The ARRL Letter Electronic Update May 24, 1996 __________________________________ IN THIS UPDATE: * Dayton Hamvention report * Teen ham arrested on scanner charges * Sunspots up * Hams defend hobby * Free messages to Bosnia * SM election results * Ham bug bites family * Harry M. Neben, W9QB, SK * J. Jerry Freeman, W4JJ, SK * In Brief: Advise FCC of new address; Boy Scout Jamboree 1997; Net Directory registration open; No change to Mt Athos __________________________________ DAYTON CROWD SMALLER BUT ENTHUSIASTIC The 1996 Dayton Hamvention is history. This year's event took place three weeks later than in past years, in part to avoid rainy, cold weather that had plagued the Hamvention the past few years. (Another more pragmatic reason was to avoid a possible conflict with the local hockey team's use of Hara Arena and Convention Center if they made their league's playoffs.) While some rain still fell the first day, Friday, May 17, it didn't seem to trouble the opening day crowd. Weather during the rest of the weekend was unseasonably hot and humid, however. Crowds of flea marketers took refuge in the shade of the few trees around Hara Arena. The official tally: 30,368, down some 6% from last year, according to Sheila Markland, KF8YD, who was among those in the Dayton Amateur Radio Association who helped to bring off this year's Hamvention. Officials blamed the lower head count on the new date, where it conflicted with some graduations and proms, and on the fact that May 17-19 turned out to be "the first good weekend" of a wet spring, and some took advantage of the sunshine to plant gardens and enjoy other outside activities. Visitors turned out from all parts of the US and Canada, as well as several other countries around the world. Badges bearing exotic call signs are not uncommon among Dayton Hamventioneers, and this year was no exception. While no major HF transceivers debuted at Dayton (perhaps a function of the sunspot minimum), several manufacturers were promoting new products, some not quite available. Among them were ICOM's IC-821 all-mode VHF/UHF transceiver (an upgrade of the IC-820), Standard's C5900DA, a three-band mobile (6 and 2 meters and 70 cm) and its C156 2-meter hand-held (to be priced below $200), AEA's halo antenna for 6 meters and its IDR-96 440-MHz 9600-baud packet radio, MFJ "Travel Radios" for 75 and 40 meters (available "soon"), Ten-Tec's new 811A amplifier, Kenwood's TM-261 2-meter mobile and Yaesu's FT-3000M high-power 2-meter mobile. Yaesu celebrated 40 years in Amateur Radio during the Hamvention. Sales were brisk of the ARRL's new CD-ROM containing QST, QEX and NCJ for 1995, which was demonstrated for hundreds of Hamventioneers. Possibly also as a result of low sunspot activity, while DXCC applications were about even with past years, the number of cards was down by about a third, according to ARRL DXCC Manager Bill Kennamer, K5FUV. DX Forum attendance was off too, he reports. On the other hand, ARRL Repeater Directory Editor Jay Mabey, NU0X, says the ARES forum drew 100 or so and "the discussion was energetic." Another 60 or so attended the Repeater Coordination forum and got an overview of progress toward establishing a single point of contact between the FCC and the various coordinating entities in the US. The ARRL forum on Sunday morning attracted a good crowd, including President Emeritus George Wilson, W4OYI, who enjoyed seeing so many friends after a stroke caused him to miss last year's Hamvention. WRC-99 was uppermost on the minds of forum attendees, whose questions were ably answered by President Rod Stafford, KB6ZV. As the opening date of May 31, 1996, for the first gate of the vanity call sign program approached, many hams stopped by the ARRL booth to pick up FCC Form 610V packages. Judging from the number of requests, interest in the program is high, and the FCC will have its hands full processing applications for Gate 1 and subsequent gates, which the FCC has not yet announced. SETI League executive director Paul Shuch, N6TX, was the Hamvention banquet "speaker" Saturday evening. Shuch entertained with songs and included numbers about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, Carl Sagan and the "Big Ear" antenna developed by John Kraus, W8JK, who was among those being honored. AMSAT-NA President Bill Tynan, W3XO, was named the Dayton Hamvention's Ham of the Year. Kraus was a Special Achievement Award winner, and Bill Orr, W6SAI, was named Technical Excellence Award winner. Neither was able to attend, however. Bob Dixon, W8ERD, subbed for Kraus while Joe Schroeder, W9JUV, spoke on Orr's behalf. More than 1000 attended the banquet. Our thanks to the many who visited the ARRL booth at Dayton to just chat, pick up an FCC form or a League membership or award application, or to expand their ham radio libraries. We enjoyed meeting all of you! TEEN HAM ARRESTED ON SCANNER CHARGES Greg Godsey, KF4BDY, a 16-year-old ham from Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was arrested May 11 by local police who charged him with carrying a scanner that could receive police radio frequencies. His Radio Shack HTX-202 2-meter transceiver was confiscated. At a court appearance May 14, he was bound over for trial on June 4. The judge reportedly didn't hear any arguments concerning whether the law was broken, possibly because the arresting officer wasn't present. According to reports, Greg, the ARES EC for Christian County, Kentucky, and a ham since last summer, was detained by Hopkinsville Police. The officer indicated that when he arrived, Greg "was talking on a radio that is capable of receiving police frequencies. I verified this by keying my radio, which broke the squelch on [Greg's] radio." Greg denies the charges and says his radio has not been modified and cannot receive or transmit outside of the 2-meter band. He has sought advice from the ARRL in resolving the matter. ARRL Regulatory Information Branch Supervisor Norman Bliss, WA1CCQ, says the Kentucky law exempts equipment possessed by a licensed Amateur Radio operator that is capable of receiving police frequencies. SOLAR ACTIVITY UP Solar observer Tad Cook, KT7H, in Seattle reports that solar activity was up a bit during the period of May 9-15, with the average sunspot number about 20 points higher than the previous week's, and solar flux up less than three points. The most disturbed days were May 13 and 14, when the A index was 13 and 15. Otherwise, conditions were stable. Last fall we were excited to report sightings of the first sunspots from the upcoming Solar Cycle 23. Now the NOAA Space Environment Service Center has changed its report and is not expecting the new cycle to begin until later this year. Watch for the solar flux to dip below 70 in late May, then rise above 70 after June 2, peaking in the mid-70s around June 9. Conditions should be very stable through May 27, then an active geomagnetic field is expected around June 7 and 10. Sunspot numbers for May 9 through 15 were 17, 33, 53, 35, 38, 30 and 26, respectively, with a mean of 33.1. The 10.7-cm flux was 76, 77.5, 76.5, 73.6, 72.7, 71.8 and 70.9, respectively, with a mean of 74.1. HAMS DEFEND HOBBY A single sentence in the June issue of Ladies Home Journal that cast Amateur Radio in a bad light prompted strong reaction as hams rallied to the hobby's defense. The magazine has gotten the message and promised a correction for the unintentional error. In case you missed it, here's what happened. In LHJ's Consumer News department on page 86, an item regarding cordless telephones states: "There is little you can do about static, except to report those who cause it--illegal airwave users, such as amateur radio stations--to the FCC." Barbara Leeson, KK6QM, was among those who wrote the LHJ editor to set the record straight on the "illegal airwave users" point. "It's important to place the blame for interference where it properly belongs, on the substantial portion of consumer electronic products sold in the US that are designed with a cheap price rather than interference in mind," she wrote. Leeson advised consumers to read the FCC's Interference Handbook. ARRL Public Relations Assistant Jennifer Hagy, N1TDY, also wrote the magazine to say that the FCC has determined that cordless telephones and similar "poorly designed devices" are "operating improperly as radio receivers." Hagy pointed out that "if the interference is caused by problems in consumer equipment, there is little that can be done to the transmitter to cause the problem." ARRL Laboratory Supervisor Ed Hare, KA1CV, comments that LHJ readers referred to the FCC will be disappointed because the FCC recently made clear that it no longer intends to respond to RFI complaints involving consumer devices unless it knows the interference was a result of FCC rules violations. Hare says the FCC will tell the complainant to contact the manufacturer of the consumer equipment instead. Ladies Home Journal explains it got its information during a telephone interview with the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association (CEMA). FREE MESSAGES TO BOSNIA Army MARS has announced that free MARSgram messages may now be sent to military personnel deployed to Operation Joint Endeavor in Bosnia. These Joint Endeavor addresses can receive messages from family and friends: APO AE 09779, Zagreb, Croatia APO AE 09780, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzagovina APO AE 09781, Split, Croatia APO AE 09782, Kiseljac, Bosnia-Herzagovina APO AE 09789, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzagovina APO AE 09793, Taszar, Hungary For more information or to send a message, contact Lorraine S. Matthew, AAA9PR, e-mail lorimatt@aol.com or any Army MARS member near you. SECTION MANAGER ELECTION RESULTS Ballots have been counted in the section manager elections for the Vermont and Western Massachusetts sections. The terms of office begin July 1, 1996. Here are the results: In the Vermont section: Justin C. Barton, WA1ITZ, 234 Ronni Stern, KA1NRR, 105 Barton was declared elected In the Western Massachusetts section: Mark Casey, N1LZC, 163 William C. Voedisch Jr, W1UD 232 Voedisch was declared elected Eight other sections were not contested. The following were declared elected. In the Alaska section Russell Ely, WL7LP (effective March 20, 1996) In the Illinois section Bruce Boston, KD9UL In the Indiana section Peggy Coulter, W9JUJ In the Maine Section Michelle Mann, WM1C In the Northern Florida section Rudy Hubbard, WA4PUP In the Oregon section Randy Stimson, KZ7T In the Santa Clara Valley section Kit Blanke, WA6PWW In the Wisconsin section Roy Pedersen, K9FHI HAM BUG BITES FAMILY AT SCIENCE MUSEUM What do you do at a science museum? Get your ham license! Three-quarters of the Miller family of LaBelle, Florida, did just that. When the family visited the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) in Tampa, they wandered into the ham radio station there. Everett Hale, KA4IQZ, showed them the equipment and gave them ARRL literature for prospective hams. Bob, the dad, and oldest son Frank, 16, started studying and became KD4VTL and AD4RD, respectively. Mom, Janice and son Jim, 14, followed suit and got KD4ZIX and KE4PQH, respectively. Recently, the two youngest children got their licenses. Sarah , 11, earned KF4HCG and Peter, 9, became KF4HCF. They've since encouraged two friends to get licensed, too. Twins Tim and Tom, 13, have not yet gotten their tickets, but Janice says they keep trying to encourage them. As Bob put it, "If you don't want to get interested in ham radio, don't stop at the ham shack in MOSI. But if you do, it might be the beginning of something!" (Bob is now an ARRL volunteer examiner.) By the way, there's another tale behind how the museum got its ham station. When making a delivery to the museum, Clark Evans, WA4DLL, spotted a car with Amateur Radio plates, and discovered Ed Artest, AD2K, worked at MOSI. The two talked and decided the museum needed a ham station. They asked former Sen Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, to write a letter to the museum, and that, says Clark, "opened the door." Yaesu and local hams donated the needed equipment and antennas for HF, packet, satellite and weatherfax. The MOSI station recently got the call sign, KE4ZRS, and volunteers now teach licensing classes on site.--Rosalie White, WA1STO HARRY M. NEBEN, W9QB, SK Harry M. Neben, W9QB, of Palm Harbor, Florida, died March 29, 1996. He was 77. Originally licensed during the 1930s as W9YVZ, Neben joined the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II, in part as a result of his ham radio experience. During the war, he set up radio stations throughout Europe and carried a little suitcase HF radio, state of the art for its day. Later, as an electrical engineer, he worked for Tucker Motor Cars (dramatically chronicled in the film, Tucker) as well as for Amphenol Corporation and Sunbeam Corporation. A life member of the ARRL, he authored several QST articles on SSB developments, test equipment and antennas. Neben also was active with the Quarter Century Wireless Association. J. JERRY FREEMAN, W4JJ, SK Jerry Freeman, W4JJ, of Virginia Beach, Virginia, died May 18. He was 63. Very well known in the Amateur Radio community, Jerry worked for the FCC for 35 years, many of them as engineer in charge of the FCC's Norfolk, Virginia, Field Office. He retired in August, 1995. Among those who knew Jerry as a friend was Dennis Terribile, WR4I, formerly of Norfolk. He called him "a great ham radio advocate." __________________________________ In Brief: * Al Breiner, W3TI, of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, became the Eastern Pennsylvania section manager on April 1. You can reach Al at 717-668-3098. * The ARRL's Regulatory Information Bureau reminds hams who have changed their mailing addresses to make sure they let the FCC know right away so they can modify your license. The consequences of not taking that simple step could be serious indeed. As the FCC regulations state: "Revocation of the station license or suspension of the operator license may result when correspondence from the FCC is returned as undeliverable because the person failed to provide the correct mailing address." While you're at it, also let us know here at ARRL HQ, so your QST, QEX or ARRL Letter subscription goes to the right place. And send a new sase to your incoming QSL bureau, too. * The summer of 1997 might seem a long way off, but planning already is under way for the National Boy Scout Jamboree, July 30 to August 6, 1997. Licensed amateur staff members who are also Scouts or Scouters 16 years and older are needed to fill 40 positions. For more information, write Ray Moyer, WD8JKV, BSA National Headquarters, 1325 West Walnut Hill Ln, PO Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015-2079. * Registration for the 1997-1998 edition of the ARRL Net Directory is open until September 16, 1996. Registration forms (FSD-85, available from HQ) should be sent to ARRL Headquarters, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111. For more information, call Steve Ewald, WV1X, 860-594-0265, e-mail sewald@arrl.org. * No Change to Mount Athos DXCC Status. The ARRL Membership Services Committee (MSC, a standing committee of the Board of Directors), has received a 9 to 7 recommendation from the DX Advisory Committee (DXAC) to make no change in the status of Mount Athos (SV/A) on the ARRL DXCC Countries List. The Awards Committee reported a unanimous vote to MSC in support of the DXAC to make no change at this time. Since the DXAC and the Awards Committee are in agreement, the matter is decided. =========================================================== 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. Electronic edition circulation, Kathy Capodicasa, N1GZO, e-mail kcapodicasa@arrl.org. Editorial, Rick Lindquist, KX4V, e-mail rlindquist@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. Material from The ARRL Letter may be reproduced in whole or in part, in any form, including photoreproduction and electronic databanks, provided that credit is given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.