***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 18
May 6, 2005
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IN THIS EDITION:
* +Accused LA-area radio jammer arrested
* +Texas BPL bill moves to the House
* +India launches its first ham radio satellite
* +Australian youngsters "over the moon" after space QSO
* +California ARES team makes SSTV part of its communication arsenal
* +Radio amateurs, ARES team named NOAA Environmental Heroes
* +Armed Forces Day event set
* +Ron Broadbent, G3AAJ, SK
* Solar Update
* IN BRIEF:
This weekend on the radio
ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration
+AO-51 to be configured in Mode V/S for Field Day
Employment opportunity at ARRL Headquarters
Guinness World Records recognizes radio amateur
+Available on ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/>
===========================================================
==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!):
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==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
===========================================================
==>FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST, DETAIN ALLEGED CALIFORNIA JAMMER
Reputed Los Angeles-area repeater jammer and former Amateur Radio licensee
Jack Gerritsen was taken off the air and into custody this week. Acting on a
criminal complaint, FBI special agents, accompanied by personnel from the
FCC Los Angeles Field Office, arrested the 68-year-old Gerritsen without
incident early May 5 at his home in Bell, California. Federal agents also
confiscated Gerritsen's radio equipment.
"A criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon charges Gerritsen with a
felony charge of malicious interference with a communications system
operated by the United States and a misdemeanor count of transmitting radio
signals without a license," said a May 5 statement from the office of Debra
W. Yang, US Attorney for the Central District of California. "The two
charges carry a potential penalty of 11 years in federal prison."
At an initial court appearance May 5, bond was set at $250,000 "fully
secured." A spokesman in the US Attorney's office explained that Gerritsen
will have to post property or cash to be released, but that it will be
several days before the necessary paperwork is ready--assuming that
Gerritsen is able to make bail. Once released on bond, Gerritsen would be
subject to home detention and barred from possessing any radio equipment,
the spokesman said, adding that Gerritsen's house would remain subject to
search to make sure.
Unless Gerritsen is indicted beforehand, a preliminary hearing in the case
is set for May 25, with arraignment to follow on May 31.
The criminal complaint says an FCC investigation revealed that Gerritsen
"transmits his prerecorded political messages and real-time harassment and
profanity for hours at a time, often making it impossible for licensed radio
operators to use the public frequencies."
Gerritsen already faces a total of $52,000 in FCC-imposed or proposed
forfeitures for alleged interference. In March, the FCC denied a Petition
for Reconsideration and upheld a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for
interfering with Amateur Radio communications. Gerritsen has yet to pay the
fine.
An FBI affidavit sworn out this week in advance of obtaining a search
warrant of Gerritsen's residence indicates that FCC agents have been
investigating multiple instances of unlawful radio transmissions and
malicious interference attributed to Gerritsen over the past four years. FCC
agents on a regular basis have been monitoring radio transmissions said to
be coming from Gerritsen. They've also spoken with him in person and asked
to inspect his station, although earlier FCC documents say he refused that
request.
In addition to Amateur Radio repeater communications, Gerritsen is alleged
to have interfered with Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS)
transmissions. The FCC also reported that it has received complaints from
other government agencies that Gerritsen interfered with local and state
police and fire agencies, the American Red Cross, the US Coast Guard
Auxiliary and other radio services. A MARS training exercise in March had to
be canceled as a result of interference attributed to Gerritsen.
Earlier this week, Gerritsen, who briefly held the call sign KG6IRO as a
Technician licensee and still uses it on the air, was taken into custody by
Bell, California, police officers on an unrelated contempt of court citation
after violating the terms of a temporary restraining order (TRO) a local
radio amateur had obtained to keep Gerritsen off a local repeater. He was
released without bond after being held for a few hours and was reported back
on area repeaters not long afterward.
Radio amateurs on the West Coast have been complaining for months about the
slow pace of enforcement action in the Gerritsen case. Los Angeles-area
repeater owners have taken to shutting down their machines to avoid the
nearly constant barrage of malicious interference attributed to Gerritsen.
Five years ago, Gerritsen was convicted in state court of interfering with
police radio transmissions and sentenced to 38 months in prison. Following
his release in July 2003, the FCC soon began receiving complaints about
Gerritsen's activity on the airwaves, according to this week's criminal
complaint.
Yang's office said the FBI "received substantial assistance" from the FCC in
the case.
==>TEXAS BPL BILL NOW IN HANDS OF HOUSE COMMITTEE
The fate of a bill aimed at amending the Texas utilities code to "encourage
the deployment of BPL" by electric utilities now rests with members of the
Texas House of Representatives Regulated Utilities Committee. The measure,
SB 1748, sailed through the Texas Senate following an April 21 hearing
announced on short notice. The bill's sponsor, Sen Troy Fraser, told the
Dallas Morning News April 29 after the measure cleared the Senate that
utility officials have assured Texas lawmakers that BPL won't interfere with
other services. North Texas ARRL Section Manager Tom Blackwell, N5GAR, says
he and a representative of the West Texas Section visited for about two
hours April 29 with senior staffers in the office of the Speaker of the
House. They also met with most members of the Regulated Industries
Committee, which could hold a hearing on the bill as early as May 10.
"We delivered petitions signed by amateurs to legislators in several other
House districts," Blackwell said. "We are putting our best foot forward with
facts about this bill." Blackwell says he's been promised "courteous
treatment" by the House committee, something he says was absent on the
Senate side, where he contends that radio amateurs' views were "summarily
ignored."
Radio amateurs huddled with lawmakers while the bill was still in the Senate
Business and Commerce Committee, which Fraser chairs. As a result, new
language was tacked onto the legislation. The additional language says, "BPL
operators are required to comply with all applicable federal laws, including
laws protecting licensed spectrum users from interference by BPL systems."
Blackwell maintains that radio amateurs are doing BPL interests a favor by
opposing the bill and "keeping them out of risky and uncertain investments
that are based on a technology that is apparently faulty, uncertain and
misrepresented."
SB 1748 would allow electric utilities to lease out their power lines to
other businesses to operate BPL systems or services. Fraser asserts that his
measure, introduced March 11, will be "great for Texas" and "especially
important to rural Texas, where high-speed Internet service is not readily
available." But he concedes that BPL "is still in the early stages of
development." BPL proponents rarely raise the notion of rural service these
days because it's uneconomical in sparsely populated areas.
An Irving, Texas, BPL pilot project that was the target of an ARRL complaint
shut down in March and removed its equipment. 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 an Amateur
Radio complaint. The League has since withdrawn its complaint. TXU, which
has indicated it's still interested in BPL, did not indicate why it shut
down the system and removed its equipment.
The text of the bill is available via the Texas Legislature Web site
<http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/>. Blackwell has posted more information on
his "Comments on the New Texas BPL Bill" Web site <http://www.n5gar.info/>,
which includes contact information for lawmakers.
==>NEW AMATEUR RADIO SATELLITE IN ORBIT
HAMSAT is the latest Amateur Radio satellite in orbit. Launched this week,
it is India's first. Although it doesn't yet have an OSCAR designation,
several stations--including W1AW--already have completed contacts through
its SSB/CW transponder.
"We congratulate all who have worked for the HAMSAT and its successful
launch," said AMSAT-India Treasurer Sandip Shah, VU3SXE, who was among more
than a dozen radio amateurs at the control center in Bangalore, India, for
the May 5 launch. With several dignitaries--including India's president--on
hand to watch, the satellite went aloft from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
(SDSC) SHAR in Sriharikota.
Going into space along with the 42.5 kg HAMSAT was the primary payload--the
1560 kg Indian remote sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-1, intended for mapping
applications. The spacecraft were placed into polar sun synchronous orbit at
an altitude of 632 x 621 km with an equatorial inclination of 97.8 degrees.
The microsat will provide two new linear mode U/V transponders for SSB and
CW use only. Only one transponder will be active at any given time. The
uplink passband is 435.225-435.275 MHz (LSB), and the downlink is
145.875-145.925 MHz (USB). An unmodulated carrier has been reported on
145.936 MHz, and a CW telemetry beacon on 145.860 MHz.
Dutch graduate student William Leijenaar, PE1RAH, who designed one of
HAMSAT's transponders, saw the PSLV-C6 vehicle carry the satellite skyward
from SDSC SHAR. "It was very interesting to see how my radio finally went
into space," he said afterward. "It is the best ham radio experience in my
life."
There's more information on the AMSAT-India Web site
<http://www.amsatindia.com/hamsat.htm>.
==>EXPEDITION 11'S KICK-OFF SCHOOL QSO PUTS AUSSIE YOUNGSTERS "OVER THE
MOON"
NASA International Space Station Science Officer John Phillips, KE5DRY,
deftly fielded questions via Amateur Radio from youngsters in Queensland,
Australia, May 4. The contact with Albany Hills State School near Brisbane
marked the first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
school group QSO for Expedition 11 as well as the first from NA1SS for
Phillips, who was licensed only last February while training for the
mission. Phillips came back on the first call from NN1SS in Maryland, which
handled Earth-station duties. MCI donated a teleconferencing link between
the US and Australia. Responding to one question, Phillips said he has no
problems sleeping aboard the ISS--at least in terms of comfort. But one
unusual space occurrence does sometimes wake him up.
"We have an interesting phenomenon that happens where energetic atomic
particles can enter the back side of our eyes and cause bright flashes,"
Phillips explained. "And once in a while--maybe once per night or
less--those flashes will wake me up."
In greeting the students at the start of the contact, Phillips noted that
Expedition 11 Commander and seasoned space veteran Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR,
was nearby to help out if needed. Phillips and Krikalev relieved Astronaut
Leroy Chiao, KE5BRW, and Cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov on the ISS in April.
They'll remain aboard the space station until October. By that time,
Krikalev--an avid radio amateur--will have logged more time in space than
any other human.
Like other ISS crew members, Phillips said he thoroughly enjoys gazing down
on Earth during his free time. He also said he's been exercising a little
more than an hour a day. One thing he misses, he told the Australian
youngsters, is really cold things like ice cream or cold drinks, because the
ISS lacks a refrigerator.
Phillips noted that while the ISS does get hit by micrometeorites, they
don't do any serious damage.
"These are really tiny pieces of dust or rock in space that are smaller than
a grain of sand," Phillips explained. "What they can do is cause minor
pitting or minor blemishes on the metal or the glass, but the space station
has never been hit by anything big enough to penetrate the hull or to cause
a leak, and, in fact, we're very well protected up here." He noted that the
ISS is equipped with shields on all sides.
Albany Hills has an enrollment of 950 students in years two through seven,
and astronomy is a part of the school's science curriculum. In all, the
Albany Hills pupils got answers to 15 questions before turning the
microphone over to teacher Cheryl Capra, who asked if Phillips had any
advice to pass along to her students. Unfortunately, the ISS went out of
range of the Earth station about the time the astronaut started to reply,
but that didn't deter the students and onlookers from closing out the event
with a hearty round of cheering and applause.
"Everyone here is all smiles and over the moon," said Mark Phillips,
VK4AW--no relation to the astronaut--who assisted at the school. He was
joined via the teleconference by veteran Australian ARISS mentor Tony
Hutchison, VK5ZAI. Handling Earth station duties at NN1SS was Dave Taylor,
W8AAS. Audio from the contact also was relayed around the world via IRLP and
EchoLink.
ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach
with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
==>CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY OFFICIALS SEE ADVANTAGES OF SSTV IN DRILL
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) volunteers in California made
slow-scan TV part of the communication mix when they participated in a
voluntary wildfire evacuation drill April 30. The exercise involved
residents of nearly 400 homes in a high fire hazard area of Santa Barbara
County, and ARES' use of SSTV definitely caught the eye of emergency
officials.
"ARES provided us with the only continuous, real-time information on traffic
flow and conditions in the incident area," said Jay McAmis of the county's
Office of Emergency Services. "It was great!"
Santa Barbara South County ARES Emergency Coordinator Lou Dartanner, N6ZKJ,
says communicators with SSTV gear deployed at three locations along a
narrow, winding road out of the canyon and in two locations along the
evacuation route to a reception center some five miles away. Three
additional ARES members provided voice reports on traffic flow, while four
other team volunteers supported the field activity at the command post and
reception center.
Since the county's inaugural test of its new "reverse 911" system failed to
reach everyone, many residents were alerted instead by sheriff's units using
public address systems and by search-and-rescue team members going door to
door. "As a result, instead of the traffic jam with fender-benders and
finger-wagging, an orderly trickle of vehicles moved out of the area,"
Dartanner reports. "An SSTV station was set up at the reception center, and
a crowd of about three dozen jostled around the monitor all morning,
watching the near-continuous stream of pictures coming in from the field. A
second, portable system was set up in back of a car at the Command Post, and
the Incident Commander was able to see exactly what was--or was
not--occurring in the incident area."
More than 200 residents participated, as did personnel from 21 agencies and
organizations. "Local fire officials are excited about using SSTV capability
in the future," Dartanner says, "and ARES will continue to play an important
role in their activities."
==>RADIO AMATEURS, ARES GROUP AMONG NOAA'S 2005 "ENVIRONMENTAL HEROES"
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recognized
four Amateur Radio operators and an Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES)
group among its list of 2005 Environmental Heroes. Given in conjunction with
Earth Day celebrations, Environmental Hero awards honor NOAA volunteers for
their tireless efforts to preserve and protect the nation's environment.
"NOAA and the nation are fortunate to have such dedicated people volunteer
so much of their time," said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C.
Lautenbacher Jr, undersecretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere and
NOAA administrator. "They set a perfect example for others to follow in
their communities. America needs more environmental heroes like them."
Established in 1996, the Environmental Hero award is presented to
individuals and organizations that volunteer their time and energy to help
NOAA carry out its mission.
Among this year's honorees are ARRL member Charles T. Byars, W5GPO, and the
Wichita County Amateur Radio Emergency Service of Wichita Falls, Texas.
Byars is an ARES District Emergency Coordinator in the ARRL North Texas
Section. For more 30 years, he and Wichita County ARES members have
volunteered their time, expertise and resources to help the National Weather
Service (NWS) detect and track dangerous storms.
"Their tireless efforts, long hours and dedication to helping to protect the
citizens of Wichita Falls and the surrounding area have led to more accurate
and detailed weather information being disseminated, more timely warnings
and quite possibly lives being saved," NOAA said in recognizing Byars and
his ARES team.
Wichita County Emergency Coordinator Dave Gaines, N5DHG, says the City of
Wichita Falls will host an awards presentation on May 10.
Three Florida radio amateurs, all ARRL members, also were recognized for
their efforts as Amateur Radio net control operators for the NWS office in
Ruskin, Florida, during hurricanes Charley and Frances. NOAA says Paul Toth,
NA4AR, of Seminole, Robert M. Stanhope, W3RMS, of Valrico and Sean C.
Fleeman, N4SCF, of New Port Richey volunteered a total of 125 hours during
the two storms last year.
"They gave up time with their families to gather real-time reports during
the hurricanes to enhance NWS warnings and also provided up-to-the-minute
weather information for recovery operations in west central and southwest
Florida," NOAA said in commending the trio.
NOAA recognized 34 individuals and three organizations across the US as
Environmental Heroes. The complete list of 2005 award recipients is on the
NOAA Web site <http://www.noaa.gov/earthday/>.
==>ARMED FORCES DAY ON-AIR EVENT SET FOR MAY 14-15
The 2005 Armed Forces Day military/amateur crossband communications test
will take place May 14-15. The US Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and
Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual event in celebration of the 55th
anniversary of Armed Forces Day, which is Saturday, May 21. The Armed Forces
Day radio event is scheduled a week earlier to avoid conflicts with Dayton
Hamvention, May 20-22.
The annual Armed Forces Day on-the-air celebration features the traditional
military-to-amateur crossband communications SSB voice test and the
Secretary of Defense message-receiving test. QSL cards will be provided to
those making contact with the military stations.
Special commemorative certificates will be awarded to anyone who receives
and copies the digital Armed Forces Day message from the Secretary of
Defense.
Full details, including stations and frequencies, are on the ARRL Web site
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/announcements/af-day/AF-Day-2005-SKED.pdf>.
==>RON BROADBENT, G3AAJ, SK
Well-known Amateur Radio satellite personality Ron Broadbent, G3AAJ, died
April 24. He was 80. Broadbent became involved with amateur satellites in
the 1970s, and by 1978 he was serving as secretary of AMSAT-UK--a post he
held for 16 years. AMSAT-UK Chairman Martin Sweeting, G3JYO, says Broadbent
became known to many as "Mr AMSAT-UK," and he called Broadbent's energy and
robust character "a driving force" in AMSAT as well in as the Radio Society
of Great Britain (RSGB) and the International Amateur Radio Union.
"Ron believed passionately in the principles of Amateur Radio as a hobby,"
Sweeting commented, "and his commitment and effort given willingly over many
years and supported by his wife, Beryl, were greatly appreciated by amateurs
worldwide."
Broadbent was a 61-year veteran member of the RSGB, which he joined as a
teenager. In 1994, he was named as an Honorary Vice-President of the RSGB.
He was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1995 for
his services to Amateur Radio.
"Not one to suffer fools gladly," Sweeting said, "Ron's sometimes gruff
exterior hid a deeply generous personality and one who was always ready to
roll up his sleeves and get to work rather than just talk."
ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, notes that
Broadbent was the first Amateur Radio on the International Space Station
(ARISS) supporter from Great Britain. In 1996, he traveled to Johnson Space
Center at the request of ARRL and AMSAT and voted in favor of the historic
agreement that established the fledgling ARISS international team.
Until retiring in 1985, Broadbent worked for Trinity House--the general
lighthouse authority for England, Wales, the Channel Islands and
Gibraltar--attending to the UK's lighthouses and lightships. Following
retirement, he went to work "12 hours a day, seven days a week and virtually
for free for the amateur satellite movement," the RSGB reports. For more
than a decade, Broadbent organized the AMSAT-UK Colloquium.
Concluded Sweeting, "We have lost one of amateur radio's real characters and
a gentleman."
==>SOLAR UPDATE
Solar flash Tad "I Wear My Sunglasses At Night" Cook, K7RA, Seattle,
Washington, reports: Over the past week sunspot numbers increased,
recovering from days of no visible sunspots. Average daily sunspot numbers
rose 35 points to 60.9, and average daily solar flux rose nearly 24 points
to 107.7.
Currently solar flux is expected to remain above 100 for the next couple of
days, then decline to below 90 after May 12. Geomagnetic conditions should
remain quiet this weekend, becoming unsettled to active May 9-11. Predicted
planetary A index for May 6-13 is 10, 5, 10, 25, 20, 15, 12 and 8.
Sunspot numbers for April 28 through May 4 were 71, 46, 53, 61, 55, 79 and
61, with a mean of 60.9. The 10.7 cm flux was 98, 105, 106.4, 111.6, 112.2,
112.3 and 108.7, with a mean of 107.7. Estimated planetary A indices were 4,
12, 21, 26, 7, 10 and 7, with a mean of 12.4. Estimated mid-latitude A
indices were 1, 8, 13, 14, 6, 6 and 4, with a mean of 7.4.
__________________________________
==>IN BRIEF:
* This weekend on the radio: The New England, Nevada, Indiana and Oregon QSO
parties, the MARAC County Hunter Contest (CW), the US IPARC Annual Contest
(CW). the 10-10 International Spring Contest (CW), the Microwave Spring
Sprint, the ARI International DX Contest and the US IPARC Annual Contest
(SSB), are the weekend of May 7-8. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship
(Data) is May 11. JUST AHEAD: The Portuguese Navy Day Contest (CW/SSB), the
CQ-M International DX Contest, the VOLTA Worldwide RTTY Contest, the
Mid-Atlantic QSO Party, the FISTS Spring Sprint and the 50 MHz Spring Sprint
are the weekend of May 14-15. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) is
May 19. 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 Technician Licensing course (EC-010) remains open
through Sunday, May 8. Class begins Friday, May 20. With the assistance of a
mentor, EC-010 students learn everything they need to know to pass the FCC
Technician class license examination. To learn more, visit the ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/>
or contact the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program
Department <cce@arrl.org>;.
* Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration: Registration
for the ARRL Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level II on-line course
(EC-002) opens Monday, May 9, at 1201 AM EDT and will remain open until all
available seats have been filled or through the May 14-15 weekend--whichever
comes first. Class begins Friday, May 27. Thanks to our grant sponsors--the
Corporation for National and Community Service and the United Technologies
Corporation--the $45 registration fee paid upon enrollment will be
reimbursed after successful completion of the course. ***ACT NOW! THIS IS
THE FINAL YEAR OF THE GRANT-SUBSIDIZED CLASSES!*** Radio amateurs age 55 and
older are strongly encouraged to participate. During this registration
period, seats are being offered to ARRL members on a first-come,
first-served basis. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/>. For more
information, contact Emergency Communications Course Manager Dan Miller,
K3UFG, cce@arrl.org; 860-594-0340.
* AO-51 to be configured in Mode V/S for Field Day: For Field Day 2005, the
AMSAT "Echo" (AO-51) satellite will be configured as an FM repeater in Mode
V/S. The uplink will be 145.920 MHz with the 67 Hz tone enabled. The
downlink will be 2401.200 MHz. To give users the opportunity to test their
Field Day stations, AO-51 will be configured in Mode V/S during two periods
leading up to Field Day. From May 19 until May 24 the satellite will be in
Mode V/S in support of satellite demonstrations at Dayton Hamvention. From
June 18 until June 26 (ie, the weekend and entire week before Field Day)
AO-51 also will be in Mode V/S. These operating sessions will give Field Day
participants an opportunity to check out their Field Day satellite stations
ahead of time. The AO-51 team says working the Mode S downlink on AO-51 does
not require expensive equipment nor even a satellite dish. Some operators
have successfully copied the AO-51 S band downlink with minimal antennas,
such as patch antennas, dipoles with corner reflectors or a simple 3.5-turn
helix. If your down converter's IF is on VHF (which most are), a handheld
transceiver or mobile FM rig will work fine as a downlink receiver. The
uplink antenna can be any good omnidirectional mobile system. If you have
not worked the S band downlink on AO-51 previously, a few passes monitoring
the downlink and practicing Doppler correction will be very helpful. The
Doppler shift on an AO-51 pass is approximately ±50 kHz. There's more
information available on setting up to use Echo on Field Day on the Web site
of AMSAT Vice President for Operations Mike Kingery, KE4AZN.
* Employment opportunity at ARRL Headquarters: ARRL Headquarters invites
applications for the position of supervisor of the Outgoing QSL Service
within the Membership Services Department. The position may be either part
time or full time, depending upon the candidate selected. This individual
will supervise all aspects of the Outgoing QSL Service, including sorting
and mailing of members' cards; ensure that the service remains current;
manage the operation of the volunteer Incoming QSL Service (ie, QSL
bureaus), and provide efficient service to ARRL members. This opening
requires a high school diploma, basic computer skills and solid
communication skills. AN AMATEUR RADIO LICENSE IS PREFERRED. The individual
should be familiar with general postal regulations. Responsibilities include
performing and reporting all aspects of the Outgoing QSL Service, serving as
a liaison between radio amateurs and incoming QSL bureau volunteers, and
representing the QSL bureau. The Outgoing QSL Supervisor must be able to
sort 6000 cards per day; keep cordial, open dialogue with QSL bureau
managers, and routinely maintain the sorting area and store mailing
materials. This individual also assists in checking the weekly DX Bulletin
issued via W1AW. Relocation expenses are not available for this position,
which is at ARRL Headquarters in Connecticut. This position and other
employment opportunities are listed on the "Employment at ARRL" Web page
<http://www.arrl.org/announce/jobs/>. Please send resume, cover letter and
salary requirements to LouAnn Campanello, ARRL, 225 Main St, Newington, CT
06111; e-mail lcampanello@arrl.org. ARRL is an equal opportunity employer.
* Guinness World Records recognizes radio amateur: According to the Radio
Society of Great Britain, Guinness World Records Ltd has awarded a
certificate to Finnish radio amateur Jukka Heikinheimo, OH2BR, for a record
number of contacts made by an individual from one location in one year.
Operating as VP6BR from Pitcairn Island, Heikinheimo made 56,239 contacts
between January 25 and April 21, 2000.
===========================================================
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Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St,
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