*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 15 April 11, 2003 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +FCC seeks input on receiver interference immunity * +California PRB-1 bill on its way to Senate * +"Space is beautiful!" astronaut tells UK students via ham radio * +FCC warns amateurs about unlicensed operation * +ARISS spotlighted at science teachers' convention * +Iraqi ham operation reported * +Ham-astros complete final Expedition 6 spacewalk * League promotes membership at SuperFest 2003 * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Classes to Start Tuesdays News story credits ham radio for aiding maritime rescue IARU admits three new member-societies Amateur Radio at the National Hurricane Conference World Amateur Radio Day Award available +Available on ARRL Audio News =========================================================== NOTE: ARRL Headquarters will be closed Friday, April 18, and there will be no W1AW bulletin or code practice transmissions that day. Editions of The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News for April 18 will be distributed Thursday, April 17. ARRL Headquarters will reopen Monday, April 21, at 8 AM EDT. =========================================================== ==>FCC OPENS RECEIVER INTERFERENCE IMMUNITY INQUIRY The FCC wants to know how it can incorporate receiver interference immunity specifications within its overall spectrum policy. In a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) in ET Docket 03-65, released March 24, the FCC seeks public comments on possible methods and means of improving receiver performance. The Commission suggests that these could include incentives, guidelines or regulatory requirements--or a combination of all three. "From a technical standpoint, a radio receiver's susceptibility to interference is largely dependent on the interference immunity of the device, particularly with regard to its rejection of undesired radio frequency (RF) energy and signals," the FCC said in its introduction to the NOI. While expressing its reluctance "to implement a new regulatory regime" of mandatory receiver standards, the Commission said it believes incorporating receiver performance specifications could "promote more efficient utilization of the spectrum and create opportunities for new and additional use of radio communications." The FCC said the NOI builds upon the recent work of its Spectrum Policy Task Force, which looked at ways to improve overall radio spectrum management. The ARRL commented on the Task Force report and plans to comment in the receiver interference immunity NOI as well. While the NOI does not specifically address interference from Amateur Radio transmitters to consumer TV and radio receivers, the FCC does seek information describing the interference immunity characteristics of "receivers used in the various radio services." With respect to broadcast sets, the FCC suggests in its NOI that set manufacturers have been doing a pretty good job all along. The FCC seeks comments on "the desirability of developing minimum interference immunity performance specifications for broadcast receivers." But it added that the Commission has no plans to reverse its "longstanding practice of allowing the market to determine the performance of broadcast receivers, with the Commission stepping in only where obvious deficiencies appear" that could disrupt reception. FCC Chairman Michael Powell said he'd prefer that the Commission "rely on market incentives and voluntary industry programs to establish receiver immunity guidelines." The FCC Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket 03-65 is available on the FCC Web site <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-03-54A6.doc>. Although it has not formally been posted for the filing of comments via the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS), the system is accepting comments. The formal comment period concludes 75 days from publication of the NOI in the Federal Register, which has not yet happened. The FCC does not post such dockets for electronic comments until publication occurs. ==>CALIFORNIA ANTENNA BILL ZIPS THROUGH ASSEMBLY Just eight days after being voted out of committee, California's latest effort to pass an Amateur Radio antenna bill--Assembly Bill 1228--this week got the approval of the California Assembly on a 67-0 vote on April 10. The measure's had its first reading in the Senate. The next major step will be a hearing--as yet unscheduled--before the Senate Local Government Committee. "Excellent news!" was the reaction of ARRL Southwestern Division Director Art Goddard, W6XD. The bill, introduced February 21 by Assemblyman Bob Dutton (R-63rd), got a unanimous 9-0 favorable vote at an April 2 hearing of the Assembly Committee on Local Government at which ARRL staffer and antenna expert Dean Straw, N6BV--a California resident--testified on behalf of the measure. ARRL Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, also spoke at the hearing. Mike Mitchell, W6RW, who's spearheading the Amateur Radio community's effort to promote the bill says AB 1228, now is seeking witnesses for the Senate committee hearing. Straw already has volunteered to appear. AB 1228 marks the first bill sponsored by Dutton--who was elected last November--to reach the Assembly floor. AB 1228 would incorporate the language of PRB-1 into the statutes of California. The state is home to some 100,000 Amateur Radio licensees--by far the greatest number of any other state and nearly 15 percent of total US licensees. The measure would require any ordinance regulating Amateur Radio antenna structures to not preclude but to "reasonably accommodate" Amateur Radio communications, to allow amateur station antenna structures "at heights and dimensions sufficient to accommodate Amateur Radio Service communications" and to constitute "the minimum practicable regulation to accomplish the legitimate purpose of the city or county." The California legislature approved a nearly identical PRB-1 measure three years ago, but Gov Gray Davis vetoed it. Davis said at the time that he did so because funds for required studies were not included in his budget. The new bill does not carry a price tag. A copy of the proposed legislation is available on the California Legislature Web site <http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_1201-1250/ab_1228_bill_20030221 _introduced.html>. Utah recently became the latest of 17 states to incorporate the essence of PRB-1 into their laws. ==>"SPACE IS BEAUTIFUL!" BOWERSOX TELLS UK YOUNGSTERS VIA HAM RADIO Youngsters from Rushey Mead Secondary School in the United Kingdom gathered at the National Space Centre in Leicester April 4 for a quick ham radio chat with Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP. The contact was arranged via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. Students participating from the comprehensive secondary school ranged in age from 11 to 16. The school also has its own Amateur Radio Club. John Heath, G7HIA, operated the National Space Centre's GB2NSC club station for the occasion. "Space is beautiful," Bowersox rhapsodized in response to one youngster's question. "It's black with the stars dotting everywhere. It's gorgeous." The Expedition 6 crew commander said the space station occupants don't have TV to watch for entertainment. "We look out the window at the earth," he said. When the crew members tire of that, there are CDs and books aboard. Bowersox noted that he has wanted to be an astronaut since he was seven years old and trained five years for his current mission. Answering an oft-asked question about how the crew keeps clean in space, Bowersox explained that the astronauts and cosmonauts use towels moistened with soap and water to wash themselves. In all, 12 youngsters put questions to Bowersox during the direct ARISS contact that ran under five minutes compared to the usual 10 minutes, although the ISS remained in nominal range for the full period. ARISS Vice Chairman Gaston Bertels, ON4WF, speculated that the problem may have been a result of having to arrange the contact on short notice and not having optimal Earth-station antennas in place. Howard Long, G6LVB, offers audio and video recordings of the event and additional photos on his Web site <http://www.g6lvb.com/issmedia.htm>. The crew's next Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) school group contact is scheduled for April 14 with Lounsberry Hollow Middle School in New Jersey. ARISS is an international project with support from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.--some information from Gaston Bertels, ON4WF ==>FCC WARNS AMATEURS: UNLICENSED OPERATION COULD COST YOUR HAM TICKET The FCC has let a trio of Idaho amateurs know that unlicensed operation outside Amateur Radio frequencies could lead to revocation of their ham tickets. FCC Special Counsel Riley Hollingsworth recently wrote three Boise amateurs, citing allegations that they had transmitted without a license on several 11-meter frequencies. "Information before the Commission indicates that you have transmitted without a license on 26.350, 27.420 and 27.700 MHz using SSB and SSTV," Hollingsworth said. He pointed out that, in addition to revocation proceedings, fines for unlicensed operation normally range from $7500 to $10,000. Letters went out March 17 to Dave Every, KD7QAS; John F. Hail, KD7QAW; and Tom M. Sjoberg, KD7RCS. Every holds a General ticket, while Hail and Sjoberg are Technician licensees. Hollingsworth says he understands that the unlicensed operations have ceased. The three frequencies involved are below and above the Citizens Band. An Ohio ham, Dave K. Childers, N8QGI, also heard from Hollingsworth March 18 in a case involving alleged obscene or indecent transmissions last December on 27.115 MHz--CB channel 13. Hollingsworth did not raise the issue of unlicensed operation in that case, but he did spell out the FCC's position on the transmission of obscene or indecent words or language. He also requested Childers, a Technician licensee, to respond to the complaint within 20 days and indicated that a tape recording would be made available to him upon request. Although the alleged Idaho and Ohio operations occurred on 11 meters, Hollingsworth said he contacted the four individuals only because it was determined that they were FCC Amateur Radio Service licensees. Complaints in the Idaho cases came from the amateur community, Hollingsworth indicated. The FCC also sent a Warning Notice March 24 to Anthony L. Basile, N3HFB, of Pennsylvania, citing "monitoring information" indicating that the licensee has been deliberately interfering with three 2-meter repeater systems in his area. Hollingsworth warned of fines and revocation proceedings and said that until the matter is resolved, the FCC would not routinely renew Basile's Advanced class license, which expires in September. A similar Warning Notice went out March 18 to Tech Plus licensee Erin J. Rourke, N0KCN, of North Dakota, alleging deliberate interference to a 2-meter repeater in the Fargo area. In another enforcement case, Hollingsworth has notified Drew B. Feldman of Los Angeles that the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau had set aside his Amateur Radio license KG6PFC. "That action is based upon complaints about the operation of your station," Hollingsworth wrote March 18. In May 2000, the FCC canceled Feldman's Tech Plus ticket, N3KSO, after he failed to appear as requested for re-examination. Feldman subsequently retested for the Technician license and was issued KG6PFC on February 20. Following the complaints, the FCC canceled the grant a month later. ==>ARRL, NASA SPOTLIGHT ARISS AT SCIENCE TEACHERS' GATHERING Student-to-astronaut communication via the ARISS program got a boost recently from ARRL Education and Technology Project Coordinator Jerry Hill, KH6HU, during the National Science Teachers Association national conference. Hill helped to staff the NASA booth during the gathering March 27-30 in Philadelphia. "My function at the conference was to sign up teachers for the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program, plus represent the ARRL and talk up ham radio," Hill explained. "We signed up about 200 teachers and got them on the list. It can take over a year to get a contact date, but it's well worth it." Accompanying Hill at the Philadelphia Convention Center was ARRL Education and Technology Program <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/> teacher Jim Kuhl, N2STK. Kuhl is a "Big Project" pilot program teacher at Central Square Middle School in New York. "Jim was a big help," Hill said. "He's made an ARISS contact before and had Amateur Radio right in his classroom. Having him there lent tremendous credibility to the program." During the NSTA gathering, more than 14,000 secondary school instructors had a chance to learn about ARISS <http://www.arrl.org/ARISS/arissfaq.html>, an international project with participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. Among other benefits, ARISS provides an opportunity for students to talk directly with crew members of the International Space Station (ISS)--a unique educational experience. ARISS also is responsible for the Amateur Radio equipment at NA1SS, the first permanent ham radio station in space onboard the ISS. Hill said teachers he spoke with were very enthusiastic about the ARISS program, especially once they realized that direct contact with the ISS was a real possibility. "They get pretty excited at that point," he said. "It just blows their minds." ==>IRAQI AMATEUR OPERATION REPORTED The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com> this week reported that Jim Dunkerton, KT4CK, of Tennessee, has been active from the Middle East on 15 meters SSB. On April 6, he was giving his location as somewhere in the desert of the Middle East, but the following day, he was identifying as YI/KT4CK and saying he was in the desert of Southern Iraq. The Daily DX says that John Shelton, K1XN, has confirmed that Dunkerton is--or has been--with the 101st Airborne, reported by CNN this week as being near Karbala in Central Iraq. Several stations have reported working or hearing YI/KT4CK between 1400 and 1600 UTC. SV1GRH spotted YI/KT4CK at 1438 UTC on April 7 on 21.312.5 MHz and noted that he was looking for US stations but, The Daily DX quoted SV1GRH as saying that YI/KT4CK was not getting many replies. Meanwhile, The Daily DX says Ed Giorgadze, 4L4FN, now is in the Middle East after wrapping up his North Korean (P5) operation. He has been in Turkey, very close to the Turkish/Iraqi border, for the last month and awaits his next UN World Food Program assignment--which could be inside war-torn Iraq. ==>HAM-ASTRONAUTS COMPLETE 6.5-HOUR SPACEWALK US astronauts Ken Bowersox, KD5JBP, and Don Pettit, KD5MDT, this week completed the second and final spacewalk of their International Space Station duty tour. Cosmonaut and Flight engineer Nikolai Budarin, RV3FB, assisted from inside the ISS during the "extra-vehicular activity" or EVA on April 8. NASA said the two Expedition 6 crew members were taking advantage of the final days of a three-person presence on the ISS before a new, two-person crew takes over. The Expedition 7 crew of cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, and veteran NASA astronaut Ed Lu, KC5WKJ, is set to inhabit the ISS starting next month. During the spacewalk, which ran just under 6-1/2 hours, NASA says that Bowersox, the Expedition 6 commander, and Pettit, the NASA ISS science officer, "continued the external outfitting of the station and rerouted power cables to two of the station's control moment gyros (CMGs)." The CMGs provide orientation control for the ISS from the US segment. One CMG failed almost a year ago, and the cable reconfiguration to the remaining CMGs will prevent both from being disabled in the unlikely event a power failure occurs. NASA said the work included "a number of get-ahead tasks for future ISS assembly." The grounding of the shuttle fleet is expected to affect the ISS construction schedule. The EVA this week was the second for each American, who managed separate and joint tasks. Among other work during their EVA, Bowersox and Pettit finally deployed--with some difficulty and the use of a hammer--a balky light stanchion on the S1 truss that failed to unfurl during their previous spacewalk in January. They installed a light on the stanchion to illuminate the truss during future EVAs. With all of their scheduled tasks completed, Bowersox and Pettit still had time left over to retrieve some tools for future spacewalks from external locations before returning to the ISS. NASA reports that Malenchenko and Lu completed final mission preparations before traveling to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan from their training base in Star City, Russia. Once in Kazakhstan, they'll inspect the Soyuz TMA-2 vehicle that will carry them into space April 26 to begin a six-month ISS mission. It will mark the first time a primary ISS crew has been transported to the space station using the Russian transporter. Russian flight controllers were scheduled to fire the engines on a Progress 10 cargo ship now docked to the ISS to raise the station's orbit by 2.6 kilometers (1.6 miles). ==>LEAGUE PROMOTES LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP AT SUPERFEST 2003 ARRL representatives to Amateur Electronic Supply's annual SuperFest, held April 4 and 5 at the company's Milwaukee store, promoted League membership to the nearly 900 attendees. The League also weighed in during an April 3 meeting of the American Association of Radio Enthusiasts AARE <http://www.aaregroup.org>, with an offer to help the fledgling organization to get off the ground. ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Dennis Motschenbacher, K7BV, said General Counsel Christopher Imlay, W3KD, would assist AARE in preparing legal documents necessary to bring the AARE into formal existence. The AARE was established during an informal annual meeting of Amateur Radio manufacturers held in conjunction with last year's AES Superfest. A ham radio industry group, AARE aims to promote Amateur Radio and emergency communications outside traditional amateur circles. The nonprofit corporation also hopes to serve as a conduit for ham radio equipment dealers and manufacturers to exchange ideas and work together on projects. Its stated goal is to help ham radio grow and to double the number of hams in five years. It's anticipated that AARE will hold elections once the legal paperwork is in order. Its current president, ICOM National Sales Manager Ray Novak, N9JA, has expressed confidence that the organization will grow rapidly. During SuperFest 2003, ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, assembled a special League exhibit as a platform to test membership promotion ideas that nearly doubled the number of new and renewing members compared with 2002's event. Representing ARRL in addition to Motschenbacher and Inderbitzen were ARRL Central Division Director Dick Isely, W9GIG, and ARRL Wisconsin Section Manager Don Michalski, W9IXG. The ARRL exhibit included a continuous showing of the Amateur Radio Today video. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Propagation prognosticator Tad "Moment in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Sunspots and solar flux values dropped this week after rising the week before. Average daily sunspot numbers were down nearly 72 points, while average daily solar flux values were down nearly 21 points. Solar flux is expected to drop below 100 by April 13. It should reach a minimum of around 85 April 16-17. A solar flux value of 85 is approximately equivalent to a nominal sunspot number of 28.7. Solar flux at 70 or below is generally what you see when the sunspot count is zero. For instance, for more than a month--from September 13 to October 20, 1996--the sunspot number was zero every day. Solar flux during this period ranged from 66.4 to 70. This was another week with active geomagnetic conditions, although the planetary A index never went above 26. April 8 brought a brief G1-level geomagnetic storm caused by solar wind. On April 10 Earth entered another solar wind stream. Predicted planetary A index value for April 11 is 20, followed by 15 for every day through April 19. Sunspot numbers for April 3 through 9 were 154, 148, 94, 75, 77, 52 and 88, with a mean of 98.3. The 10.7-cm flux was 155.7, 165.5, 137.4, 125.9, 115.6, 112.3 and 109.4, with a mean of 131.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 14, 26, 23, 9, 6, 20 and 25, with a mean of 17.6. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The JIDX CW Contest, the QRP ARCI Spring QSO Party, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Georgia QSO Party, the 222 MHz Spring Sprint and the UBA Spring Contest (SSB) are the weekend of April 12-13. JUST AHEAD: The YLRL DX to NA YL Contest (SSB) is April 16-18. The Holyland DX Contest, the TARA Spring Wakeup PSK31 Rumble, the ES Open HF Championship, the YU DX Contest, the GACW CW DX Contest, the EU Spring Sprint (CW), the Michigan and Ontario QSO parties, and the 432 MHz Spring Sprint are the weekend of April 19-20. The Low Power Spring Sprint is April 21. The Harry Angel Memorial Sprint is April 25. See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/> and the WA7BNM Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more info. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration: Registration for the ARRL Antenna Modeling (EC-004) <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> course opens Monday, April 14, 12:01 AM Eastern Daylight Time (0401 UTC). Registration will remain open through Sunday, April 20. Class begins Tuesday, April 22. Those interested in taking an ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) course in the future can sign up to be advised via e-mail in advance of registration opportunities. To take advantage, send an e-mail to prereg@arrl.org <mailto:prereg@arrl.org>. On the subject line, indicate the course name or number (eg, EC-00#) and the month you want to start the course. In the message body, provide your name, call sign, and e-mail address. Please do not send inquiries to this mailbox. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education <http://www.arrl.org/cce/>Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce> and the C-CE links found there. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins, W1HSR, hrobins@arrl.org <mailto:hrobins@arrl.org>. * ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Classes to Start Tuesdays: Effective immediately, all ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program (C-CE) classes will start Tuesday afternoons. "This represents a change for the Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006), Satellite Communications (EC-007), and our upcoming VHF/UHF--Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008) courses," says ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins, W1HSR. The ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Courses (ARECC) Levels I-III classes began starting on Tuesdays several months ago after they became grant-funded. Robins says course registration will continue to open Mondays at 12:01 AM Eastern Time. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing Education Program Coordinator Howard Robins, W1HSR, hrobins@arrl.org. * News story credits ham radio for aiding maritime rescue: According to a recent New York Times news item attributed to Agence France-Presse, unidentified ham radio operators picked up distress signals April 6 from a 114-foot missionary vessel that had experienced engine trouble during a 2000-mile journey from Kiritimati Island (also known as Christmas Island) to Kiribati in Micronesia. The ship, with 64 passengers, reportedly had run out of water and food and had begun drifting south of the equator. In response to the distress call report, a nearby US Coast Guard icebreaker, Polar Sea--which was returning from Antarctica to Arctic duty--was dispatched and succeeded in finding the drifting vessel. Coast Guard engineers reportedly repaired the engines and provided food and water for the passengers and crew. One passenger was taken off the vessel for medical treatment. The boat later proceeded under its own power to Tarawa. * IARU admits three new member-societies: By vote of its member-societies, the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) <http://www.iaru.org/> has admitted three new members. The National Association Radioamateurs of Georgia (NARG), the Federation of Radiosport of the Republic of Armenia (FRRA), and the Vietnam Amateur Radio Club (VARC) officially joined IARU on April 4. NARG was founded September 21, 2000. It has 156 licensed members out of a total of 485 amateurs in the country. The NARG's president is Mamuka Kordzakhia, 4L2M. FRRA was founded January 14, 1999, and counts 84 of Armenia's 128 radio amateurs as members. Its president is George Badalian, EK6GB. VARC was founded as a national organization in July 2002 under the Vietnam Radio-Electronics Association. From February 1996 until July 2002 the VARC was chartered in the Ho Chi Minh City area. Five of its members participated as observers in the 1997 Region 3 Conference in Beijing. The president of VARC is Eng. Nguyen Bac Ai, XV2A/3W6AR. The IARU, founded in 1925, is a worldwide federation of national Amateur Radio societies with members in 156 countries and separate territories. In addition to joining the worldwide IARU, NARG and FRRA become members of IARU Region 1 and VARC becomes a member of IARU Region 3.--IARU news release * Amateur Radio at the National Hurricane Conference: The 25th annual National Hurricane Conference will be held April 14-18 in New Orleans at the Hyatt Regency. Through the coordination efforts of Mike Carter, N3PDK, there will be an Amateur Radio session Tuesday, April 15, 1:30 to 5:00 PM, in the room "Regency G" on the third floor. Amateur Radio operators are invited to attend this session at no cost and without having to register for the conference. A panel of speakers will present the role of Amateur Radio in hurricane-related communication with a specific focus on last fall's operations during Hurricane Lili and Tropical Storm Isidore. ARRL section leaders from the Gulf Coast region, representatives of the Hurricane Watch Net and ARRL Headquarters will be among the participants. * World Amateur Radio Day Award available: MK QTC, the journal of PZK, the Polish Amateur Radio Union, has announced its World Amateur Radio Day 2003 Award. The award commemorates World Amateur Radio Day, celebrated by the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) each year on April 18. The theme of World Amateur Radio Day 2003 is "Amateur Radio supporting technology education in the classroom." The award is available for making 10 HF QSOs or 5 VHF QSOs on April 18 UTC. A standard application form including a list of QSOs must be sent before May 31 to Redakcja MK QTC, ul. Wielmozy 5b, 82-337 Suchacz-Zamek, Poland. Enclose $5 US or 5 Euro. SWLs are eligible for the award. For more information, contact MK QTC <qtc@post.pl>. =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org>. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President. The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org> for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled from The ARRL Letter. 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 and The American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@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). 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