*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 23, No. 13 March 26, 2004 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Comment period opens on four ham radio petitions * +ARRL recommends better FCC-NTIA working relationship * +3B9C DXpedition wins Colvin Award * +Missouri General Assembly considering ham antenna bill * +ARRL Education & Technology schools win Best Buy grants * +Pennsylvania hams win keys to the city * +FCC clarifies docket number for BPL NPRM comments * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration Nomination deadline for ARRL technical awards is March 31! Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest still on Kentucky ham offers his good operating tips Forget your CORES/FRN password? +Available on ARRL Audio News =========================================================== NOTE: Because of vacation schedules, the March 26 editions of The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News are being distributed one day early. =========================================================== ==>FCC INVITES COMMENTS ON AMATEUR RADIO RESTRUCTURING PLANS The FCC is seeking comment on three plans, one from the ARRL, that would reshape the Amateur Service licensing structure. Each Petition for Rule Making responds to World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 actions last summer that made changes to Article 25 of the international Radio Regulations. While differing substantially in some other aspects, the three petitions call for modifications at Amateur Radio's entry level and for a three-tiered license system. One petition goes beyond licensing structure to recommend additional changes to amateur testing and HF digital privileges. A fourth petition focuses solely on the Morse requirement. Comments are due by April 24 on all four petitions. Designated RM-10867, ARRL's petition asks the FCC to create a new entry-level license class--being called "Novice" for now. It would offer limited HF CW/data and phone/image privileges on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters plus certain VHF and UHF privileges. The League plan also would consolidate Technician, Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit) and General licensees into a new General license that no longer would require a Morse examination. Current Technician and Tech Plus licensees automatically would gain General privileges, and Advanced license holders automatically would be upgraded to Extra without further testing. Applicants for Amateur Extra would still have to pass a 5 WPM Morse code examination, but the General and Extra written exams would stay the same. A news report "ARRL to Propose New Entry-Level License, Code-Free HF Access," <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/>, has further details. Frequently asked questions (FAQs) are addressed on the ARRL Web site, <http://www.arrl.org/news/restructuring2/faq.html>. In a wide-ranging petition designated as RM-10868, an "unincorporated grassroots organization" calling itself the Radio Amateur Foundation (RAF) has asked the FCC to modify the Technician ticket to allow limited HF phone, image, data and CW privileges. HF phone/image privileges would be restricted to portions of the 160, 15 and 10-meter bands. The group also proposes retaining the 5 WPM Morse requirement for General and Amateur Extra applicants, upgrading Advanced class holders to Extra and Novices to Technician. The Radio Amateur Foundation said it sees no need to change licensing requirements for General or Amateur Extra applicants. The RAF also wants to scrap existing Amateur Radio question pools and start over from scratch, keeping the question pools out of the public domain and requiring a 10-day waiting period before retesting. In addition, it would permit only Generals and Amateur Extras--or Technicians licensed more than two years--to request vanity call signs. The RAF has further asked the FCC to permit digital experimentation from 29.0 to 29.3 MHz at bandwidths of up to 15 kHz. In his two-page petition designated RM-10869, Ronald D. Lowrance, K4SX, calls on the FCC to retain the 5 WPM Morse code requirement for General class applicants and to raise the Morse requirement to 13 WPM for Amateur Extra class applicants. He called Morse code "the most reliable mode of communication" in an emergency. Lowrance would make no change in Technician licensing requirements. The National Conference of Volunteer Examiner Coordinators (NCVEC) wants the FCC to establish a new "Communicator" entry-level license. Its petition, designated RM-10870, reiterates the NCVEC's call--first made last fall in RM-10787--to altogether eliminate the Morse code testing requirement. The NCVEC petition would upgrade all current Novices to Communicator class, all current Technician and Tech Plus (Technician with Element 1 credit) licensees to General and all Advanced class licensees to Amateur Extra without further testing. Once the Morse requirement goes away, the NCVEC said in its filing, "there will be no effective difference between the Technician and General class licenses." The new Communicator ticket would permit a power limit of 100 W on bands below 24 MHz and 50 W on all frequencies above 24 MHz. Communicator licensees would have to use commercially manufactured equipment (or gear built from a commercial kit). Communicator licensees could operate both voice and digital modes on 80, 40, 15 and 10 meters plus VHF and UHF up to 70 cm. All three license restructuring plans call for changes to the present HF subbands. Interested parties may view and comment on these petitions via the FCC Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) <http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>. When entering the RM number in the ECFS "Proceeding" field, RM must be in capital letters and the hyphen must be included. ==>LEAGUE RECOMMENDS CLOSER FCC-NTIA SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT COOPERATION The ARRL has suggested that the FCC and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) spectrum management professionals work more closely and cooperatively. It also called for more open allocation proceedings where federal/non-federal spectrum sharing is involved. The League offered the recommendations in comments filed on an NTIA Notice of Inquiry, "United States Spectrum Management Policy for the 21st Century" <http://spectrumreform.ntia.doc.gov/notice.htm>. While the FCC oversees private and commercial spectrum, the NTIA--part of the US Department of Commerce--administers spectrum allocated to federal government users. It also advises the White House on telecommunications issues. ARRL said the current bifurcated spectrum management system has benefits and drawbacks. "A significant advantage of maintaining the present scheme . . . is that the separate functions provide a system . . . of checks and balances," ARRL said in addressing whether spectrum management should be centralized. On the other hand, the League added, this separation can "delay needed action and promotes somewhat parochial and divergent priorities." The FCC "has acted as a self-described 'cheerleader' for new, typically unlicensed, technologies without a firm grasp of technical compatibilities and incompatibilities," the League said. On the other hand, ARRL continued, the NTIA has tended to see its role as protector of the noncommercial spectrum it administers. The FCC has been "inconsistent at best" in spectrum protection, ARRL said, while NTIA spectrum managers regularly provide "professional and impartial evaluations of new technologies" and their interference potential. Amateur Radio shares some of its allocations with federal users, especially in the UHF and microwave spectrum. Given "competing goals and interests," ARRL suggested the FCC and NTIA return to the approach used in years past when spectrum management officials of both agencies "worked closely and cooperatively," and there was regular staff-level communication. The ARRL cited the proceeding that led to the Amateur Radio 5 MHz (60 meter) allocation to emphasize its belief that spectrum management and sharing should operate according to "negotiated rule making procedures" in which all stakeholders participate. Last-minute NTIA intervention led to the current five-channel allocation at 5 MHz instead of the band the ARRL had sought and the FCC was poised to grant. "The process for considering new federal and non-federal sharing plans should be more open than it currently is," the ARRL asserted. "There was no procedure for ARRL, FCC and NTIA (or the individual agencies concerned about this allocation) to meet and address potential concerns." Lacking any public procedure, the League said, the NTIA and FCC instead agreed to a compromise that was "inadequate for the purpose." The ARRL said a negotiated rulemaking procedure could address such issues more quickly and efficiently than current procedures permit. Comments in response to the NTIA NOI, including ARRL's, are available on the NTIA's spectrum reform Web site <http://spectrumreform.ntia.doc.gov/responses/index.htm>. ==>RODRIGUES ISLAND 3B9C DXpedition IS COLVIN AWARD GRANT RECIPIENT The Project Star Reach 3B9C DXpedition <http://www.fsdxa.com/3b9c/index.html> to Rodrigues Island (AF-017) hit the bands March 20 and by mid-week was already gaining on the 40,000-QSO mark. Scheduled to continue through Tuesday, April 13, the DXpedition is the recipient of an ARRL Colvin Award. "This financial award has made an invaluable contribution to the expenses incurred in mounting our major DXpedition," 3B9C Publicity Officer Don Field, G3XTT/NK1G, noted this week. Field said the $4000 award would go toward the cost of shipping several tons of gear by container from the UK to Rodrigues Island and back. He said 3B9C team members were "delighted" to get the grant. The Colvin Award was established in 1994 with the proceeds of a life insurance policy purchased by Lloyd Colvin, W6KG, that named the ARRL as beneficiary. The award is conferred in the form of grants in support of Amateur Radio projects that promote international goodwill in the field of DX. From the 1960s into the early 1990s, Lloyd Colvin and his wife Iris, W6QL, activated more than 100 DXCC entities. Lloyd Colvin died in 1993 and Iris Colvin in 1998. 3B9C has been generating lots of activity on all HF bands as well as on 6 meters. Field said the DXpedition wants to extend its reach beyond the usual DX chasers and is using 3B9C as an opportunity for education and training in HF propagation, antennas and new modes. 3B9C on-line logs <http://www.fsdxa.com/3b9c/online-logs.html> are being posted roughly every 24 hours. The DXpedition is being sponsored by the Five Star DXers Association (FSDXA), with assistance from many others. QSL direct to FSDXA, PO Box 73, Church Stretton, SY6 6WF UK or via the RSGB QSL Bureau. Much more information plus a form to request bureau cards is available on the 3B9C Web page <http://www.fsdxa.com/3b9c/>.--some information via The Daily DX <http://www.dailydx.com/> ==>MISSOURI ANTENNA BILL GETS "DO PASS" COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION An Amateur Radio antenna bill now in play in the Missouri General Assembly has received a favorable committee recommendation. Introduced in January by Republican Rep Blaine Luetkemeyer of St Elizabeth, the measure--House Bill 822--has several cosponsors. They include Harold Selby, KA0WXX--the only Amateur Radio operator in the Missouri House. HB 822 would include the language of the limited federal preemption known as PRB-1 into Missouri's statutes. ARRL Missouri Section leadership spoke in support of the bill when it came up for hearing late last month. "The Committee in general was receptive to the bill, and, after a few questions, testimony ended," said ARRL Missouri Section Manager Dale Bagley, K0KY. "There was no opposition to the bill by any group or individual at the hearing." Missouri Section Traffic Manager Dale Huffington, AE0S, also testified at the February 24 hearing before the Missouri House Communications, Energy and Technology Committee. On March 10, HB 822 was reported out of committee with a "do pass" recommendation. "So far, so good," Bagley said. A PRB-1 bill in the 2001 Missouri legislative session failed. So far, 20 states have passed Amateur Radio antenna bills based on PRB-1, which is codified in §97.15 of the Amateur Service Rules <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/news/part97/a.html#15>. The latest Missouri measure would prohibit municipalities from enacting or enforcing ordinances that fail to comply with PRB-1. "Any ordinance relating to the placement, screening, or height of an Amateur Radio antenna based on health, safety, or aesthetic considerations must reasonably accommodate amateur communications and be of minimal practicable regulation," the bill states. There's more information on HB 822 on the Missouri General Assembly Web site <http://www.house.state.mo.us/bills041/bills/hb822.htm>. ==>ARRL EDUCATION & TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM SCHOOLS GET BEST BUY TE@CH GRANTS Four ARRL Amateur Radio Education and Technology Program (ETP) participating schools are the beneficiaries of recent Best Buy Children's Foundation Te@ch grants of $2500. Winning grants were Iowa Street School in Fallbrook, California; Bloomington High School South in Bloomington, Indiana, Astronaut High School in Titusville, Florida, and Northside High School in Warner Robins, Georgia. Iowa Street teacher Phil Leonelli, WF6L, says his school has integrated the ETP <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/tbp/> into its grade 4 through 8 curriculum and works with the Fallbrook Amateur Radio Club. The school will use the funds to purchase a computer as an adjunct to its amateur station--including the addition of computer logging, transceiver control, packet, ATV and on-line information retrieval. Bloomington South High teacher Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, says Amateur Radio is part of his school's chemistry curriculum as well as an extracurricular activity. Days when ham radio is the focus of the class discussion are among the most enjoyable for his chemistry students, he says. Proof of their enthusiasm is the fact that many study for and pass their Amateur Radio license examinations. Rapp said he plans to use the Te@ch grant to purchase a video projector--primarily for classroom and ham radio training course use--and two VHF/UHF hand-held transceivers plus a programming cable. The handhelds would be available for licensed students to borrow. Astronaut High's Bill Canfield, W4RUN, says he and his students were thrilled to learn they'd won a Best Buy Te@ch grant. Integrating ham radio into his classroom has helped to provide his students with an understanding of radio propagation, he explains. In a new course that resulted--Communications Technology--students earn a Technician ticket in the first nine weeks and a General in the second. Canfield says the grant money will enable his school to add a weather station to its ham station for use during Hurricane Watch Net <http://www.hwn.org/> activations. He also wants to expand the ham station's digital capabilities (VHF packet and PSK31) as well as add features like satellite tracking and weather fax and, eventually, a solar power setup. Jim Fouts, AA4JF, at Northside High says his school also will use its Te@ch grant to add a new weather monitoring station--with Internet and Amateur Radio hookup software--and digital capability to its Amateur Radio club station, K4NHS. The school serves as a Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) shelter site. Amateur Radio would serve as the link between the school and the National Weather Service, Fouts said. The school also purchased two Family Radio Service units with GPS capability for training and use at parades and sporting events. The Best Buy's Children's Foundation's Te@ch Program awards recognize programs or projects that "creatively integrate interactive technology into the curriculum." The retailer this year awarded $2.9 million to schools across the country. An application is available on the Best Buy Web site <http://communications.bestbuy.com/communityrelations/docs/Teach_GrantApp. pdf>. ==>PENNSYLVANIA HAMS HELP EQUIP MOBILE COMMAND POST Amateur Radio input has helped to ensure complete interoperability for a new mobile command post in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The fully decked-out communications vehicle based in Wilkes-Barre is the result of a federal grant and volunteer assistance from three radio amateurs and several other volunteer radio experts, who got keys to the city in return. Armed with a $300,000 federal grant, Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom McGroarty wanted to put some of the money toward a mobile command post--or MCP--project. He approached Bill Harding, KA3QPQ, of the city's engineering office. Harding, in turn, sought advice and assistance from Rich Arland, K7SZ. Other team members included Greg Berholtz, N3SFO, David Anthony and Leigh Thompson. "The plan involved purchasing off-the-shelf communications gear and configuring a mothballed GMC Suburban as a mobile communications asset to support interagency interoperability during emergencies," said Arland. Ham radio operators volunteer emergency communication services to 18 communities in Northeastern Pennsylvania, he noted. After a briefing from Harding, the MCP project manager, regarding Amateur Radio Emergency Service/Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (ARES/RACES) operations, Arland said, the mayor wholeheartedly agreed that ham radio definitely should be part of the MCP equation. "All in all, the van has the capability to communicate on all ham bands from 160 meters through 70 cm on CW, SSB, data and FM," Arland reports. Of course, it also contains a full complement of low and high-band public safety (police, fire and emergency medical services) communications gear. Future plans call for the addition of a high-end GPS unit and a 2-meter transceiver dedicated to APRS. Needless to say, the van literally bristles with antennas--15 in all--most for VHF and UHF, although there's a screwdriver-type antenna for HF. So far, the MCP has been sent out twice--to support emergency operations following flooding in Wayne County and to assist after a prisoner escaped from a county lockup. ==>FCC CLARIFIES DOCKET NUMBER FOR FUTURE BPL COMMENTS The FCC says anyone filing comments on the its Broadband over Power Line (BPL) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in ET Dockets 03-104 and 04-37 should reference only the latter docket number, not both docket numbers. The ARRL was among those who had asked the FCC to clarify the matter. The deadline to file comments is Monday, May 3. Reply comments are due Tuesday, June 1. "To simplify this filing process and minimize the burden on both interested parties and the Commission's resources, we are requesting that parties responding to the Notice of Proposed Rule Making submit comments, replies and any other pleadings or information only in the newly established ET Docket No 04-37," the FCC said this week in a public notice. Written comments may be filed via the Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS) <http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/>. The Commission says that commenters should include their full name, US Postal Service mailing address and ET Docket No 04-37 when completing the transmittal screen. The FCC ECFS Express system <http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/ecfs/Upload/> also now is accepting brief comments on the BPL proceeding, which is the top item on the list. For additional information on filing comments, see the FCC public notice <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-760A1.doc>. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Solar swami Tad "Sunshine of Your Love" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar flux and sunspot numbers rose this week, and geomagnetic K and A indices were down. This is a perfect combination for the first days of spring. HF operators always love to see the K index lower than 3 and the A index below 10. There is nothing magic about those numbers, but lower numbers are better, and those are below the values (about 3 and 15) that we think of for unsettled conditions. For quiet conditions, it's hard to beat this last Wednesday, March 24, when the mid-latitude K index was zero for most of the reporting periods. A good resource for comparing the daily variations in mid-latitude, high-latitude and planetary geomagnetic indices is the NOAA Space Environment Center Web site <http://www.sec.noaa.gov/ftpdir/indices/DGD.txt>. Early spring is also a time when auroras are more intense, which of course is an indicator of elevated geomagnetic activity. The outlook for the next few days is good, with some active conditions probably returning around March 29-30. Solar flux should stay above 110 through the weekend, and above 100 during the first few days of April. Sunspot numbers for March 18 through 24 were 107, 89, 82, 65, 87, 110 and 109 with a mean of 92.7. 10.7 cm flux was 115.4, 112.2, 113.6, 111.2, 116.4, 118.3 and 119.7, with a mean of 115.3. Estimated planetary A indices were 10, 6, 9, 13, 11, 8 and 4, with a mean of 8.7. NOTE: This is a preliminary report, a day earlier than normal. For the full bulletin for the week check the ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/> Friday, March 26. __________________________________ ==>IN BRIEF: * This weekend on the radio: The CQ World Wide WPX Contest (SSB), the Spring Break RTTY Sprint. and the UBA Spring Contest (2 meters) are the weekend of March 27-28. JUST AHEAD: The SARL 80-Meter QSO Party is April 1. The Kids Roundup, the SP DX Contest, the EA RTTY Contest, the Missouri QSO Party, the QCWA QSO Party and the RSGB RoPoCo 1 are the weekend of April 3-4. The 144 MHz Spring Sprint and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) are April 5. The ARS Spartan Sprint is April 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 for the ARRL Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006) Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009) and Technician Class for Ham Radio Licensing (EC-010) courses remains open through Sunday, March 28. Classes begin Tuesday April 6. Students taking Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006) will learn how to identify and take steps to cure various kinds of interference. Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009) covers basic antenna theory and practical construction techniques. With the assistance of a mentor students in the Technician Licensing course will learn everything they need to learn to pass the FCC Technician license class test. To learn more, visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Web page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/>. For more information, contact Certification and Continuing Education Program Department, cce@arrl.org. * Nomination deadline for ARRL technical awards is March 31! Nominations for ARRL technical awards <http://www.arrl.org/FandES/ead/instructor/instructor/awards.html> recognizing service, innovation and microwave development in the technical arena are due at ARRL Headquarters Wednesday, March 31. Supplemental information, not to exceed 10 pages, must arrive no later than Thursday, April 15. Nominating forms are available on the ARRL Web site. The ARRL Technical Innovation Award goes each year to a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs whose accomplishments are of the most exemplary nature within the framework of technical research, development and application of new ideas and future systems within an Amateur Radio context. The recipient(s) receive(s) $500 in cash and an engraved plaque. The ARRL Technical Service Award goes each year to a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs whose service to the amateur community and/or society at large is of the most exemplary nature within the framework of Amateur Radio technical activities. The ARRL Microwave Development Award goes each year to a radio amateur or group of radio amateurs whose accomplishments and contributions are of the most exemplary nature within the framework of microwave development (ie, research and application of new and refined uses and activity in the amateur microwave bands). The recipient(s) The ARRL Technical Innovation and Microwave Development awards receive(s) an engraved plaque and may request up to $100 in ARRL publications. Any ARRL member may place a nomination for any of these awards. * Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest still on: The 33rd annual Greater Baltimore Hamboree and Computerfest <http://www.gbhc.org/> will take place as scheduled Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. Sponsored by the Baltimore Amateur Radio Club <http://www.baltarc.com/>, the hamfest is host to the ARRL Maryland State Convention. Doug Wittich, N3VEJ, of the hamfest committee says the cancellation the Maryland-DC Convention, held at the same location but later in the year, caused some confusion within the amateur community. "We're definitely on," he reassured those planning to attend. ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bernie Fuller, N3EFN, and Maryland-DC Section Manager Tom Abernethy, W3TOM, will lead an ARRL/Maryland-DC Section Leadership forum Saturday at 9 AM. ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, will moderate the ARRL forum Saturday at 11 AM. Special event station W3FT will be on the air from the hamfest both days on or about 7.265 and 14.265 MHz. * Kentucky ham offers his good operating tips: Don Snodgrass, K4QKY, of Murray, Kentucky, believes that being a good "Elmer" (Amateur Radio mentor) involves much more than assisting someone to pass the license examination. A supporter of the ARRL's recent Petition for Rule Making <http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/01/19/1/> to the FCC, Snodgrass says he's eager to do his part to welcome new operators to the HF bands when the time comes. In the meantime, he's offering his recommended "Good Operating Practices" <http://campus.murraystate.edu/org/msuarc/goodoperatingpractices.htm> on his Web site. "Most hams develop their operating practices--most good, but some not so good--simply by listening to more-experienced hams," Snodgrass said. "These suggested guidelines are based on what one ham feels he has learned from listening to other hams since 1972." His philosophy, expressed within his list of dos and don'ts, is that amateurs who develop good operating practices will help to sustain Amateur Radio's "long and proud tradition of self-regulation." At the top of his "do" list: "Always be polite, regardless of the circumstances. If not, avoid transmitting." * Forget your CORES/FRN password? It's possible to reset your CORES/FRN (Commission Registration System/FCC Registration Number) <https://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cores/CoresHome.html> password via the FCC Web site for electronic application filing. This might come in handy if you have forgotten your password, need to change it to another password or were automatically registered for CORES through a Volunteer Examiner Coordinator and don't know your password. Visit the secure "Forgot your Password" <https://esupport.fcc.gov/password.htm> Web site and complete all the required fields. You will need to supply your FCC Registration Number (available via ULS or through many on-line call sign servers, such as ARRL's) as well as your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), typically your Social Security number. Applicants also will need to supply name, e-mail address and telephone number. =========================================================== The ARRL Letter is published Fridays, 50 times each year, by the American Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; tel 860-594-0200; fax 860-594-0259; <http://www.arrl.org/>. Jim Haynie, W5JBP, President. The ARRL Letter offers a weekly e-mail digest of essential news of interest to active amateurs. The ARRL Letter strives to be timely, accurate, concise, and readable. Visit ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/> for the latest news, updated as it happens. The ARRL Web site <http://www.arrl.org/> offers access to news, informative features and columns. ARRL Audio News <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> is a weekly "ham radio newscast" compiled from The ARRL Letter. Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League. ==>Delivery problems (ARRL member direct delivery only!): letter-dlvy@arrl.org ==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org ==>ARRL News on the Web: <http://www.arrl.org/> ==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call 860-594-0384 ==>How to Get The ARRL Letter The ARRL Letter is available to ARRL members free of charge directly from ARRL HQ. To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your address for e-mail delivery: ARRL members first must register on the Members Only Web Site <http://www.arrl.org/members/>. You'll have an opportunity during registration to sign up for e-mail delivery of The ARRL Letter, W1AW bulletins, and other material. To change these selections--including delivery of The ARRL Letter--registered members should click on the "Member Data Page" link (in the Members Only box). Click on "Modify membership data," check or uncheck the appropriate boxes and/or change your e-mail address if necessary. (Check "Temporarily disable all automatically sent email" to temporarily stop all e-mail deliveries.) Then, click on "Submit modification" to make selections effective. (NOTE: HQ staff members cannot change your e-mail delivery address. You must do this yourself via the Members Only Web Site.) The ARRL Letter also is available to all, free of charge, from these sources: * ARRLWeb <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/>. (NOTE: The ARRL Letter will be posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.) * The QTH.net listserver, thanks to volunteers from the Boston Amateur Radio Club: Visit Mailing Lists@QTH.Net <http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/letter-list>. (NOTE: The ARRL cannot assist subscribers who receive The ARRL Letter via this listserver.)