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.hudson.arrl.org
 
ARRL Members
 
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this information that they will need to access the ARRL members only web
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to receive bulletins from the Section Manager and Director.
 
> ARRL BOARD MEETING THIS WEEK
 
I am of Wednesday morning for Newington and a Membership Services
Committee meeting early Wednesday morning. The MSC meeting is held in
the attic of W1AW starting at 8:30 in the morning. With a break for
lunch the meeting usually goes until about 3 PM. W2ML and I will attend
a dinner Thursday evening at which Riley Hollingsworth will be the key
speaker. He is always interesting. The Board meeting proper will begin
at 8:30 Friday morning and last through to close to5 PM on Saturday
afternoon. There may well be some news articles on the ARRL web site by
Friday evening and Saturday morning detailing some of the actions we
take. By mid week there will be a number of articles on the web about
the meeting. I'll have some comments in the August issue of the
"Beacon."
 
> FIELD DAY or more correctly, "How I ate my way through Field Day"
 
Another one has come and gone. Check the ARRL web site for pictures and
comments. In fact you can add your own. On Friday I was up at
Caumsuatt State Park on Lloyd's Neck to help the Owls set up. As there
were only nine of us who would attend FD 2002 we elected to put up wire
dipoles and no beams this year to make set up and take down easier. 
Andy K2LE had a great set up planned but when we discovered that it was
going to spread into the overflow parking area we had to modify that
plan to keep the park superintendent happy. We also put up a Force 12
VDPA. It looks somewhat like a square clothes line with quad loops at
the top and bottom. It very small and works well on 20 through 10. We
ran 2A Commercial and were able to use an old garage and work shop for
our two stations. The antenna farm this year came complete with cows. 
There were six of them this year in a fenced field only a few feet away
from our antennas. Perhaps that's what helped us break 2,000 plus QSO's
this year. Actually we did better than last year when we had more
operators and beams. It doesn't figure! I was back on Sunday to operate
both CW and SSB and help with breakdown and the steak dinner after.
 
On Saturday morning I visited the Yonkers Amateur Radio Club at Redmond
Field. The club was just finishing setting up when I arrived at the
site so I had a chance to talk to most of the members and thank them for
helping get our NY tower bill passed in the Senate. The friendly folks
there had a lot of questions about the process and let me know that they
expected a NYS assemblyman to visit the site later in the day. I
thanked them for using the event as a tool to lobby for our legislative
program and also get a few points for the club score. I had not
previously been able to visit YARC but they have a very nice site set up
under a pavilion at the edge of the park. It's in the shade with high
ceilings making for a cool dry Field Day for all.
 
>From there I went across the Tappen Zee into New Jersey to visit the
10-70 Repeater Association at Campgaw Reservation Ski Area. I arrived
just in time for lunch and had time to talk to many friends. How's that
for good planning. The club had pulled out all the stops when it came
to getting local politicians to visit. In the short time I was there
the County Supervisor, the mayor of a local town, and a New Jersey
legislator were all there to make awards and presentations to club
members who had participated in the 9/11 response. Both W2ML and I were
there and there was much picture taking. The club has a great facility
for Field Day and runs a lot of stations every year, which makes for a
lot of fun. I left just as FD operation started. Thanks to Joyce
Birmingham and many others for a nice reception.
 
>From there it was a long ride to the American Red Cross Emergency
Communications Service (ARCECS) located at the Coast Guard base on
Eatons Neck. The site is spectacular and sits between the beach and the
lighthouse with a spectacular view of Long Island Sound. The long drive
is worth the scenery at the end which unfortunately was a bit hazy this
year. I made about ten CW QSO's after N2GA had worn out the band and
then sat down to a great meal cooked by club president, George Sau,
WB2ZTH, who I first worked in the late 1960's when George was helping in
his father's restaurant in Queens. It was obvious that George had
learned a lot at the restaurant. A number of Coast Guard enlisted men
came by to sample the goodies. The moon was up by the time I left for
home. No, I did more talking than eating all that time.
 
On Sunday was up at six for the hour drive to the Owls site at Lloyd
Harbor and more operating. The crew had a breakfast of bacon and eggs
cooked by Frank Fix, K2AW, of "Silicon Alley" fame, (see page 155 of
August QST) who probably made the diodes used in your linear amplifier. 
Frank is now eighty-eight and still going strong. He regaled us with
stories of the first Field Day he attended in 1933. That was the first
Field Day! His breakfast was great, but we did put the station off the
air when we blew a circuit breaker using an electric frying pan, a
coffee pot, a toaster, a computer and an FT-1000MP all at the same
time.
Here was a problem that did not exist in 1933.
 
No rain, no bugs and no big winds mixed with plenty of good food made
for a GREAT Field Day weekend. Too bad we will all have to wait another
year to do it all again.
 
 * Additional ARRL Field Day 2002 pins to be available: For those who
missed out on getting an ARRL Field Day 2002 pin, a limited supply will
be available starting July 29. Field Day pins are $5. Visit the ARRL Web
site for details on how to order your pin or Field Day 2002 T-shirt 

.
 
> CC&R BILL GAINS SUPPORT IN WASHINGTON - HR 4720
 
Congressman Israel received a very warm reception when he spoke about
this bill and other topics at a special meeting of the Great South Bay
Amateur Radio Club on Wednesday, May 29 in the Babylon Town Hall EOC. 
There is coverage and pictures on the ARRL web site of the event. The
Congressman spoke about "My Father the Ham and How I Hope to Solve His
Antenna Problems." Thanks to Phil Lewis, President of GSBARC for
arranging the event. A picture and a write up are on page 15 of August
QST and also at http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2002/06/03/01
 
At last count HR 4720 had ten co-sponsors. Please try to get you
representative to sign on to this important bill.
 
> HUDSON DIVISION ADVISORY AND CABINET CHANGES
 
Last month when we announced these changes we said, "Two of the above
are former Hudson Division Directors. Do you know which two they are?" 
We had only one correct answer and that was from Andrew Schmidt,
N2FTR.
 
The answer is Stan Zak, K2JSO and Richard Sandell, WK6R. 
 
> NEW YORK LEGISLATIVE SESSION ......
 
We did think it would be over by now..... We are half way there and our
fingers remain crossed.
 
On Wednesday, June 19th, the New York State Senate passed S.2893 in a 42
to19 vote. Our Senate sponsors headed by Dale Volker of Depew, New York
and assisted by Hugh Farley of Schenectady got the bill passed. This
was a major accomplishment and something for which our NY PRB-1 Task
Force can be really proud. Thanks to all those letters over the last
four years that loyal ARRL members have repeated written we were
successful in the Senate. The Republican Senate is a much more
conservative body and we expected that our bill would be a difficult
sell there. Initially we had high hopes that the Assembly would then
quickly also act on the bill. Our Assembly sponsors had assured us that
if we could get the Senate to do the bill first then they would pass it,
but it has not been that simple so far. Apparently the local government
and home rule lobby is now wide awake and working hard to stop us and
have mounted a big campaign. Some of their literature states that they
"need to continue to balance the issues" and our bill takes away their
ability to do that. The reality is that PRB-1 took away that ability in
1985 some seventeen years ago. AOT and NYCOM, two of the lobbying
groups would like to hide that fact. The reality is that municipal
government is supposed to "use the least regulation" in accommodating
our need for antennas.
 
I contacted Congressman Steve Israel and asked him if he could possible
write a letter to Sheldon Silver asking for favorable treatment of the
bill as it is similar in some ways to Israel's HR 4720. I just received
word from the congressman's office that a letter has been sent to
Silver. Congressman Israel is becoming a real friend of Amateur Radio. 
 
 
Director Bernie Fuller and I have sent a series of bulletins to ARRL
members in WNY, NNY, ENY and NLI asking members to write to key members
of the Rules Committee designed to get Speaker Silver to release the
bill to the floor for a vote. A great numbers of faxes, phone calls and
letters have been sent as a result of this effort. It's not too late to
send a few more faxes and letters. At the moment the Assembly has
adjourned but is expected to be called back by Speaker Silver before the
year is out to take action on some important bills. We hope to make one
of those bills A. 1565. At this point there is no way to know when that
will be so our bill remains in limbo. 
 
We can still use faxes and letter to Assembly Rules Committee members. 
There is a list on the Hudson Division web page. See
http://www.hudson.arrl.org for the numbers and a sample letter.
 
Let's keep working at it! It's not over until the last day of
December.
 
> NEW JERSEY TOWER BILL
 
The New Jersey PRB-1 Task Force has put the final touches on the wording
of an NJ tower bill and has now begun the process of locating sponsors. 
It's our goal to get a bill introduced early next year.
 
A reminder. The New York bill has been in the works for four years. It
took more than a year to get the bill introduced. These things,
unfortunately, do not happen overnight.
 
> THE KJI "HAM" STORE OPENS
 
Gene Niemiec, K2KJI, a hamfest regular in the Hudson Division recently
opened a retail store in Caldwell New Jersey. The store located at 394
Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell is closed Wednesday but opened the rest of
the week days from 1 to 5 PM and 7 to 9 PM. Saturday and Sunday hours
are 1 to 5 PM. You can telephone Gene at 973-364-1930 or fax him at
973-239-4389. Gene has a website at http://www.kjielectronics.com We
wish Gene luck on the new venture and appreciate the availability of a
ham store in the area.
 
> 2003 ARRL NATIONAL CONVENTION SET FOR TEXAS
 
 In response to a proposal from Ham-Com , the
ARRL Board of Directors has authorized an ARRL National Convention to be
held June 20-22, 2003, in Arlington, Texas, coinciding with the next
Ham-Com. The Board's vote was unanimous. "I'm extremely pleased that the
2003 national convention will be held in the Dallas-Fort Worth area,"
said ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, who lives in Dallas. Besides the
honor of having the national convention held in his home state, "it
gives me an opportunity to at least not spend the night in a hotel,"
Haynie quipped. ARRL West Gulf Director Coy Day, N5OK, and Ham-Com
organizers made a formal announcement at Ham-Com the weekend of June
8-9. Additional details will follow.
 
> NEW EXTRA CLASS QUESTION POOL EFFECTIVE JULY 1
 
Starting July 1, a new Amateur Extra class (Element 4) question pool
went into effect for examinations given on or after that date. The new
pool contains more than 800 questions--up from the present 685. There is
no change in the number of questions or the passing grade for
examinations derived from the new question pool, however, and no other
examination elements are affected. A representative from ARRL VEC sits
on the Question Pool Committee, which is composed of representatives of
four of the nation's Volunteer Examiner Coordinator organizations. 
Question pools are revised and updated on a timetable determined by the
QPC, which is soliciting candidate questions based on the recently
released Technician (Element 2) syllabus. All current question pools
are available on the ARRL Amateur Exam Question Pools Web site

.
 
> RTTY ROUNDUP RESULTS ON ARRL WEB SITE
 
The results of the ARRL RTTY Roundup, which took place in January, are
now available on the "members only" section of the ARRL web site. NO2T
is again winner of the Hudson Division High Score Plaque which I sponsor
each year. If this continues I will soon have covered an entire wall in
Jerry's home. Check out the accompanying article with pictures and
results features on the site
 
> RALPH WILLIAMS, N3VT, A SILENT KEY
 
I had the following e-mail:
 
 "I imagine the word has gotten out that we lost Ralph Williams
N3VT May 31. His sons and wife are going to upgrade his Atwater Kent
Museum with heat, AC etc. and open it to the public.
 
 A few weeks before we lost Bob McGraw W2LYH, a long time
employee of RCA Communications and Mackay radio. He won the article of
the month or was it year? award from QST way back in the 50s I think. 
He was a CW op. Bill Norris, N2YKH another east end ham passed away
June 2.
 
Not a good month out here in Eastern LI."
 
73, Van W2OQI
 
> ARRL INAUGURATES "Logs Received" PAGE
 
ARRL has inaugurated an automated "Logs Received" Web page

 starting with entries for the
ARRL June VHF QSO Party. All properly submitted electronic logs that are
issued a receipt by the contest robot are automatically added to the
page on an hourly basis. Logs that are returned to the sender with a
message citing problems that need correction are not issued a receipt by
the robot and will not appear on the list. Listings will only appear
once corrections are made by the participant and the re-submitted log
has been given a receipt by the robot. Paper logs that must be manually
entered by the ARRL Contest Branch staff also will not appear on the
list until after submission deadlines have passed for the contest and
all data entry for the paper logs has been completed. This automated
system will be utilized for all future ARRL-sponsored contests that are
supported by the Cabrillo format and the contest robot. Field Day is
not supported by the robot. Field Day logs will be posted once all
initial data entry for the event has been finished. For more
information, contact ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson,
n1nd@arrl.org; 860-594-0232.
 
> ARRL COMMENTS ON FCC SPECTRUM POLICY
 
The ARRL has told the FCC that marketplace forces should not determine
Amateur Radio spectrum allocations and that interference management is a
technical, not an economic, issue. Those opinions and others came this
week in response to a call in early June from the FCC Spectrum Policy
Task Force for comments on various issues related to FCC spectrum
policy.
 
"The value to the public of a vital, growing Amateur Radio Service,
while perhaps only indirectly measurable in market terms, cannot
translate to a marketplace ability to pay for spectrum, no matter what
the mechanism," the League asserted. "The non-pecuniary character of
Amateur Radio makes it uniquely unsuitable for market-oriented
allocation processes." Such a policy, the ARRL said, would "preclude
Amateur Radio communications."
 
The ARRL compared Amateur Radio spectrum to a public park or
right-of-way. "Given the wide availability of Amateur Radio to the
general public and its value as an educational and public service
resource, the concept fits well," the League said.
 
The ARRL said that "economic balancing" among parties is not the proper
mechanism to resolve interference issues. From an Amateur Radio
perspective, the League said, "any economic model for interference
resolution would effectively place it and other non-commercial services
at the mercy of any commercial device manufacturer or industry group."
Many interference issues are dealt with using technical solutions that
accommodate both parties, the ARRL said, while an economic model
presumes a preference for one service over another.
 
The ARRL again took advantage of the comment opportunity to reiterate
its views on the deployment of unlicensed devices under Part 15 rules.
Petitioners seeking authorization for new devices or technology that
impacts licensed users should "have the burden of demonstrating the
current state of use of the band by its own technical calculations or
measurements in certain types of environments," the ARRL said. "As to
spectrum congestion, that is perhaps the area about which the Commission
has the least information and about which it should have the most."
 
Noting its participation in a noise study that will contribute to a
better understanding about ambient noise, the ARRL said the FCC should
require proponents of new devices or technology to provide "studies of
individual and aggregate interference potential and effect on ambient
noise."
 
The League also restated its view that unlicensed devices cannot be
authorized unless the FCC determines that the devices "do not have a
significant interference potential to licensed services." The ARRL said
the FCC "has pushed the Part 15 concept beyond the point that it works;
no unlicensed device should be permitted to substitute for licensed
fixed or mobile radio services."
 
Petitioners also should provide technical sharing studies every time
they propose a new allocation or file a petition for a new unlicensed
service, the ARRL said. The League's comments reiterated the goal of the
Amateur Radio Spectrum Protection Act

 now in Congress as HR 817
and S 549. The measure would provide equivalent replacement spectrum for
the Amateur Service just as it typically does for users displaced as a
result of spectrum auctions.
 
The full text of the ARRL's comments in this proceeding is available on
the ARRL Web site

.
 
==>HIGHER AMATEUR VANITY CALL SIGN FEE EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 9
 
The FCC has officially set $14.50 as the cost to apply for, renew or
reinstate an Amateur Radio vanity call sign. According to a Report and
Order adopted July 3, the new fee will become effective for applications
received on or after September 9. The current vanity fee is $12 for the
10-year license term. The FCC had proposed the new, higher fee in a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (MD Docket No. 02-64) released March 27 to
set Fiscal Year 2002 fees.
 
A copy of the FCC Report and Order is available on the FCC Web site

.
 
==>UK FOUNDATION TICKET A HIT, RSGB PRESIDENT SAYS
 
Radio Society of Great Britain President Bob Whelan, G3PJT, says the new
 Foundation class entry-level amateur ticket in the UK has proven to be
a grand success, especially among youth. Since the Foundation license
went into effect January 1, it's attracted some 700 brand-new amateurs
in the UK, 250 of them under the age of 21, Whelan said. The balance of
the 2500 Foundation licensees are those who upgraded their VHF-only
privileges to gain the limited HF access the Foundation ticket offers.
 
"The interesting thing is that we're getting a very good response from
schools, from Scouts, from Guides, from all those young people's
organizations," Whelan told ARRL, "and it looks to us like, for the
first time, it's going to change around the fortunes of Amateur Radio in
the UK."
 
The Foundation license has made the HF bands much more accessible to
newcomers as well as to Class B VHF-only "no code" licensees. To comply
with the current international Radio Regulations, applicants demonstrate
Morse proficiency by completing what's called a "Morse assessment."
Class B licensees need only complete the Morse assessment to qualify for
the Foundation license. Applicants work with a Morse tutor for the
assessment, and there is no Morse speed requirement. The RSGB says the
entire Morse assessment takes about 30 minutes. Applicants also must
pass a 20-question written examination that covers a wide range of radio
and electronics basics.
 
Holders of the Foundation ticket gain access to most amateur bands from
136 kHz through 440 MHz--with the notable exception of 10 meters-using
CW, SSB, or digital modes. Foundation licensees may operate with 10 W
output using only commercially manufactured equipment or "properly
designed" commercial kits. Licensees are issued call signs from the
M3AAA-M3ZZZ series.
 
The Foundation ticket also has proven to be a big boost to the RSGB-the
national Amateur Radio organization in the UK. "The membership of the
RSGB is starting to creep up again," Whelan said. "All indications are
that it was a very radical step we've taken, but it was evidently the
right thing to do." There are approximately 60,000 amateurs in the UK.
 
Some Morse code purists have been less than enthusiastic regarding the
administration of the CW portion of the examination. But Whelan said he
was pleasantly surprised to learn that, in the wake of the introduction
of a license that tends to de-emphasize Morse code, "there's been a
tremendous upsurge in interest as people want to know more about the
code." He said Amateur Radio retailers in the UK report their sales are
up following the introduction of the Foundation ticket, and one supplier
Whelan spoke with was completely out of Morse keys and practice sets.
 
Gibraltar recently announced that it was instituting a Foundation
license based on the UK example. Gibraltar Foundation licensees will be
issued ZB3 call sign prefixes.
 
More information on the new UK license is available on the RSGB Web site

.
 
> AMATEUR 220-222 MHz BAND UNDER ATTACK IN CANADA
 
Radio Amateurs of Canada says the Land Mobile Radio community has asked
the Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC) to look into the possibility
of making all or part of the 220-222 MHz portion of the 220-225 MHz
amateur band available for Land Mobile use in Canada. The RABC will make
its recommendations to Industry Canada later this year. The band 220-222
MHz already is a Land Mobile band in the US and is not available to
amateurs in most parts of the world. The remainder of the band--the
222-225 MHz portion--is not up for discussion. RAC recently conducted a
survey  on its Web site to gather
information on band usage.
 
> EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS COURSE OFFERED AT NEW ENGLAND CONVENTION 
 
A brief review version of the Level I ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency
Communications course (EC-001) will be offered in classroom format at
the ARRL New England Division Convention, August 23-24, at the Boxboro,
Massachusetts, Holiday Inn (exit 28 off I-495). Course editor Dave
Colter, WA1ZCN, is the instructor. Since this is a one-day review-style
class, students must read the course book and complete the activities
beforehand. The classroom sessions are on Friday, August 23, from 8 AM
to 4 PM (lunch is on your own). The examination will be conducted
Saturday, August 24, at 9 AM. Registration is $45 for ARRL members, $75
for non-members, and free for Connecticut ARRL members taking advantage
of United Technologies grant funds. The fee includes registration,
course book, shipping, handouts, and the exam fee. To register, contact
Jerry Ellis, WS1K, cce@arrl.org.
 
>>>>>APPROVED HAMFESTS: 
 
 17 Aug + Ramapo Mountain ARC 
 Oakland, NJ
 2002 http://www.qsl.net/rmarc Div: Hudson
 Contact: Steven Oliphant, N2KBD Sect: Northern New
 10 Glen Road Jersey
 Ringwood, NJ 07456
 Phone: 973-962-4584
 Fax: 973-962-6210
 Email: rmarc@qsl.net
 
7 Sep + Saratoga County RACES 
Ballston Spa, NY
 2002 http://www.capital.net/users/lake Div: Hudson
 Contact: Darlene Lake, N2XQG  Sect: Eastern New
 314 Louden Road, #84 York
 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
 Phone: 518-587-2385
 Email: lake@capital.net
 
 15 Sep + Long Island Mobile ARC 
Bethpage, NY
 2002 http://www.limarc.org Div: Hudson
 Contact: Diane Ortiz, K2DO Sect: New York
 PO Box 392 City-Long Island
 Levittown, NY 11756-0392
 Phone: 516-520-9311 or
  631-286-7562
 Email: hamfest@limarc.org
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------
ARRL Hudson Division
Director: Frank Fallon, N2FF
n2ff@arrl.org