ARRL Hudson Division 
August 2001
Hudson Division Beacon - e-mail edition
By Frank Fallon, N2FF, Director, Hudson Division, ARRL
30 East Williston Avenue, East Williston, NY 11596
(516) 746-7652
n2ff@arrl.org
Hudson Division Home Page - http://www.arrlhudson.org

ARRL Members

Please continue to spread the word to others who may want to receive
this information that they will need to access the ARRL members only web
site and after becoming a member they must edit their profile and elect
to receive bulletins from the Section Manager and Director.

This could be an interesting ham radio weekend. There are a few hamfests
in the division to attend. This is also Lighthouse Weekend so there will
be many special event stations on and at least two will be staffed by
Hudson Division members from Long Island. See the information later in
this text. And if you want a contest there are at least two: the NA SSB
QSO Party plus the New Jersey QSO Party (see the rules later near the
end of this bulletin) sponsored by our own Englewood Amateur Radio
Association.

JULY ARRL BOARD MEETING BRINGS CHANGES AND A POSSIBLE NEW 60-METER BAND

The Second ARRL Board Meeting is now history. The Board meeting is a
very intense few days, much like a DX contest or Dxpedition, where many
decisions are made to improve Amateur Radio and ARRL services. Some
members may not be aware that ONLY the fifteen directors have a vote at
these meetings. Before becoming director I had always assumed that the
president and officers had a vote but quickly found out that is not the
case. The fifteen-regional or division directors are solely responsible
for determining the policy and direction of the organization. It is only
the fifteen elected ARRL directors who get to make motions and vote on
policy. While officers and vice directors sometimes participate in
discussions it is the directors who represent the members and make
motions and do the actual voting on issues. It is quite an honor and we
take our job of representing our respective ARRL division members very
seriously.

At the meeting we voted to petition the FCC for a new allocation at
60-Meters. On motion of Mr. Roderick, seconded by Mr. Milnes, it was
unanimously VOTED that the Executive Vice President and General Counsel
shall complete the preparation of a petition for rule making proposing
the domestic allocation on a secondary basis of the band 5,250-5,400
kHz, and file such petition with the FCC immediately. The petition will
include the following operating parameters:
1. Full Amateur operating power.
2. Access to the allocation by licensees holding General, Advanced, or
Amateur Extra Class.
3. All emission modes authorized for other present amateur HF bands,
without creation of subbands by regulation.

The petition has since been filed by the ARRL and could result in a new
high-frequency band for US amateurs. The ARRL has asked the FCC to
allocate 5.250 to 5.400 MHz to the Amateur Service on a domestic
(US-only), secondary basis. The Commission put the proposal on public
notice this week and assigned a rulemaking number, RM-10209, to the
proceeding. You can view the ARRL petition at
http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/5MHz/ and if you wish to comment
on the proposal you can do so via the FCC's Electronic Filing system
(EFCS) at http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/efcs.html/

The League told the FCC that the new band would aid emergency
communication activities by filling a ''propagation gap'' between 80 and
40 meters. ''There are times on certain paths when a frequency in the
80-meter band is too low, and a frequency in the 40-meter band is too
high for reliable ionospheric propagation,'' the ARRL said in its
petition. The ARRL said the propagation gap can hamper communication
between the US and the Caribbean during a hurricane or severe weather
emergency.

The FCC has not yet invited public comments on the petition. Even if the
petition finds favor with the FCC, it's likely to be several years
before the new band actually becomes available.

As proposed by the ARRL, amateurs General class and higher would be
permitted to operate phone, data, image and RTTY on the new band running
maximum authorized power. No mode-specific sub-bands were proposed.

A new 150-kHz allocation at 5 MHz also could relieve substantial
overcrowding that periodically occurs on 80 and 40. If the new band is
approved, hams would have to avoid interfering with--and accept
interference from--current occupants of the spectrum, as they already do
on 30 meters. The band 5.250 to 5.450 MHz now is allocated to Fixed and
Mobile services on a co-primary basis in all three ITU regions.

If you operate 160 meters you will be interested in the new 160 Meter
band plan voted at the meeting. Mr. Roderick, as Chairman, presented the
report and recommendations of the 160 Meters Band Plan Ad Hoc Committee.
A recommended band plan was created based upon the heavy input of
Amateurs responding to the Committee's request. Mr. Haynie returned to
the Chair at 11:40 AM. On motion of Mr. Roderick, seconded by Mr.
Frenaye, it was VOTED that the following 160 Meters band plan revisions
developed by the 160 meters band plan committee after input from
hundreds of 160 meters band users be adopted:

Recommended ARRL 160 Meters Band Plan (1.8 - 2.0 MHz)
1.800 - 1.810 Digital modes
1.810 CW QRP
1.800 - 2.000 CW
1.843 - 2.000 SSB SSTV and other wideband modes
1.910 SSB QRP
1.995 - 2.000 Experimental
1.999 - 2.000 Beacons

Please note the committee recommended that the DX window be eliminated
as they felt it was not working.

Mr. Bellows, as Chairman, reported on the activities and recommendations
of the Ad Hoc Antenna Case Assistance Committee. The Ad Hoc Antenna Case
Committee (I am one of the four members of this committee and the only
non-lawyer in the group) has elected to partially fund the continuing
antenna case of Barry and Kathy Gorodetzer, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
This case, regarding CC&Rs, meets the evaluation criteria of the
Committee and if successful stands to benefit Amateurs as a legal
precedent setting example. 

In addition two board motions dealt directly with antenna issues. While
I was involved in the discussions I was very pleased that for a change I
was not making or seconding these types of motions as other board
members have also begun to become concerned over these important issues.
It is becoming more and more difficult to put up an antenna in most
communities without going to the courts to do it. On motion of Mr.
Roderick, seconded by Mr. Isely, it was unanimously VOTED that the
Executive Vice President and staff develop and implement a program to
assemble, coordinate and disseminate to amateurs information to assist
them in their efforts to obtain relief from state and local land use
restrictions. This program shall include, but not be limited to:

o A "how-to" guide for amateurs seeking to implement state "PRB-1
Legislation;"

o Ordinance language samples to exempt amateur antennas from commercial
tower ordinances; and

o Sample ordinances applicable to amateur antennas and support
structures.

On motion of Mr. Bellows, seconded by Mr. Isely, it was unanimously
VOTED that the following resolution is adopted.

WHEREAS, the ARRL Board of Directors recognizes that private Covenants
Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) prohibiting or preventing the use of
Amateur Radio Antennas in residential areas effectively ban Amateur
Radio in those areas; and

WHEREAS, Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions prohibiting Amateur
antennas have proliferated over the past twenty years; and

WHEREAS, Congress has recognized that the ability to erect and use
outdoor antennas in areas controlled by CC&Rs is essential to the
viability of communications services in residential areas; and

WHEREAS, the ability of Amateurs to erect and use antennas is as
essential to the existence of Amateur Radio as the defense of Amateur
Radio Spectrum, and

WHEREAS, the resolution of this growing threat to the Amateur Radio
Service will require the long term commitment of the ARRL and its
members;

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the ARRL Board of Directors
identifies and adopts as a major goal of our Advocacy activities
legislative action granting the Amateur Radio Service this same level of
protection from CC&Rs prohibiting or restricting Amateur Radio antennas
as is presently available to other Services, and that a plan of overall
strategy be developed by the Executive Committee to direct and focus the
efforts of the various entities of the ARRL to achieve that goal.

This last motion is very important and there was a long discussion
concerning it before we voted. In voting for the motion we realized that
we were voting to put a large portion of our financial resources behind
this effort. At the same time we realized that if we did not CC&Rs would
over time become so pervasive that it would strangle not only the growth
of amateur radio, but probably its very existence. CC&Rs usually do not
allow outside antennas of any type. We are talking dipoles and verticals
here and not towers and beams. It's a bit difficult to enjoy ham radio
without an outside antenna. While some of us may now use indoor antennas
and manage to work other stations, try to imagine a point somewhere in
the future where more than half of the US hams are using indoor
antennas. That's not a day I look forward to. Here on the East Coast we
are still able to buy older homes which do not have these restrictions,
but that is not usually the case in the West, South West and the South
where most of the construction is new. If you are planning to relocate
to another Division after retirement this new long term ARRL commitment
may help insure that you can continue to enjoy ham radio after you move.

In the September 2001 issue of QST, which you should be receiving
shortly, Dave Sumner, K1ZZ, in his monthly editorial "It Seems to Us..."
deals with "Antenna Restrictions." Dave characterizes CC&Rs saying,
"...they are now spreading like a plague across the American landscape. It
is increasingly rare for new housing developments to be free of
restrictions on homeowners' enjoyment of their own property." The piece
is worth reading at least twice and details very quickly the problem we
face over this issue. As one of the four directors on the Executive
Committee tasked with developing a strategy to deal with the issue I was
happy to see that the board was able to focus on the issue and to come
to a consensus. Donations to the advocacy program will now be used for
this project in addition to defense of spectrum. As Dave points out: "we
face a long, uphill battle," on the CC&R issue.

This commitment and the decision to fund and implement The Log Book of
the World may well have been the two most important issues we dealt with
at the meeting. Once implement the LOTW will immediately begin to change
the way we get awards for WAS, DXCC, 5BDXCC, and even IOTA. It should
reduce the cost of award chasing and greatly speed up the process. On
motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. Stinson, it was unanimously VOTED
that the ARRL proceed with the implementation in 2002 of the Logbook of
the World Program to electronically process log data for DXCC and other
awards.

LOTW = LOGBOOK OF THE WORLD

Fast on the heels of approval of the "Logbook of the World" by the ARRL
Board of Directors, software design to support the electronic
contact-verification program is continuing apace. ARRL Membership
Services Manager and LOTW Project Manager, Wayne Mills, N7NG, said the
ARRL hopes soon to make LOTW software modules available to vendors for
incorporation into their logging programs. These modules are being
developed as part of the Trusted QSL open-source project headed by
Darryl Wagoner, WA1GON. (More information about the Trusted QSL project
can be found at "sourceforge.net/projects/trustedqsl")

"We have been in touch with 15 or so developers of popular logging
software," Mills said. "We're also looking at providing a basic,
do-it-yourself program to get contact data to ARRL."

At the heart of the Logbook of the World concept is a huge repository of
log data provided by operators--from individual DXers and contesters to
major DXpeditions--and maintained by ARRL. Mills says the system will
benefit big and little guns alike by providing quick QSO credit for
awards offered by ARRL, and, it's hoped, for awards offered by other
organizations as well.

Once it becomes available--which could be as early as the middle of next
year--Logbook of the World will accept authenticated data directly from
computerized logs via the Internet. "This is an e-mail based system that
uses easy-to-obtain digital signatures for authentication," Mills said.
"Once you get your digital certificate, a few keystrokes will do the
trick."

Mills said the program envisions user access to the LOTW "confirmed
database" so an operator can see what "matches" turn up--such as
confirmation of new DXCC entities, states or grid squares. "We'll also
publish a list of logs that have been submitted," he said, adding that
operators may access the LOTW database once they've uploaded their own
log data.

Heading up software development is ARRL Electronic Publications Manager
Jon Bloom, KE3Z, along with Web Applications Developer, Mark Simcik,
WA1VVB. Software specifications already have been established. Advising
the project are Darryl Wagoner, WA1GON, Dick Green, WC1M and Ted
Demopoulos, KR1G. ARRL staffer and well-known contester and DXer Dave
Patton, NT1N, who conducted the original electronic QSL project study,
is also assisting. 

Mills said that he hopes to be able to announce a specific inauguration
date for Logbook of the World within a few months, as the software
design progresses.

Some of you may be interested in the additional motions I made or
seconded. Here they are:

On motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. Roderick, it was unanimously
VOTED that a one time non-endorsable DXCC award similar to the DXCC
Millennium Award be offered for contacts made using QRP power levels.

On motion of Mr. Fallon, seconded by Mr. Fuller, it was unanimously
VOTED that the ARRL Board of Directors selects George Tranos, N2GA, as
the recipient of the 2000 Herb S. Brier Instructor of the Year Award.
(Applause.) It gave me great pleasure to make this motion as the MSC had
selected a great candidate for the award. George is not only the NLI SM
but a close personal friend and fellow contester. We have operated in
contests at my house, at J3A in Grenada and at NU1AW in Vermont. In
addition George is a really great CW operator and was a referee at the
WRC 2000 event in Slovenia last year. 

On motion of Mr. Walstrom, seconded by Mr. Fallon, it was unanimously
VOTED that the ARRL Board of Directors selects Thaddeus W. Huff, KCØAQG,
as winner of the 2000 ARRL Hiram Percy Maxim Award. (Applause.)

On motion of Mr. Walstrom, seconded by Mr. Fallon, it was unanimously
VOTED that the following resolution is adopted.

WHEREAS, young people are the future of Amateur Radio; and

WHEREAS, young people should be encouraged whenever and where ever
possible to discover more about Amateur Radio;

THEREFORE RESOLVED, that organizers of hamfests and conventions
sanctioned by the ARRL shall be encouraged to provide free admission to
such sanctioned events to individuals below the age of 16 years when
those individuals are accompanied by an attendee who pays the full price
of admission to the event.

(Time in session as a Board: 11 hours, 54 minutes; Time in session as a
Committee of the Whole: 43 minutes.)

Check the web site - http://www.arrl.org for the complete minutes of the
meeting or read them in the September 2001 QST.

A BIG SIGNAL BECOMES A SILENT KEY

Arnold Tamchin, W2HCW, passed away in early June without notice at age
73. Apparently Arnold had been off the air for a month or two before his
passing. Many of us noticed that his voice had deteriorated in recent
years. We will certainly miss his BIG signal from Setauket. I will
always remember hearing him when I was G5BJM in the North of England in
the mid - 1970's. Arnold was frequently 60 db over on my old FT-101E. It
was a new rig then, actually, but Arnold was very loud. He was louder
than the local G stations. We will miss Arnold and his beacon like
signal.

NEW YORK TOWER CLOSE TO PASSAGE AS THE EFFORT CONTINUES - 

Assembly bill A.1565C and Senate bill S.2893C are still alive in Albany
thanks to the efforts of many who headed our plea and sent e-mails and
made telephone calls. Both bills are currently in the Rules Committee.
The legislature has passed an interim budget and then recessed until
later in the year - September or October. It is not clear as to just
when they will return and if they will do any business other this year.
It has been impossible to find out just what is happening as everyone is
on vacation until later in the year. Even the newspapers do not seem to
know what the plan is or even if there is one. 

As July ended there were a few developments in the history of the bill.
Our senate sponsor contacted us and asked if we would agree to an
amendment to the bill and it appeared that chances of passage without
the amendment were slim. We reluctantly agreed to include a provision
that the bill did not apply to antennas in the Adirondack State Park.
The Adirondack Park Association is a very strong lobby which has
recently stopped local police and fire groups in Saratoga County from
putting any communications towers in the north western section of the
county which is inside the park boundaries. The Association seems to
feel that the park area is New York State's little Yellowstone and there
should be no towers of any kind for any reason. It did not appear that
we could win this one, so we agreed, very reluctantly, to the amendment.
While the Adirondack Park is very large area much of it is true
wilderness with few people and even fewer hams. Currently antennas and
towers are strictly limited to thirty feet. The amendment to the bill
does not give away PRB-1 rights for those living within the park area.
Any ham who wishes to challenge the current height restrictions, which
are overly restrictive, would be wise to do so in federal court rather
than a state court to avoid being "home-towned." But even in federal
court this will be a tough one to win because of the way the public
views the Adironack Park area. It is a sad fact that while this area is
in need of hams to provide emergency communications when disaster
strikes they are discouraging any ham from living there. Remember this
same area was devastated by the ice storms a few years ago. Ham radio
came to rescue then.

At about the same time we became aware that the Association of Towns had
filed a "memorandum of opposition" to the bill. Their argument was a bit
weak as they seemed to be suggesting that there was no need for the bill
as there was already a federal limited preemption and there was
therefore probably no need for a New York State law. The also did not
like the concept of a standard height. They did not argue that our
standard was too high. They simply did not like the idea that there is
any standard. They did not want to be limited. With the help of ARRL
Counsel, Chris Imlay, W3KD, and my director friend Jay Bellows, K0QB, we
developed an ARRL Memorandum of Support and faxed it off to legislative
leaders. We have also begun to look for agencies and groups such as Red
Cross, and the Salvation Army to write memorandums of support.

At this point it is impossible to tell if there will be any further
action on the bill for the remainder of the year. The legislative
process is currently in turmoil with the governor at odds with both
Silver and now Bruno over the budget. It is NOT a good climate in which
to get action on a bill. But that can change before the year is over and
we will be back again next year if necessary. In the Assembly the bill
will remain in the Rules Committee whereas in the Senate it will have to
again start in the Local Government Committee. As we have already been
though those committees this year it should be easy to move through them
again. A bill has a life of two years, so if there is no further action
this year we will be back at it again next year with the same numbers. 

If you have not yet written or e-mailed please do so. I again urge New
York hams to continue sending the same message to Albany, "Please enact
the Amateur Radio legislation - A.1565C and S.2893." Contact Senate
Majority Leader Joe Bruno bruno@senate.state.ny.us, House Speaker
Sheldon Silver speaker@assembly.state.ny.us and Governor George Pataki,
gov.pataki@chamber.state.ny.us--a former ham (K2ZCZ) and a current ARRL
member--each have the power to bring these bills to the floor for a
vote. Additional information on how to contact key lawmakers is
available on the Hudson Division Web site, http://www.arrlhudson.org.
You may want to send QSL cards this time around. The governor knows what
they are.

SLOW SPEED CODE PRACTICE NET

This info was found through EHam.net and someone thought it might be
worth passing on to the group. It may be a good resource for members who
want to join in (depending on license class) or just listen to some live
CW.

Slow Speed Code Practice Net, You don't have to be a MAC member to
participate. 

Everyone is welcome! The net operates on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Wednesdays
at 7:00 P.M. (central) (currently 0000 Z), on +/- 7.138 MHz. Philip,
K9PL is net control. Listen for CQ MAC and just send your callsign. The
net will QRS to the slowest op. No special net protocol is followed to
keep it simple.

Although this net was developed to help Chicago area hams, they
regularly have out of state check-ins. If you are a FISTS member, feel
free to exchange your numbers with other participants.

The "sponsor is:

Metro Amateur Radio Club (MAC) web site. 
ARRL Club #1257 and a member of the Illinois Repeater Association:

http://www.qsl.net/mac/
Information provided by Joseph A. Walc, K2JAW

NEW JERSEY QSO PARTY - August 18 - 19, 2001

The Englewood Amateur Radio Association, Inc. invites all amateurs the
world over to take part in the 42nd Annual New Jersey QSO Party.

RULES: [1] The time of the contest is from 2000 UTC Saturday August 18
to 0700 UTC Sunday August 19 and from 1300 UTC Sunday August 19 to 0200
UTC Monday August 20. [2] Phone and CW are considered the same contest.
A station may be contacted once on each band - phone and CW are
considered separate bands - CW contacts may not be made in phone band
segments. New Jersey stations may work other New Jersey stations. [3]
General call is "CQ New Jersey" or "CQ NJ". New Jersey stations are
requested to identify themselves by signing "DE NJ" on CW and "New
Jersey calling" on phone. Suggested frequencies are 1810, 3535, 3950,
7035, 7235, 14035, 14285, 21100, 21355, 28100, 28400, 50-50.5, and
144-146. Suggest phone activity on the even hours; 15/10 meters on the
odd hours [1500 to 2100 UTC]; 160 meters at 0500 UTC. [4] Exchange
consists of QSO Number, and QTH [State/province or country]. New Jersey
stations will send county for their QTH. [5] Scoring: Out-of-state
stations multiply number of complete contacts with New Jersey stations
times 3 points per QSO times the number of New Jersey counties worked
[maximum of 21]. New Jersey stations multiply number of complete
contacts times 3 points per QSO times the multiplier. The multiplier is
the sum of the number of states [other than NJ], Canadian provinces, and
NJ counties worked - maximum is 49 + 13 + 21 = 83. [6] Certificates will
be awarded to the first place station in each New Jersey county, state,
province, and country. In addition, a second place certificate will be
awarded when four or more logs are received. 

Two plaques have been donated by the ARRL Section Managers for NNJ and
SNJ to the highest scoring single operator station residing in each of
their sections. [7] Logs must also show the UTC date and time, QSO
exchange, band, and emission, and be received not later than September
15, 2001. The first contact for each claimed multiplier must be
indicated and numbered and a check list of contacts and multipliers
should be included. Multi-operator stations should be noted and calls of
participating operators listed. 

Logs and comments should be sent to: Englewood Amateur Radio
Association, Inc., Post Office Box 528, Englewood, New Jersey
07631-0528. A #10 size SASE should be included for results. [8] Stations
planning active participation in New Jersey are requested to advise EARA
by August 1st of your intentions so that we may plan for full coverage
from all counties. Portable and mobile operation is encouraged.

LIGHHOUSE WEEKEND THIS WEEKEND

Great South Bay ARC will activate Fire Island Lighthouse as part of
International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend. W2GSB will be QRV from
1400Z, Aug 18 to 2000Z, Aug 19. Frequencies used will be 7.260, 14.260,
21.260, 28.460, plus or minus QRM. For a special event QSL, please send
SASE to W2GSB/LH, PO Box 1356, West Babylon, NY 11704. All Amateurs and
their families are welcomed. Setup is at 7:00 AM Saturday, August 18.
Contact: Tom Carrubba KA2D at ka2d@arrl.net or see the webpage at
http://www.gsbarc.org/FI2001.htm

The Peconic ARC will activate Horton's Point Lighthouse as part of
International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend. Contact: Warren Melhado,
KG2BI, at 631-734-6929 or Don Fisher, W2QHV at
dofisher@suffolk.lib.ny.us or 631-765-2757

HF WORLDCHAMPIONSHIP CONTEST RESULTS NU1AW

Members of the Order of Boiled Owls Contest Club operated NU1AW as the
official headquarters station of the International Amateur Radio Union
on July 14 and 15. Operation was from Readsboro, Vermont at the stations
of K2LE and W2AX. NU1AW made 7,470 total QSOs - 4105 CW QSOs 3365 and
SSB QSOs with 280 multipliers. The station operators were W2AX, K2LE,
W1RM, N2FF, KS2G, N2GA, K2DO, K2SX, W1VE, KM1P, K2VUI. QSL NU1AW via
ARRL HQ in Newington, CT. Sorry, but I was not at the Sussex Hamfest as
a result. But it was a great contest.

EASTERN NEW YORK WEB NEWS

The Eastern New York Section (ENY) of the Hudson Division maintains a
web page of amateur radio activities. It is located at
http://www.arrlhudson.org/eny/events/events.html Feel free and bookmark.
ALL activities related to amateur radio (QCWA, MARS, DXing, etc.) in the
section are welcome, and info can be supplied to Andrew, N2FTR@arrl.net.

AREA HAMFESTS - Please NOTE two previously scheduled hamfests have been
cancelled

August 18, 2001 Ramapo Mountain ARC - Oakland, NJ
http://www.qsl.net/rmarc 
Contact: Steven Oliphant, N2KBD 
10 Glen Road 
Ringwood, NJ 07456-2331
Phone: 973-962-4584
Fax: 973-962-6210
Email: rmarc@qsl.net

August 19, 2001 Suffolk County Radio Club - Medford, NY
Contact: Les Quackenbush, KB2ZHF 
63 West Parkview Drive
Shirley, NY 11967 
Phone: 631-399-4041
Email: leskb2zhf@aol.com

Suffolk County Radio Club's First Annual Tail Gate Hamfest
Fleamarket is Sunday, August 19th from 7:00 AM until 12:00
noon at Sam's Club, 2950 Horseblock Rd, Medford NY.

August 26, 2001 CANCELLED Yonkers ARC - Yonkers, NY
http://www.yarc. 


September 8 Saratoga County RACES - Ballston Spa, NY
http://www.capital.net/users/lake 
Contact: Darlene Lake, N2XQG 
314 Louden Road, #84 
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Phone: 518-587-2385
Email: lake@capital.net

September 9 Long Island Mobile ARC - Bethpage, NY
http://www.limarc.org 
Contact: Ed Muro, K2EPM 
PO Box 392 
Levittown, NY 11756
Phone: 516-520-9311
Email: hamfest@limarc.org

September 16 CANCELLED - Tinton Falls, NJ
Garden State ARA