HAM Toolkit/HAM Toolkit.iso/text/arrl/letter6.15

Text File | 1993-11-17 | 22KB | 918 lines

The ARRL Letter

Vol. 12, No. 11

June 15, 1993


ARRL supports HF data proposal


    The League on June 1 submitted reply comments

supporting its petitiion to the Federal Communications

Commission to change FCC rules for HF data communications

(RM-8218; see *The ARRL Letter*, May 25, 1993, and July,

1993 *QST*, p 75).

    The League once again reiterated its original

petition for rule making, made in February, 1993, and

responded to comments in response to that petition, saying

that those comments "aptly illustrate the difficulty in

making provision for automatic control of HF communications

in the heavily occupied high frequency bands."

    The League said that a number of comments opposed

the creation of band segments within which automatically

controlled data stations could operate, because such

segments would include frequencies on which Baudot

communications currently take place.

    Other commenters suggested that the proposed

subbands would be ill-advised because they would intermix

automatically controlled, incompatible digital

communications modes, leading to interference.

    Still others suggested that certain "outdated"

communications modes (such as Baudot), which do not include

error correction or detection, should be prohibited, to make

room for newer, more efficient digital modes.

    Finally, the League said, a number of commenters

suggested that although the proposed subbands are

acceptable, they do not  sufficiently encourage development

of digital message networks.

    Those commenters suggested that to permit

significant expansion of data networks at HF, automatically

controlled stations should be allowed throughout the HF

bands where data communications are permitted.

    To minimize interference to other stations, they

suggested that automatically controlled stations be

permitted to communicate only with stations operated under

local or remote control, and that two automatically

controlled data stations should not communicate with each

other in the HF bands.


Merit to comments


    While there is some merit in each of these concerns,

the League pointed out what it called "myths" regarding the

proposal, saying that limiting automatic control to specific

proposed subbands would *not* stifle the development of non-

packet data modes, that its petition did *not* suggest that

data networking should be segregated, and that nothing would

be taken away from anyone by the League's proposal because

currently automatic control is *not* permitted on HF (except

for the stations operating under the ARRL's FCC Special

Temporary Authorization).

    The petition also *does not*, the League said,

propose that all data operation be located in the proposed

subbands, but only that those stations operated under

automatic control operate there. Nor is it "flawed" in not

addressing "semi-automatic

control" outside the proposed HF subbands, since that is a

separate issue that has been studied by the League's Digital

Committee and will be discussed by the ARRL Board of

Directors in July.


Called best solution


    The League said that the subband concept it proposes

is the only plan to date which would accommodate

automatically controlled operation while minimizing

interference. It does not appear that sufficient safeguards

against interference currently exist to permit automatically

controlled data stations to operate outside limited

subbands, the League said.

    The League also said that the recently-adopted IARU

Region 2 HF band plan, although not having the force of ITU

regulations, still is adhered to by most countries, and

therefore any plan adopted by the United States should take

it into consideration.

    Amateurs using data modes can continue to do so

anywhere in the HF bands that data operation is permitted,

with only the automatically controlled stations limited to

the proposed subbands by the League's proposal. Those

subbands can be expanded or modified in the future after

experience with them is gained, the League said.


Longtime ARRL director W0FIR dies


    Paul Grauer, W0FIR, died June 5 at his home in

Wilson Kansas. He was 81 years old and the husband of Helen

Grauer, N0BCI.

    Paul was named an ARRL Honorary Vice President on

June 4. He had resigned as Midwest Division Director on June

3, after nearly 20 years of service. He became a director on

January 1, 1974, and at the time of his resignation was the

longest-serving member of the board. He also was a vice

director for one term in 1972 and 1973 and had been

president of the ARRL Foundation since 1985.

    "To say that Paul was an institution in the ARRL,"

Executive Vice President David Sumner, K1ZZ, said, "would be

an understatement. In his more than two decades of service

he played the role of sensible, conservative patriarch of

the ARRL family."

    Vice Director Bill McGrannahan, K0ORB, has assumed

the office of Midwest Division director, and Central

Division Director Ed Metzger, W9PRN, is acting president of

the Foundation.

    Paul Grauer was born August 13, 1911, in Winside,

Nebraska. He had lived in Wilson for 50 years, an

anniversary celebrated on the front page of *The Wilson

World* in March of this year. He and his wife Helen had

owned and operated the Wilson Telephone Company since 1948;

they began the company in a partnership in 1943.

    The funeral and burial were June 8, in Wilson.

Attending on behalf of the ARRL were EVP Sumner; Central

Division Director Ed Metzger, W9PRN; new Midwest Division

Director McGrannahan; Missouri Section Manager Roger Volk,

K0GOB; Kansas SM Bob Summers, K0BXF; and several ARRL

assistant directors and members.

    The funeral was attended by several hundred people,

"an impressive turnout in a town of about 800 people,"

Sumner said. Grauer had been active in his church and

community, serving as mayor of Wilson for six years.

    Paul Grauer was buried wearing his ARRL Director and

Vice President pins.

    In addition to his wife, Grauer leaves three sons,

two brothers, a sister, and eight grandchildren and six

great-grandchildren.

    Director McGrannahan replaces Paul Grauer on the

Membership Services Committee; Pacific Division Vice

Director Brad Wyatt, K6WR, replaces McGrannahan as board

liaison to the Contest Advisory Committee.


Jim Rafferty, N6RJ, dies at 43;

was v.p. of Ham Radio Outlet


    Jim Rafferty, N6RJ, the vice president of Ham Radio

Outlet, died June 13, 1993, in Yorba Linda, Calif., after a

long battle with cancer. He was 43 years old, born June 19,

1949, in Rockford, Ill., and was the husband of Shirley

Rafferty.

    An active operator, Rafferty is remembered for his

participation in the first operation from Kingman Reef,

KP6KR, in 1974. He was one of the team to gather around the

microphone and put out the first CQ from the new country.

    In recent years he operated from the Cayman Islands

as ZF2FL and later as ZF2JR, specializing in 40 meters.    He

held the world record for single-band 40 meters in the CQ

Worldwide Phone Contest.

    One of his labors of love was, every fall, to update

the DXCC countries file for the "CT" software used by many

active contest operators. He mailed copies of the new file

to friends around the country who passed it along to others.

    Rafferty also teamed with KL7GRF to translate the

famous "W9IOP Second Op" into software and then marketed it

as the N6RJ Second Op.

    Although an executive at HRO, Rafferty manned the

"800" line in Anaheim side-by-side with other store

employees, over the years answering questions for thousands

of ham callers. He was friendly and knowledgeable, always

knowing where the best deal was, even if it wasn't at HRO.

    Rafferty was first licensed in the early 1960s in

Illinois, as WA9UCE. In the early 1970s he moved to

California, becoming K6AAR and then N6RJ.

    A final honor for N6RJ was appearing on the cover of

the July, 1993 issue of *CQ* magazine. He saw a copy of the

magazine,  just off the press, only hours before his death.

    Jim Rafferty died at Placentia Linda Hospital in

Yorba Linda. With him at the time of his death were his

wife, along with other family members. Also there were his

friends Chip Margelli, K7JA; Janet Margelli, WA7WMB; Joe

Clement, KF6OG; and Lois Clement, N6NAS.

    "I could communicate with Jim by squeezing CW on his

foot," Chip Margelli said. "His code speed was down a little

but he could still copy it."

    In addition to his wife, Jim Rafferty leaves two

sons, Jim and Mark; and a daughter, Whitney, all at home.

    The funeral was scheduled for Friday, June 18, at

St. Martin's Catholic Church in Yorba Linda. In lieu of

flowers, donations may be made to the ARRL Foundation or to

the Northern California DX Foundation.

    The last weekend in October will never be quite the

same without that big 40-meter signal from ZF2JR. R.I.P.,

Jim. -- K1TN.


JUNE 20 new date for 3RD SAREX Shuttle of '93


    The next Space Shuttle launch carrying the Shuttle

Amateur Radio EXperiment is scheduled for June 20 at 1338

UTC.  The ham radio-licensed crew includes Pilot Brian

Duffy, N5WQW, and Mission Specialist Janice Voss, whose

license is pending. The flight was rescheduled from June 3.

    As part of its primary mission, the Shuttle

*Endeavour* will carry the SPACEHAB payload, a laboratory

which is leased by various industry to expand research in

commercial microgravity development opportunities. The crew

also will retrieve the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA)

satellite, which was deployed from Shuttle *Atlantis* on the

STS-46 mission in August 1992.

    During the 7 day flight, Duffy and Voss will use 2-

meter FM voice and packet. The astronauts will use their own

call signs for voice contacts. The primary packet call sign

will be W5RRR-1. The astronauts have pre-scheduled numerous

contacts with schools and their assisting radio clubs in the

United States and Mexico.

    The attitude and elevation of the spacecraft are

expected to change significantly during the EURECA

rendezvous and retrieval on flight day 4. As a result,

amateurs attempting to make a random contact or eavesdrop

should update their Keplerian elements regularly throughout

the mission.

    For more information on this and other upcoming

SAREX opportunities, please contact the ARRL Educational

Activities Department, SAREX office. Listen to W1AW for more

details as the launch time near.


GOVERNMENT AIRS NEW

HF BEACON STATION


    A new beacon began operation May 13 from Cape Prince

of Wales, Alaska (67N, 168W). Its call sign is NAF and it

runs 100 watts to a 3-band fan dipole on the following

schedule:

    00 and 01 minutes after the hour on 5604 kHz; 20 and

21 minutes after the hour on 11004 kHz; and 40 and 41

minutes after the hour on 16804 kHz. Transmissions are

narrowband CW and FSK.

    The beacon will be monitored by government

facilities in Fairbanks, Alaska; Seattle, Washington; State

College, Pennsylvania; and San Diego, California. The

project's sponsor is the Naval Security Group Command in

Washington, D.C.

    A government spokesman said the project is "purely

scientific."  The purpose of the project is described as to

provide a "rigorous verification" of field strength models

done by HF propagation prediction programs like IONCAP which

are used, for example, to generate the predictions published

each month in QST.

    Reception reports are encouraged and will be

acknowledged with a colorful QSL card. Send them to Bob

Rose, K6GKU, Code 54, NRaD Division, NCCOSC, 271 Catalina

Blvd., San Diego CA 92152; or to Dr. Gus Lott, KR4K, Code

GX, COMNAVSECGRU, 3801 Nebraska Ave NW, Washington DC 20393.

    Another beacon, from Rarotonga in the South Cook

Islands, is scheduled to go on the air in the fall, on low

VHF frequencies as well as the three NAF frequencies.


AMATEUR RADIO SERVICE

JOINT RESOLUTION UPDATE


    As of June 14 eight U.S. senators and 37

representatives had become co-sponsors of the Amateur Radio

Joint Resolution (S.J. Resolution 90 and H.J. Resolution

199); they are:


[Senate]


Charles S. Robb (D-VA, Sponsor)

Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) *

Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ) *

Larry Pressler (R-SD) *

Richard C. Shelby (D-AL) *

Daniel K. Inouye (D-HI)

William V. Roth (R-DE)

James M. Jeffords (R-VT)


[House of Representatives]


Mike Kreidler (D-WA, Sponsor)

Jim Cooper (D-TN) *

Craig Thomas (R-WY) *

John Murtha (D-PA) *

Norman Mineta (D-CA) *

Peter D-eutsch (D-FL) *

D-ouglas (Pete) Peterson (D-FL) *

Jerry Costello (D-IL) *

John LaFalce (D-NY) *

James Barcia (D-MI) *

Martin Frost (D-TX) *

John D-oolittle (R-CA) *

Ronald Coleman (D-TX) *

Lane Evans (D-IL) *

Elton Gallegly (R-CA) *

Paul Gillmor (R-OH)

Michael Bilirakis (R-FL)

J. D-ennis Hastert (R-IL)

Bill Hefner (D-NC)

D-on Edwards (D-CA)

Charles Wilson (D-TX)

Bart Gordon (D-TN)

George Hochbrueckner (D-NY)

Jim Leach (R-IA)

Nancy Johnson (R-CT)

Eni F.H. Faleomavaega (D-Am. Samoa)

Richard Lehman (D-CA)

Frank McCloskey (D-IN)

Leslie Byrne ( D-VA)

Lewis Payne (D-VA)

Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)

James H. Quillen (R-TN)

Michael McNulty (D-NY)

Jolene Unsoeld (D-WA)

Arthur Ravenel (R-SC)

Jim Ramstad (R-MN)

Toby Roth (R-WI)


* Original co-sponsor


    If your elected representatives are not on this

list, please write to them about this important resolution.

For details see July *QST*, pages 73 and 74.


BRIEFS


    * Steven Rich, WA1DFL, died in early March in

Revere, Mass. He was 46 years old and had suffered from a

long-term, debilitating illness that finally claimed his

life. Amateurs attending ARRL New England Division

Conventions over the years often saw Rich there, in a sort

of mobile hospital bed.

    On March 18 an editorial in the Lynn, Mass. *Daily

Evening Item* had this to say about WA1DFL:

    "Following a police-escorted funeral procession that

weaved past Rich's office at Revere High, the specially-

modified house he'd just built on McClure Street, and many

of the businesses and public buildings that because of him

the disabled can now access, the only child of Abraham and

Hannah Rich was laid to rest in Tifereth Israel of Revere

Cemetery....

    "Rich turned down an office at City Hall in order to

be near Revere's youth so they'd learn early we're not all

cut from the same cloth....

    "Seeing his name on the side of a building would be

redundant in that so much of Rich is already built into each

structure.

    "No, this time Revere really needs to outdo itself.

Steven J. Rich has earned nothing less. And for Heaven's

sake, the Pearly Gates had better be handicapped

accessible."


    * Clarification: In Letter No. 9 we reported that

Bill Moore, KF5DL, was the only person to die in tornadoes

that struck Tulsa, Oklahoma April 24. He was the only *Tulsa

resident* to die in the storm; several highway commuters

from other areas died on a nearby interstate highway.


    * This year U.S. Telecommunications Training

Institute at ARRL Headquarters was held in May. Five

telecommunications officials participated in the usual USTTI

Amateur Radio Administration course, conducted by

International Amateur Radio Union President Richard Baldwin,

W1RU; IARU Secretary Larry Price, W4RA; and members of the

HQ staff.

    Attending this year were Trevor Alphanso Atkinson,

Office of Disaster Preparedness, Jamaica; Simon Bugaba,

Telecommunications Engineer (Planning), Uganda;

Ms.Seblewongel Ketema Irgete, Technician, Somalia; Chi Leong

Hoi, Engineer, Macao; and Andrew Rouel Herbert Ogoo, Radio

Officer, Gambia.


    * Dwayne Eskridge, W6LKE, died April 30, 1993 in

Walnut Creek, California. Eskridge, an FBI agent, was on

duty in Honolulu on December 7, 1941, and was one of the

first radio operators to transmit word of the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor. A story about him appeared in *QST*

for December, 1991. Eskridge, an ARRL Life Member, was 73,

and leaves his wife, Virginia Eskridge.


    * It's hard to imagine a DXer who does not have a

few choice QSLs courtesy of long-time manager Arden Hopple,

W3DJZ. Hopple died May 22 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He

was 80 years old. His obituary in the Harrisburg *Patriot

News* noted that he "was an amateur radio operator and held

No. 1 status for number of countries contacted."


    * James O. Weldon, AA5ST, died April 19, 1993, in

Williamsburg, Va. He was 88 years old. Weldon, who lived in

Dallas, founded Continental Electronics Corp. there. The

company, according to a Dallas newspaper account, built

transmitters for the Voice of America network as well as

communications equipment for broadcast facilities worldwide.

    According to current Continental president Robert

McDonald, Weldon's high-power RF designs led directly to the

first "super stations," including XERA in Villa Acuma,

Mexico, which ran a half-million watts in 1938.

     According to an acquaintance, Weldon passed his 20

wpm code test to upgrade to Amateur Extra Class at the age

of 86.


    * In a mail vote the ARRL Board of Directors has

changed Bylaw 16 of the Articles of Association to read:

    "Recognizing the importance of liaison between the

Corporation and other IARU member Societies, the President

is authorized to invite the president of another IARU member

Society, or his designated representative, to attend and

participate in meetings of the Board, without the right to

vote thereat."

    This change took effect June 7, 1993, and permits

President Wilson to invite the president of the Radio

Amateurs of Canada to represent the RAC at the upcoming ARRL

board meeting in July.



    * With the dissolution of the Canadian Radio Relay

League in May, the ARRL once again is responsible for

fulfilling ARRL Canadian memberships. Thus, the 3,186 CRRL

members who were receiving *QST Canada* have been added back

to the ARRL membership rolls as "foreign" associate members.



    * ARRL membership figures are nearing their all-time

high, which was 168,961 at the end of 1978. *Full*

memberships are already at an all-time high.


    * The new French ARSENE Amateur Radio satellite

became available for Mode S use on June 1. The 16-kHz uplink

passband is centered at 435.100 MHz, with a corresponding

downlink passband centered at 2446.540 MHz. Authorized modes

include SSB and CW.

    The investigation continues concerning the failure

of the satellite's 2-meter packet downlink.


    * Dean Straw, N6BV, has joined the HQ staff as

Senior Assistant Technical Editor. He will be responsible

for the *ARRL Antenna Book* and other antenna-related

publications. Dean's experience is in the maritime

electronics industry. He holds a BS in engineering and

applied science from Yale University. He lives in Windham,

New Hampshire.


    * Peter Kirby, general manager of the Radio Society

of Great Britain, visited ARRL Headquarters in early June,

along with his assistant Justine Hodges. They discussed

marketing and related issues with League managers.


    * The FCC will begin accepting applications from

Amateur Radio organizations to be club and military

recreation station call sign administrators on July 26, 1993

(see FCC Order 93-249, *The ARRL Letter*, May 25). The ARRL

Board of Directors will consider the matter at their meeting

in July.

    The League already has written to the FCC to express

its desire to be a call sign administrator.



{photo}


         Jack Titterington, W1EOF, became the oldest graduate

of the University of Rhode Island in February, when he

received his bachelor's degree at age 80. The achievement

earned him feature stories in three local newspapers and a

special commemorative award from Rhode Island Lt. Gov.

Robert Weygand, about whom Titterington says "I've known him

since he was born."

    W1EOF's primary interest over his 61-year Amateur

Radio career has been traffic handling, nearly all on CW,

resulting in making the ARRL's Brass Pounder's League 54

(monthly) times, 43 in a row! He also has been a Section

Traffic Manager and was RI Section Manager from 1977 to

1981.

    Titterington began college in 1986 after his wife

died. "I tried economics and am firmly convinced that no one

in that field knows exactly what is going on," he says. "I

finally settled on psychology. My last course was

Shakespeare and was very exciting."

    During his college career Jack Titterington suffered

a ruptured gall bladder, double pneumonia, and, finally,

lymphatic cancer that physicians called "hopeless." The

cancer cost him a year out of school, after which he

finished the requirements for a degree.

    Jack also is a volunteer examiner for both the ARRL

and W5YI VECs and has worked with the HandiHam System.

    Of all the certificates a 61-year amateur career can

produce, W1EOF is proudest of his ARRL A1 Operator award.

"You cannot seek it but have to wait for it to come to you,"

Jack Titterington says, "and to some of us it never does

come!"