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ARRL Letter

 

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 13
April 1, 2005
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +Utility pulls plug on Texas BPL pilot project
* +ARRL takes issue with BPL proponents' reconsideration petitions
* +ARISS school contacts to double in remaining weeks
* +Ham radio provides crucial communications in quake's wake
* +League says BPL equipment maker, FCC failing to address interference
* +FCC adopts "Smart Radio" rules
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
     This weekend on the radio
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
    +FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations
    +Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur
     ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site
     Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service
     DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
letter-dlvy@arrl.org
==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
===========================================================

==>TEXAS BPL PILOT PROJECT SHUTS DOWN, LEAGUE WITHDRAWS COMPLAINT

An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL complaint
has shut down and removed its equipment. In mid-March, the League called on
the FCC to shut down the system and issue fines for causing harmful
interference to Amateur Radio communications. The ARRL's March 15 filing to
the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, its Office of Engineering and Technology,
system operator TXU and equipment manufacturer Amperion supported a
complaint from ARRL member and North Texas Section BPL Task Force Chair Jory
McIntosh, KJ5RM, who regularly commutes through the BPL test zone in the
Dallas-Fort Worth area.

"I just got back from reviewing the site and can confirm that the BPL
installation in Irving, Texas, has been removed and is no longer operating,"
McIntosh told ARRL this week. "Things are so quiet you can hear a pin drop.
Definitely quite a change!" He said when the system was running,
interference in its vicinity was 20 dB over S9 or stronger on all amateur
bands from 40 through 6 meters. 

The ARRL became involved after the FCC failed to respond to McIntosh's
formal complaint last fall. ARRL Laboratory Manager Ed Hare, W1RFI, also
took measurements at the Texas site that verified McIntosh's observations.
ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, thanked McIntosh for his help in bringing the
situation to a head. "I hope your example inspires other amateurs facing
similar situations to get involved," Sumner added.

On the basis of McIntosh's report, the ARRL this week canceled its complaint
to the FCC. "ARRL therefore withdraws its complaint with respect to the
TXU/Amperion site and requests that the Commission turn its attention to the
remainder of the BPL sites which are actively causing interference to radio
amateurs, including Briarcliff Manor, New York," ARRL General Counsel Chris
Imlay, W3KD, wrote the Commission.

There's been no word from TXU as to its reasons for shutting down the system
and removing the equipment. The test report the League included with its
complaint pointed out that the interference was not confined to Amateur
Radio spectrum but included additional HF spectrum. The ARRL said the system
failed to protect many of the bands that the FCC's new BPL rules will
require to be notched by July 2006.

The Irving BPL test site is the third using Amperion BPL equipment to shut
down following complaints from Amateur Radio operators. In Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, last June, Alliant Energy cut short its BPL "evaluation system" after
the utility and Amperion were unable to resolve ongoing HF interference to
amateurs. In the Raleigh, North Carolina, area last October, Progress Energy
Corporation shut down Phase II of its BPL field trial after pronouncing the
test a success. 

Despite an FCC inspection report to the contrary, local amateurs said
Progress and Amperion had only limited success in mitigating interference on
amateur frequencies in that trial. While initially saying it had no plans
for a large-scale commercial rollout of BPL in its service areas, Progress
later backed away from that statement, contained in a memorandum announcing
the shutdown.

The ARRL formally supported Amateur Radio complaints in Iowa and North
Carolina. 

==>LEAGUE FILES OPPOSITION TO BPL RECONSIDERATION PETITIONS

The ARRL has filed an Opposition to three petitions for reconsideration in
the broadband over power line (BPL) proceeding, ET Docket 04-37. The League
targeted points raised in reconsideration petitions from Current
Technologies LLC, the United Power Line Council (UPLC) and Amperion Inc.
Each is seeking reconsideration of certain aspects of the Report and Order
(R&O) the FCC adopted last October 14 that spell out new Part 15 rules to
govern BPL deployment. In its Opposition, the ARRL says the FCC should not
eliminate a requirement that BPL providers give 30 days' advance notice of
service initiation, as Current, UPLC and Amperion have requested.

"Grant of the petitioners' request to eliminate the 30-day advance notice
requirement would not only be antithetical to the Commission's goal of
providing competitive, affordable and efficient broadband access;" the ARRL
said, "it would also eliminate even the most minimal means for Amateur Radio
licensees to be able to identify and contact the source of harmful BPL
interference when it occurs."

Current, UPLC and Amperion contended in their petitions that the 30-day rule
forces BPL providers to tip their hands to their competition. The League
charged that the petitioners were, in effect, asking the Commission "to
protect them by regulatory means from competition in broadband delivery."

Keeping the 30-day notification period in place, the ARRL argued, offers
radio amateurs a chance to determine baseline ambient noise levels ahead of
a BPL deployment and to be able to identify interference when it occurs and
the extent to which the HF and low-VHF operating environment is degraded.

The ARRL also took issue with requests by Current and UPLC either to extend
the transition period for certification of BPL equipment made, marketed or
installed on or after July 7, 2006, or to drop it altogether. Either
approach, the League contended, "is tantamount to an abdication of any
requirement to implement any of the admittedly inadequate interference
mitigation requirements in the Report and Order at all."

As the rule is written, the League's Opposition points out, "no BPL system
placed in operation ever has to come into compliance with the interference
requirements." The ARRL maintains that the FCC erred in its R&O by
permitting the installation and operation of non-compliant equipment after
the R&O's effective date. 

"The rule, as it now stands, actually encourages the installation of systems
incorporating non-compliant equipment which creates harmful interference
over the next 18 months," the ARRL said. Based on actual interference cases,
the ARRL continued, "any reasonable analysis of BPL leads to the conclusion
that the rules adopted in the Report and Order are woefully inadequate in
terms of interference prevention." 

Noting that Current's equipment already excludes all amateur allocations but
60 meters, the League said everyone would be better served if the FCC had
required BPL providers to avoid Amateur Radio spectrum altogether--or if
they would so voluntarily.

The ARRL also took the FCC to task with respect to how it's dealt with the
BPL initiative and the industry itself. "The extent to which
spectrum-polluting BPL systems have been accommodated by a Commission with
its collective head in the sand about interference is shameful and an
abdication of duty," the League's Opposition concludes. "To further
deregulate this ill-advised polluting technology would, in this context, be
unconscionable."

==>UPPING THE ARISS ANTE

International Space Station Commander Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, has decided to
double up on the number of Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) school group QSOs during his remaining two weeks of operation from
NA1SS. ARRL Field & Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, says
Chiao has enjoyed speaking via ham radio with students on Earth during his
ISS duty tour.

"Sparking youth interest in science and technology is quite high on the list
of what's important to astronauts and to NASA," she said, noting that NASA's
Education Office has been strongly supporting Amateur Radio in space for
more than a decade. Since Expedition 10 began last October, Chiao has logged
19 ARISS school group contacts. During a direct contact March 29 between
NA1SS and W5NGU, the astronaut spoke with youngsters at the Science
Discovery Center in Denton, Texas. 

White said successfully putting together the many pieces of an ARISS
school-group QSO is tricky at the eleventh hour. To accommodate the change,
ARISS moved up a scheduled QSO for a school in Zurich whose volunteers are
well-prepared. For the second extra slot, ARISS scrambled to make
arrangements with a NASA Explorer School from which a teacher interested in
using ham radio in class had submitted an ARISS application. For this
QSO--with Flory Academy of Sciences and Technology, in Moorpark, California,
ARISS plans to employ a combination of Amateur Radio and teleconferencing
rather than attempt to set up a direct QSO.

Arriving later this month, the next crew increment, Expedition 11, will put
two hams aboard the ISS--US Astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, and Russian
cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. Krikalev, who will be Expedition 11 crew
commander, will be doing his second tour of duty aboard the ISS. He served
as flight engineer on the very first ISS crew and served aboard the Russian
Mir space station in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach
with US support from ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.

==>AMATEUR RADIO LINKS EARTHQUAKE-STRICKEN ISLAND WITH OUTSIDE WORLD

Working under harsh conditions, Indonesian Amateur Radio Emergency Service
(ARES) volunteers this week established VHF links between
earthquake-stricken Nias Island and northern Sumatra. Nias Island was hit
March 28 by nearby magnitude 8.2 and 8.7 underwater earthquakes. More than
1000 people are reported to have died as a result of the earthquakes. The
tremors affected some of the same areas still recovering from the December
earthquake and tsunami. Although officials and residents remained on alert
for tsunamis this week, none occurred. A magnitude 6.3 aftershock occurred
in the vicinity March 30.

Organization of Amateur Radio for Indonesia (ORARI) headquarters in Jakarta
this week called on its members to be ready to assist. An ORARI team
deployed by air to Nias Island March 29 set up "zulu" (emergency) station
YB6ZAH in Gunung Sitoli, the island's largest city. YB6ZAH has been in
contact with the ORARI District 6 command post in Medan, North Sumatra. The
ORARI team already had experience supporting communication following the
December 2004 tsunami that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in South Asia.

In the earthquake's immediate aftermath, ORARI ARES members reportedly were
on duty with little or no food to eat, although they did have drinking
water. At that point, many victims had not yet been evacuated, and some
remained trapped in the debris. 

ORARI team members include Zulkarman Syafrin, YC6PLG, Herman Rangkuti,
YC6IQ, and Soejat Harto, YB6HB--a medical doctor. Syafrin reports that the
earthquake damaged the power, telecommunication and transportation
infrastructure or took them out altogether on Nias Island. Buildings in
Gunung Sitoli were reportedly flattened and roads severely damaged or
impassable. 

In the early going, the team was using portable generators and had to
restrict operation to every two hours to conserve scarce fuel. TELKOM, the
Indonesian Department of Public Telecommunication, has since provided the
ORARI ARES team with a bigger generator, and the operation has relocated to
the TELKOM building, where fuel is no longer a problem. ORARI District 6
plans to supply more logistical and radio equipment, while Ady Susanto,
YB6VK, was preparing a set of solar cells for the ORARI ARES team's use in
Gunung Sitoli.

New Mexico radio amateur Earl Campbell, N8TV, now working with the
International Red Cross in Banda Aceh on post-tsunami relief, plans to set
up an emergency Amateur Radio station on Simeulue Island, which also was
affected by the earthquakes. Campbell's IT team reportedly is headed for
Nias Island to set up a satellite Internet connection and to support the
ARES team in Gunung Sitoli.

Updates on ham radio earthquake relief activity in Indonesia are available
on the AB2QV Web site <http://www.qsl.net/ab2qv/nias.htm>.--Wyn Purwinto,
AB2QV

==>AMBIENT, FCC FAILING TO ADDRESS NEW YORK BPL COMPLAINTS, ARRL CHARGES

The ARRL has charged BPL equipment maker Ambient Corporation and the FCC
with being unwilling or unable to effectively deal with harmful interference
stemming from a New York BPL pilot project. The League also asked the
Commission for the fourth time to shut down Ambient's Briarcliff Manor
"non-compliant system without further delay" until Ambient addresses
interference complaints. The League's latest salvo in the Briarcliff Manor
BPL battle was in response to a February 10 letter from Bruce Franca, deputy
chief of the FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). Franca's letter
concluded that FCC measurements in response to Amateur Radio complaints of
harmful interference showed no changes were required to the BPL system.

"The Commission's failure to conduct a thorough investigation of this
matter, and the tenor of your February 10, 2005, letter, lead to speculation
that the Commission is really not interested in finding the interference
that exists at Briarcliff Manor or at other BPL test sites or in enforcing
the Part 15 rules," the ARRL responded. "Ambient's apparent tactic of making
changes in the system after receiving interference complaints and then
denying that the interference problems complained of ever existed is not
helpful." Nor did it help, the League's filing continued, that Ambient's
engineer refused last December to participate with ARRL in a demonstration
of the interference. The League said it's no longer possible for the
Commission or Ambient "to deny the ongoing, serious interference problems at
Briarcliff Manor."

The League pointed out that a member of the FCC Enforcement Bureau's staff
personally witnessed the interference from the Briarcliff Manor system at
two locations that were the focus of complaints last December. Franca's
February letter failed to acknowledge video documenting the visit and
uploaded to the League's Web site, even though the ARRL has provided him
with the URL <http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/aud-vid.html>. At that
time, ARRL Laboratory staff members took measurements at various points in
the system to document problems.

While subsequent ARRL measurements did turn up a reduction of BPL emissions
in some areas, emissions that would "substantially preclude Amateur
communications" remain, the ARRL said, and along Dalmeny Road, interference
is still at levels essentially unchanged from those measured last December
and appear throughout the 20-meter band.

ARRL Laboratory staff members most recently visited Briarcliff Manor on
March 11, and the League's filing to the FCC and Ambient March 17 included a
summary of their measurements and observations. At one point, RF emission
levels from the BPL system exceeded the FCC's Part 15 permitted levels by up
to 20 dB, the League said.

Elsewhere, emissions along Dalmeny Road--which the FCC did not revisit
earlier this year--"continue to contribute 14 dB of degradation of ambient
noise" on 20 meters, the ARRL said. BPL interference also has been reported
on 80 meters. The ARRL further faulted the FCC for not contacting the
complainant, Westchester County ARES Emergency Coordinator Alan Crosswell,
N2YGK, who routinely travels the roads in question and has experienced
interference. Crosswell, who's also Westchester County RACES Officer, has
documented BPL interference, complaints and related information on his "BPL
in Briarcliff Manor" Web site <http://www.columbia.edu/~alan/bpl/>.

The League said the FCC's continued refusal to shut down the Ambient
Corporation's BPL system in Briarcliff Manor "highlights the completely
arbitrary and baseless findings in the Commission's Report and Order in
Docket 04-37, adopted last October 14."

In early January, the ARRL questioned Ambient's veracity and technical
competence and criticized the FCC for not shutting the system down. The
League requested then that the FCC rescind Ambient's WD2XEQ Part 5
Experimental license for the BPL pilot project. 

The latest League filing is on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/files/BPL-BCM-Reply2Franca031705.pdf>

==>FCC ADOPTS RULE CHANGES FOR "SMART RADIOS"

The FCC has released a Report and Order (R&O) on cognitive or "smart radio"
systems. In its 42-page R&O, "Facilitating Opportunities for Flexible,
Efficient, and Reliable Spectrum Use Employing Cognitive Radio Technologies"
(ET Docket 03-108), the Commission declined to adopt any new regulations for
Amateur Radio transceivers or for digital-to-analog (D/A) converters "at
this time." The ARRL and the National Public Safety Telecommunications
Council had commented earlier on the impracticality of incorporating
hardware features to prevent out-of-band transmissions. The League, AMSAT-NA
and TAPR also opposed regulating the marketing of high-speed D/A converters
as burdensome, more costly to consumers and unnecessary because the devices
don't pose a risk of interference.

"No parties have provided any information that shows that software
programmable amateur transceivers or high-speed D/A converters present any
significantly greater risk of interference to authorized radio services than
hardware radios," the FCC concluded in its R&O. The Commission went on to
note that "certain unauthorized modifications of amateur transmitters are
unlawful" and that it may revisit the issues "if misuse of such devices
results in significant interference to authorized spectrum users."

In its December 2003 Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) leading up to
this month's R&O, the FCC had proposed exempting manufactured software
defined radios (SDRs) designed to operate solely in amateur bands from any
mandatory declaration and certification requirements, provided the equipment
incorporated hardware features to prevent operation outside of amateur
bands. The Commission also had sought comment on the need to restrict the
mass marketing of D/A converters "that could be diverted for use as radio
transmitters." 

In its comments last May, the ARRL sympathized with the Commission's
concerns about out-of-band operation and expressed its appreciation for the
FCC's "sensitivity to the need to encourage, rather than discourage, amateur
experimentation and innovation." But, the League characterized the FCC's
fears as "overstated."

The Commission said its R&O, released March 11, is intended to "facilitate
continued growth in the deployment of radio equipment employing cognitive
radio technologies and make possible a full realization of their potential
benefits." The hope is that cognitive radios will allow more-efficient use
of the radio spectrum. 

"Given their technical and operational flexibility, smart radios make
possible the improved use of vacant spectrum channels--that is, spectrum
that may be available in a specific frequency range at a particular
geographic location or during a particular period of time--spectrum that
would otherwise go unused," the FCC explained in a Public Notice. "Smart
radios have the technical capability to adapt their use of spectrum in
response to information external to the radio." 

ARRL participates in international bodies that are currently working toward
establishing standards for SDRs and cognitive radios. These include
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Working Parties 8A (Land Mobile
Service, excluding IMT-2000; Amateur and Amateur-Satellite service) and 8F
(IMT-2000 and systems beyond IMT-2000).

The R&O is available on the FCC Web site
<http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-57A1.doc>

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Sun gazer Tad "Black Hole Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: We
saw a decline this week in average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux.
Average daily sunspot numbers were down more than 10 points to 34 as
compared to the previous week, and average daily solar flux declined almost
12 points to 80.2.

The short-term prediction shows solar flux values rising slowly over the
next week, reaching 100 around April 8. The planetary A index should rise
over the next few days. Predicted planetary A index for April 2-5 is 15, 25,
35 and 20.

Cycle 23 continues its fall toward solar minimum, which is currently
forecast to occur in the October 2006 to April 2007 time frame. We shouldn't
expect conditions to improve beyond what we've had recently until early
2008--a little less than three years from now. Current sunspot numbers are
lower than they've been since 1997. The peak of the next cycle will probably
occur in 2010.

Sunspot numbers for March 24 through 30 were 57, 65, 41, 35, 15, 15 and 11,
with a mean of 34.1. The 10.7 cm flux was 87.1, 82.1, 77.7, 78.4, 79.7, 78.8
and 77.6, with a mean of 80.2. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 18, 16,
13, 4, 5 and 9, with a mean of 10.1. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were
4, 15, 12, 8, 2, 3 and 6, with a mean of 7.1.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the
Missouri QSO Party, the QCWA Spring QSO Party, the AARC JR Kids Roundup
Contest and the RSGB RoPoCo are the weekend of April 2-3. The 144 MHz Spring
Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) are April 4. The ARS
Spartan Sprint is April 5, the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL Contest (CW) is April 6-8
and the SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is April 7. JUST AHEAD: The JIDX CW Contest,
the ARCI Spring QSO Party, the EU Spring Sprint (SSB), the Georgia QSO
Party, the Yuri Gagarin International DX Contest, the UBA Spring Contest
(SSB) and the SARL Hamnet 40-Meter Simulated Emergency Contest are the
weekend of April 9-10. The 222 MHz Spring Sprint is April 12, the RSGB
80-Meter Club Championship (SSB), is April 13 and the YLRL DX-YL to NA-YL
Contest (SSB) is April 13-15. 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 RFI (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction
(EC-009) and Analog Electronics (EC-013) courses remains open through
Sunday, April 3. Classes begin Friday, April 15. Antenna Design and
Construction students will, among other things, learn about basic dipoles
and ground planes and how to assemble combinations of these into more
complex antennas. Students also learn about transmission lines, standing
wave ratio, phased arrays and Yagis. Students participating in the RFI
course will learn to identify various interference sources. Analog students
will learn about the use of instrumentation, Kirchhoff's laws, diodes,
rectifier circuits, bipolar and field effect transistors, various amplifier
configurations, filters, timers, op amps and voltage regulators. To learn
more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) Web page
or contact the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program
Department cce@arrl.org.

* FCC to update third-party traffic list to include all UK stations: The FCC
is expected to soon update its Web site listing of countries with which US
Amateur Radio Service licensees may exchange third-party traffic (ie,
messages on behalf of a party other than the control operator). The updated
list will include all amateur stations in the United Kingdom (the UK, the
Channel Islands, including Guernsey and Jersey, Great Britain, the Isle of
Man and Northern Ireland). The change is already effective. Section 97.115
of the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules regulates communications from a
station's control operator (first party) to another amateur station's
control operator (second party) on behalf of another person (third party).
No FCC-regulated amateur station may transmit messages for a third party to
any amateur station located within the jurisdiction of any foreign
government not on the FCC list or whose administration has not made specific
arrangements with the US to allow amateur stations to transmit international
communications on behalf of third parties. The prohibition regarding
third-party traffic does not apply to messages for any third party who is
eligible to be the control operator of the station. The FCC list of
countries that have third-party agreements with the US is on the FCC Web
site <http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/amateur/about/intoperating.html>.

* Supreme Court rules no attorneys' fees for California radio amateur: In a
case involving a California radio amateur but not amateur antennas, the US
Supreme Court has ruled 9-0 to deny attorneys' fees and damages to ARRL Life
Member Mark J. Abrams, WA6DPB, of Rancho Palos Verdes, California. The
justices demurred on an application of federal law that Abrams had argued
entitled him to recover legal fees and damages. The case, which the Supreme
Court agreed to hear last fall, originated after Abrams erected commercial
Land Mobile Radio Service antennas on his residential property, and the city
denied him a conditional use permit it said he needed for the commercial
application. The California Supreme Court subsequently ruled that Abrams
didn't need the permit in the first place. In the meantime, Abrams had filed
suit in US District Court asserting that the city's denial of the
conditional use permit violated the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Again,
Abrams prevailed, but the District Court turned down Abrams' request to
recover monetary damages and attorneys' fees. The US Court of Appeals for
the 9th Circuit reversed the US District Court, but the 3rd and 7th Circuits
ruled otherwise. The City of Rancho Palos Verdes then took the case to the
US Supreme Court on the issue of damages and attorneys fees, and the high
court agreed to hear the case because of the disparity in the Circuit Court
decisions. Some news accounts on the Supreme Court decision have reported
incorrectly that the case had involved Abrams' efforts to get permission to
erect an amateur antenna system. Abrams got the city's okay for an
approximately 50-foot Amateur Radio antenna support structure in 1989.

* ARRL VEs, number of sessions served now on League Web site: The ARRL Web
site now makes it possible to access a list of ARRL Volunteer Examiner
Coordinator (VEC) volunteer examiners (VEs) and the number of volunteer exam
sessions each has served. The listings via the "VE Session Counts
<http://www.arrl.org/arrlvec/veparti.php>" page are in alphanumeric call
sign order according to VE location by state. Activity (count) is measured
by being present and ready to serve--or providing service--at an
ARRL/VEC-coordinated test session. "Celebrating 20 years of service, the VEC
system enjoys a reputation of high integrity and is a prime example of a
successful privatized licensing system," said ARRL VEC Manager Bart Jahnke,
W9jj. "The VE Session Counts page serves to highlight the accomplishments of
the 25,000-plus current and actively accredited ARRL VEs." 

* Project OSCAR inaugurates newsletter column service: Project OSCAR, the
oldest Amateur Radio club dedicated to amateur satellites, has inaugurated a
service aimed at encouraging satellite newcomers. "The Satellite Beacon" is
a monthly column produced by Project OSCAR members that Amateur Radio
newsletter editors may freely republish. Topics cover a wide range of
satellite topics geared to new or novice satellite users. Project OSCAR Vice
President and Beacon Editor Emily Clarke, W0EEC, says that by publishing
"The Satellite Beacon," Project OSCAR hopes to provide a reliable source of
information about amateur satellites at the local level and keep interest in
ham radio high as the solar minimum approaches. Newsletter editors may
subscribe to a monthly electronic distribution or download any of the
currently available articles directly from "The Satellite Beacon" Web page
<http://www.projectoscar.net/beacon.php>. For more information, visit the
Project OSCAR Web site <http://www.projectoscar.net/>.

* DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has
approved these operations for DXCC credit: TT8AMO, Chad, current operation
effective March 9, 2005; 6O0X, Somalia, November 18-26, 2004. For more
information, visit the DXCC Web page. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions"
<http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/faq/> can answer most questions about the
DXCC program. ARRL DX bulletins are available on the W1AW DX Bulletins page
<http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/dx/>.

=========================================================== 
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!):
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==>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

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* The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio
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The ARRL Letter

The ARRL Letter offers a weekly summary of essential news of interest to active amateurs that is available in advance of publication in QST, our official journal. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise and readable.

Much of the ARRL Letter content is also available in audio form in ARRL Audio News.

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.

Back issues published since 2000 are available on this page. If you wish to subscribe via e-mail, simply log on to the ARRL Web site, click on Edit Your Profile at the top, then click on Edit Email Subscriptions. Check the box next to The ARRL email newsletter, the ARRL Letter and you will receive each weekly issue in HTML format. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org

Editorial questions or comments: John E. Ross, KD8IDJ, at news@arrl.org.

Plain-Text

The ARRL E-Letter e-mail is also available in plain-text version:

Outlook Express

1. From the Inbox view, select the Tools menu and the Options selection.

2. Click the Read tab

3. Check the Read All Messages In Plain Text box.  When you open the e-mail, it will be in plain text without images. Other e-mail programs may be able to make a Mail Rule for e-mail received from the address memberlist@www.arrl.org so that the plain-text-only display is selected automatically.

Outlook 2007

Use the same procedure as for Outlook Express, although the global option is under "Tools/Trust Center/E-mail Security".

Thunderbird

Use the menu item "View/Message Body As/Plain Text" or "View/Message Source" options.

OS X Mail (Mac)

Use the "View/Message/Plain Text Alternative" menu item.

GMail

Use the "Message text garbled?" link in the drop-down menu at the upper right of the displayed message block. pine, alpine Set "prefer-plain-text" in your ~/.pinerc configuration file: feature-list=..., prefer-plain-text, ...

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