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ARRL Letter

 

***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 24, No. 26
July 8, 2005
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund appeal under way
* +League Board to mull bandwidth recommendations, strategic planning
* +Kids and pets not allowed on ISS, students learn during space QSO
* +Approach of Hurricane Dennis prompts net activation
* +SDR, cognitive radio technologies impress FCC commissioner
* +ISS crew gets on for Field Day
* +New ARRL Digital Electronics course debuts
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
     This weekend on the radio: IARU HF World Championship
     ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration
     Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Course registration
     W1AW, NU1AW to be HQ multipliers for IARU event
     Post Field Day, ARRL contest experiences on ARRL's contest "Soapbox"
     AO-51 satellite appears back on track after software reset
    +Screenwriter Ernest Lehman, K6DXK, SK

+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
===========================================================

==>TENTH ANNUAL SPECTRUM DEFENSE APPEAL UNDER WAY

The League has kicked off its 10th annual appeal to members seeking support
for the ARRL Fund for the Defense of Amateur Radio Frequencies--also known
as the Spectrum Defense Fund. The fund fuels League efforts and activities
that focus on fending off threats to amateur spectrum access. ARRL CEO David
Sumner, K1ZZ, says the current telecommunications environment is more
complex and challenging than ever.

"Year after year, ARRL members tell us that representation in Washington and
internationally to protect and strengthen our service is their number one
priority," Sumner says in a fund appeal letter thanking members for their
past contributions that have helped the League confront spectrum challenges
head on. "The results are seldom instantaneous," he pointed out. "Challenges
arise that must be addressed patiently, month after month, year after year."

Citing one major victory, Sumner pointed to the 40-meter band improvements
won during World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) that, by 2009,
will lead to a wider harmonized band worldwide. Such wins are possible, he
said, because the League has "a long-range perspective, developed from
protecting, promoting and advancing Amateur Radio for more than 90 years."

Up until the mid-1990s, the ARRL managed to meet the costs of spectrum
defense through a combination of regular revenue sources, including dues and
publication sales. But as the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
began scheduling more frequent WRCs and the domestic telecommunications
climate grew more competitive, the League had to ratchet up its efforts.
That meant devoting a bigger piece of the revenue pie toward spectrum
defense. The goal of the current fund drive is $230,000 to meet just a part
of the demands of representing members' interests in 2005 alone.

In response to the changed environment, the ARRL opened its Technical
Relations Office in Washington, DC, with three full-time professional
technical specialists and increased its support for qualified volunteers
working through the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) to represent
Amateur Radio at ITU meetings around the world. On the domestic front, the
emergence of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) as an interference threat has
upped the workload for the ARRL Laboratory.

As Sumner's appeal points out, Spectrum Defense Fund donations--among other
things--enable IARU volunteers to participate in US preparations for WRC-07,
where spectrum between 4 and 10 MHz is on the agenda. Because the ARRL is
the largest Amateur Radio association in the world, he says, it takes on the
lion's share of the financial burden to support the attendance of IARU
volunteers at such international gatherings. 

In addition, IARU volunteers are working to develop support for Amateur
Radio in Africa and the Arab States, teaching Amateur Radio administration
to telecommunications regulators, representing Amateur Radio at ITU
telecommunications exhibitions, maintaining the IARU Monitoring System and
Beacon Project, and coordinating the Amateur Satellite program. They also
enable active participation in CITEL--the telecommunications arm of the
Organization of American States--which has a growing influence on ITU
decisions.

Closer to home, Spectrum Defense Fund contributions cover the costs of
technical studies and evaluations for ARRL filings with the FCC, the
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and other
federal agencies. Further, they help the League to maintain peer
relationships with the IEEE and other organizations. 

"Whatever your personal area of interest in Amateur Radio, I hope you will
respond with the most generous donation you can manage," Sumner concludes.
"The financial commitment of every ARRL member in our continuing effort to
build a strong presence in Washington and around the world will benefit you
today and in the future."

The ARRL is asking contributors to donate by July 31 via mail or the
League's secure donations Web site <https://www.arrl.org/forms/fdefense/>.

==>REGULATION-BY-BANDWIDTH PROPOSALS, STRATEGIC PLANNING TOP ARRL BOARD
AGENDA

When it meets July 15-16, the ARRL Board of Directors will consider
recommendations that could result in a petition calling on the FCC to
regulate the use of amateur spectrum by emission bandwidth rather than by
emission mode. The ARRL Executive Committee reached consensus on a set of
regulation-by-bandwidth proposals
<http://www.arrl.org/announce/bandwidth.html> April 9, and the League has
received more than 500 comments from the amateur community since the latest
version of the draft recommendations went public. The ARRL will file nothing
with the FCC until the Board gives its go-ahead, however. ARRL CEO David
Sumner, K1ZZ, says the Board essentially has four options.

"The Board can adopt them, adopt them in modified form, decline to adopt
them or postpone the item pending further study," he said. "The ARRL has
heard the amateur community's concerns and suggestions and made changes to
its draft proposals as a result, and we're still listening." The Board began
work on the bandwidth concept in 2002, and the League has sought members'
comments on specific concepts at several steps along the way. Many amateurs
have expressed concern about interference between incompatible modes in the
most popular HF bands.

The EC has advised against asking the FCC to segregate digital and analog
emissions by rule. Instead, the Committee believes, the FCC should simply
set out band segments in which amateurs may employ bandwidths of up to a
specific limit and leave any further subdivision up to band planning. The EC
has acknowledged, however, that band-planning mechanisms will have to be
improved for its approach to work well.

The EC's proposals take into account the ARRL's prior "Novice refarming"
petition that includes expansion of some HF 'phone bands, incorporated in
the FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making in WT Docket 04-140.

Sumner has discussed various facets of the regulation-by-bandwidth concept
and has detailed the evolution of the ARRL Executive Committee's
recommendations in his "It Seems to Us . . ." editorials in the September
2004, April 2005 and June 2005 issues of QST. 

The other top Board meeting agenda item is a review and revision of the
League's Strategic Plan. The 15 directors will review the status of
strategies selected for implantation during 2005 and will decide upon
strategies for 2006. The Board also will receive or hear reports and
consider recommendations from its officers and from various committees and
coordinators.

ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, will wield the gavel for this month's
Board meeting, which will take place in Windsor, Connecticut. Radio Amateurs
of Canada President Earle Smith, VE6NM, will be a guest of the Board at the
gathering.

==>NO KIDS, NO PETS ALLOWED IN SPACE, TEXAS YOUNGSTERS TOLD

Students in Texas peppered US astronaut John Phillips, KE5DRY, with
questions about life in space during two separate Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) school group contacts in late June.
Youngsters at Hockaday School in Dallas spoke with Phillips June 20, while a
group of students at Baylor University's Mayborn Museum visited with
Phillips by radio a week later. One Hockaday student wanted to know about
any "cool science experiments" the astronaut might be working on in space.

"One that's pretty cool is that every month or so I get to put on a
weird-looking suit with instruments all over it," Phillips said. "Then
during a normal day, the suit measures the motions of my knees, hips and
ankles and the electronic impulses in my arms and legs." Phillips allowed
that the getup "looks pretty strange" but added, "it's a good experiment."
In past interviews, Phillips has said that the ISS crew members are the
"guinea pigs" for scientific research into how well humans will fare during
longer space missions.

Another student wanted to know if pets would ever be allowed aboard the
space station. Phillips said he hopes not. "I don't have any pets here, and
they're not allowed right now, and, as you know, taking care of a pet can be
pretty messy," he responded. "So, I don't mind not having one, and I think
it would also be very confusing for the pet to find he was just flying
around all the time."

Another cool thing about being in space is that the crew doesn't have to
care which way is up or down, Phillips told the kids at Mayborn Museum the
following week. "If I want to work on the ceiling or sleep standing on my
head, I can do that--no problem," he said. "But if I want to see where Earth
is, I just look out the window." He told another Mayborn visitor that it's
possible to use a compass in space because Earth's magnetic field is nearly
as strong in space as it is on the ground. The ISS is equipped with magnetic
sensors to help determine which way the station is pointing, he said.

The astronaut also said it feels "great" to be aboard the ISS. "You can fly
like a bird, your feet never get sore and you never catch a cold," he
explained. One downside is some swelling of the face during the first month
or so in space, "sort of like when you're standing on your head," he said.
"We call that 'pumpkin head,' but after that, the pumpkin head goes away and
you just feel great."

One student at the Mayborn Museum also wanted to know why kids can't go to
outer space. Phillips said there are lots of reasons. "For one thing, kids
don't have the education or the experience or the physical strength to do
the work we do up here," he explained. "But also, nobody knows how it would
affect their bodies." Phillips predicted that children eventually would be
able to go into space, "but we're not ready for it yet."

Youngsters managed to fire off at least 20 questions during each QSO. The
contact between NA1SS and W5IU at Hockaday School was direct via 2 meters,
while the QSO with Mayborn Museum was routed via WH6PN in Honolulu. MCI
donated a teleconferencing link between the school and Hawaii for that
event. 

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

==>"DANGEROUS DENNIS" KEEPS HURRICANE WATCH NET, WX4NHC ACTIVE

The Hurricane Watch Net (HWN) on 14.325 MHz and WX4NHC
<http://www.wx4nhc.org/> at the National Hurricane Center remained active at
week's end to gather ground-level weather data for forecasters as Hurricane
Dennis approached the US. HWN participants gather measured and observed
ground-level storm data from the affected area and relay these to the
volunteer-staffed WX4NHC to aid forecasters in determining a storm's
behavior.

"Currently, Hurricane Dennis is a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane on the
Saffir-Simpson scale," HWN Manager Mike Pilgrim, K5MP, said July 8. He said
the net would remain active as long as required.

The net likely would take a break July 9, as Dennis clears Cuba and moves
into the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico, then reactivate Sunday, July 10,
as Dennis approaches the northern Gulf Coast "possibly as a very dangerous
major hurricane." 

Assistant Amateur Radio Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R, at WX4NHC, said he
anticipates his volunteers to be busy through the weekend as well. Per
usual, WX4NHC will be monitoring the Hurricane Watch Net. The NHC also will
monitor EchoLink and IRLP via the WX_Talk Conference Room.

HWN Assistant Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, asked stations not directly
involved in the net to not transmit unless requested to do so or in case of
an emergency. He said the net will attempt to handle all communications
within its members' capabilities and will only ask for additional assistance
when needed. Graves also pointed out that the net does not handle
health-and-welfare traffic.

"That traffic will be handled by the SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency
Radio Network) net on 14.265 MHz, whenever activated, as well as via their
Web site." The SATERN Web page <http://www.satern.org/> includes a link for
health-and-welfare inquiries. 

Graves says the HWN also will remain available to back up conventional lines
of communication as needed. It will also collect and report significant
damage assessment data to FEMA officials at the National Hurricane Center.
The HWN may announce other frequencies set up by local emergency nets in
affected areas and will announce storm-related advisories and updates as
they become available.

The HWN Web site <http://www.hwn.org/> includes regularly updated forecasts
and weather graphics. Visitors to the site also may subscribe to receive
regular weather updates via e-mail
<http://www.hwn.org/home/subscriptions.html>.

==>FCC'S ADELSTEIN "IMPRESSED" WITH SDR, COGNITIVE RADIO TECHNOLOGIES

FCC commissioner Jonathan Adelstein helped to kick off the Global Regulatory
Summit on SDR [software-defined radio] and Cognitive Radio last month in
Washington, DC. Speaking June 20, Adelstein concluded that the "right kind"
of spectrum management policy can promote SDR and cognitive radio
development by pushing boundaries to accommodate new technologies and
services.

"As policy makers, we always need to consider the latest technologies in
managing the spectrum," said Adelstein, one of the Commission's two
Democratic appointees. "And it is my hope that software-defined and
cognitive radio technologies will open new avenues for innovation and
service to improve the quality of communications for people the world over."
Adelstein says he's been "very impressed by the advancing capabilities of
software defined and cognitive radio technologies."

FlexRadio Systems <http://www.flex-radio.com/> introduced the first
software-defined Amateur Radio product at Dayton Hamvention 2004--the
SDR-1000. In his review of the unit in last April's QST, Steve Ford, WB8IMY,
said the SDR-1000 "opens a new chapter in the history of Amateur Radio." He
pointed out that the unit is the first off-the-shelf HF/6 meter transceiver
that uses software to define its functionality. The ARRL honored FlexRadio
founder Gerald Youngblood, AC5OG, with the 2002 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Technical
Excellence Award, for his groundbreaking SDR articles in QEX, which describe
the development of the SDR-1000. Youngblood is a member of the ARRL SDR
Working Group.

The FCC approved the first SDR-enabled base station--a cellular
transmitter--last fall. An FCC Notice of Proposed Rule Making, ET Docket
03-108, is pending to further streamline SDR requirements. 

The ARRL has told the FCC that Amateur Radio is "a fertile testing ground"
for SDRs and that the technology would be especially valuable to facilitate
disaster communications. Adelstein would appear to agree. One of the more
promising benefits, he suggested, lies in SDR's potential to facilitate
communication among various groups of emergency responders.

"Here in the US, it is not unusual for police in one city to have difficulty
communicating with the local fire department, the police in the next county,
or with federal agencies covering similar jurisdictions," Adelstein pointed
out. SDRs also can improve flexibility and dramatically cut operational
costs, he noted.

Cognitive radio technology, which Adelstein called "the so-called next
generation of software defined radio," adds a new dimension to SDR
technology--the ability to recognize the world around it and learn from
experience. "Some wireless local area network devices already integrate
cognitive capabilities in order to sense spectrum use and adjust power
output in order maximize spectrum efficiency," he said.

"These technologies have the capability to literally leapfrog the technical
and legal problems that currently hamper many of today's spectrum access
opportunities," Adelstein said.

==>SPACE STATION CREW ON THE AIR FOR FIELD DAY

The International Space Station Expedition 11 crew of John Phillips,
KE5DRY--operating as NA1SS--and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR--operating as
RS0ISS--thrilled a number of ARRL Field Day 2005 operations by handing out
contacts from space over the June 25-26 weekend. Amateur Radio on the
International Space Station (ARISS) Ham Radio Project Engineer Kenneth
Ransom, N5VHO, reports Phillips was active over the US while Krikalev worked
stations in the Americas and elsewhere around the globe--including non-FD
stations in South Africa and Thailand. Phillips, meanwhile, managed about
two dozen Field Day contacts over North America. 

"The call signs reflect contacts in Alaska, Canada and the West Central US,"
Ransom said. 

Bob Wertz, NF7E, says his grandson's QSO with RS0ISS was the high point of
the Get On The Air (GOTA) station at the Northern Arizona DX
Association/Coconino Amateur Radio Club Field Day site in the Coconino
National Forest. As time for the pass came around, Wertz's 11-year-old
grandson Mike called the ISS, while Mike Key, K0MDK--aided by a
compass--aimed skyward a 2-meter beam that he and his daughter Julie,
KE7DEX, had cobbled together from PVC pipe and coat hangers. 

An anxious seven minutes into the pass, success: "NF7E this is RS0ISS,
over!" Once the GOTA team regained its composure, the younger Wertz returned
with a "2A Arizona" report. 

"Once again RS0ISS repeated our call and then went on to a California
station as he was starting to fade out," Bob Wertz says. "It was quite a
thrill for all of us. It made our day!" 

ARRL Contest Branch Manager Dan Henderson, N1ND, said it was great news to
learn that the ISS crew was able to get in some on-air activity during Field
Day. "My personal thanks to Sergei and John for keeping a great tradition
going!" he said.

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

==>ARRL DEBUTS NEW "DIGITAL ELECTRONICS" COURSE

The League this month debuts the latest in the growing series of ARRL
Certification and Continuing Education (C-CE) on-line courses. Registration
for "Digital Electronics" (EC-013) will remain available through Sunday,
July 24. The course is aimed at the beginner with an interest in electronics
and who's already familiar with electricity and electronic component
fundamentals as well as with simple schematics. Participants will learn the
basic building blocks of digital electronics comprising the controllers and
computers that make modern life hum.

In 16 learning units students will learn Boolean essentials, basic gates,
flip-flops, counters and shift registers, latches, buffers and drivers,
encoders and decoders, parallel interfaces, serial interfaces, input
devices, displays, logic families, microprocessor basics, digital-to-analog
interfacing, and understanding data sheets and design resources. Students
will need to know Ohm's Law--the relationships among power, voltage, current
and resistance--and be able to handle simple algebraic equations. Since this
is an on-line course, basic computer, Internet, and e-mail navigational
skills are essential.

Most lessons include a design problem and an optional construction project.
The course runs 12 weeks, and students can earn two continuing education
units (CEUs) for completing the class.

While EC-013 has no specific textbook, course designers for starters suggest
The ARRL Handbook as a basic resource and The CMOS Cookbook by Don Lancaster
as a desk and workbench reference. The course introduction
<http://www.arrl.org/cce/intro-013.pdf> contains many more details regarding
course content, required equipment and additional reference materials. 

The tuition fee for Digital Electronics (EC-013) is $65 for ARRL members and
$95 for nonmembers. Registration and additional information are available
via the ARRL C-CE Web site <http://www.arrl.org/cce>. 

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Propagation guru Tad "Seasons in the Sun" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington,
reports: The Earth-facing disc of the sun went through a tremendous change
over the past couple of weeks, ranging from a sunspot number of zero on June
26 to a reading of 192 on July 4. Along with this, geomagnetic conditions
were very stable, an ideal combination for HF operators. The average daily
sunspot number for the previous reporting week was only 19, but it jumped to
more than 154 this week--a huge change. Average mid-latitude A index was
lower by two points, with the planetary A index down by nearly five.

The July 4 sunspot number of 192 was the highest reading since November 26,
2003.

On July 7, an explosion near sunspot 786--currently aimed squarely toward
Earth--hurled a coronal mass ejection that's expected to cause a mild
geomagnetic storm. Predicted planetary A index for July 8-11 is 25, 30, 25
and 15. Solar flux peaked on July 3 at 129.8 (highest solar flux reading
since January 19, 2005) and for July 8-11 solar flux is predicted at 120,
120, 115 and 110. Flux values are expected to remain above 100 until mid
month.

Sunspot numbers for June 30 through July 6 were 96, 122, 168, 179, 192, 181
and 143, with a mean of 154.4. The 10.7 cm flux was 102.5, 114.6, 123.8,
129.8, 123.7, 126.8 and 123, with a mean of 120.6. Estimated planetary A
indices were 8, 16, 13, 11, 7, 5 and 5 with a mean of 9.3. Estimated
mid-latitude A indices were 4, 12, 12, 9, 5, 3 and 3, with a mean of 6.9.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The IARU HF World Championship, The
VK/Trans-Tasman 160-Meter Contest (Phone), the FISTS Summer Sprint, the ARCI
Summer Homebrew Sprint are the weekend of July 9-10. JUST AHEAD: The RSGB
80-Meter Club Championship (SSB) is July 13. The NCCC Thursday Sprint is
July 15 (UTC). The CQ Worldwide VHF Contest, the North American QSO Party
(RTTY), RSGB Low Power Field Day, are the weekend of July 16-17. The RSGB
80-Meter Club Championship (Data) is July 21. The NCCC Thursday Sprint is
July 22 (UTC). 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, July 10. Classes begin Friday, July 22. 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, July 11, 1201 AM EDT, and will remain open until all
available seats have been filled or through the July 16-17
weekend--whichever comes first. Class begins Friday, July 29. Thanks to a
grant from United Technologies Corporation (UTC), the $45 registration fee
paid upon enrollment will be reimbursed to students who complete the course
requirements and are upgraded by their mentor to "Passed" within the 8-week
course period. 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.

* W1AW, NU1AW to be HQ multipliers for IARU event: ARRL Maxim Memorial
Station W1AW and International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) club station NU1AW
will be on the road and on the air as Headquarters (HQ) multipliers for the
2005 IARU HF World Championship
<http://www.arrl.org/contests/rules/2005/iaru.html> Saturday and Sunday,
July 9-10 (UTC). Both will be very active on all HF bands and modes. W1AW/5
will be on the air from Arkansas with multi-multi contest station K5GO as
the flagship host station. NU1AW/3 will operate from Pennsylvania
multi-multi contest station K3LR. Experienced contest ops from several
states will staff both stations during the 24-hour contest period that runs
from 1200 UTC July 9 until 1200 UTC July 10. W1AW/5 will have a complement
of 12 CW and 15 SSB operators, while 6 CW and 6 SSB operators will handle
things at NU1AW/3. QSL: W1AW, 225 Main St, Newington, CT 06111; NU1AW, PO
Box 310905, Newington, CT 06131-0905.--Tim Duffy, K3LR 

* Post Field Day, ARRL contest experiences on ARRL's contest "Soapbox": The
ARRL contest "Soapbox" <http://www.arrl.org/contests/soapbox/> is a great
way to let the rest of the ham radio world know about your experiences
during ARRL Field Day or other ARRL operating event. The best part is that
it's a free service. Not only can you post your own writeup, but you can add
photos as well. A few guidelines do apply. The site is for participants in
ARRL contests to post their comments and impressions on the most recent
contest. These may include extended soapbox comments, photographs or a
narrative of the contest from a participant's perspective. Soapbox users are
asked to keep comments focused on their involvement in the event. The forum
is open to ARRL members and nonmembers alike. It's also available for those
who might be learning about contesting or new to Amateur Radio in general.
Keep in mind that the potential audience that may be reviewing your posts is
broad, so we encourage you to exercise decorum in your postings. The ARRL
reserves the right to edit or decline posts that may be inappropriate to
this forum. Responsibility for the content of all posted material rests
exclusively with the item author. ARRL staff assumes no responsibility for
errors, omissions, and accuracy of items posted, and readers should direct
any and all questions and comments to the item's author. If you have
questions or comments about the Soapbox, contact the ARRL Contest Branch
<contests@arrl.org>;. Check it out! 

* AO-51 satellite appears back on track after software reset: The AO-51
Command Team says the satellite will remain in V/U FM repeater and FM 9k6
digital, V/U Pacsat Broadcast Protocol BBS (PBP BBS) mode "for a number of
days" while the team monitors its operation. On June 26 Echo experienced a
software reset, and, following some analysis, the Command Team reloaded the
software. "I spent a good deal of my holiday time this week and weekend at
home in order to download the data and then reload the satellite software to
get it back up and running asap," said the AO-51 Command Team's Mike
Kingery, KE5AZN. He said the AO-51 Software Team reviewed data downloaded
from the satellite memory after the reset but found nothing out of the
ordinary. AO-51 went into orbit June 29, 2004.--AMSAT News Service 

* Screenwriter Ernest Lehman, K6DXK, SK: Noted screenwriter Ernest Lehman,
K6DXK, died July 2 after a lengthy illness. He was 89. Lehman had been a ham
for some 70 years. The six-time Oscar nominee's film credits include North
by Northwest, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Sound of Music. Some
of his other screenwriting credits include The King and I, Hello, Dolly!,
The Sweet Smell of Success and Portnoy's Complaint--which he also directed
and produced. In 2001, Lehman received a honorary Oscar--a lifetime
achievement award--from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "in
appreciation of a body of varied and enduring work." Presenting the Oscar to
Lehman was famed actress Julie Andrews (photo). In announcing the award,
then-Academy President Robert Rehme called Lehman "not only a prolific
screenwriter, but an accomplished novelist, journalist and motion picture
producer, whose films rank as genuine classics." In a July 6 National Public
Radio interview with North by Northwest star Eva Marie Saint and her husband
producer-director Jeffery Hayden, Hayden mentioned Lehman's involvement in
Amateur Radio. The interview is available on the NPR Web site
<http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4732134>.

=========================================================== 
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.

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==>Editorial questions or comments: Rick Lindquist, N1RL, n1rl@arrl.org
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==>ARRL Audio News: <http://www.arrl.org/arrlletter/audio/> or call
860-594-0384

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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.) 


 

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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