*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 26, No. 26 June 29, 2007 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * + ARRL Diamond Terrace Nears Completion * + Field Day at W1AW: "It Was a Blast!" * + FCC Enforcement Actions for the Week of June 25, 2007 * + Amateur Radio and ARES Assist Flood Victims in Central Texas * + Kenwood Purported to Merge with JVC in 2008 * + Astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, Back on Terra Firma * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This Weekend on the Radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Course Registration + Magic Band Opens Wide to Allow Cross-Band Transatlantic Contact + North Carolina Governor Signs Antenna Bill Ducie Island, VP6, DXpedition Gears Up FCC Dismisses Petitions for Rule Making North Carolina Governor Signs Antenna Bill ARRL Congratulates Two New Top of Honor Roll Recipients Duncan McArthur, GM3TNT (SK) Let Us Know +Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> =========================================================== ==>Delivery problems: First see FAQ <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/faq.html#nodelivery>, then e-mail <letter-dlvy@arrl.org> ==>Editorial questions or comments only: S. Khrystyne Keane, <k1sfa@arrl.org> =========================================================== ==> ARRL Diamond Terrace Nears Completion With only a few more steps to go, the Diamond Terrace at ARRL Headquarters is just about complete. The building has had a new paint job and looks spiffier than ever. The bricks for the Terrace have been laid, creating a pleasing panorama at the entrance to HQ. Soon granite benches will grace the Diamond Terrace, providing a resting place on a lovely summer's afternoon for visitors, friends and staff alike. ARRL Chief Development Officer Mary Hobart, K1MMH, said, "It's wonderful to see the transformation of ARRL Headquarters building after the months of planning. We have all been watching the progress of the painting, sidewalk construction and finally the laying of the bricks in the Diamond Terrace." Hobart said that the benches, "the capstone of the Terrace," will be installed in the next several weeks. "Six garden benches of Vermont granite will be put into place on the Terrace, thanks to the contributions of six incredibly generous hams," she said. Bench donors include Larry Price, W4RA; Dick Isely, W9GIG, and Paul Rinaldo, W4RI. Besides the benches, the Terrace will host up to 5000 personalized, 4x8-inch laser-engraved bricks. Gracing the new entrance to ARRL Headquarters, the Diamond Terrace will recognize donors wishing to venerate their own call signs or to honor or memorialize the call sign of a family member, club or "Elmer" (mentor). "I have heard wonderful stories from donors who are honoring their Elmer or a family member, and clubs who are honoring a founder or influential leader. There is no limit to the reasons why bricks are placed to honor a call sign," Hobart said. Hobart continued, "We already had plans to refurbish the Headquarters entrance area, so this was an ideal opportunity to invite our members to participate in the project and support League programs at the same time. We want to grow the Diamond Club, which enables the ARRL to continue programs that require revenue above and beyond what annual dues provide, ensuring their long-term health and enabling the League to do more on behalf of Amateur Radio." A total of 168 personalized bricks were laid this week, the first set of bricks to grace the Terrace. "Many people have requested more than one brick through their donations. Some have requested five bricks," Hobart said. "There is room for everyone at the Diamond Terrace." ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, was the first in line to buy a Diamond Terrace brick. Others can join President Harrison with a $250 annual Diamond Club membership contribution. The Diamond Club now has more than 2100 members, and the unrestricted funds it takes in support such ARRL activities as spectrum defense, educational initiatives, field services, DXCC, publications, contesting and the ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator program, among others, Hobart points out. "You pick an area that's near and dear to your heart, and Diamond Club revenue is very likely supporting it." The bricks placed in the Diamond Terrace are treated to withstand Connecticut's weather and placed in a sand setting. The list of bricks will be posted on the ARRL Web site and will be available to visitors at ARRL Headquarters who wish to locate their brick in the Diamond Terrace. Brick requests will be accumulated throughout the year and placed in the Diamond Terrace starting in late spring of each year. The staff has followed the progress of the Diamond Terrace, built by Robert Antonello and Son, under the watchful eye of ARRL Building Manager Greg Kwasowski, W1GJK, and Hobart. "I hope that those who are fortunate to visit ARRL Headquarters this summer and in the future will enjoy the new look of their Amateur Radio home. It has been a pleasure to work with each Diamond Club donor to craft the engraving for their brick, and I hope many can come and see the terrace personally," Hobart said. If members are not able to stop by ARRL Headquarters and see the Diamond Terrace in person, they can view the almost 200 photos taken by ARRL News Editor Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, that document the construction <http://www.arrl.org/development/donations/diamondclub/terrace/photos.ht ml >. To find out more about the ARRL Diamond Terrace, please visit the Diamond Terrace Web site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/development/donations/diamondclub/terrace.ht ml>. ==> Field Day at W1AW: "It Was a Blast!" With the 2007 Field Day now a part of history, it's time to begin planning for 2008. With that in mind, ARRL Regulatory Information Branch Manager and Field Day Coordinator Dan Henderson, N1ND, said, "From the phone calls and e-mails I have received, people all over the country had a great Field Day. It was a blast. Now it's time to get started planning for next year!" W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, said, "Field Day conditions were weak, but we managed some good contacts, nonetheless. All the W1AW Field Day bulletins were sent without a hitch." Henderson agreed. "Propagation was not the best up here in New England. But we managed to pull through, and had a lot of fun doing so." W1AW made a total of 804 contacts: 317 on CW, 466 on Phone and 21 on the digital modes; each mode ran at 100 W. Taking into account all the bonus points available, W1AW's claimed score is 2284. "We ran Field Day as 4F. Since W1AW is an EOC station, we are allowed the 'F' designator. Although we didn't make any satellite contacts, we did demonstrate it to staff and visitors," Carcia said. W1AW managed to make contacts with 42 of the 50 US states. Unfortunately, operators were not able to make contact with South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon or Kansas. "We're okay with that, because at W1AW, we view Field Day as more of a teaching, or educational, experience. There are times where we are not operating, or not operating that much, because we are showing new or prospective hams what Amateur Radio is all about," Carcia said. Carcia noted that just as during regular W1AW operating hours, visitors were "more than welcome" to come by W1AW on Field Day. "We had one visitor from Hawaii. He and his family were in Connecticut on family business, and he operated pretty much both days. In addition to visitors, we had 11 ARRL HQ staffers show up to both operating and to conduct a VE test session on Saturday," Carcia said. A total of eight people took exams, with six passing. Carcia said that the W1AW 60 kW diesel generator suffered "some nastiness" the Saturday before Field Day, but was repaired in the days prior to the operating event. "As near as we can tell," Carcia said, "lightning struck a power line a street over, inducing voltage in the line. We are guessing the induced voltage arced across from the neutral side in the transfer switch and 'whacked' the solenoid coil and control board in the transfer switch. We think this only because the coil is about an inch away from neutral buss." The generator story, as well as pictures from W1AW's Field Day, are on the ARRL Field Day Web blog <http://www.arrl.org/blog/Field%20Day%202007>. Post your Field Day experiences on the Field Day Soapbox < http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/?con_id=133>. ==> FCC Enforcement Actions for the Week of June 25, 2007 In May and June of this year, the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, Spectrum Enforcement Division, sent out radio amateur enforcement correspondence via certified mail to four hams and one commercial company regarding alleged misuse of Amateur Radio activities. In two unrelated cases, letters were sent to William E. Westley, Jr, AF4GC, of New Port Richey, Florida, and Donald E. Ellis, KB0TVP, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for repeater interference and included warnings to stay off certain repeater systems. Westley was asked by the licensee of the W4FLG repeater to stop using the repeater. Ellis was requested by the licensees of W0MXW and K0RGR to refrain from using said repeaters. According to the FCC, requests to Westley and Ellis were issued both verbally and in writing. The FCC said both Westley and Ellis were cited for "failure to follow operational rules set forth by the licensee/control operators of the repeater system." Oscar Resto, KP4RF, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, was cited by the FCC from a complaint originating with the Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Volunteer Frequency Coordinators, Inc. They allege Resto caused "interference from your station operating at 145.450 MHz to coordinated repeater KP4IA, operating at 144.770 MHz." According to the FCC, PVRI has found and coordinated another frequency pair for Resto "that would cure the present interference problem, as well as another interference situation involving other coordinated repeater stations." The FCC requests that Resto "either resolve the interference problem or comply with the frequency' coordinator's recommended frequency change by midnight July 1, 2007." The FCC also sent a letter to Mark F. Hubeny, N9ZHW, citing the "operation of your Amateur Radio station on non-Amateur Radio frequencies," resulting in "deliberate interference. Although the complaints relate to non-Amateur operation, if true they raise serious question regarding your qualifications to remain an Amateur licensee." The FCC requested Hubeny to respond to the FCC within 20 days of receipt of the letter to fully address the complaint. He was also asked to clarify his mailing address for his amateur license. In a complaint against Tennessee Steel Haulers of Nashville, Tennessee, the FCC notes that "one of your drivers has been operating radio equipment without a license on 28.085 MHz and causing interference to licensed stations in the Ten Meter Amateur Band." The letter goes on to state that the driver was observed operating on May 3, 2007 on Interstate 85 in Gastonia, North Carolina. The penalty for such actions include fine or imprisonment, as well as seizure of any non-certified radio transmitting equipment. Fines can range from $7500-$10,000. To read the correspondence in its entirety, please see the Enforcement Bureau's Web site <http://www.fcc.gov/eb/AmateurActions/Welcome.html>. Address all inquiries regarding this correspondence to Riley Hollingsworth <riley.hollingsworth@fcc.gov>. ==> Amateur Radio and ARES Assist Flood Victims in Central Texas In floods that have ravaged across central and north Texas for more than 11 days, Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) members were activated to assist those in need. In those 11 days, 11 people were killed due to the severe weather conditions. More than 10 inches of rain was predicted to fall Thursday; the area only received three inches, but more rain was expected Thursday and Friday, and flash flood warnings were in effect. In Williamson County, north of Austin, a search has been under way for two motorists apparently swept off a road. According to the Williamson County Sherriff's office, a search was underway for a woman and her boyfriend after their car was found abandoned; the car appeared to have been swept off the road by flood waters. Almost a week of nonstop rain -- including 18 inches near Marble Falls in Burnet County, about 40 miles northwest of Austin, on Wednesday morning -- left dozens of people stranded on rooftops, cars and in trees. According to Williamson County ARES member Tom Whiteside, N5TW, "The regular communication infrastructure has been working well, but we are participating mostly 'just in case.' We have had the Williamson County EOC staffed since Wednesday morning, and then continuously since 1 AM Thursday. In that time, we have provided communications at two shelters -- one at the Georgetown Recreational Center and one at the Liberty Hill Middle School. We are using both conventional voice and portable Winlink at the EOC. The Winlink connection is quite handy for sensitive messages, as well as for passing more complicated intelligence in and out than could be done efficiently with voice." Williamson County ARES was activated. Jim Taylor, NQ5L, Emergency Coordinator for Williamson County, concurred. "The Williamson County EOC was opened due to the severe rains in Burnet County, with spill over into Williamson. Rain fall has slowed with several roads closed and some water rescue efforts. So far, there have been no reports of fatalities here, but people are still driving into dangerous situations." Authorities also closed several impassable roads in Williamson County. Some cars stalled in the high water, but the occupants escaped. Saying that helicopter reconnaissance would commence during daylight hours, Taylor added that two major storm systems to the west are expected to merge and create a situation with up to 10 inches of rain expected. A good deal of damage occurred in Marble Falls and Highland Lakes (Llano County), according to the National Weather Service and Rick Chapman, K5RIK, Emergency Coordinator for Highland Lakes. "There are extensive rains in the area, with a measured rainfall of 1.5 feet over the past 24 hours. This has resulted in many flooding situations in the low areas. Marble Falls and Kingsland were particularly hard hit. People have been forced out of their homes by the high water, and low water crossings were dangerous yesterday, with some still having high levels of water today." Chapman added that thus far, "Our served agencies have not requested ARES/SKYWARN communications support, and we do not deploy without specific requests. With the saturated soil conditions and expected additional rainfall, our deployment status may change quickly." The Texas National Guard dispatched troops and vehicles to Central Texas, as well as other areas hit by storms from the Oklahoma border to the Rio Grande Valley. About 150 troops and 50 vehicles were mobilized. This has been the wettest year on record in Austin, where more than 30 inches of rain has fallen since January, and Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco and Wichita Falls have near-records. The rainfall has more than compensated for a drought that much of Texas had been experiencing since 2005, the National Weather Service said. ==> Kenwood Purported to Merge with JVC in 2008 A consumer electronic magazine, This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE), reports that Kenwood has agreed to merge in 2008 with Victor Company of Japan (JVC) under a holding company. JVC is owned by Matsushita Electric Industrial Company. Japan's Nikkei business newspaper reports that the final details should be worked out by the end of the month, and that under the plan, Kenwood will buy 20 billion yen ($161,469,466) in JVC shares as early as this summer, raising its stake to 13 percent. Matsushita will also sell part of its 52.7 percent of JVC to Kenwood's top shareholder, the Sparx Group. When JVC and Kenwood integrate operations under the holding company in 2008, Matsushita will sell the rest of its JVC shares to the holding company to complete the transaction. The holding company's stock will be listed instead of Kenwood and JVC, according to Nikkei. Combined, Kenwood's and JVC's sales are $7.3 billion dollars annually for their fiscal year that ended March 31. ==> Astronaut Suni Williams, KD5PLB, Back on Terra Firma Suni Williams, KD5PLB, International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 15 Flight Engineer, came back to Earth Saturday, June 23 on the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-117), wrapping up a six month stay during which she became the new record holder for the longest single spaceflight by a woman. While on the ISS, Williams participated in 33 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts. ISS Expedition 12 Commander Bill McArthur, KC5ACR, holds the record for the most ARISS school contacts in a single mission at 37. Williams launched with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery (STS-116) on December 9, 2006. She docked with the ISS on December 11. Clay Anderson, KD5PLA, part of STS-117, replaced Williams as ISS Flight Engineer. STS-117 was launched from Florida June 8 and docked with the ISS June 10. Its mission lasted almost 14 days. "The space station's just a stepping-stone to get us to understand space, and how to live and work in space, and then potentially get back to the moon is the next stepping-stone. How to work in a low-gravity environment and how to work in an environment that is not habitable for us that will take us to the next place, maybe Mars and then beyond," Williams said. While in space, Williams, a US Navy helicopter pilot who holds the rank of Commander (O5), worked with robotics operation on the ISS and participated in four spacewalks. She was also NASA ISS Science Officer for part of her time in space. The primary focus of US science on the ISS is research on how people can live and work safely in weightlessness. Williams participated in the 2007 Boston Marathon from the ISS. She competed as an official entrant in the annual Patriots Day event from 210 miles above Earth. Williams ran on an ISS exercise treadmill, circling Earth at least twice in the process and going as fast as 8 MPH while flying more than 5 miles per second. "I [hope to] encourage kids to start making physical fitness part of their daily lives," she said. "I think a big goal like a marathon will help get this message out there." ==>SOLAR UPDATE Tad "Don't Let the Sun(spots) Go Down on Me" Cook, K7RA, this week reports: We are seeing new sunspots over the past few days after 11 days with none at all. Lack of solar activity made Field Day this year (June 23-24) a real cycle minimum experience. Most areas saw very little 10 and 15 meter activity, so 80, 40 and 20 meters were the places to be. Sunspot numbers for June 25-28 were 11, 11, 15 and 27. The numbers may edge a little higher over the next few days, with more zero sunspot days possible around mid-July. Geomagnetic activity is expected to remain quiet. Sunspot numbers for June 21 through 27 were 0, 0, 0, 0, 11, 11 and 15 with a mean of 5.3. 10.7 cm flux was 65.5, 65.3, 65.9, 66.9, 67.6, 70.5, and 73.2, with a mean of 67.8. Estimated planetary A indices were 14, 16, 11, 6, 5, 5 and 5 with a mean of 8.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 8, 12, 8, 4, 3, 4 and 5, with a mean of 6.3. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html>. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: This weekend, the NCCC Sprint Ladder and the Digital Pentathlon are June 29. The WLOTA is June 30-July 1. The RAC Canada Day Contest and SKCC Weekend Sprint are July 1. During the week, the RSGB 80m Club Championship (CW) is July 2, and the ARS Spartan Sprint is July 3. Schedule the Michigan QRP July 4th CW Sprint around your hot dogs and fireworks on July 4-5. Next weekend is VK/Trans-Tasman 160m Contest (SSB) on July 7. The Venezuelan Independence Day Contest, the DL-DX RTTY Contest and the Original QRP Contest are scheduled for July 7-8. On July 8, look for the DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest and the ARCI Summer Homebrew Sprint. Later in the week on July 11, the SKCC Sprint and RSGB 80m Club Championship (SSB) are on the air. See the ARRL Contest Branch page http://www.arrl.org/contests/, the ARRL Contester's Rate Sheet <http://www.arrl.org/contests/rate-sheet/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration remains open through Sunday July 8 for these online courses beginning on Friday July 20: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002); Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003); Antenna Modeling (EC-004); Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011); HF Digital Communications (EC-005), and VHF-UHF (EC-008). To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the Continuing Education Program Coordinator <cce@arrl.org>. * Magic Band Opens Wide to Allow Cross-Band Transatlantic Contact: On Monday, June 25, there was a big opening to Europe on 6 meters (50 MHz), also known as the "magic band." In most areas, the opening started in the local US mid-morning, lasting until dark. According to QST column author of "The World Above 50 MHz" Gene Zimmerman, W3ZZ, "Many areas of the country that do not normally work Europe, including the Midwestern states, West Texas and Colorado, worked stations in Europe. At one point near the end of the opening, stations on the East Coast of the US were working stations in Hawaii on the Big Island." In this opening, Mike Smith, VE9AA, in New Brunswick was on 50 MHz when he worked Nigel Coleman, G7CNF, on CW cross-band; Coleman was on the 70 MHz band (4 meters) in England. Zimmerman said, "Though a few cross-band contacts were made via F2 propagation during the sunspot maximum period in the 1970s, this is believed to be the first 50/70 transatlantic cross-band contact ever made on multi-hop sporadic-E propagation." RSGB VHF/UHF Manager David Butler, G4ASR, concurred: "It certainly isn't the first United Kingdom-North America 4 meter/6 meter cross-band QSO, but it probably is the first via multi-hop sporadic-E." In North America, 70 MHz is channel 4 on television sets. Watch a YouTube video of the contact posted by VE9AA at <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVlVWPJWcPo>, and G7CNF's version with some audio enhancements at <http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=X0wel14KAD0>. * North Carolina Governor Signs Antenna Bill: On Friday, June 29, North Carolina Governor Mike Easley signed HB1340, the "Amateur Radio Antenna" bill into law. North Carolina becomes the 25th state to pass a state model of the FCC's 1985 PRB-1 regulation, and becomes the halfway point for all 50 states having some kind of state antenna legislation. The bill was introduced for the first time in February and passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. The law takes effect October 1 and permits antennas up to 90 feet in height in areas regulated solely by municipal (county and city) ordinances. * Ducie Island, VP6, DXpedition Gears Up: The Daily DX reports that the Ducie Island DXpedition Team, VP6DX, has been busy behind the scenes preparing for the much anticipated February 2008 DXpedition. It was also announced that the VP6DX team decided to extend the duration of the DXpedition. Plans are to depart Mangareva Island, part of the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia, via ship on February 5, 2008 and head for Pitcairn Island; this trip normally takes about 36 hours. The ops will spend a few hours on Pitcairn before taking another 36 hour trip boat ride to Ducie Island; they plan to arrive at sunrise on February 9, and hope to be up and running within 24 hours. The team needs to be back on Mangareva by March 3. If all goes well, including the weather, they will have VP6 on the air for as long as 19 days. There is a slight chance of a short visit to another uninhabited island if things on Ducie slow down. Henderson Island (also VP6, not a separate DXCC entity) is the only island on the way to and from Ducie Island. * FCC Dismisses Petitions for Rule Making: The FCC today granted requests to withdraw two Petitions for Rule Making (PRM) concerning "spectrum deregulation in the Amateur Service," as well as a vanity call sign request for a call sign outside the Commission parameters. In the Order, the FCC first granted a request to withdraw a PRM by the Communications Think Tank (CTT), filed June 20, 2005, that requested the FCC "discontinue mandatory segmentation of emission modes and the activities using these modes in the Amateur Service, and substitute a voluntary system of coordination to achieve greater, and more efficient, utilization of frequency allocations within the amateur radio bands." On November 6, 2006, CTT requested its PRM be withdrawn. On November 14, 2005, the ARRL requested the FCC "comprehensively modify the means by which the extremely varied emission modes in the Amateur Radio Service are developed, experimented with, implemented and regularly utilized in the course of normal Amateur Radio communications." On April 27, the ARRL requested its petition be withdrawn. In the Order, the FCC agreed to drop both PRMs, saying they will take "no further action with respect to these petitions for rulemaking or the comments filed in response thereto." The Commission went on to say in the Order that both PRMs are "dismissed without prejudice," meaning the subject may be revisited at a later date. * ARRL Congratulates Two New Top of Honor Roll Recipients: Dave Brindle, K1WER, of Nashua, New Hampshire and Bob Hall, W8QHG, of Barboursville, West Virginia, achieved Top of Honor Roll after completing confirmed contacts with BS7H, the Scarborough Reef DXpedition. Hall will turn 91 this October. By special arrangement with the ARRL DXCC Desk and West Virginia DX Association, Hall received the first #1 Honor Roll Award issued following the BS7H operation. Top of Honor Roll is awarded to those who complete confirmed contacts with each of the current DXCC entities. As of this date, there are 337 DXCC entities. According to DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, there are currently 869 Top of Honor Roll recipients. More than 25,000 people participate in the DXCC awards program, and more than 40,000 awards have been bestowed since the inception of the DXCC awards program in 1945. For more information on ARRL DXCC awards, please see the DX Century Club Web page < http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>. * Duncan McArthur, GM3TNT (SK): Duncan McArthur, GM3TNT died suddenly at his home in Avalon, Peninver, Scotland on June 19, 2007. He was 65. McArthur was the "Scottish link" in last year's "Hello" campaign, celebrating 100 years of voice over radio. During the "Hello" finale when three stations -- W1AW in Connecticut, W100BO/W1F in Brant Rock, Massachusetts and GB1FVT in Machrihanish, Scotland -- were on the air the last weekend in December 2006, McArthur manned GB1FVT. This station, built by Reginald Fessenden in 1905, received the first voice transmissions sent across the Atlantic. Until then, this site had only been using Morse code when, by accident, a voice transmission which was only intended to go between Brant Rock and Cobb Island was received at Machrihanish. ARRL Public Relations and Media Manager Allen Pitts, W1AGP, said, "I never met Duncan in person, but we talked a lot about the "Hello" campaign and I really liked him. He was pure Scot (never English!) and the brogue was most pleasant -- like my grandmother. He was willing to do whatever he could -- and came through on his promises; that always counts a lot with me. I liked knowing people like that were still in my world -- and now he's gone. I will miss him." McArthur is survived by daughter Diane and son-in-law Morris, granddaughter Hannah and mother Alexina. The funeral service took place in Campbeltown, Scotland on June 22, 2007. * Let Us Know: What's your favorite part of The ARRL Letter? What kind of stories would you like to see in the Letter? Would you prefer the Letter in an HTML format? This is your Letter and your chance to let your voice be heard. Please send your suggestions to ARRL News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, at k1sfa@arrl.org, with the subject line "ARRL Letter Suggestions." All messages will be read and discussed, and we look forward to implementing positive suggestions into the ARRL Letter. =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League: ARRL--the National Association for Amateur Radio, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Joel Harrison, W5ZN, President. The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential and general news of interest to active radio amateurs. Visit the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest Amateur Radio news and news updates. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> also offers informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled and edited from The ARRL Letter. It's also available as a podcast from our Web site. Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter/American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA, k1sfa@arrl.org ==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call 860-594-0384 ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery: ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site <http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the Members Only Web Site.) The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these sources: * ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.) * The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)