*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 26, No. 04 January 26, 2007 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Morse code requirement goes away February 23 * +Board receives National Emergency Response Planning Committee Report * +League announces reorganization * +Engineering students lend a hand with next-gen SuitSat * +FCC still not processing new vanity applications * +Free Money: FAR opens scholarship application window * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +REMINDER -- ARRL scholarship application deadline looms +ARRL Headquarters welcomes new staff member "Mr Lincoln" retires 2007 DXCC Honor Roll deadline approaching +AO-27 rejuvenated, back on the air FCC rescinds applications to modify club station license All-ham ISS crew to undertake "unprecedented" spacewalk series Special event to mark transcontinental relay anniversary We stand corrected! +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: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, <n1rl@arrl.org> =========================================================== ==>IT'S OFFICIAL! MORSE CODE REQUIREMENT ENDS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23 Circle Friday, February 23, on your calendar. That's when the current 5 WPM Morse code requirement will officially disappear from the Amateur Radio Service Part 97 rules. Effective that date, applicants for a General or Amateur Extra class Amateur Radio license no longer will have to demonstrate proficiency in Morse code. They'll just have to pass the applicable written examination. Federal Register publication January 24 of the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235, started a 30-day countdown for the new rules to become effective. "The overall effect of this action is to further the public interest by encouraging individuals who are interested in communications technology or who are able to contribute to the advancement of the radio art, to become Amateur Radio operators; and eliminating a requirement that is now unnecessary and may discourage Amateur Service licensees from advancing their skills in the communications and technical phases of Amateur Radio," the FCC remarked in the Federal Register version of the "Morse code" R&O. The League had asked the FCC to retain the 5 WPM for Amateur Extra class applicants, but the Commission held to its decision to eliminate the requirement across the board. The rules that appeared in the Federal Register constitute their official version <http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20071800/edocket.access.gpo.go v/2007/pdf/E7-729.pdf>. The new rules also mean that starting February 23 all Technician licensees, whether or not they've passed a Morse code examination, will have CW privileges on 80, 40 and 15 meters and CW, RTTY, data and SSB privileges on 10 meters. Once the new rules go into effect Technicians may begin using their new privileges without any further action. An applicant holding a valid Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) for Element 3 (General) or Element 4 (Amateur Extra) credit may redeem it for an upgrade at a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (VEC) exam session. A CSCE is good for 365 days from the date of issuance, no exceptions. For example, a Technician licensee holding a valid CSCE for Element 3 credit would have to apply at a VEC test session and pay the application fee, which most VECs charge, in order to receive an instant upgrade to General. ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, cautions that a license upgrade is *not* automatic for those holding valid CSCEs for element credit. "You must apply for the upgrade at a VEC test session, and you may not operate as /AG or /AE until you have upgraded and have been issued a CSCE marked for upgrade," he stresses. "A valid CSCE for element credit only does not confer any operating privileges." Henderson also advises all radio amateurs to know and fully understand their operating privileges before taking to the airwaves. Some Technician licensees reportedly started showing up on 75 meters December 15 in the mistaken belief that they had gained phone privileges there. The FCC R&O includes an Order on Reconsideration in WT Docket 04-140 -- the so-called "omnibus" proceeding. It will modify Part 97 in response to ARRL's request to accommodate automatically controlled narrowband digital stations on 80 meters in the wake of other rule changes that became effective last December 15. The Commission designated 3585 to 3600 kHz for such operations, although that segment will remain available for CW, RTTY and data. The ARRL had requested that the upper limit of the CW/RTTY/data subband be set at 3635 kHz so there would be no change in the existing 3620 to 3635 kHz subband. The ARRL has posted all relevant information on these important Part 97 rule revisions on its "FCC's Morse Code Report and Order WT Docket 05-235" Web page <http://www.arrl.org/fcc/morse/>. ==>ARRL BOARD ACCEPTS NATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLANNING COMMITTEE REPORT The ARRL Board of Directors accepted the Report of the National Emergency Response Planning Committee (NERPC) when it met January 19 and 20 in Windsor, Connecticut. Upon dissolving the committee with its thanks, the Board set in motion a process to identify and implement action items in the report as soon as possible. ARRL First Vice President Kay Craigie, N3KN, chaired the 13-member NERPC, charged with developing comprehensive recommendations to improve the League's response to regional, national and international disasters. Among other things, panel members evaluated the responses and actions of ARRL and the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) during Hurricane Katrina as well as lessons learned. "If 'lessons learned' are not followed by 'behaviors changed,' then the lessons have not been learned at all," the report concludes. The report describes disaster preparedness as "a moving target, moving faster all the time." No recommendations, plans or systems should be considered "the permanent answers for all circumstances and hazards," the report asserts. The unprecedented scope of the Katrina response placed ARRL Headquarters into a leadership coordination role through national-level requests for help from served agencies such as the American Red Cross. While the level of expertise in emergency communications and emergency management among US radio amateurs is growing, the report noted, so is the expectation that the ARRL provide first-rate leadership and guidance. Among the report's wide-ranging recommendations and suggestions: * enhance ARRL and ARES training in basic message handling. * develop a continuing education course covering installation, configuration, and use of Winlink 2000 for e-mail. * formally establish a national ARES volunteer database for use during major disasters and establish training criteria. * institute a Major Disaster Emergency Coordinator (MDEC) function to coordinate responses to large-scale national or regional disasters or emergencies. * become better acquainted with the emergency response needs of distant ARRL sections, such as Pacific, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and Alaska. * improve working relationships with national-level served agencies. * ensure ARRL staff training in the Incident Command System (ICS) and National Incident Management System (NIMS) and, as necessary, adapt ARRL's emergency response structure to the Unified Command model. In addition, ARRL President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, has appointed an ad hoc committee to study issues relating to background investigations as they apply to ARRL Amateur Radio volunteers and to recommend a background investigation policy. In other matters, the Board adopted five legislative objectives for the 110th Congress. The League will seek legislation to extend the requirement for "reasonable accommodation" of Amateur Radio station antennas to all forms of land use regulation, including deed covenants, conditions and restrictions (CC&Rs). It also will seek legislation requiring the FCC to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the interference potential of broadband over power line (BPL) systems. Based on the findings, the League wants Congress to instruct the FCC to adopt improved BPL rules to prevent BPL deployments having the potential to cause "destructive interference." US Rep Mike Ross, WD5DVR (D-AR), has submitted such a bill, HR 462. In addition, ARRL will seek recognition of Amateur Radio's "unique resources, capabilities and expertise" in any legislation addressing communication issues related to emergencies, disasters or homeland security; oppose legislation that diminishes the rights of federal licensees in favor of unlicensed -- and especially unintentional -- emitters, and support the complementary legislative objectives of other radiocommunication services, especially as they relate to spectrum access and interference protection. Legislative relations consultant John Chwat of Chwat & Company Inc told the Board that the congressional shift of control to the Democratic Party will have a significant impact on telecommunications legislation, policy, FCC actions and perhaps even the League. Emergency communication is a hot topic this year, he pointed out, and this could permit the League to take different approaches to issues from those tried in the past. The Board also accepted the report of the Technology Task Force (TTF). Chaired by ARRL Pacific Division Vice Director Andy Oppel, N6AJO, that panel advised the League to continue the Software Defined Radio and Digital Multimedia Above 50 MHz working groups and establish a new working group to explore activity detection for digital modes. The TTF also recommended that the ARRL demonstrate and promote viable digital voice technologies. ==>ARRL ANNOUNCES HEADQUARTERS REORGANIZATION ARRL Chief Operating Officer Harold Kramer, WJ1B, this week announced several organizational changes at ARRL Headquarters, effective January 22. Under the modified organization, most functions of the former Membership Services Department and Field and Educational Services will be combined into a single unit, tentatively called the Programs and Services Department. The League also will establish a new Education Department. "The new Programs and Services Department will focus on providing first-class service to members and volunteers, and it ultimately will combine common functional areas like awards and certificates and mailings," Kramer explained, citing some of the advantages of the reorganization. "It will also permit better management and integration of programs and services as well as cross-training of staff members to improve efficiency." Dave Patton, NN1N, will manage the combined department, while Norm Fusaro, W3IZ, will become assistant manager. Fusaro will continue his responsibilities as ARRL club and mentoring coordinator. A new position of Emergency Communications Manager has been established within the new department. This individual will be responsible for relations with served agencies, memoranda of understanding, administration, ARRL internal emergency response planning, simulated emergency tests, emergency communications training, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) database and related activities. The new Education Department will consolidate a variety of activities under one roof. "Today, education is dispersed throughout the organization," Kramer noted. "Many departments are involved in educational endeavors, but there is a lack of coordination among the different departments." The Education Department will oversee the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Program and distance-learning support, the volunteer instructor and mentor program, youth programs, the ARRL Education and Technology Program and its teachers institutes, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) coordination and the development of educational materials. "We believe that these changes will make us a better prepared and more responsive organization," Kramer concluded. ==>SUITSAT-2 GOES TO COLLEGE Eleven electrical engineering students at The College of New Jersey had a hand in designing some of the software defined radio (SDR) hardware that will fly aboard SuitSat-2. The college seniors signed up last fall for "Software Defined Radio," taught by adjunct professors Bob McGwier, N4HY, and Frank Brickle, AB2KT -- both members of the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) SuitSat-2 team. The second-generation SuitSat will have a software designed Amateur Radio transponder (SDX) on board. SuitSat-2 is being viewed as a test bed for the hardware AMSAT hopes to launch on its Phase 3E Eagle satellite. McGwier and Brickle designed practical, goal-based experiments for the students' projects with an eye toward turning out something that would be a useful SuitSat-2 component. Team members Steve Bible, N7HPR, and Joe Julicher, N9WXU, provided circuit boards employing "bleeding-edge" technology -- dsPIC33F 16-bit direct memory access digital signal controllers. Brickle says the circuits will serve as SuitSat-2's heart and brain. Early on, the students studied signal processing and communication theory as well as what Brickle calls "esoteric corners of computer science." Then, using Matlab -- a high-level technical computing language -- the students implemented modulators and demodulators for SSB, FM, BPSK and AFSK. "Students get a little bit of verbal swimming instruction, and then we toss them straight into the ocean," is how Brickle described the process. By mid-semester, the students were designing their experiments and getting them up and running. Boards were powered up without diagnostic hardware or software, since that's how the circuitry will be on orbit -- "walking a tightrope without a net," as Brickle sees it. "Given the complexity of what the SDR/SDX in SuitSat-2 will be required to provide, the applications will need to run in an unprecedented software environment: pre-emptive multitasking under freeRTOS," he explained. FreeRTOS is an open-source, round-robin operating system for embedded devices. Instead of being scared off, the students ran with the challenge and demonstrated obvious enthusiasm, Brickle reports. "We will be doing a very good thing if we continue to involve these kids, and more like them, in our future AMSAT projects," he said. What surprised him most, he added, was that the students focused on taking new approaches to "very fundamental engineering issues that aren't flashy or trendy." McGwier, who's AMSAT-NA's vice president of engineering and a member of the AMSAT Board of Directors, remarked that both students and teachers shared in the excitement. The SuitSat-2 team, under the leadership of Lou McFadin, W5DID, has been working on the design of a power converter for the solar panels, the internal housekeeping unit, the antenna mount, the transmitting and receiving hardware and how it will mount atop the suit's helmet. An ISS crew could launch SuitSat-2 during a spacewalk as early as next fall. SuitSat-2 could have an operational lifetime of six months or more. -- Rosalie White, K1STO/ARISS ==>NEW VANITY CALL SIGN PROCESSING HIATUS CONTINUES The hold on processing new Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications remained in effect at week's end, although FCC Wireless Telecommunications Bureau staff members have indicated informally that it would end very soon. The Commission stopped processing new vanity call sign applications while it modifies the software that handles vanity applications. The suspension, which does not affect vanity call sign renewals, resulted from a new Amateur Radio Service rule that went into effect December 15 to discourage the filing of multiple applications by one individual for the same call sign on the same receipt day. "The Commission continues to accept vanity call sign applications," a brief announcement on the FCC's Universal Licensing System (ULS) Web page says. "However, these applications will not be processed until software changes in accordance with the recent rule making have been fully implemented." The FCC granted the last Amateur Radio vanity call signs on January 4 for applications received December 15. The current suspension affects new vanity call sign applications submitted on December 18 or later. Once processing of new vanity applications resumes, the FCC says, it will process all applications in the queue in the order in which they were received. Typically, it takes 18 days from the time the FCC receives a vanity application until the call sign is issued -- or the application is denied. The FCC's "omnibus" Report and Order (R&O) in WT Docket 04-140 stipulates that if the FCC receives more than one application requesting a vanity call sign from a single applicant on the same receipt day, it will process only the first application entered into the ULS. The FCC will dismiss any subsequent vanity call sign applications from the same applicant on the same receipt date. The FCC put new vanity call sign processing on hold after an applicant unwittingly submitted 30 applications for the same call sign three days after the new rule became effective. The current vanity call sign fee, payable for new applications as well as renewals, is $20.80 for the 10-year license term. ==>FOUNDATION FOR AMATEUR RADIO INVITES SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS The non-profit Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) now is accepting applications for 56 academic year 2007-2008 scholarships to assist radio amateurs pursuing higher education. The deadline to apply is April 30, 2007. FAR fully funds three of scholarships and administers 42 others without cost on behalf of various club and individual donors; grant income funds the remaining 11 awards. Amateur Radio licensees pursuing a full-time course of study beyond high school and accepted by or enrolled in an accredited university, college or technical school are eligible to apply. Scholarship grants range from $500 to $3000, and preference in some cases goes to applicants living in particular geographical areas or pursuing certain studies. Non-US residents are eligible to apply for some of the scholarships. Request more information and an application form via e-mail <scholarships@farweb.org> or by sending a QSL card by April 30 to FAR Scholarships, PO Box 831, Riverdale, MD 20738. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Propagation maven Tad "Sunshine Superman" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: This reporting week, January 18-24, saw lower sunspot numbers -- seven points lower, on average -- than the previous week. Geomagnetic numbers also were lower, especially the past few days. At all latitudes January 22 through the first hours of today K index readings were zero or one. Low geomagnetic activity will be good for this weekend's CQ World Wide 160-Meter CW Contest. There's currently a flare-spewing sunspot just around the sun's eastern limb, however, and when it swings into view we'll see solar flux about 10 points higher than now and, briefly, some higher geomagnetic numbers. Planetary A index for January 26-31 is predicted at 5, 5, 15, 20, 20 and 15. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet conditions for January 26-27, unsettled January 28, unsettled to active January 29-30, unsettled January 31, and quiet to unsettled February 1. Sunspot numbers for January 18 through 24 were 23, 15, 31, 18, 23, 18 and 15, with a mean of 20.4. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.8, 76.3, 78.8, 78.6, 78.5, 79.3, and 80.4, with a mean of 78.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 16, 11, 7, 7, 3, 2 and 1, with a mean of 6.7. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 9, 9, 6, 7, 2, 3 and 1, with a mean of 5.3. 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: The CQ 160-Meter Contest (CW), the REF Contest (CW), the SARL Youth for Amateur Radio contest, the BARTG RTTY Sprint and the UBA DX Contest (SSB) are the weekend of January 27-28. JUST AHEAD: The Delaware, Minnesota and Vermont QSO parties, the 10-10 International Winter Contest (SSB), the AGCW Straight Key Party, the YLRL YL-OM Contest (CW), the Mexico RTTY International Contest, the North American Sprint (SSB) and the ARCI Fireside SSB Sprint are the weekend of February 3-4. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (SSB) is February 5. The ARS Spartan Sprint is February 6. 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 remains open through Tuesday, February 6, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) online courses beginning Sunday, February 18: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 2 (EC-002), Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 3 (EC-003R2), Antenna Modeling (EC-004), HF Digital Communications (EC-005), VHF/UHF -- Life Beyond the Repeater (EC-008), and Radio Frequency Propagation (EC-011). These courses will also open for registration Sunday, February 4, for classes beginning Friday, March 16. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>. * REMINDER -- ARRL scholarship application deadline looms: The deadline to apply for academic year 2007-2008 ARRL Foundation scholarships is Thursday, February 1. All information on ARRL Foundation scholarships for young radio amateurs, including application forms and instructions, is only available on the ARRL Foundation Scholarship Programs Web page <http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/scholgen.html>. ARRL Foundation scholarship recipients will be announced this spring. Important: Applicants must include high school or college academic transcripts with all scholarship applications. Those applying for the four-year William R. Goldfarb Memorial Scholarship also must include a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The ARRL Foundation is a not-for-profit IRS 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions to support the future of Amateur Radio are welcome <http://www.arrl.org/arrlf/contribs.html>. * ARRL Headquarters welcomes new staff member: Micah Murray of Manchester, Connecticut, joined the ARRL Headquarters staff as a Web Applications Developer on January 8. The 27-year-old Connecticut native and Eastern Connecticut State University graduate previously worked in the insurance industry. At ARRL he will be working on a variety of Web application projects. * "Mr Lincoln" retires: ARRL staffer Bob Lincoln -- usually called "Mr Lincoln" at League Headquarters -- is retiring after nearly 27 years of service. What makes this particular occasion special is the fact that Bob is 92 years old! "It's time to quit," Bob told fellow staff members who gathered January 22 to wish him well and shower him with cards and gifts. "I really have enjoyed working here." A part-time press operator who'd already completed one career before some ARRL staffers were even born, Mr Lincoln carried out his various printing tasks largely out of the public spotlight. This marks his second retirement, since he didn't begin working for the League until he'd taken his pension from the company that manufactured the presses he's been using at Headquarters. "I don't recall anyone qualifying for the '25 Year Club' after retiring," quipped ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ. Happy second retirement, Mr Lincoln! * 2007 DXCC Honor Roll deadline approaching: The deadline for inclusion in the next DXCC Honor Roll listing is March 31. Submissions must be postmarked by that date. The Honor Roll list will appear in August QST. There are 337 current entities on the DXCC List, and you must be at 337 to qualify for Top of the Honor Roll or within the numerical top 10 to qualify for Honor Roll. The current minimum number for Honor Roll is 328. (Deleted entities do not count toward Honor Roll). "Top of Honor Roll" and "Honor Roll" plaques and lapel pins are available to all past and current Honor Roll members. Visit The ARRL DX Century Club Program Web page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc> for information on how to order. * AO-27 rejuvenated, back on the air: AMSAT News Service reports that AO-27 (EyeSat-1) <http://www.ao27.org/> has again been recovered and returned to operation. Launched in September 1993, AO-27 has been listed as non-operational. Michael Wyrick, N3UC, of the AO-27 command team told ANS that after addressing problems with the microsat's AFSK modem, ground controllers were able to upload operational software. The satellite has been sending telemetry, and the analog transponder has been turned on again. Under the current schedule, AO-27 is on during ascending (south-to-north) passes at approximately 30 degrees north latitude, although it's impossible to say when the satellite will be operational for a given location. An initial 20 seconds of telemetry are followed by 5 minutes of analog repeater operation. AO-27 then transmits another 60 seconds of telemetry before shutting down. The satellite carries a Mode V/U FM repeater with the uplink at 145.850 MHz and the downlink at 436.795 MHz. "Please keep in mind that AO-27 is 13 years old and takes some work to keep going," Wyrick advised users. Ground controllers are seeking help in logging telemetry from AO-27. Visit the Logging AO-27 Telemetry page <http://www.ao27.org/tlm.shtml> for information. * FCC rescinds applications to modify club station license: The FCC says it will void two applications it granted in 2005 to change the name of the club holding K4WCF and the designated club license trustee. Paul Toth, NA4AR, of Seminole, Florida, had challenged petitions filed by Gerald D. "Dee" Turner, N4GD, of Pinellas Park, replacing Dave E. Armbrust, AE4MR, with himself as K4WCF trustee and changing the name of the licensee from "West Central Florida Group" to "West Central Florida Section." Turner is ARRL West Central Florida Section Manager. Toth, who's president of West Central Florida Group Inc, contended that Turner's June 2005 applications were submitted without the club board's knowledge or approval, as FCC rules require, and that Turner was not even a member of the club. The FCC agreed that the modifications were not authorized. "Based on the information before us, we conclude that two applications to change the name of the club trustee and the name of the club were submitted without authorization," the FCC said in a January 24 letter to Toth <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-07-182A1.pdf>. The FCC declared its grant of Turner's applications void and said it would correct its Amateur Radio license database to reflect the trustee and club name previously associated with the license. * All-ham ISS crew to undertake "unprecedented" spacewalk series: The all-ham crew of the International Space Station will undertake what NASA is calling "an unprecedented series" of four spacewalks during the next few weeks. Expedition 14 Commander Mike Lopez-Alegria, KE5GTK, and Flight Engineer Suni Williams, KD5PLB, will kick off the spacewalk string January 31 with a six-and-a-half-hour excursion. Subsequent spacewalks are set for February 4 and 8 using US spacesuits. Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, RZ3FT, will conduct the fourth spacewalk later in February using Russian spacesuits. NASA says the US spacewalks will bring on line new portions of the station's cooling system, expanded with components activated during the December space shuttle mission. Among other tasks, Lopez-Alegria and Williams also will assist in the retraction of heat-rejecting radiators on the station's P6 truss, install some external devices to stow cargo and install cabling for a new power transfer system for future shuttle flights. On the fourth spacewalk, Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin will remove a stuck antenna from the Russian Progress 23 cargo spacecraft to ensure it can safely undock in April. NASA TV <http://www.nasa.gov/ntv> will cover these events. -- NASA * Special event to mark transcontinental relay anniversary: The Mid-MO Amateur Radio Club <http://www.mmccs.com/mmarc/> will sponsor a special event this weekend to commemoratethe role of Willis P. Corwin, 9ABD, in the first transcontinental relay of formal message traffic 90 years ago. Special event station W9C will be active starting Saturday, January 27, at 2000 UTC, continuing for the next 24 hours on or about 3.540, 7.040, 10.113, 14.040, 21.040 and 28.040 MHz CW and 3.940, 7.240, 14.240, 21.240, and 28.240 SSB. On January 27, 1917, Corwin, then 18, received and re-transmitted the three CW messages that became the first successful one-way transcontinental relay of formal message traffic. Pioneering Amateur Radio operators originated the messages in Los Angeles. From there they went to an operator in Denver who relayed them to Corwin in Jefferson City, Missouri. From there, the messages went to Albany, New York, and, ultimately, to Hartford, Connecticut. A few days later, Corwin was again part of the chain that relayed the first two-way transcontinental traffic from the East Coast and back in 80 minutes. The feat was reported in April 1917 QST. Corwin later served as a shipboard wireless operator and built Jefferson City's first commercial broadcast station. A certificate is available. Mid-MO ARC will QSL all contacts but requests none in return. * We stand corrected! The story, "Antique Wireless Technology Spins for Fessenden Transmission Centennial" in The ARRL Letter, Vol 26, No 03 (January 19, 2007) contained some incorrect information. Swedish-American engineer Ernst Alexanderson developed the radio transmitter that bears his name while working for General Electric in Schenectady, New York. He also was chief engineer for the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), a GE subsidiary, according to the Alexander-Grimeton Veteranradios Vänner (Friends) Association, which operates Swedish Alexanderson museum station SAQ. =========================================================== 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: 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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