*************** The ARRL Letter Vol. 26, No. 06 February 9, 2007 *************** IN THIS EDITION: * +Upgrades under new "no-code" rules not available until Feb 23 * +Deadly tornados prompt ARES response in Florida * +W1AW "Welcome Weekend" special event set * +FCC resumes processing of new Amateur Radio vanity call signs * +Students in Canada, Nebraska, speak with ISS via ham radio * +St Brandon DXpedition gets ARRL Colvin Award grant * Solar Update * IN BRIEF: This weekend on the radio ARRL Certification and Continuing Education course registration +Mike Caughran, KL7R, SK M. Walter Maxwell, W2DU, wins January QST Cover Plaque Award +Microwave Update 2007 sets schedule, issues first call for papers DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit 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> =========================================================== NOTE: To accommodate vacation schedules, The Friday, February 16, editions of The ARRL Letter and ARRL Audio News will be distributed on Thursday, February 15. =========================================================== ==>NO "CODE-FREE" UPGRADES AVAILABLE UNTIL FEBRUARY 23 Code-free upgrades to General or Amateur Extra will not be available at volunteer examination sessions until the 5 WPM Morse code requirement disappears from the FCC's Amateur Radio Service rules on February 23. ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, says that, judging from the questions he's been getting, many in the amateur community -- including some Volunteer Examiners (VEs) -- don't fully understand the new rules and privileges resulting from the FCC's Report and Order (R&O) in the "Morse code proceeding," WT Docket 05-235 <http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-06-178A1.pdf>. He stresses that VE teams may not accept upgrade applications in advance of February 23, then hold the paperwork. "There will be no automatic midnight upgrades February 23 for applicants advancing to General or Amateur Extra," Henderson explained. "You must make application." He further advises that a Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) valid for Element 3 (General) or Element 4 (Amateur Extra) credit does not confer any operating privileges and, lacking Morse code credit, is no good for an upgrade until the new rules become effective. "Anyone holding or earning a valid CSCE for element credit must wait until February 23 to redeem it at a volunteer examination session," he says. "You may not operate as /AG or /AE until you have upgraded and have been issued a CSCE marked for upgrade." A CSCE is good for 365 days from the date of issuance, no exceptions. Henderson also emphasizes that those who qualified as Technician licensees under the examination regime in place from March 21, 1987, until April 15, 2000, do not get General class Element 3 credit on that basis. For starters, he said, the "old" Element 3 is not the same as the current Element 3. "When the Novice and Advanced examination elements went away, the FCC renumbered the elements," he pointed out. "Those who passed Element 3 from March 21, 1987 until April 15, 2000, qualified for the Technician license, and the exam was not the same as the current Element 3 General element test." Applicants upgrading at a test session on or after February 23 on the basis of a valid CSCE must present the certificate for element credit, fill out an application and pay any applicable exam session fee, which most VECs charge. Between now and then, Henderson points out, upgrade applicants still have the option of passing the 5 WPM Element 1 Morse code test in addition to the General or Amateur Extra written tests. Technician licensees who have not passed a Morse code examination automatically gain new privileges on February 23 without having to apply at an exam session. But they're the only ones. On that date, all Novices and Technicians will have equal privileges on HF: CW on parts of 80, 40 and 15 meters, and CW, SSB and data on parts of 10 meters. No other license classes get automatic upgrades or new privileges on February 23. The ARRL Volunteer Examiner Coordinator (ARRL VEC) reports that business has been very brisk since the FCC announced the new rules dropping the Morse requirement for any Amateur Radio license. "We're avalanched," said Assistant ARRL VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O. "Sessions are going onto the schedule fast and furious. They're all waiting for that magic date of February 23." ARRL VEC has hired extra personnel to deal with the anticipated post-February 23 application onslaught. ARRL VEC Manager Maria Somma, AB1FM, says the VEC typically schedules some 5500 exam sessions a year. By the end of January, some 3500 were already on this year's calendar with more pouring in every day. Sales of ARRL Amateur Radio licensing materials also are up dramatically. 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/>. ==>AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS SUPPORT TORNADO RELIEF OPERATION When deadly tornados struck Central Florida early Friday, February 2, Amateur Radio volunteers turned out to assist emergency managers and relief organizations to supplement communication and offer other support. The National Weather Service (NWS) rated two of the three twisters as EF-3 events -- 160-165 MPH winds -- on the new "Enhanced Fujita Scale." Since they hit in the early-morning hours, the tornadoes took many residents by surprise. They left behind a landscape of downed trees and extensive structural damage in at least four Florida counties and claimed 20 lives -- most within the tornado's first two minutes, authorities say. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) and SKYWARN volunteers were active in Lake, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties -- all designated as federal disaster areas. "It's likely to take a long time to recover from this," observed Sparky Leger, N1YLQ, a Red Cross and SKYWARN volunteer in Volusia County, where an EF-1 tornado -- 100-105 MPH -- hit. "Seeing some of the damage during a drive-through, honestly, we're not sure how people managed to survive." He shared his experiences last weekend with members of the VoIP Hurricane Prep Net <http://www.voipwx.net/>. An estimated 1500 dwellings were badly damaged or destroyed in the four-county region. Devastation was widespread. Sumter County ARES Emergency Coordinator JT Fleming, W3GQJ, who says the storm affected only a portion of his county. "Sumter County was very lucky in that the majority of the homes affected were all built in the last two years to the current Florida 110 miles-per-hour standard," he noted. "Lake County that borders on the east side had much greater destruction because the tornado hit a mobile home community." All 20 deaths occurred in Lake County. Some 20 Sumter County ARES volunteers responded over the course of the weekend to support communication between the county emergency operations center (EOC) and shelters. Many residents opted to remain at their damaged properties, although some are staying with family or friends or in public accommodations. By all accounts, Amateur Radio communication support was largely unneeded because the cellular telephone network remained operational, although it did get overloaded at times. ARES teams stood by to fill the gaps if needed. Irv Butler, KB1E, was among those volunteering in hard-hit Lake County. "We are providing comms to The Salvation Army meals relief teams," he told ARRL Northern Florida Section Emergency Coordinator Joe Bushel, W2DWR, over the weekend. He said the county emergency management staff had expressed appreciation for the Amateur Radio assistance. ARES/RACES volunteers from Seminole and Lake counties installed a backup repeater in Paisley to restore radio communication for Lake County Fire and Rescue. Volusia County EC Fred Magliacane, KF4VRS, reports the adjacent KE8MR 145.23 MHz repeater was abruptly taken off the air after the storm toppled the 1500-foot commercial radio tower that had supported the repeater's antenna. The repeater typically serves the East Central District ARES during disasters. "Over the past few years we have learned that we cannot always rely on repeaters," Magliacane says. "We have trained our members to use simplex if and when the repeaters fail. One net a month we have a simplex net, and sometimes during the regular nets, we turn off the repeaters to see if our members remember to go to simplex." ==>W1AW SPECIAL EVENT, MIDNIGHT EXAM SESSIONS TO MARK NEW AMATEUR RULES As new Amateur Radio Service rules phase in Friday, February 23, eliminating the Morse code requirement, Hiram Percy Maxim Memorial Station W1AW will mark the milestone with a weekend-long special event. In addition, a number of Central Connecticut volunteer examiners will be on hand at ARRL Headquarters -- both before and after the new rules become effective at 12:01 AM EST -- to offer Amateur Radio examinations under the current and new rules. ARRL Regulatory Information Specialist Dan Henderson, N1ND, is helping to coordinate the celebration. He says Headquarters staff and other volunteers will keep W1AW active for the "Welcome Weekend" event. "W1AW will be on the air all weekend for this special event to celebrate the fact that so many amateurs have gained or will earn new privileges as a result of the rule changes," he said. "The station will operate starting at 12:01 AM Eastern Time on Friday, February 23, continuing into the wee hours and resuming operation during the day. Then W1AW will be on the air on both days of the weekend, from 10 AM until 5 PM -- perhaps longer as conditions and enthusiasm dictate." Operation will be on both SSB and CW. W1AW operators will concentrate their activities on the Technician and General class HF subbands. On SSB, the station will use its normal phone frequencies -- 1.811, 3.990, 7.290, 14.290, 18.160 and 21.390 MHz. On 10 meters, W1AW will operate SSB on or about 28.480 MHz. Henderson says operating will be casual unless pileups develop. "The purpose is to welcome newcomers to new privileges," he said. "First Contact" certificates will be available as part of this event. ARRL invites anyone making a first contact or first HF contact to enter the contact information on the ARRL "Welcome Weekend" Web site <http://www.arrl.org/HFWelcome/> and receive a certificate in return. "If the first contact is with W1AW we will also be including a W1AW QSL card for the contact," Henderson added. The ARRL anticipates a huge influx of upgrade applications once the Morse code requirement disappears. In addition, all Technician licensees will have limited HF privileges starting February 23, whether or not they've passed a Morse code test. Amateur Radio exam sessions both before and after the zero hour will offer an opportunity for applicants either to upgrade under the outgoing licensing rules at the last possible opportunity or under the new licensing rules at the first possible opportunity. "Dual exam sessions are scheduled at ARRL Headquarters around the effective time of the new licensing rules," says Brennan Price, N4QX, a former ARRL staff member and an ARRL VEC volunteer examiner. "At 11 PM on February 22, a session will be held for candidates wishing to upgrade under the existing rules. A few folks have expressed interest in such a session." Price says all Amateur Radio written and telegraphy elements will be offered until midnight. "At 12:01 AM February 23, a second session will begin under the new licensing rules," he said. "Examiners will not only be evaluating previously earned Certificates of Successful Completion of Exam (CSCEs) for upgrades, but will be offering all written elements." Two teams of volunteer examiners will be on site until all applicants have been served. On or after February 23, applicants upgrading on the basis of a valid CSCE must present the certificate for element credit, fill out an application and pay any applicable exam session fee, which most VECs charge. Only after the VE team has issued a CSCE for upgrade credit may applicants actually use their new operating privileges on the air. Additional details and more information will be available on the ARRL Web site in the days leading up to February 23. ==>FCC NOW PROCESSING AMATEUR RADIO VANITY CALL SIGN BACKLOG The FCC has resumed processing new Amateur Radio vanity call sign applications. An initial stab at whittling down the backlog began February 8 -- five weeks to the day after the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) issued the last vanity call sign prior to the resumption. The Commission stopped processing new vanity call sign applications received on or after December 18 while it readied the Universal Licensing System (ULS) <http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls/> vanity application software to accommodate a December 15 rule change to discourage the filing of multiple applications for the same call sign. The FCC has continued to accept new vanity applications and to process vanity renewals. A WTB staff member, speaking on background, told ARRL the Commission could wrap up backlog processing and be back on track by next week. "We've resumed processing, and by next week we'll be caught up," said the staffer, who conceded that the FCC's ULS software had not been fully tested to ensure it could deal with the multiple-applications issue when the new rule's December 15 effective date rolled around. "We knew the date was coming, but the software wasn't quite ready." The staff member indicated the Commission could complete processing of applications that have been sitting in the queue as early as Monday, February 12. As of February 9, the WTB appeared to have granted some 125 vanity call sign applications submitted between December 18 and December 22. Another 500 or so applications remain in the queue. The FCC this week also issued a public notice to announce the formal implementation of the multiple applications rule, §97.19(a)(1), effective February 8. The notice said the ULS would limit individuals to filing only one vanity call sign application on the same day. "In the case where an applicant files multiple vanity call sign applications on the same day, only the first-filed application will be considered for the process, and the additional applications will be dismissed," the FCC said. "This new process will eliminate the possibility of an applicant having more than one application for the same call sign being considered on any one day." The WTB staff member told ARRL that while the FCC knew the ULS software wasn't ready to handle multiple applications on December 15, it went ahead and processed vanity application receipts for December 15, 16 and 17 after determining that no one had filed multiple applications on those dates. The December 18 applications did include at least one such application, however. "Once we received multiple applications for the same call sign, we knew we had to suspend processing," the FCC staffer explained. The Commission is likely to receive an avalanche of new vanity call sign applications after February 23, when elimination of the Morse code examination requirement is expected to spur a massive influx of license upgrades. The FCC is processing new vanity call sign applications now in the queue in the order 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 current vanity call sign fee, payable for new applications as well as renewals, is $20.80 for the 10-year license term. ==>YOUNGSTERS IN CANADA AND NEBRASKA GET ANSWERS FROM SPACE VIA HAM RADIO Youngsters at a museum in Ottawa, Canada, and an Indian Reservation school in Nebraska joined a long and growing list of students who've had the chance to speak with the International Space Station crew via Amateur Radio. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program arranged the contacts between NA1SS and VE3JW at the Canada Science and Technology Museum on January 24, and KB0GEH at Winnebago Public School on January 25. Expedition 14 Flight Engineer Suni Williams, KD5PLB, greeted the students from École Élémentaire Publique Le Prélude in both English and French. One of the kindergarten through sixth graders wondered what Williams enjoyed most about being in space. "I think what I like the most is the view of the earth and also floating around," Williams responded. "Floating is really fun. You can do flips in the air, and it's just incredible." Williams told the students that doing a spacewalk "is amazing, because the spacesuit is like its own little spacecraft, and you have a 360-degree view of not only the earth but also the galaxy and all of the stars." Among the things she misses in space is her dog "Gorby," named after former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. She explained that it took her a little time after arriving to become comfortable about living in microgravity. "I finally am able to do multiple tasks at once and not forget things," she said, "so it's taken me really a while to figure it out -- probably a month." All told, Williams was able to answer 20 of the students' questions during the nearly 10-minute ISS pass. The audience of 175 included two members of Parliament, an Ottawa city councilor, the chairman of the Ottawa School Board and Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) President Earle Smith, VE6NM. Media outlets -- both French and English-language -- included four TV stations to cover the event. Steve McFarlane, VE3BTD, was the ARISS-Canada mentor for the contact. The following day, in what may have marked the first ARISS school contact with students on a US Indian Reservation, 20 grade 2 through grade 11 students attending Nebraska's Winnebago Public School posed their questions to Williams, who managed to handle 19 out of 20 during the pass. Every participant was able to ask at least one question. The youngsters' curiosity ran the gamut, from "space dirt" to "space junk." Members of the Siouxland Amateur Radio Association volunteered their time and expertise to set up the Earth station at the school. Math and science teacher Terresa Greenleaf, KB0GEH, loaned her call sign for the occasion. A Sioux City, Iowa, TV station reported on the event, including interviews with the students, and The Sioux City Journal also covered the contact, said ARISS Mentor Keith Pugh, W5IU. Other students and members of the Winnebago Public School faculty also were on hand. teacher, and media. ARISS <http://www.rac.ca/ariss> is an international educational outreach with US participation by ARRL, AMSAT and NASA. ==>FSDXA ST BRANDON (3B7) DXPEDITION RECEIVES ARRL COLVIN AWARD A planned September DXpedition to St Brandon (3B7) will benefit from a $5000 ARRL Colvin Award support grant. The Five Star DXers Association (FSDXA) team is scheduled to operate as 3B7C <http://www.3b7c.com/> from Isle du Sud from September 7 until September 24. Located in the Indian Ocean, St Brandon (Cargados Shoals) is part of the Republic of Mauritius and was number 45 overall on the latest available most-wanted list of DXCC entities, although West Coast US DXers put it at number 18. "Although we recognize that St Brandon is not terribly high on the 'Most Wanted List' and that there will be another operation prior to yours, we believe the Five Star operation will outshine all others," said a letter to 3B7C joint team leader Neville Cheadle, G3NUG, from then-Colvin Award Committee Chair Wayne Mills, N7NG. "We are confident that the Five Star group will fill a need by making this country available to many who might not be able to get into the log of a more-focused operation." A recent 3B7C DXpedition bulletin by Don Field, G3XTT, reported that two FSDXA members already have visited Mauritius to set up logistics for the September St Brandon operation and that all necessary permits and licenses were in hand. The team will need to transport some six tons of equipment and supplies by boat. "There is still a lot to be done, but we are all looking forward to putting another rare one on the air," Field said. Mills had suggested that the 3B7C DXpedition could be the first "to focus on those operators who are not as capable with Morse," given the elimination of the Morse code requirement for HF access in the US and elsewhere. Field said the team would be only too happy to comply. "We will ensure, once we are on the island, that we publicize our operating schedules such that inexperienced CW operators can maximize their chances of a contact," he said. In addition to the Colvin Award grant, other support for the 3B7C outing has come from the Northern California DX Foundation (NDXF), the Chiltern DX Club (CDXC) in the UK and the UK DX Foundation. Corporate donors of equipment include Yaesu, as principal sponsor, as well as Titanex. Yaesu will provide a dozen FT-2000 transceivers and six VL1000 linear amplifiers as well as monoband Yagis for all bands 30 through 6 meters. Tinanex-supplied verticals will cover 160, 80 and 40. Up to 20 world-class operators, most from the UK and the US, are expected to handle the pileups from 12 operating positions. The FSDXA says that, given the low point in the sunspot cycle, the 3B7C team will concentrate on the low bands. It's hoping to log in excess of 100,000 QSOs during its stay. The Colvin Award was established in 1994 with the proceeds of a life insurance policy purchased by Lloyd Colvin, W6KG (SK), 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, renowned DXers Lloyd Colvin and his wife Iris, W6QL, activated more than 100 DXCC entities. Lloyd Colvin died in 1993 and Iris Colvin in 1998. ==>SOLAR UPDATE Solar Fluxmeister Tad "Little Miss Sunshine" Cook, K7RA, Seattle, Washington, reports: Average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux were up this week, while average daily geomagnetic indices were down. Geomagnetic activity should increase until Tuesday, February 13. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts quiet to unsettled conditions for February 9, quiet conditions on February 10, unsettled to active February 11, unsettled February 12, active geomagnetic conditions on February 13, unsettled to active on February 14, and February 15 unsettled. Now as we move toward mid-February, we are farther from the "darkest day" of the year and halfway toward the spring equinox -- a good time for HF propagation. Sunspot numbers for February 1 through 7 were 31, 36, 35, 28, 25, 23 and 23, with a mean of 28.7. The 10.7 cm flux was 89.9, 90.3, 87.3, 83.7, 83, 81.9, and 82, with a mean of 85.4. Estimated planetary A indices were 8, 2, 3, 2, 6, 8 and 10, with a mean of 5.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 7, 2, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8, with a mean of 4.3. 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 WW RTTY WPX Contest, the Asia-Pacific Spring Sprint (CW), the KCJ Top Band Contest, the Dutch PACC Contest, the YLRL YL-OM Contest (SSB), the British Columbia QSO Challenge, the FISTS Winter Sprint, the RSGB First 1.8 MHz Contest (CW) and the North American Sprint (CW) are the weekend of February 10-11. The ARRL School Club Roundup runs from February 12 until February 16. The NAQCC Straight Key/Bug Sprint, the AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening and the RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (Data) are February 14. JUST AHEAD: The ARRL International DX Contest (CW) is the weekend of February 17-18. The Run for the Bacon QRP Contest is February 19. The RSGB 80-Meter Club Championship (CW) is February 22. 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 Sunday, February 18, for these ARRL Certification and Continuing Education (CCE) <http://www.arrl.org/cce> online courses beginning Friday, March 2: Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level 1 (EC-001), Radio Frequency Interference (EC-006), Antenna Design and Construction (EC-009), ARRL Ham Radio License Course (EC-010), Analog Electronics (EC-012) and Digital Electronics (EC-013). These courses will also open for registration Friday, February 16, for classes beginning Friday, April 6. To learn more, visit the CCE Course Listing page <http://www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html> or contact the CCE Department <cce@arrl.org>. * Mike Caughran, KL7R, SK: Well-known low-power (QRP) and homebrewing enthusiast Michael S. "Mike" Caughran, KL7R, of Juneau, Alaska, died January 22 of injuries suffered in an automobile accident in Hawaii. He was 51. Caughran may be best known as one-half of the team -- with Bill Meara, N2CQR/M0HBR -- that created and produced the weekly SolderSmoke podcast <http://www.soldersmoke.com/>. "I think people were drawn in by Mike's friendly voice and manner," Meara commented on a memorial page for KL7R <https://kiwi.state.ak.us/display/mc/Home>. A member of ARRL and the Juneau Amateur Radio Club, Caughran also wrote articles for the Michigan QRP Club's T5W newsletter and he was an active ham radio contester. "Mike was one of those people who you instantly like because of his honest, straightforward and humble way of talking and expressing ideas," said Mike Hall, WB8ICN, who edits T5W. "His co-hosting of SolderSmoke provided me hours and hours of enjoyment." Caughran was an IT professional with the State of Alaska. Survivors include his wife and son. * M. Walter Maxwell, W2DU, wins January QST Cover Plaque Award: The winner of the QST Cover Plaque Award for January is M. Walter Maxwell, W2DU, for his article "How the FCC Helped to End World War II." Congratulations, Walter! The winner of the QST Cover Plaque award -- given to the author or authors of the best article in each issue -- is determined by a vote of ARRL members on the QST Cover Plaque Poll Web page <http://www.arrl.org/members-only/QSTvote.html>. Cast a ballot for your favorite article in the February issue by Wednesday, February 28. * Microwave Update 2007 sets schedule, issues first call for papers: Microwave Update 2007 will take place Thursday through Saturday, October 18-20, in historic Valley Forge Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, sponsored by the Mt Airy VHF Radio Club. Registration, accommodation and program information is available on the Microwave Update 2007 Web site <http://www.microwaveupdate.org/>. Register by September 1 and save! Papers, articles and presentations are invited on topics related to microwave theory, construction, communication, deployment, propagation, antennas, activity, transmitters, receivers, components, amplifiers, communication modes, LASER and practical experiences are welcome. Submit abstracts in MS-Word or as a PDF by June 1 and completed papers, articles and presentations (diagrams, photos and illustrations preferably in black and white; color accepted) by August 15 to Paul Drexler, W2PED, 28 W Squan Rd, Clarksburg, NJ 08510 <pdrexler@hotmail.com>. * DXCC Desk approves operations for DXCC credit: The ARRL DXCC Desk has approved these operations for DXCC credit: VU7LD -- Lakshadweep Islands, operation December 1-30, 2006; VU7RG -- Lakshadweep Islands, operation January 14-26, 2007; ZL9BSJ/P -- Auckland and Campbell Island, operation of September 12, 2006; 5A7A -- Libya, operation November 15-30, 2006; YU6AO -- Montenegro, operation effective June 28, 2006. For more information, visit the DXCC Web page <http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/>. "DXCC Frequently Asked Questions" can answer most questions about the DXCC program. * We stand corrected! In The ARRL Letter, Vol 26, No 05, February 2, 2007, the news brief "DXCC Desk approves operation for DXCC credit" contained incorrect information. DXCC credit for VU7LD - Lakshadweep Islands covers December 1-30, 2006, operation (see above item). =========================================================== 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. 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