The ARRL Letter, Volume 8, Number 7, April 11, 1989 Published by: The American Radio Relay League, Inc. 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 Editor: Jay Mabey, NU0X 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 to the American Radio Relay League, Inc. ARRL COMMITTEE RELEASES CODE-FREE LICENSE REPORT A special committee appointed by ARRL President Larry E. Price, W4RA, has submitted a report recommending the creation of a class of Amateur Radio license not requiring a knowledge of Morse code. The report was presented to the ARRL Executive Committee, which met on April 1; the Executive Committee did not take a position on the substance of the report, but authorized its publication in full in the May issue of QST and referred it to the full Board of Directors for consideration during its July 21-22 meeting. ARRL members, other licensed radio amateurs, and others interested in Amateur Radio are invited to review the report and to make their views known to ARRL Division Directors. The mission of the committee was "to explore the implications of a no-code amateur license." To carry out this mission, President Price appointed a distinguished committee consisting of members from the ARRL Board of Directors, Amateur Radio industry and radio amateurs at large, as follows: ARRL Vice President George S. Wilson III, W4OYI, Chairman; John Crovelli, W2GD, At Large; Y. E. (Ed) Juge, W5TOO, Industry Representative; Kenneth G. Kopp, K0PP, At Large; C. Mike Lamb, N7ML, Industry Representative; and Rod Stafford, KB6ZV, ARRL Director, Pacific Division. In addition, the following consultants were designated: Thomas B. J. Atkins, VE3CDM, Canadian Radio Relay League President, Larry E. Price, W4RA, ARRL President, Leland Smith, W5KL, Quarter Century Wireless Association President, David Sumner, K1ZZ, ARRL Executive Vice President The committee stressed that its proposal, if adopted, would not cause any licensee to lose any present privileges. It proposes a new class of Amateur Radio license, with a written examination somewhat more comprehensive than the present Technician exam but with no requirement for a Morse code examination. Holders would be permitted to operate on all frequencies and with all privileges now available to Technicians above 30 MHz, except that 2-meter operation would be limited to frequencies between 144.9 and 145.1 MHz and to digital modes only. Examinations would be given only by accredited Volunteer Examiners, and distinctive call signs would be assigned. The committee carefully reviewed a wealth of input from interested individuals and clubs, as well as information it had requested from IARU member societies in other countries which already have a code- free class of amateur license. A large number of alternatives were considered by the committee in developing its recommendations. Executive Vice President Sumner stressed that the committee's report does not represent League policy at this time. The Board of Directors is the policy-making body of the organization, and as such will determine whether the report, with or without modifications, will become League policy. He pointed out that the League is a representative democracy, with Directors elected to represent the members of their Divisions. Accordingly, anyone reading the report and wishing to have his or her views considered is urged to write the Director of their Division sometime prior to the July Board Meeting. The full text of the committee's report can be found in Data Library 1, file ARL016.89. CAROLE PERRY, WB2MGP, TO ATTEND ATLANTIS LAUNCH Congratulations to Carole Perry, WB2MGP, on being invited by the NASA Education Department to attend a 3-day conference for educators. The conference includes seminars with astronauts and NASA officials, and will culminate with the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on April 28. The purpose of the mission is to launch the Magellan spacecraft which will map the outline of Venus. Carol feels her invitation was the result of her class's 1985 SSTV contact with Tony England, W0ORE, on the Challenger mission, and her present class's participation in the 10 meter CQ All Schools Net which has been in regular contact with Johnson Space Center hams. Carol was the 1987 ARRL Professional Instructor of the Year. EGE AND HRO MERGE Effective March 1, HRO Inc, (Ham Radio Outlet) purchased EGE Inc. The former EGE stores in Woodbridge, Virginia and Salem, New Hampshire will become part of the Ham Radio Outlet chain, now totaling nine stores nationwide. AMATEUR AUXILIARY TO FCC'S FOB POSTS STATS Here's a summary of Official Observer (OO) activity for 1988. Of the 4001 Auxiliary reports forwarded to ARRL HQ during the year, 3374 were directly attributable to the following categories: Category Reports % Frequency instability 75 3 Chirp 398 12 Spurious 23 1 Harmonics 4 1 Hum 244 8 Key clicks 176 6 Broad signal 236 7 Distortion 112 4 Out of band/band edge 661 17.7 Improper (or no) ID 358 11 Obscenity/profanity 153 5 Causing interference 135 4 Good Guy reports 417 13 Miscellaneous 365 11 Of the 3374 reports that were directly attributable to a specific amateur band, the most reports were sent to amateurs operating on 20 meters (35%), followed by those operating on 40 (22%), 80 (18%), and 2 meters (16%). (TNX Field Forum) INTERESTED IN SERVING AMATEUR RADIO? The ARRL Interference Reporting System (AIRS) is in need of a f-e-w more volunteers. What's that, you say? Never heard of the AIRS program before? Well, we don't doubt that, as there are only 30-40 AIRS volunteers in the whole country. Its purpose? To detect and report non-Amateur incursions into the Amateur Radio Service bands, for action by FCC Treaty Branch, Washington DC. Does this mean nabbing invading CB'ers? In part, but there are also numerous transmissions (a whopping 620 total reports in January of 1989!) which involve everything from encrypted F1B transmissions on 14.032 MHz, to perfectly legal/legitimate non-Amateur transmissions on 80 meters. Part of ARRL HQ's chore is to determine, in advance, which potential AIRS people have the capability of determining those transmissions that are in fact harmful, which ones are contrary to ITU regulations, and which are simply aggravating, but nevertheless legal and therefore not reportable. The potential AIRS member is provided with much of this material before being accepted into the program, but some of it is learned "on the fly", as new transmitters enter our bands. If you are qualified and interested in this important activity, please request an AIRS application package from Luck Hurder, KY1T, at ARRL HQ. AMATEUR RADIO IN SPACE AGAIN SOON! An amateur radio station is scheduled to fly aboard the Space Shuttle in March, 1990. Approval for the inclusion of the Space Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment (SAREX) on the secondary payload list of flight STS 35 has been received from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Headquarters. Ron Parise, WA4SIR, a payload Specialist for the Astro 1 payload to be carried on that flight will operate the station in the orbiting shuttle. Representatives of ARRL and SAREX, and the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, AMSAT, stated that they learned of the approval at a meeting with NASA officials held on March 14 at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. WA4SIR will communicate with amateur operators worldwide using voice and video communications, as well as packet radio. The orbit of the shuttle will allow amateurs located between approximately 46 degrees North and 46 degrees South latitudes to communicate directly with the shuttle. The SAREX transmissions from the space shuttle will be such that a standard scanner radio can receive them. The approval for SAREX operation is contingent on final approval by Johnson Space Center of the SAREX hardware and operations plan, as well as prioritization of secondary payloads for the STS 35 flight. Stay tuned to the ARRL Letter, QST, and W1AW bulletins for further updates on SAREX. KA9Q TO RECEIVE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT DAYTON Phil Karn, KA9Q, will receive the "Special Achievement Award" this year at the annual Dayton Amateur Radio Association banquet on April 29. DARA is the sponsor for this award as well as the Dayton Hamvention(R) known worldwide. This award recognizes an individual who has made many significant contributions to the Amateur Radio Service. Phil has been a long time AMSAT member and has been deeply involved in the Phase 3 program and the Phase 4 Geosynchronous Satellite design effort. Phil also serves on the Board of Directors of AMSAT-NA and TAPR. Most recently Phil has been involved with a new packet radio protocol known as TCP/IP, which is presently being experimented with as a means to more efficiently move packets than the existing AX.25 protocol. DARA SEEKING CAMP COUNSELORS In order to expose as many young people as possible to Amateur Radio, the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA) provides counselors at three summer camps in Ohio each summer. DARA is looking for three amateurs, General class or above, to work as camp counselors in Boy Scout, Girl Scout and YMCA camps in southwest Ohio this summer. In addition to the regular counselor functions, these young people will demonstrate Amateur Radio and teach a Novice course. This provides a great opportunity for young people to earn money for college, have an all-summer camp experience and be provided with modern ham radio equipment. If you are interested call Terry Falknor, N8EEO, at 513-698-5354 or write to him at 5335 Garland Rd., West Milton, OH 45383. AMSAT TO PUBLISH "AO-13 BEGINNERS GUIDE" AMSAT-NA announces the availability of a new publication titled "AMSAT-NA AO-13 Beginners Guide, authored by Keith Berglund, WB5ZDP. This guide was written specifically with the first time AO-13 user in mind, and is designed to answer those questions which all beginners have. All aspects of putting a satellite station together are discussed. Keith designed the Guide starting from "antennas down:" antennas, rotators, preamps, and coax. He covers equipment currently available, as well as suggestions for laying out a "typical" station. The Guide includes a list of all the AMSAT-NA Regional and Area Coordinators. This was included so the beginner will have additional sources of information, and, if the coordinator lives nearby, can also see an operational AO-13 station. The Guide is available to all new and renewing AMSAT members. CLE SEMINAR REMINDER ARRL Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD, would like to remind anyone attending the Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar to be held at the ARRL National Convention in Dallas/Fort Worth this June 2-4 that the following information is required from each registrant: Full name and address; membership of all state Bar Associations and the appropriate numbers; daytime phone number. This information will expedite notification of each state bar association of those attorneys deserving of CLE credit. The Regulatory Information Department is currently taking advance registrations. The cost of the seminar is $50 to anyone wanting the materials, whether or not the person is an attorney. This cost will, however, include the cost of CLE credit notification where applicable. ARRL NET DIRECTORY AVAILABLE The 1989 ARRL Net Directory is hot off the presses! This Directory is not just a list of nets. It explains the National Traffic System, how to organize and receive messages, how to originate traffic via packet radio -- in short, everything you ever wanted to know about traffic handling but were afraid to ask! The Directory is available for $1 postpaid from HQ. GEORGIA HAMS SAVES LIVES "This was truly a public service job well done," proclaimed Max Blood, a Warnings and Preparedness Meteorologist in the Atlanta National Weather Service Office. In a letter to ARRL President Larry Price, W4RA, Blood thanked amateurs for providing critical information utilized to warn the public of severe weather on the night of March 5. The efforts of the Bill Gremillion Radio Club of Coweta County, Georgia, and specifically the initial report of Steve Hill, KB4THW, of damages and injuries from the tornado that struck the western part of Coweta County were praised by Blood in the letter. He felt these and other reports were responsible for the relatively low number of deaths and injuries from the storms. FCC CHAIRMAN RESIGNS Just at press time HQ received word that FCC Chairman Dennis Patrick had written a letter to President Bush expressing his desire to leave the government and return to the private sector. The departure of Chairman Patrick creates the third opening on the five- member commission, which has been functioning with only three members for more than a year.