The FCC's new Universal Licensing System has moved a bit closer to resuming full-scale amateur vanity call sign processing.

Several lucky applicants who had submitted call sign requests in the pre-ULS era benefited in recent days from some "live" testing of the ULS vanity processing system. A few not-so-lucky applicants learned this week, however, that the FCC had to rescind some of those vanity grants it cranked out--and should not have--during those "test runs."

Until last week, no vanity call signs had been granted since August 4. The ULS has been accepting vanity applications since it inaugurated the ULS for the Amateur Service August 16, however.

Some 30 vanity call sign applications dating from July were processed September 16. The FCC ran a batch of another 50 or so vanity applications September 21. "We're taking it slow," a ULS spokesperson said.

But while reviewing the vanity applications processed, FCC personnel found some that should not have been granted in the first place, because the applicants made various fatal errors in the application process. The FCC says those call signs will be cancelled and the applications dismissed.

"And there will be plenty more, I'm sure," the spokesperson said, anticipating additional dismissals down the road. The FCC has the option of rescinding any grant within 30 days.

Barring any unforeseen major problems, the FCC anticipates additional "live test" runs before resuming full-scale vanity processing, possibly by month's end. Once that happens, vanity call sign processing will occur every day for eligible applications based on date of receipt. Gone under ULS are weekly processing runs and the dreaded work-in-process--or WIPs--stack of applications that were kicked out of the former automated system and designated for manual processing. Under the ULS, applications that would have gotten an additional manual review in the past now will be automatically dismissed and returned to the applicant for correction and refiling.

Vanity applications not accompanied by payments within the 10-day deadline will be dismissed automatically. The ULS now permits applicants to make credit card payments on-line. The fee for a vanity call sign application increased to $14 on September 14.

In the wake of comments and criticisms about the difficulty of having to configure a dial-up connection with a particular browser (Netscape version 4.5 or higher, and version 4.61 preferred) to file an application, the ULS Task Force says it's planning to convert to electronic filing via the Internet. But a spokesperson says that is not likely to happen for another six to nine months. In the meantime, some have opted to file a paper Form 605 instead.

Hurricane Gert generated some heavy surf along the Bermuda shoreline. [Photo by Antony Siese, VP9HK]

Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service groups in North Carolina and Virginia continue efforts to respond to flooding resulting from Hurricane Floyd. Some parts of the region received additional rain this week as a result of Hurricane Gert.

North Carolina suffered its worst flooding disaster ever due to Hurricane Floyd. "As far as I can tell, we're still on the uphill slope," North Carolina Section Manager Reed Whitten, AB4W, said this week. "There's no reason to believe things will get better soon." Whitten estimated that upwards of 300 amateurs statewide are actively involved in the Hurricane Floyd response. Whitten said hams are staffing EOCs and shelters, handling traffic, and acting as net control stations, as well as supporting outside relief efforts by the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and others.

"Amateur Radio Emergency Service/RACES is providing backup communications between the eight Southern Baptist Convention mobile kitchens and the American Red Cross to support their joint feeding efforts," Whitten said Thursday. He said the Red Cross also enlisted Amateur Radio technical assistance in locating a site for and installing a Red Cross UHF repeater system. "This system, using Red Cross equipment, should be operational early next week," Whitten said.

The American Red Cross currently is housing some 6000 people in 65 shelters in North Carolina, and hams also are providing communication for evacuees. The Salvation Army is operating mobile feeding units and one shelter.

Relief operators continue to be scheduled to travel into hard-hit Edgecombe County. Amateur Radio operators also are providing communication for the State Emergency Operation Center in Raleigh and in Pitt, Edgecombe, Craven, Hertford and other counties. Amateurs from North and South Carolina have traveled to the affected area to assist.

Most of the problems result from flooding of the Tar, Neuse, Cape Fear, and Lumber, rivers in eastern North Carolina. The town of Tarboro was completely cut off by the flooding of the Tar River, and relief workers have had to be transported in and out via helicopter.

While most amateur traffic is being handled on VHF and UHF, the statewide Tar Heel Emergency Net on HF is operating from 8 AM until midnight to support state and county operations. Whitten has requested that the FCC rescind the voluntary communications emergency for 3923 and 7232 kHz in North Carolina.

To the north, Virginia Section Manager Lynn Gahagan, AF4CD, reports the City of Franklin--near the North Carolina border--has experienced its worst flooding ever with the downtown area and businesses under more than 12 feet of water. Nearly all traffic going in and out of Franklin--including police and fire communication--is being handled by ham radio. He said hams were using VHF and repeaters for the most part, and he predicted telephone service could be out for another couple of weeks or more.

The FCC has dismissed four Amateur Radio applications resulting from an examination session in Yonkers, New York, last spring, but its investigation continues.

FCC Legal Adviser for Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth wrote the four applicants two months ago seeking answers to specific questions about the May 2, 1999, session conducted by Metro 70 cm Network Amateur Radio Club Volunteer Examiners under the ARRL-VEC. All four were warned that failure to provide the requested information would lead to dismissal of their applications. On September 9, Hollingsworth wrote the same four applicants to dismiss their pending applications.

Dismissed were an Amateur Extra upgrade application from Keith Murphy, KB2YOI, of Spring Valley, New York; a Tech Plus upgrade application from Keith Jones, KC2EDT, of Brooklyn, New York; an Advanced upgrade application from Winston A. Tulloch, KC2ALN, of Paterson, New Jersey; and an application for a Technician license from Claudies Anderson of Detroit, Michigan.

The FCC says Murphy, Jones, and Tulloch failed to respond to the initial inquiry, while Anderson told the FCC that the test papers the FCC questioned him about were not the ones he'd turned in at the exam session.

All four applicants were advised September 9 that "the issues surrounding the examination session" will have to be resolved before the FCC entertains another Amateur Radio application from any of them.

Hollingsworth told the ARRL that the next step in the investigation would be to contact the Volunteer Examiners at the session.

In its initial inquiries to Murphy, Tulloch, and Anderson, the FCC questioned the appearance of blue markings next to most answers and asked which marks the applicants had placed on the answer sheets and if any marks were already on the sheet when it was handed out. The FCC similarly queried Jones about his Morse code answer sheet, asking if it was the only one he'd filled out on May 2 and if any of the answers were modified after he'd turned in the sheet; the others who took code tests were asked if they had written down any of their copy, and, if so, what they did with those notes.

Anderson also was asked if he was actually present at the test session and if he'd had access to an answer template before or during the test session. All four applicants also were asked to name the Volunteer Examiners who handed out their paperwork and to whom they gave their completed answer sheets, as well as any discussions they might have had with the examiners.

Bill Leonard, W2SKE

Friday, October 1, is the deadline for entries in ARRL's professional media award. Previously announced as the Golden Antenna Award, the official name was changed to honor the late Bill Leonard, W2SKE, a former President of CBS News. This award will go to a professional journalist--or group--for outstanding coverage of Amateur Radio in TV, radio, print or multimedia. The winner will receive an engraved plaque and $500.

In Amateur Radio circles, Bill Leonard is remembered for his 1958 contribution to Sports Illustrated, "The Battle of the Hams," which describes the "sport of DXing." In November of 1996, Leonard was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. Leonard became a Silent Key in 1994.

"We feel that Bill's impressive news career and dedication to Amateur Radio makes him the perfect namesake for this award program," said Dave Bell, W6AQ, Chairman of ARRL's Public Relations Committee. Members of the PR Committee will judge the entries and select this year's winner.

The Harvard Wireless Club celebrates its claimed status as the oldest Amateur Radio club in the US with a special event operation on the weekend of October 2-3. During the club's 90th anniversary observance, members will attempt to work as many stations as possible around the world.

The Harvard Wireless Club--an ARRL-affiliated club--dates its origin to early 1909, when it was founded by Prof George W. Pierce. First known as the Radio Society of the Institute for Geographic Exploration at Harvard, the club assumed its current name the following year. The W1AF call sign dates back to the early 1920s. Frank Wright, N3OQB, is the current club president.

This year's 90th anniversary special event October 2 and 3will include operation from three HF positions and one VHF position. W1AF will be on the air each day from 1200 to 0000 UTC--24 hours in all. HF SSB frequencies include 3890, 7270, 14,270, 21,370 and 28,390 kHz. HF CW will be 35 kHz up from the lower band edges. On VHF, look for W1AF on 50.150, 144.200 and 432.150 MHz SSB.

Solar soothsayer Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: This week was a big disappointment for HF radio enthusiasts. Last week's bulletin, ARLP038, stated that on Thursday, September 23, the solar flux should be around 220. This was the date of the autumnal equinox, generally a peak time for HF propagation. Unfortunately the sunspots never materialized, and the solar flux for the day was more than 80 points lower than predicted.

Not only have solar flux and sunspot numbers been lower than expected, but geomagnetic disturbances were prevalent as well. Wednesday, September 22, was the most active period, when the planetary A index was 37.

What's next? Currently the flux is around 137 as this is being written on September 23, and the predicted values for the weekend of September 24-26 are 135, 135 and 130. Predicted planetary A index is 15, 12 and 10.

Beyond the weekend the best guess is for solar flux to go below 130 after September 27 and bottom out around 110 on October 5. Flux values are not expected to rise above the current level until October 11, and peak around 160 by mid-month.

Active geomagnetic conditions could reappear around October 4 and again around October 9 and 10.

Despite the disappointing numbers, the author of this bulletin has had fun this week on HF mobile. Abandoning the usual 17 meter operation, 10 and 15 meters were tried, and consistent contacts with loud signals from Japan during the afternoon commute were made after 2300 UTC above 21.3 MHz SSB.

Sunspot numbers for September 16 through 22 were 153, 144, 152, 113, 78, 82 and 103 with a mean of 117.9. The 10.7-cm flux was 158.2, 157.5, 151.6, 149.3, 145, 146.8 and 140.4, with a mean of 149.8. The estimated planetary A indices were 32, 15, 16, 10, 10, 10 and 37, with a mean of 18.6.