The ARRL Letter, Volume 8, No. 16, August 11, 1989 Published by: The American Radio Relay League, Inc. 225 Main St. Newington, CT 06111 Editor: Tom Hogerty, KC1J 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. PRB 1 Works for Mesa Hams The Mesa, Arizona City Council unanimously approved a zoning amendment that will now allow radio amateurs in that city to install 75 foot antennas and towers. The vote came on July 10 following an earlier vote of approval by Mesa's Planning and Zoning Commission. Just before the vote, Mesa Mayor, Margaret Rubach, expressed her appreciation to the several hams in the audience for their years of service to the City of Mesa. The vote concluded six months of negotiations between Mesa City Staff and the Superstition Amateur Radio Club, headed by Bill Glaze, KA7SUF. Giving legal guidance to the process was ARRL Volunteer Counsel Neil Wake, KV7O, an experienced land use and corporate mitigation attorney. Additional assistance came in the form of letters of support from Senator Barry Goldwater, K7UGA, the American Red Cross, Maricopa County Arizona Civil Defense and Emergency Services, US Army MARS, the American Graduate School of International management, the Consular Corps of Arizona and many more, all of whom stressed the importance of Amateur Radio in the area of public service. MORE NEWS FROM THE JULY ARRL BOARD MEETING This is a continuation of the lead story in issue 15 of The ARRL Letter. The Board directed Counsel Chris Imlay, N3AKD, to initiate a Rulemaking Petition seeking a secondary allocation to the Amateur Radio Service in the 216-220 MHz band segment. This action should not have the effect of delaying or impeding an appeal of the earlier FCC decision reallocating 220-222 MHz to the Land Mobile Service. Counsel is also to pursue appropriate action to insure that due process rights are afforded amateurs prior to imposition of operating restrictions in radio frequency interference cases. To foster knowledge of the Amateur Service by the public, the Board directed preparation of a detailed plan for selection and use of public relations professionals. To foster growth of the service, the Board took several actions. One urges the amateur community to take full advantage of the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, SAREX, to bring Amateur Radio into classrooms. Another action calls for a committee to study the implementation of a nationwide course for amateur licensing in schools. A third would foster cooperation with the American Association for Retired Persons, (AARP) building on last year's Project Suncoast Seniors. The Publications Committee is to study getting ARRL publications into more college campus bookstores. On other League matters, the Board: Agreed on a joint ARRL/CRRL Computer Networking Conference in London, Ontario September 22, 1990. Awarded the 1991 ARRL National Convention to Saginaw, Michigan, August 23-25, 1991. Revised the Amateurs' Code, which has guided amateurs since the twenties, to update obsolete language. Endorsed several recommendations of the ARRL National Emergency Response Committee, ANERCOM. Adopted a revised band plan for 902 to 928 MHz. The full minutes of the meeting will appear in the September issue of QST. KB5AQV: ARRL'S 1989 HPM MEMORIAL AWARD RECIPIENT Kevin D. Biekert, KB5AQV of Clear Lake City, Texas won the highest award given by the ARRL to a young person for participation in Amateur Radio, the Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award. The Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Award is given annually by the American Radio Relay League to the person under the age of 21 who best exemplifies the ideals of Amateur Radio: service, communication, and experimentation. First licensed in 1987 Kevin is now 17 years old and holds an Amateur Extra class ticket. Among the accomplishments that brought Kevin the award were his role in founding the Clear Lake Amateur Radio Club (CLARC), serving as a club officer, his work with Novice classes, his DXing, and his communications with amateurs in the Soviet Union. Kevin began receiving congratulatory phone calls and radio and packet messages shortly after ARRL Bulletin #42 was released from HQ on July 26. John Nickel, WD5EEV, Emergency Coordinator, Harris County, Clear Lake sector, submitted the nomination. FCC ISSUED CALL SIGN UPDATE The following is a list of most recently issued FCC call signs (August 1). District Group A Group B Group C Group D Extra Advanced Tech/Gen Novice <178> WV<178>J KF<178>EH N<178>KXB KB<178>FAC 1 NY1A KC1PV N1GVQ KA1UHJ 2 WR2W KE2OQ N2JTE KB2IKI 3 NV3W KD3OC N3HJO KA3VAK 4 AB4PR KM4VZ N4WMM KC4LWT 5 AA5MY KG5WW N5OZJ KB5KGD 6 AA6PT KJ6YA N6VYC KC6FBI 7 AA7BI KF7VQ N7NHY KB7IKE 8 WU8M KF8AO N8LDL KB8HYR 9 WJ9W KE9RQ N9ITN KB9DFG Guam KH2K AH2CE KH2DX WH2AMF Hawaii ** AH6JV NH6TY WH6CEQ Alaska ** AL7LI NL7SM WL7BVL USVI NP2F KP2BQ NP2DH WP2AGY P.R. ** KP4QF WP4WE WP4IMB ** indicates that all 2 <148> 1 call signs have been assigned in those areas. GM ISSUES TRANSCEIVER INSTALLATION GUIDELINES General Motors Corporation has released a brochure titled Radio Telephone/Mobile Radio Installation Guidelines for their late model automobiles. GM states that "these guidelines are intended to supplement, but not to be used in place of, detailed instructions for such installations which are the sole responsibility of the manufacturer of the involved radio telephone or land mobile radio." They indicate that improperly installed transceivers may "adversely affect the vehicle operations such as the performance of the engine and driver information, entertainment and electrical charging systems." The guidelines go over such items as transmitter location, antenna installation, antenna coax routing, radio wiring and connection locations, and troubleshooting. It also includes a detailed pictorial showing the recommended placement of single unit transceivers as well as those with remote control heads. Copies of the installation guidelines are available by writing to the Electromagnetic Compatibility Department, EMC Building 40, General Motors Proving Ground, Milford, MI 48024-2001. FCC PROPOSES CHANGE TO PART 15 SS SYSTEMS Over the past several years, FCC has received many inquiries concerning the spreading code length a direct sequence system must use to qualify as a spread spectrum (ss) system under the Part 15 rules. The Commission proposed requiring that the minimum length for the spreading code of direct sequence spread spectrum systems be 127 bits. The current rules limit Part 15 frequency hopping spread spectrum systems to a hopping channel bandwidth of 25 kHz. FCC states that this standard was chosen to provide for conventional FM voice communications and has proven too restrictive for certain other uses, such as high capacity (250 kilobit and higher) data transmissions. In light of this FCC has proposed to widen the allowable bandwidth to 500 kHz in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (General Docket 89-354) on August 2. AMSAT CALL FOR PAPERS AMSAT NA is soliciting papers for presentation at and/or publication in the proceedings of its 1989 Space Symposium. Areas of interest include research, development, engineering, funding, construction, management and operation of OSCAR (Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio) communications and scientific spacecraft and associated communications networks. Papers should be submitted for consideration by October 2, 1989. Include audio visual support requirements (Overhead, slides, video projection, etc.) Include a biography to be included in the proceedings. Papers may be submitted in camera ready form (8-1/2 by 11-inches) or via MS DOS compatible disk or via electronic mail formatted for printing. Papers containing graphics or pictures must be submitted in camera-ready form. Authors will be responsible for duplication and distribution of papers not submitted by October 2nd. Submissions or questions should be forwarded to: Ralph Wallio, W<178>RPK, CITS Chairman AMSAT'89, 1250 Highway G24, Indianola, IA 50125. Send a SASE to W<178>RPK for a registration information package. VE3CNE ON THE AIR One of Canada's most ambitious Amateur Radio exhibits will again be part of the Canadian National Exhibition from August 16 to September 4. Those attending the CNE in Toronto will find the VE3CNE Exhibit in the Arts & Crafts building, near the Dufferin Gates, at the west end of the CNE grounds. Most of the Amateur Radio Clubs in the Toronto area will take a day to operate the station and talk to the general public about Amateur Radio. Listen for VE3CNE on all the HF bands. RUSSIAN PHRASES FOR AMATEUR RADIO A 20-page syllabus has been compiled by Len Traubman, W6HJK to help amateurs communicate with Russian speaking amateurs. The booklet provides English words and phrases for QSOs, accompanied by the Russian translation and the English transliteration. According to Traubman, "you need not be an expert in Russian, only interested in trying." The syllabus follows the normal sequence of a QSO. There are additional sections on the Russian alphabet, phonetics, CW characters, numerals, and given names. The syllabus is available for $5 in the US and $7 elsewhere per copy. Requests should be sent to: Russian Phrases for Amateur Radio, c/o Len Traubman W6HJK, 1448 Cedarwood Drive, San Mateo, CA 94403. HF PACKET INITIATIVE "The Great 1989 HF Packet Design Quest" article in May QST announced a new initiative to stimulate amateur development of more effective HF packet transmission systems. If you are interested and haven't seen the article, get hold of a May QST. As this is written, ARRL HQ staff are in the process of finishing several bibliographies on HF channel characteristics, modems, protocols and digital signal processing. They will be mailing the bibliographies to people who have expressed an interest and shortly, will be asking prospective participants for resumes and some information on what they would like to contribute to the project. There will be an opportunity for reimbursement for certain out of pocket expenses for participants ultimately selected by the ARRL Digital Committee. If you would like to be added to the mailing list, write or call Lori Weinberg at ARRL HQ. ARRL OFFERS NEW PUBLICATION Antenna Impedance Matching, written by Wilfred N. Caron, is now available from ARRL HQ. This 200 page hardcover book shows how to properly match an antenna to the feedline to minimize losses. Even if you have no special expertise the book will show you how to use the Smith Chart to develop even the most complex matching network. Antenna Impedance Matching can be purchased for $15.00 per copy. Please add $2.50 ($3.50 UPS) shipping and handling. For quantities of 3 or more, please contact Lisa Tardette at ARRL HQ for shipping costs. FCC COMMISSIONERS CONFIRMED The Senate, on Friday, August 4, 1989 confirmed the Executive nomination for Sherrie Patrice Marshall, Andrew Camp Barrett and Alfred C. Sikes as members of the Federal Communications Commission. After being sworn in by Commissioner James Quello, Mr Sikes was designated by President Bush to be FCC Chairman. Since 1986 Sikes has served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce. JOB OPENINGS AT ARRL HQ The Technical Department is seeking a licensed, experienced amateur with a BS degree in science or engineering or equivalent experience, for the position of Assistant Technical Editor. Effective written and verbal communications ability are required. Starting annual salary is $26,000. Interested? Contact Paul Pagel, N1FB or Chuck Hutchinson, K8CH, at ARRL HQ. There is also an immediate opening for the Assistant Contest Manager. The Assistant Contest Manager works with the Contest Manager in administering the League's contest program, including the scoring of logs, preparing results for QST, and conducting the Special Events and Contest Corral columns in QST. Applicants should be thoroughly interested and knowledgeable in the League's varied contest program. An amateur license, PC familiarity and some writing skills preferred. Accuracy is a must. The starting salary is $16,042. For further information, contact Billy Lunt, KR1R at HQ. Resumes are requested from applicants for the ARRL HQ position of Advertising Manager. Proven sales ability, knowledge of Amateur Radio industry and products, managerial experience, and ability to travel are required. Base starting salary is $26,156 to $31,382. Qualified applicants should apply to Publications Manager Paul Rinaldo, W4RI at HQ.