
The ARRL Letter
Electronic Update
May 3, 1996
__________________________________

IN THIS UPDATE:

* FCC announces first vanity call sign gate!
* Mixed signals at Olympics
* Question Pool Committee problems resolved
* Badger State to consider preemption bill
* FCC okays rocket launch ATV
* WK6R is new Hudson vice director
* Morse event set
* Pupils plan mock shuttle mission
* Solar cycle bottoming out
* W2HPB, SK
* In Brief: Ham twins' TV shot postponed;
   DC AMSAT meeting set; W1SPG honored;
   FAIRS special event set; New VLF band in UK;
   Lucid talks to family via R0MIR

__________________________________

VANITY CALL SIGN FILING GATE 1 OPENS MAY 31!

The vanity call sign program is almost here! The FCC has announced that Gate 
1 of the vanity call sign program opens May 31, and eligible hams may file 
applications on or after that date.

Under Gate 1, you can file for a previously held individual or club call 
sign or for a call sign formerly held by a deceased close relative. Specific 
eligibility criteria are below. To request a vanity call sign for your 
primary station, you must already hold an unexpired amateur operator/primary 
station license. To obtain the former call sign of a deceased close 
relative, your license also must be of the proper operator class. To request 
a formerly held club station call sign, you must also hold an unexpired club 
station license listing you as the trustee. Vanity call sign applicants must 
use FCC Form 610-V to file.

Applicants should refer to the licensee data base to make sure the call sign 
they are requesting is not already assigned. A call sign is normally 
assignable two years following license expiration, surrender, revocation, 
set aside, cancellation, void ab initio, or death of the grantee. FCC Fact 
Sheet PR5000 Number 206-V, Amateur Station Vanity Call Sign System, has 
details. For explanations of Groups A, B, C and D and the geographic 
Regions, see Fact Sheet PR-5000 #206, Amateur Station Sequential Call Sign 
System.

Legibility is critical! If your application is not legible, you could 
experience a delay in processing, lose the opportunity to obtain a requested 
call sign or even obtain a call sign different from what you want.

Gate 1 Eligibility Criteria

Request by Former Holder (Primary Station): For your primary station, you 
may request a call sign that was previously assigned to your primary, 
secondary, repeater, auxiliary link, control, or space station. You may 
request your former call sign even though it has been unassigned for less 
than two years. The two-year requirement does not apply to an otherwise 
eligible primary station if the call sign was previously assigned to a 
station of the requester. You do not have to hold a class of operator 
license required for the Group (A, B, C, or D) for the call sign requested. 
A call sign request by a former holder may be from any group in the 
sequential system. Your mailing address does not have to be in the region 
designated in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A call sign 
requested by a former holder may be in any region.

Request by Close Relative of Former Holder Now Deceased (Primary Station): 
For your primary station, you may request a call sign that was previously 
assigned to the primary, secondary, repeater, auxiliary link, control, or 
space station of your now-deceased spouse, child, grandchild, stepchild, 
parent, grandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, 
aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or in-law. You may request the former call sign 
of a close relative now deceased even though it has been unassigned for less 
than two years. Upon the death of the holder, a call sign is assignable 
immediately to an otherwise eligible primary station of a close relative. 
You must be an Amateur Extra class operator to request a Group A call sign. 
You must be at least an Advanced class operator to request a Group B call 
sign. You must be at least a Technician class operator to request a Group C 
call sign. You must be at least a Novice class operator to request a Group D 
call sign. Your mailing address does not have to be in the region designated 
in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A call sign requested 
by a close relative of former holder now deceased may be in any region.

Request by Former Holder (Club Station): For the club station for which you 
are the license trustee, you may request a call sign that was previously 
assigned to that station. You may request your club station's former call 
sign even though it has been unassigned for less than two years. The 
two-year requirement does not apply to an otherwise eligible club station if 
the call sign was previously assigned to the club station for which the 
requester is the license trustee. You do not have to hold a class of 
operator license required for the Group (A, B, C, or D) for the call sign 
requested. A call sign request by a former holder may be from any group in 
the sequential system. Your mailing address does not have to be in the 
region designated in the sequential system for the call sign requested. A 
call sign requested by a former holder may be in any region.

A $30.00 fee is required with your FCC Form 610-V application. Payment of 
fees may be by check (payable to "FCC"), bank draft, money order or credit 
card. If paying by credit card, you must also complete and submit FCC Form 
159 with your FCC Form 610-V. Do not send cash!

Send your application package to: Federal Communications Commission, Amateur 
Vanity Call Sign Request, PO Box 358924, Pittsburgh, PA 15251-5924. If you 
do not qualify under the above eligibility standards, your application will 
be dismissed.

The FCC says it will announce Gate 1A in a future notice. Under Gate 1A, 
club station trustees may file for the former primary station call sign of a 
person now deceased, provided the club held a club station license on March 
24, 1995.

For more information about the vanity call sign program, call the FCC 
Consumer Assistance Branch, 800-322-1117.--FCC

MIXED SIGNALS IN ATLANTA

Ham gear is not welcome inside Olympic game venues in Atlanta this summer, 
says Michael Smalls, co-chairman of the Olympics Broadcast and Frequency 
Coordination Committee, which--he says--has the final say on the matter. 
Smalls said May 2 that an official statement to that effect would be 
forthcoming and that security personnel will be requested to keep out all 
transmitters and scanners not already coordinated and approved through his 
office. Smalls said the ban does not affect cellular telephones

Conflicting information about whether ham gear would be permitted past the 
gate apparently resulted from an ironic failure to communicate within the 
Olympics organization. Jim Altman, N4UCK, who's helping to coordinate ham 
radio volunteers for the games, reported last week that ham radio equipment 
was not on the list of prohibited items and would be allowed inside venues. 
Smalls said equipment used by ham radio volunteers providing communication 
support for security personnel will be coordinated and approved. But, Smalls 
and Broadcast and Frequency Coordination Committee member Andy Funk, 
KB7UV--who first reported the ban several weeks ago--indicated their 
committee had not yet formally requested that security personnel impose the 
ban on other transmitters.

Altman says he's not sure the controversy is over, especially since the 
request to those in charge of security has not yet been made. "Who knows how 
it's going to be handled?" he said.

Smalls said his primary goal is to protect the radio and television feeds 
from the games. His office has coordinated upward of 15,000 transmitters at 
Olympic venues, mostly wireless microphones and TV cameras and two-way 
radios. The ban on transmitters and scanning receivers is simply an effort 
to head off potential problems in an environment already saturated with RF, 
he explained. "I'm not saying hams will be the culprit" if an interference 
problem arises, he said. Smalls said meeting the needs of broadcasters from 
abroad has even led to the coordination of some nonstandard frequencies that 
required Special Temporary Authorization from the FCC.

Ham equipment may be used outside of Olympic venues, Smalls said, but he was 
not encouraging it. He said H-Ts and scanners would be allowed outside of 
game venues in Olympic Centennial Park and Coca-Cola Park next door, as well 
as in Olympic Village.

QUESTION POOL COMMITTEE AGAIN FUNCTIONAL

A seven-month-old problem that had threatened to disrupt the Amateur Radio 
volunteer examiner program has been resolved.

In September 1995, a newly formed corporation called NCVEC Inc, attempted to 
exert control over the Question Pool Committee (QPC) that had been formed 
some years earlier by the organizations that have entered into agreements 
with the FCC to serve as Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (VECs). By 
unilateral action of the new corporation and contrary to the FCC rules that 
require all VECs to cooperate in the maintenance of question pools, ARRL 
Volunteer Examiner Department Manager Bart Jahnke, KB9NM, was dismissed from 
the committee. Efforts by the ARRL and the FCC to gain his reinstatement 
were not successful until early April.

Ever since the reinstatement, QPC members have been working in good faith to 
resolve issues concerning decisions taken by the QPC in the seven-month 
period during which it was operating contrary to the rules. Those issues 
have now been resolved to the satisfaction of all participants. Some 
revisions to the previously released syllabi for written examination 
elements 2 and 3A, for the Novice and Technician licenses, will be announced 
shortly.

"We are pleased to have this matter resolved," said ARRL Executive Vice 
President David Sumner, K1ZZ. "The other members of the QPC appear to 
understand that the committee is not a creature of NCVEC Inc, and that no 
VEC can be excluded from committee participation. It still is not clear that 
NCVEC Inc, acknowledges these facts. However, that is no longer a matter of 
concern, because the FCC has affirmed that it has no relationship with NCVEC 
Inc, but only with the individual VECs."

Amateur Radio volunteers have been administering and coordinating FCC 
examinations for more than 12 years. The ARRL/VEC coordinates approximately 
two-thirds of the examinations.

WISCONSIN PRB-1 BILL TO SEE ACTION

A bill in the Wisconsin legislature that goes further than PRB-1 in limiting 
local control over amateur antennas comes before that state's Assembly early 
this month. Senate Bill 544 already has been approved by the Senate on a 
voice vote. Assembly Majority Leader Scott R. Jensen--who calls himself "a 
strong sponsor"--said he looks forward to scheduling the legislation during 
the first two weeks of May.

Gary Schwartz, K9GS, of Mukwonago has been tracking the proposed 
legislation. "It specifically says that towers may not be restricted on the 
basis of height or aesthetics, unless there is a specific health or safety 
concern," he said. The bill also says political subdivisions may not enact 
laws affecting placement, screening or height of Amateur Radio antennas "if 
the ordinance or resolution is based solely on aesthetic considerations."

As Schwartz sees it, if the bill passes, "no longer can [Wisconsin] amateurs 
be told that even though their tower installation meets all the 
manufacturer's specs and is safely installed per industry guidelines, that a 
40-meter Yagi can only be up 30 feet." In addition, he said, amateurs living 
in rural areas with lots of land could not be restricted to a 30-foot tower 
that must be screened from view.

Rep. Ben Brancel and Sen. Richard Grobschmidt are the bill's sponsors. In a 
letter to other members of the Wisconsin legislature, they said the bill was 
modeled after existing provisions of Wisconsin law that restrict localities 
from regulating certain satellite TV antennas.

ROCKET LAUNCH ATV GETS FCC APPROVAL

The FCC has approved a request for Special Temporary Authority to operate an 
ATV transmitter as part of the payload of a rocket scheduled to be launched 
over Lake Michigan tomorrow (Saturday, May 4) from Sheboygan, Wisconsin. The 
launch is part of the Wisconsin Rockets for Schools project. The 
short-duration rocket will carry an ATV transmitter on 434.0 MHz and a 
camera to transmit black-and-white pictures to the ground. FCC approval was 
necessary since the rocket is expected to reach a maximum altitude of more 
than 50 km, which puts it in the space category. However, 434 MHz is 
allocated only for use below that elevation. The project already has all the 
necessary NASA and FAA approvals.

Bryan Suits, WB8WKN, a physics professor who lives in Houghton, Michigan, is 
coordinating the payload, which will also contain radiotelemetry equipment 
to transmit battery voltage, internal and external temperatures and 
altitude. (Suits had hoped to have an atmospheric ozone sensor on board, but 
that didn't work out.) A Super Loki rocket will send the payload aloft. 
Suits says the payload itself weighs about 14 oz, while the rocket casing 
adds another 16 lb or so. Telemetry and a CW identifier will be carried on 
the audio subcarrier. A floatation device is to deploy to keep the payload 
afloat for recovery. Launch time is set for sometime between 1:30 and 3:30 
p.m. CDT. The flight is expected to last approximately 30 minutes, including 
the descent on a Mylar parachute-type device. The Rockets for Schools 
program emphasizes meteorological and environmental monitoring.

WK6R NAMED HUDSON DIVISION VICE DIRECTOR

ARRL President Rod Stafford, KB6ZV, has appointed Richard A. Sandell, WK6R, 
of Scarsdale, New York, to be the new vice director in the Hudson Division. 
He fills the seat left vacant when Stephen Mendelsohn, WA2DHF, was elected 
first vice president and Paul Vydareny, WB2VUK, succeeded him as division 
director earlier this year. Richard will serve through the end of the 
current term, January 1, 1997.

WK6R was first licensed in 1956 as LU4NMC in Argentina and moved to the 
United States in 1961. He obtained his first US ham license in 1976. After 
moving to New York, he became newsletter editor and vice president of the 
Latin American Radio Amateurs Club of New York City, as well as President of 
the Hispanic American Radio Experimenters Club (CHARE) of the Tri-State 
area. He had served as Hudson Division Assistant Director since 1987 and as 
an Eastern New York Assistant Section Manager since 1990. Richard has 
authored many publications ranging from philosophical studies to textbooks 
and is fluent in five languages. His wife, Phyllis, is KD2OG. The couple's 
three daughters, Alyssa, Karyn and Sylvie, also hold ham tickets.

An ARRL life member, Richard, 58, is president and CEO of Aura Technology 
Corporation, and works as international trade economist. You can write him 
at PO Box 1367, Scarsdale, NY 10583-9367.

THE "REAL CODE" PREVAILS AT MORSE EVENT

Locust Grove, the historic home of Samuel F.B. Morse on the Hudson River at 
Poughkeepsie, New York, formally opens for the season this weekend, May 4 
and 5, with an American Morse Code event. Operators from the Morse Telegraph 
Club chapters in several surrounding states will use American Morse via 
wired dial-up circuits (call 914-485-7122), while members of the 
Poughkeepsie Amateur Radio Club will use more modern gear--and International 
Morse code--on the air, with the call sign K2GBH. The American Morse 
enthusiasts chat over conventional dial-up telephone lines using a 300-baud 
modem and a Morse box that translates the Morse into marks and spaces that 
the telephone company's equipment can understand and send back to the 
sounder on the other end. Wes Burnham is the wire chief.

The occasion also commemorates the 205th anniversary of Morse's birth. 
Locust Grove will be open 10 AM until 5 PM this weekend. The estate is at 
370 South Road (Route 9), Poughkeepsie, NY; tel 914-454-4500.

PUPILS PLAN MOCK SHUTTLE MISSION

To help generate awareness of their scheduled SAREX contact during the 
STS-78 shuttle flight in June, pupils at Heritage Middle School in 
Colleyville, Texas, will launch a shuttle mission of their own this month, 
complete with SAREX. Seven pupils in a sixth-grade math class will serve as 
astronauts during the day-long mock-up next week. In all, more than 200 
students will participate on different teams, such as technical support, 
media, mission control, and even marketing (selling shuttle tiles and 
buttons). One of the student astronauts, Vivian Wang, KC5NAU, will operate 
"onboard" equipment for 2-meter FM, 70-centimeter amateur television and 
packet. Other radios will be in "mission control" and in other classrooms. 
The youngsters will do experiments and space activities and they'll even 
have to deal with a few "problems" during the mission.

STS-78 is set to launch June 20 at 1449 UTC. STS-78 will carry space shuttle 
Columbia into orbit for a 16-day microgravity mission. SAREX communications 
will include FM voice and packet radio (SAREX configuration "C").--Rosalie 
White, WA1STO

SOLAR CYCLE BOTTOMING OUT

Solar observer Tad Cook, KT7H, reports we are at or near the solar activity 
minimum. Solar activity was up a little last week, but geomagnetic activity 
also remained high. The average Boulder A index was 15.9, the previous week 
was 15.4, and it was 5.7 the week before that. The A index is a daily 
indication of geomagnetic field stability, and values below 10 generally 
mean that the field is stable and absorption is low. Average sunspot numbers 
were up by over 12 points this week.

The best daytime band for long distance communication probably is 30 meters, 
with 20 meters a fair bet when solar flux rises slightly. Solar flux is 
expected to remain at or below 70 until after the first week of May. It 
should peak around the mid-70s around May 11, and then fall below 70 again 
after May 18. The geomagnetic field should stay stable until May 8, and then 
expected disturbances center around May 11, 14 and 15.

Sunspot numbers for April 18 through 24 were 29, 26, 28, 18, 15, 12 and 11, 
respectively, with a mean of 19.9.  The 10.7-cm solar flux was 70.1, 70.5, 
71.5, 74, 72.4, 71.1 and 68.6, respectively, with a mean of 71.2.

JOEL E. BACHNER, W2HPB, SK

Joel Bachner, W2HPB, of West Lawn, Pennsylvania, died April 3. He was 78. An 
active member in the Telephone Pioneers of America, Joel also was a past 
president of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and addressed a large 
audience in the Punch Bowl in Hawaii on the 35th anniversary of the attack. 
He was a radioman aboard the battleship USS California when it was torpedoed 
December 7, 1941.--Paul Hertzberg, K2DUX
__________________________________

In Brief:

* The TV appearance of identical twin brothers Jake Hellbach, KK5HY, and 
Keith Heitzmann, KK5FE, on ABC Television's Turning Point program has been 
postponed. The Louisiana pair--put up for adoption at birth in 1956 and 
taken in by different families--were set to appear on tonight's (May 3) 
edition of the program. However, Jake Hellbach reports the program's 
producers have decided to delay showing their story for a few months. Jake 
and Keith grew up 15 miles apart and met for the first time 15 years ago.

* A meeting of Amateur Radio satellite enthusiasts in the Greater 
Washington, DC Area is scheduled for Sunday, May 5, 1996, 1:30 PM EDT, at 
the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, GEWA Rec Center, Greenbelt, Maryland. 
Talk-in: WA3NAN/R 146.835 MHz. Advance registration is not required for 
general admission. Parking is free. A $4 donation at the door is requested 
to help defray costs. Students under 18 with school photo ID, presenters and 
spouses of those attending are admitted free. For more information, call Pat 
Kilroy, WD8LAQ, AMSAT Area Coordinator; tel 301-249-3396 (before 9 PM) or 
301-286-5910 (anytime); e-mail wd8laq@amsat.org.

* Franny Moy, W1SPG, of Worcester, Massachusetts, was honored April 22 at a 
surprise party by some of those he introduced to Amateur Radio and guided as 
Explorer Scouts. Moy, who's 75, was recognized at a testimonial gathering 
for his 45 years of service, both as a ham and Elmer and a leader of a local 
Explorer post. The members of Explorer Post 75 presented him with a new 
radio. He received certificates from the Central Massachusetts Amateur Radio 
Association, the ARRL, the City of Worcester and the Mohegan Council of 
Scouts. "He's my mentor, said Nicholas Gatzios, W1BGL, of Shrewsbury, 
Massachusetts, president of CMARA. "He brought radio to Central 
Mass."--Worcester Telegram & Gazette

* The Floyd, Virginia-based Foundation for Amateur International Radio 
Service will operate KK4WW, US5WE, BY1QH, 8R1WD and S21AM in their own 
countries on May 11 and 12 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the 
organization. Listen for these call signs in the General portions of 40, 20, 
and 15 meters. For a certificate QSL, send a 9(12-inch SASE (with sufficient 
postage) to FAIRS, PO Box 341, Floyd, VA 24091.

* The UK Radiocommunications Agency has announced a new VLF band for Amateur 
Radio. The RA says the allocation, 71.6 kHz to 74.4 kHz, was assigned 
following requests from the Amateur Radio community, particularly from radio 
amateurs who wish to investigate propagation through the ground by 
transmission from  underground caves. The allocation will be available to 
Class A Amateur Radio licensees in the UK who wish to investigate LF 
propagation.

* NASA astronaut Shannon Lucid has been using R0MIR with permission of the 
Mir commander to talk to her daughter Shandara Richeson, KC5UAR, and 
son-in-law Jeff Richeson, KC5UAQ, who just got their tickets. Shandara 
actually talked to her mom while mobile in Houston, to her mother's 
surprise!--Rosalie White, WA1STO

===========================================================
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.


