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"<E]A The ARRL Letter, Volume 7, No. 3, February 12, 1988 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 FINDS FCC PART 15 PROPOSALS A THREAT The FCC has proposed in General Docket 87-389 to amend Part 15 of its rules regarding radiofrequency devices. There has been, throughout the 50-year history of Part 15, a proliferation of low- power RF radiating devices placed in operation, without the need of FCC licensing. Presently the rules are especially crafted to fit individual devices as they are invented. The Commission proposes to classify RF devices into two broad categories: intentional radiators, such as hand-held transceivers, cordless phones, and garage door openers; and unintentional radiators, such as receivers, VCRs, and computers. A third category of incidental radiation devices would remain under present rules which state: if such equipment causes interference, it is the operator's responsibility to eliminate it. Under the FCC proposal, there is to be a generalized set of frequency and distance dependent radiation limits. Unintentional radiators will be permitted to generate a field strength of 100 microvolts per meter from 30 to 88 MHz; 150 microvolts per meter from 88 to 216 MHz; 200 microvolts per meter at 216 to 960 MHz; and 500 microvolts per meter above 960 MHz, which is very much the same as the limit for Class B computer devices under existing rules. From 1705 kHz to 30 MHz there is to be a 30-microvolt per meter limit measured at 30 meters. Intentional radiation devices would be restricted from certain frequencies held by Government agencies and safety services. The ARRL Board of Directors voted that our comments on Docket 87- 389 are to be filed emphasizing the following points: Amateur frequencies are not to be utilized by intentional radiator devices; permitted field strengths for unintentional radiators should not exceed present maximums; and rules should be enacted requiring RFI resolution information, including identification of a manufacturer's representative, to be included in the equipment user's manual. The League's filings will be accompanied by engineering studies showing what levels of emissions can cause, and in some cases are already causing, interference to radio amateurs. Amateurs are encouraged to file comments with the FCC. These comments should point out any interference problems already being experienced both to your equipment or to neighbors' equipment perceived to be coming from your transmitting, which might be made worse through relaxation of shielding requirements. The filing deadline for comments is March 7, 1988. Official participation requires an original and five copies of each submission. Send comments to the Secretary, FCC, 1919 M Street, Washington DC, 20554. COMMENT TIME EXTENDED FOR RM-6196 TV Answer Inc., of McLean, Virginia, has filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the FCC (RM-6196) requesting permission to utilize 500 kHz of the 216-222 MHz band for interactive viewer responses. The ARRL received notice just at press time that the FCC has extended the comment period on RM-6196 until February 29, 1988, and March 15, 1988 for filing reply comments. We have already filed comments urging the Commission to dismiss this proposal; see ARRL Letter No. 2, February 1, 1988. CONSTITUTION BICENTENNIAL UPDATE The stations operating Constitution Bicentennial "2OO" calls for the balance of February include the following: February 20-26: Nebraska--W2OOAFG, K2OOKKV, and W2OOVQN. February 27-March 4: Ohio-- WB2OOSMC, W2OOYX, W2OOUMD, W2OODZ, K2OOSCH, AK2OOY, KC2OOIG, W2OORSW, N2OOBC, K2OOORW, WD2OOPHL, K2OOYOJ, KD2OOEU, W2OOFO, and W2OONCK. USSR/CANADA SKITREK UPDATE Planning for the Amateur Radio communications network supporting the Skitrek expedition is now in its final stages. Three Russian and three Canadian skiers will depart Cape Artichesky on Severnaya Zemlya in the USSR around March 1st on the 1750 km trek across the polar ice to Cape Columbia on Ellesmere Island in Canada. During the three month journey, Soviet and Canadian Amateur Radio stations will be providing daily communications between the ski teams and their bases. The skiers will be able to "hear" their location read from UoSAT 11 on 2 meters at approximately 100 minute intervals, to keep abreast of the team's progress. ICOM is providing the HF and VHF communications equipment used in this venture. CRRL President Tom Atkins, VE3CDM/VE8UA, and Barry Garratt, VE3CDX/VE8CDX, chief Canadian coordinator for the Skitrek, are in Moscow to meet with their Soviet counterpart, Leonid Labutin, UA3CR, for finalization of amateur communications arrangements. The special call sign for the main Canadian base station on Resolute Bay, Cornwallis Island, Northwest Territories, will be CI8C. QSL via Box 313, Don Mills, Ontario, M3C 2S7. Operation of the station is scheduled February 15-June 15, 1988. BEVERLY BAKER DEPUTY CHIEF, PRB FCC Chairman Dennis Patrick has announced the appointment of Beverly G. Baker to the position of Deputy Chief of the FCC Private Radio Bureau. She will be working with the newly appointed PRB Chief, Ralph Haller, N4RH. (see ARRL Letter No. 25, December 26, 1987). Ms Baker joined the Commission in 1979 as a staff attorney in the International and Satellite Division of the Common Carrier Bureau. Since that time she has held positions in the Domestic Facilities Division and the Computer II Task Force of the Common Carrier Bureau, and the Tariff Division as Chief of the Legal Branch. Since October 1987 Ms Baker has been Legal Assistant to the Chief, Private Radio Bureau. She holds a BA from Dension University, and a JD from Cornell Law School. She is a member of the Bar of the District of Columbia and the Supreme Court of Ohio. ARRL LIFE MEMBERSHIP MAY TRANSFER TO SPOUSE The ARRL Board of Directors at its January meeting made Life Membership transferable to a spouse under certain limited conditions. ARRL By-Law 9 now reads "Life Membership is not transferable; however, upon the death of a Life Member, it may pass to a surviving spouse upon request, if he or she is a Family Member and licensed at the time of the Life Member's death. A new Life Member plaque, if desired, will be available for a one-time fee of $25.00." HAMS TO ASSIST WITH GETTYSBURG RE-ENACTMENT For those who were not able to "be there" the battle of Gettysburg will be re-enacted on its 125th anniversary June 22-26, 1988. The Penn-Mar Radio Club and the Adams County Amateur Radio Society will be providing approximately 200 operators per day to staff the network of emergency and support radio network, and any volunteers are very welcome to participate in this history-making event. Operators will be staffing portable/mobile stations, as well as the Adams County Operations Center in the Gettysburg Courthouse. Additional operators will be required to provide health and welfare traffic for the over 8000 people expected to take part in the event. Packet radio connected to the National Traffic System (NTS) will be utilized to keep participants in touch with their families during the event. If you are planning to be in Pennsylvania in June, have no Field Day plans, and have a desire to be a part of history, further information on this event and where the volunteers will be needed is available from Ron Paull, N3ECL, at 717-528-8412, or Bill Vanderhoof, WA2CRK, 717-624-4835. DXCC PROGRAM REFINEMENT ANNOUNCED At its meeting in Farmington, Connecticut on January 22-23, the ARRL Board of Directors affirmed the findings of the ARRL DX Advisory Committee's comprehensive report on the DXCC program. Therein, the Board recognized that, through the over 1500 survey responses and hundreds of letters submitted by DXers worldwide, the DX community is generally supportive of a continuation of the present basic DXCC program with some refinement and modest expansion. The DXCC rules, country criteria, and country deletion criteria, as well as accreditation criteria, have been rewritten, providing a concise description of the program. New endorsable single-band DXCC awards have been created for the 10, 80, and 40 meter bands for contacts made since November 15, 1945. The 5-Band DXCC also has become endorsable for 160 meters and VHF. Endorsement levels have been eased for 160-meter, VHF, 80-, and 40-meter DXCCs to increments of 10 (and a once-a-year exception at levels above 150), and the Satellite DXCC award is now also endorsable in 10-country increments. In order to lessen the impact of processing of other applications, the new awards will be phased in as follows: Applications for the 10-meter single-band award and the Satellite award will be processed beginning July 1, 1988. Applications will be accepted during a two-week "window" prior to this date beginning June 15, but will be held until July 1. No application will be processed prior to July 1. The 10-meter application with the highest total number of valid credited countries will be assigned the Number 1 certificate, with subsequent numbers assigned in accordance with the number of country credits. In case of a tie, applicants will be assigned the same number, with subsequent numbers(s) left vacant. For example if two No. 3s are issued, the No. 4 certificate will not be issued, and the numbering would resume with certificate No. 5. The 80-meter single-band award is effective November 1, 1988, also with a two-week window for receipt of applications to allow for numbering of certificates. The 40-meter single-band award will be similarly instituted effective May 1, 1989. The details of this enhanced program will be announced in April QST. The new rules and associated country, deletion and accreditation criteria will be published in the next edition of the ARRL DXCC Countries List, which will be available soon from your local Amateur Radio book dealer or ARRL HQ for $1.00. FCC LA OFFICE PHONE NUMBER The Cerritos, California, office of the FCC has changed its listed telephone number to the following: 213-809-2096 (Public number) 213-865-0598 (Recorded information) Their address remains as published in ARRL Letter 26 (December 31, 1987) as: FCC Cerritos Corporate Towers 18000 Studebaker Road, Room 660 Cerritos, CA 90701 UoSAT COMMAND STATION DAMAGED Some of Southern England's infamous weather has damaged the primary UoSAT Mission Control Station. Gale force winds damaged the antenna system at the University of Surrey, which has been undergoing repair and refurbishment after ten years of continuous service. Repairs are underway on the main system, and the back-up system consisting of the famous UoS (University of Surrey) gun mount and dish was worked on during the high winds to enable UO-9 and 11 to be returned to service. UO-11 was off the air for several days while repairs were effected. In other news from Surrey, a 60-page publication is available on the UoSAT spacecraft. UoSAT Spacecraft Data Booklet covers both UoSAT 1 and 2 is available from the University of Surrey and AMSAT-UK for three and one half English pounds (payment in English Pounds is required) from: AMSAT-UK 94 Herongate Road Wanstead Park, London, E12 5EQ England AMSAT PHASE 3C TO LAUNCH SOON The launch of AMSAT's Phase 3C Amateur Satellite could occur as early as the latter part of April. The word from Europe is that as soon as tests in West Germany are complete, the spacecraft will be arriving in Paris on its way to the ESA launch facility at Kourou, French Guiana. Into technical writing? The AMSAT folks are in need of authors to provide information to the Amateur Radio community about Phase 3C, and how to utilize the satellite. If you are interested in assisting with this project call AMSAT at 301-589-6062. OLYMPIC SPECIAL EVENT STATION To assist in publicizing the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games, Canadian amateurs are authorized to use the following special prefixes until the end of February. In Newfoundland and Labrador, CJ1 and CJ2; VX1-VX8 in all provinces and the Northwest Territories; and CH1 in the Yukon. Additionally, the Calgary Amateur Radio Association is operating the special event station VX6OCO with a commemorative award available. Two employees of ABC Sports at the Olympics, Elliot Block, K6ELX/VX6, and Chuck Pharis, KB6IUA/VX6 will operate a special event station from Calgary. Operations for the special event station will be SSB/CW on 10-80 meters, as well as FM on 2 meters and 1-1/4 meters To be eligible for the special ABC Sports Winter Olympics QSL card, simply work either K6ELX or KB6IUA on any band. All cards should be sent to the Callbook address of K6ELX, or via the bureau. For a direct QSL, a #10 SASE is required. APCO ANNUAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCED The 1988 APCO (Associated Public-Safety Communications Officers, Inc.) convention will be held in Little Rock, Arkansas, August 7-12, 1988. The 54th national gathering is expected to draw over 3000 attendees. The conference will, in addition to the business meeting, feature several workshops and seminars on technical, operational, management, supervisory, and regulatory matters. One of the main topics in the regulatory front is the regional planning process mandated by the FCC's newly adopted National Plan for Public Safety Communications, which includes a licensing plan for the 821-824 and 866-869 MHz spectrum recently allocated for Public Safety use. There will be a large trade show, expected to house over 260 booths featuring Public Safety communications products. Registration is set at $120 for APCO members, and $150 for non- members. For registration or further information write to Conference Planning, APCO, National Office, PO Box 669, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32070, or call 904-427-3461. Another highlight of the conference program will be an abbreviated version of APCO's 80-hour Telecommunications Training Course for Public Safety dispatchers. RAAG CELEBRATES 30 YEARS In celebration of their 30th anniversary, Radio Amateur Association of Greece, (RAAG), a sister society of the ARRL, will be operating from their official club station, using the call sign SX1RAAG. This operation will start April 30, 1988 at 0000 UTC and conclude at 2400 UTC on June 30, 1988. Special QSL cards will be sent via the Bureau to all amateurs completing two-way QSOs with SX1RAAG. This will be an all-band operation (except 17 and 12 meters). GENERAL LOREN G. WINDOM, W8GZ, SK Loren G. Windom, W8GZ, 82, will be missed by the amateur community. "Windy" was past Director of the ARRL Central Division from 1931 through 1934. At the time there was no Great Lakes Division and the Central Division included all of both current Divisions. Windy was a frequent contributor to QST, and his name is synonymous with a particular multiband antenna, the "Windom." This was but one of his many technical contributions to Amateur Radio. General Windom, a much-decorated hero of World War II, went on to a distinguished legal career in Ohio. He and Don Wallace, W6AM (SK) shared the honor of working more postwar DXCC countries on phone that anyone else, and Windy earned 5BDXCC No. 3. ANNIVERSARY CONGRATULATIONS ARRL Director Emeritus Bob Thurston, W7PGY, and his wife Maxine have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. In the state of Washington, at least, that event rated a gubernatorial proclamation, and December 20, 1987 was declared "Robert and Maxine Thurston Day." Congratulations Bob and Maxine!