructuring proceeding, WT Docket 98-143, is stifling Amateur Radio's growth, as current and prospective hams await an FCC Report and Order.

The League asked the FCC to adopt the League's restructuring plan in a Report and Order "at the earliest possible time."

The ARRL told the FCC that its comprehensive plan of four license classes and two Morse code testing tiers--5 WPM and 12 WPM--plus refarming of the Novice/Technician Plus HF CW subbands "constitutes a reasonable middle ground proposal." The ARRL's restructuring proposal formed the core of the League's comments to the FCC on WT 98-143, which the FCC refers to as the Part 97 Biennial Review.

Both the FCC and ARRL proposals would eliminate the Novice and Tech Plus licenses. The ARRL's letter stressed that "refarming" of the Novice class subbands was "the most critical portion of the League's comprehensive plan, or, indeed, of any license restructuring plan the Commission may adopt." The League said refarming was essential to make room for anticipated additional licensees using SSB HF subbands. In addition, the League said, refarming "is absolutely necessary to preserve and enhance the incentive self-training program" and to ensure more efficient use of limited HF allocations. Under the League's plan, General, Advanced, and Extra class licensees would get additional HF spectrum for phone operation.

The League said that adopting its restructuring plan in toto was "the best means of accomplishing increased growth in the Amateur Service" and of continuing Amateur Radio's value as a "cornerstone of telecommunications development."

The League also took the opportunity to express appreciation for the support for the Amateur Service by both FCC Chairman William Kennard and WTB Chief Thomas Sugrue and to thank the FCC for the renewed enforcement efforts of Compliance and Information Bureau Chief Richard Lee and CIB Legal Advisor Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH.

AGREEMENT NEAR FOR PHASE 3D LAUNCH

Keith Baker, KB1SF, gives the good news about P3D at the Dayton Hamvention's AMSAT forum. [Photos by Rick Lindquist, N1RL] Phase 3D Integration Lab Manager Lou McFadid, W5DID, says Phase 3D soon will be ready for launch. Additional testing remains.

The long-awaited Phase 3D Amateur Radio satellite could be launched into space as early as this fall. A statement from Phase 3D Project Leader and AMSAT-DL President Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, delivered during the Dayton Hamvention revealed that AMSAT is "in the final phase of working out the details of an agreement" to launch Phase 3D.

Meinzer's remarks were read during the AMSAT forum by AMSAT-NA President Keith Baker, KB1SF.

Meinzer said that since an opportunity to fly Phase 3D aboard the last Ariane 5 test flight fell through last summer, the Phase 3D launch team has been seeking a replacement launch. "We have been patiently negotiating with a number of different launch agencies, and it looks now that this work is starting to pay off." He said he's optimistic that a launch contract can be finalized soon.

Phase 3D would remain "a standby passenger," Meinzer's statement said. AMSAT officials declined to identify the launch agency or vehicle. Meinzer's statement said Phase 3D could fly as early as October but stressed that the date is very tentative and depends on successfully working out the remaining contract details.

"It's mostly technical issues," Baker told the ARRL. He emphasized during the AMSAT forum that things are still tentative at this point. "The October date is the opening of a window that will stretch into the future," he said.

Phase 3D Integration Lab Manager Lou McFadin, W5DID, told the gathering that the spacecraft "is essentially complete." Additional integration and vibration testing will be completed this spring and summer. For more information, visit http://www.amsat.org.

FCC'S HOLLINGSWORTH IS DAYTON'S MAN OF THE HOUR

The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, holds up a "Riley Rules" T-shirt presented to him at the Dayton Hamvention by Amateur Radio newsman Hap Holly, KC9RP, of the RAIN Report. [Rick Lindquist, N1RL]

The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, exhorted a standing-room-only crowd at the Dayton Hamvention to "read over the basis and purpose of Amateur Radio and the rules in Part 97" and to operate as if youngsters and overseas stations might be listening in. He made the remarks Friday during the first of two FCC forums in Hara Arena.

Calling Amateur Radio "an American institution," Hollingsworth momentarily assumed the mantle of the ham radio evangelist. Ham radio, he said, is "not about the First Amendment, it's not about slandering somebody you don't like, it's not about ridiculing somebody who's operating 10 kHz away, it's not about jamming or obscenity." Nor, he said, is it intended to be a talk show or an "electromagnetic forum for hate groups" or "an audio version of The Jerry Springer Show."

Hollingsworth called the on-air activities of some hams "childish and stupid" and said the hobby does not always present its best face to the world. He also said hams need to understand that demand for HF spectrum in countries outside the US is increasing.

"Too many in our service take the allocations for granted," he said. "Some of the Third World countries would love to have 75 meters as a national telephone system," he said. What does transpire on some amateur frequencies "is often an international embarrassment," he said.

"What kind of service is it when you're afraid to leave on the radio in the house or the car?" he asked. Hollingsworth said he even knew of a young Extra class amateur whose parents won't let him on 75 meters.

He asked law-abiding hams to not retaliate against hams who are offensive on the air or who break the law but to shun them instead. He also challenged each ham to recruit one newcomer into the hobby or to help another licensee to upgrade. Hollingsworth especially encouraged recruiting young girls into Amateur Radio. He delivered similar remarks during two other Dayton forums and received an enthusiastic reception--including a standing ovation.

In response to a question from the audience, Hollingsworth revealed that FCC officials on May 14 had attempted to visit the station of Glenn Baxter, K1MAN, in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. Baxter heads the American Amateur Radio Association; his on-the-air talk and news transmissions have been the subject of some controversy within the amateur community. Hollingsworth said that, although Baxter's station was on the air, no one came to the door, and the building appeared to be locked.

Hollingsworth and an FCC field office team from Detroit spent several hours doing enforcement work at the Hamvention itself. The field office personnel attempted, without success, to determine the sources of intentional interference on the Hamvention's 2-meter talk-in frequency. At least one source appeared to be mobile.

FCC personnel also cited or verbally warned several vendors about violations related to the sale of amplifiers.

FCC SETS ASIDE MULTIPLE CLUB STATION GRANTS

The FCC has set aside 14 recently granted club station call signs and 12 recently granted club vanity call signs held by an individual trustee. The FCC's Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, took the action May 11 in a letter to Motoaki Uotome, W9BO, of Honolulu, Hawaii. Uotome is the trustee for 35 club station call signs in various cities in the continental US as well as in Hawaii, the Marianas, Guam, and Alaska.

The action is the first of several the Hollingsworth said he expects to take, and it could have implications for other holders of multiple club station call signs. "They'd better have legitimate clubs or they're coming back to us," Hollingsworth told the ARRL today. "We're getting a lot of complaints that people are scarfing up these call signs."

Hollingsworth said the FCC is not concerned about a single club station call sign used by a club or a DX or contesting group, but he emphasized that the FCC will not tolerate abuse of the system. He indicated similar letters soon would go out to other licensees who serve as trustees for multiple club station call signs.

Hollingsworth told Uotome that the FCC was setting aside 14 call signs granted within the last 30 days "pursuant to §1.113 of the Commission's rules." In addition, Hollingsworth said the FCC was setting aside 12 vanity call signs issued to Uotome in the last 30 days.

Several club station call signs granted for more than 30 days will remain in the FCC database for now, but Hollingsworth asked Uotome to "provide justification within 30 days as to the need for each of these call signs."

Hollingsworth said that he wants to know names, addresses, and telephone numbers of club members, meeting times and dates within the past year, proposed meeting times and locations within the coming year, and copies of minutes, if any, taken at meetings within the last three months.

Hollingsworth said the FCC intends to cancel all of the listed call signs if Uotome does not "satisfactorily respond" to his inquiry within 30 days. He also warned that any willful misrepresentation or deliberate omission in replying would lead to revocation of Uotome's Amateur Radio license.

FCC COMES TO TERMS WITH GRIZZLY PEAK LICENSEE

An agreement has been struck to let the San Francisco Bay Area's K7IJ Grizzly Peak repeater system return to the air. The FCC's top Amateur Radio Enforcer, Riley Hollingsworth, K4ZDH, announced a negotiated settlement May 14 at an FCC forum at the Dayton Hamvention. The K7IJ repeater system was shut down by the FCC March 5 after Commission officials determined it was out of control of the licensee, Bruce Wachtell, K7IJ, and primary control operator Blake Jenkins, N6YSA. The case involved evidence that had been developed by members of the Amateur Auxiliary.

Among other conditions, the K7IJ repeaters will have to provide for a "live, real-time control operator" at all times.

The shutdown followed complaints that Jenkins routinely allowed unlicensed individuals to use the repeater and that he and others engaged in prohibited practices on the air. Along with the shutdown notice to Wachtell, Warning Notices went to several K7IJ regulars alleging behavior that included airing cordless telephone and air traffic control conversations as well as profane language.

Hollingsworth has been discussing possible resolutions to the K7IJ situation with Wachtell and Jenkins for several weeks now. "If this doesn't work, we're gonna shut 'em down again without hesitation," he told the ARRL.

In addition to requiring a live, full-time control op, the five-point "K7IJ Repeater Agreement" requires the repeater operators to configure an audio stream to let the FCC monitor the repeaters at all times. Additionally, stations not known to the control operator now must identify at the beginning of their transmissions, not just after 10 minutes.

To deter unlicensed operators from using the machines, the control operator would have to announce that the repeater "does not welcome or tolerate unlicensed users." The control operator would have to turn off the machine and report it to the Commission if unlicensed operators persist. Licensed stations not abiding by FCC rules on the K7IJ repeaters would be asked to bring their operation into compliance.

"This is a good-faith agreement," Hollingsworth said. If the repeaters are operated in compliance with the conditions, Wachtell and Jenkins can avoid further enforcement action. On the air reports indicate the licensee and control operator are enforcing the terms of the agreement. "My impression is that the operation of the repeater on the 2-meter side sounded like any normal repeater," one observer reported. "Certainly not like the K7IJ before the shutdown."

In a related action, Hollingsworth recently recalled K7IJ regular Timmy O. Sheen Jr, N6MZA, of Sacramento for retesting. He also issued a "final warning" to James C Walker, KF6VAA, of Oakland, for allegedly continuing to transmit on area repeaters after his Technician class grant was set aside in February in connection with the K7IJ case. Hollingsworth said the FCC would deal with these and other related cases individually.

NEW SECTION MANAGERS TO TAKE OFFICE

New section managers take office July 1 in three ARRL sections as a result of elections. Ballots were counted May 17 at ARRL Headquarters in contested SM races in Rhode Island and Utah. In Rhode Island, Armand E. Lambert, K1FLD, of Woonsocket outpolled two other candidates to win the volunteer position. Lambert had 102 votes to 69 for Vincent Catalano, W1AOM, and 54 votes for Michael P. Deignan, KH6HZ. Lambert succeeded Rick Fairweather, K1KYI.

In the Utah Section, Mel Parkes, N5UVP, of Layton, edged out Tom Schaefer, NY4I, 237 to 205. Parkes replaced Jim Rudnicki, NZ7T.

Candidates in six other sections ran unopposed and were declared elected. All but one were incumbents. In the New Hampshire Section, Michael Graham, K7CTW, of Merrimack replaced Alan Shuman, N1FIK. Incumbents elected to new two-year terms were: In the Maryland/DC Section, William Howard, WB3V; in the Nevada Section, Robert Davis, K7IY; in the Northern New Jersey Section, Jeffrey M. Friedman, K3JF; in the San Joaquin Valley Section, Donald Costello, W7WN; and in the West Texas Section, Charles Royall, WB5T.

In unrelated actions, Dale Bagley, K0KY, of Macon, Missouri, becomes Missouri's Section Manager June 1. He replaces Charles Boyd, KE0K, who resigned. Wisconsin Section Manager Roy Pedersen, K9FHI, will step down at the end of June. The new Badger State SM will be Don Michalski, W9IXG.

SOLAR UPDATE

Solar flux and sunspot numbers dropped this week, with average flux values off over 18 points and average sunspot numbers down over 33 points. May 13 and 18 were disturbed days, with planetary A indices over 20. The planetary K index reached 5 on both days, and on May 13 the high latitude K index was 7, with the high latitude A index at 46. This higher number reflects the high latitude and polar region's greater vulnerability to solar flares and proton events.

Solar flux peaked for the week at 152.2 on May 16 and is expected to be 140 for the next few days. The planetary A index for May 21-23 is expected to be 8, 8 and 10. Flux is expected to reach 145 on May 27, and 150 by June 2, peaking around 170 on June 5. Look for geomagnetic disturbances due to coronal hole effects on May 26-29, with the worst conditions on the first two days of that period.

Sunspot numbers for May 13 through 19 were 118, 126, 167, 151, 148, 129, and 120, with a mean of 137. The 10.7-cm flux was 147.3, 144.2, 143.6, 152.2, 145.3, 140.6, and 142.4, with a mean of 145.1. The estimated planetary A indices were 24, 9, 9, 6, 5, 23 and 10, with a mean of 12.3.

IN BRIEF:

• This weekend on the radio: The Major Six Club Contest and the Texas QSO Party are the weekend of May 21-23.
  Just ahead: The CQ WW WPX Contest (CW), the ARCI QRP Hoot Owl Sprint (CW), and the Memorial Day CW Sprint are the weekend of May 29-30. The CQ WW WPX rules are in March QST, page 96; see May QST, page 89, for details on other events.

• Correction: The ARRL Letter, Vol 18, No 20 (May 14, 1999) contained incorrect information about the leadership of the Italian ARISS team. Paolo Pitacco, IW3QBN, leads the Italian ARISS hardware team, and Alberto Zagni, I2KBD, heads the Italian ARISS administrative team.

• Vanity update: The FCC in Gettysburg reports it has processed vanity call sign applications received through April 23. On May 14, the FCC issued 144 grants. Another 175 applications landed in the work-in-process (WIPs) stack.--FCC

• Audio interview with Joe Walsh, WB6ACU: A RealAudio interview with rocker Joe Walsh (James Gang, Eagles), WB6ACU, now is available in the current edition of The ARRLWeb Extra magazine. Visit the Features section (http://www.arrl.org/members-only/extra/features.html) and check out the FotoGallery, where you'll also find a few pictures from the Dayton Hamvention 1999--including Joe, who also provided Hamvention banquet entertainment. By the way, because of our Dayton commitments, this edition of AWE reprises some feature articles (marked "Encore!") from earlier editions of The ARRLWeb Extra that you might have missed earlier.

• KK5DO is on ARRL Audio News: Houston Area AMSAT Coordinator Bruce Paige, KK5DO, offers news and comments on the satellite scene each week on ARRL Audio News, available each Friday via Real Audio on ARRLWeb, http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/ or by telephone, 860-594-0384.

• Make that dot net: The ARRL e-mail forwarding service e-mail address format is your call sign@arrl.net. Some forwarding service users mistakenly have given out their forwarding addresses as .org, which is the domain for ARRL Headquarters addresses. Mail sent to .org addresses that are not those of ARRL staff members or volunteers will bounce. The ARRL E-Mail Forwarding Service is a free member service.

• Canadian streamlining: Industry Canada--that country's equivalent to the FCC--has released a proposal to streamline the authorization process for the Amateur Radio Service. Industry Canada proposes to make the Amateur Radio Operator Certificate the sole authorization document. IC also would eliminate the radio license (and the license issuance fee, the short-term fee, and the $24 annual renewal fee). Operator Certificates would be modified to include the assigned call sign. IC would charge a $60 fee for user-initiated transactions. Details are available on the Industry Canada Web site, http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/SSG/sf01709e.html.--RAC

• PSK31 record: As a relatively new Amateur Radio mode, PSK31 "records" now are being established--to be broken, no doubt, as well. Here's one of the latest--the first PSK31 QSO between the US (W4WHN) and Cuba (CO2OJ) and on 2 meters to boot! "I don't know if there have been any other international QSOs on VHF-PSK31, but at least we are sure this one is the first between W4 and CO lands," said Oscar Morales, CO2OJ, who also worked K9KNW. He said he and W4WHN were running QRP--less than 3 W--and copy was "perfect." Both contacts took place on 144.190 MHz. Morales reports that he and others plan to be on 144.190 mornings seeking additional PSK31 contacts.--VHF Reflector