***************
The ARRL Letter
Vol. 20, No. 38
September 21, 2001
***************

IN THIS EDITION:

* +New York ARES/RACES volunteers in good spirits
* +Pentagon ARES team stands down
* +ARRL treats FCC to ham radio up close and personal
* +Georgia hams come "up north" to help
* +Brand-new ham is youngest volunteer
* +FCC prohibits automatic control on LA repeater
* +Florida ARES and SKYWARN turn out for storm duty
*  Solar Update
*  IN BRIEF: 
     This weekend on the radio
     Sign up for Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level II course
     Vietnam War veteran Bill Ruth, W3HRD, killed in Pentagon attack
     AMSAT-NA announces election results
     Disney special event postponed until December
     George Jacobs, W3ASK, to step down as CQ propagation editor
     Guatemala gets 70 cm back
     Kuwait authorizes 9K2USA call sign
     Special event station K5MFJ to commemorate MFJ's 30th anniversary
     Ten-Tec opens retail store, full-line dealership
     WWV survey deadline near

+Available on ARRL Audio News

===========================================================

==>WORLD TRADE CENTER AMATEUR RADIO VOLUNTEERS BEARING UP WELL

New York Amateur Radio Emergency Service and Radio Amateur Civil Emergency
Service volunteers generally are in good spirits, but tired, says New York
City-Long Island Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Carrubba, KA2D. "The mood
is positive," he said, more than a week into the grim reality of the World
Trade Center attack response. "Overall, it's going very, very well.
Everybody's settling into the routine of the operation."

Two dozen or more hams per shift are covering communications and logistical
support for the American Red Cross as well as supplementing communication
for the New York City Office of Emergency Management. "It's a great effort
every day, 24/7, and it's expanding as we get more requests." A single,
multi-purpose ARES/RACES net is being maintained on the 147.000 MHz repeater
in Manhattan. New York City District Emergency Coordinator and RACES Radio
Officer Charles Hargrove, N2NOV, is serving as the incident commander.

At this point, Carrubba said, the need for volunteers is being largely
covered by amateurs from the Greater New York City Area--which includes New
York City and Long Island, Eastern New York, Connecticut and Northern New
Jersey. Hams have volunteered from all over, however, including at least
eight Delaware-Lehigh Amateur Radio Club members from from Pennsylvania's
Lehigh Valley.

Hams are deployed to 13 American Red Cross shelters, two OEM sites, several
staging areas, and Red Cross headquarters, and as net controls. At any given
time, up to a half dozen amateurs are posted just outside the secure
perimeter of the so-called "Ground Zero" World Trade Center site, where
Carrubba described conditions as "terrible." Volunteers there have been
asked to provide respirators and other protective clothing. Shifts at all
locations are 12 hours long.

Carrubba explained that Amateur Radio volunteers are being rotated in and
out of areas and duties in an effort to equalize the stress. "The first 30
or 40 hours everybody does 'the iron man act,' I call it, because they're
running on adrenaline," he said. After that, everyone gets some rest and
unwinds a little bit. "The people that are going back are fresh," he said.

Since September 11, more than 350 hams have volunteered in excess of 5000
work hours. 

Carrubba anticipates the Amateur Radio support operations to continue for
some time to come, since the normal telecommunications systems remain
disrupted or problematic. "The communications in the shelter are being used
like telephones," he said. Telephone service is available, but it can take
15 or 20 tries to get a call through. Carrubba said net traffic has been
substantial, although there are occasional lulls.

Many more volunteers will be needed before the ARES and RACES operation
stands down "Right now our task is a long-term effort, Carrubba said. "The
schedule is being filled in on a day-by-day basis." To date, more than 200
individuals have signed up via the World Trade Center Disaster Relief
Communications Web site, <http://wtc.ab2m.net>;.

Carrubba expects that Amateur Radio assistance might be needed at least
another week and possibly longer. "As long as there's a need for
communications, we will be there," he said.

In the meantime, REACT International is seeking additional Amateur Radio and
licensed GMRS users, primarily to support the Salvation Army's relief
efforts in New York. "We still need volunteers," said REACT International
Secretary Lee Besing, N5NTG, who added that some shifts on Wednesday went
unfilled. "They're burning out and having to return to their jobs," he said.
REACT is now running 20 volunteers per shift. Volunteers should visit the
REACT International Web site,
<http://www.reactintl.org/tragedy_09112001.htm>; or contact Charles Bessels,
<NYCHelp@reactintl.org>;.

==>PENTAGON ARES TEAM STANDS DOWN

The team managed by Virginia Amateur Radio Emergency Service to support the
Salvation Army's disaster relief operation at the Pentagon stood down this
week. Virginia Section Emergency Coordinator Tom Gregory, N4NW, thanked all
who volunteered and turned out to assist following the September 11
terrorist attack.

"With the changes in security, increased shift times and, most of all, the
ability of the Salvation Army to [now] manage their support operations via
telephone, the need for Amateur Radio has ended," Gregory said. "The support
provided here in Virginia, by the hams in New York--where operations
continue--and in Pennsylvania clearly demonstrates the resolve and
commitment by so many hams to meet the needs of our fellow Americans at this
time of great tragedy."

The ARES operation--with Tom Harmon, AK1E, as incident commander--provided
logistical support between the Salvation Army's relief and recovery effort
on site and the agency's Arlington headquarters. The Salvation Army has been
providing food and refreshments to the crews engaged in the Pentagon
investigation and recovery operations. Gregory said many of the more than
100 volunteers who reported for duty between September 11 and September 18
gave up time with their families and their jobs. In a few cases, he said, he
even wrote letters to employers requesting that volunteers be allowed time
off to work the incident.

"Amateur Radio performed exactly as it was supposed to," Gregory said. "We
responded to the need to provide communications where none were available."
He said the Virginia ARES organization stands ready to jump in again "at a
moment's notice" if the need arises.

Another amateur team consisting of Mt Vernon Amateur Radio Club and
Arlington County Amateur Radio Club members was providing communication and
technical support to the American Red Cross relief effort at the Pentagon
site. Arlington County ARES Emergency Coordinator Alan Bosch, KO4ALA, said
his team was running shifts from 8 AM through 1 AM each day, and he expected
the operation to continue at least through week's end.

ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, visited members of the Pentagon ARES team
on Monday, September 17. Gregory said he appreciated Haynie's encouragement
at a difficult time. Haynie was accompanied by ARRL First Vice President
Joel Harrison, W5ZN, FCC Special Counsel for Amateur Radio Enforcement Riley
Hollingsworth, and ARRL Virginia Section Manager Carl Clements, W4CAC.

==>ARRL "AMATEUR RADIO DEMO AND EDUCATION DAY" WOWS FCC

The ARRL this week took Amateur Radio's message directly to FCC Headquarters
in Washington, DC. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, said the idea behind
the ARRL's "Amateur Radio Demo and Education Day" September 18 was to foster
a positive view of the Amateur Service--especially with three new
commissioners on board who may not be familiar with ham radio and the issues
it faces.

"The FCC is bombarded with paper every day in the form of filings,
briefings, backgrounders and other print materials," said Haynie, who
masterminded the demonstration. "So our purpose was to let the commissioners
and their staff get out of the 'paper chase' for awhile and see Amateur
Radio up close."

The "demo" part of the event included a fully operational HF Amateur Radio
station, which was used to make several contacts, a selection of low-profile
antennas, a PSK31 setup, and a software-defined radio designed and built by
Bob Larkin, W7PUA--and featured in QST
<http://www.proaxis.com/~boblark/dsp10.htm>;. The "education" facet comprised
informational graphics throughout the room that depicted such topics as
Amateur Radio disaster communication, the Amateur Radio on the International
Space Station (ARISS) program, and deed covenants, conditions and
restrictions--or CC&Rs--as they affect hams subjected to private land-use
regulations. One surprisingly popular poster featured a description of radio
wave propagation. A videotape loop on Kid's Day ran all day long.

The event gave Haynie the chance to chat at length about Amateur Radio
issues with FCC Chairman Michael Powell, commissioners Kathleen Abernathy,
Michael Copps, and Kevin Martin, and key FCC staffers.

Equally enthusiastic was ARRL First Vice President Joel Harrison, W5ZN, who
also represented ARRL at the event. "We wanted to show the continuing--and
maybe even growing--importance of Amateur Radio to the nation's
telecommunications infrastructure, and to demonstrate our role in
technological development and emergency communication," Harrison said.

And that latter aspect did raise a somber note, as the Amateur Radio
demonstration took place only days after the World Trade Center and Pentagon
attacks. Powell asked the FCC to "go on with the show," because of his
commitment to keeping the FCC running on a business-as-usual basis during
the national crisis. News of the tragic situation still pouring in
underscored Amateur Radio's value in providing emergency assistance.

Haynie said the highlight of the event was the interest and involvement of
Chairman Powell and his staff as well as the opportunity personally to meet
the other three new commissioners. Haynie said that some commissioners
seemed particularly interested in information on Amateur Radio antenna
installations that had been erected under the "reasonable accommodation"
provision of PRB-1.

Haynie said he was especially pleased that every commissioner and nearly all
FCC department heads turned out with their staff members--nearly 100
visitors in all. Chairman Powell spent considerable time examining every
display and asked for a personal demonstration of the PSK31 equipment. He
was also interested in Amateur Radio involvement in rescue efforts at the
World Trade Center and Pentagon disaster sites and how the Amateur Radio
Emergency Service operates.

ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay said he was pleased to see that people did
not just "cruise through" but stayed to discuss various issues and topics.
Imlay said the event set the stage for future productive discussions with
the FCC on a number of important Amateur Radio issues.

On behalf of the ARRL contingent, Haynie deemed the day a huge success.
"This was the first time we have ever had such an opportunity, and in our
collective opinions it was very successful!" he said.--Steve Mansfield,
N1MZA

==>GEORGIA HAMS SUPPORT SOUTHERN BAPTIST RELIEF EFFORT IN NYC

A group of Georgia amateurs has accompanied Southern Baptist Convention
Disaster Relief crews to the New York City area in the wake of last week's
terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. The hams are providing
communications support to the Convention's mobile kitchens and shower units,
deployed last week at the request of the Federal Emergency Management
Agency.

The communications van of the Chattahoochee Baptist Association Amateur
Radio team is stationed at a staging area at the Raritan Valley Baptist
Church in Edison, New Jersey. Operating as W4CBA, the volunteers in Edison
are utilizing the nearby New Jersey Institute of Technology Amateur Radio
Club's K2MFF 147.225 MHz repeater in Newark to communicate with deployed
kitchens and showers in the Brooklyn Naval Yard and near Ground Zero in
Manhattan. Amateurs are accompanying volunteers from eight states into the
field as they serve meals to relief workers and displaced residents.

According to Jackie Whitlock, N4JJW, the call from FEMA came on Wednesday.
By last Friday, two kitchens had been deployed, with a third unit in reserve
at Edison. In their first 36 hours on the scene, 89 volunteers had served
more than 7500 meals at the Manhattan and Brooklyn sites.

The Chattahoochee Baptist Association has been supporting Southern Baptist
Convention relief efforts since 1996.

==>THE YOUNGEST VOLUNTEER

Ten-year-old Beverly Holtz of Huntington, Long Island, New York, was
distraught after hearing of the tragedy at the World Trade Center.

"I slowly explained what the news footage meant," said her father Fred
Holtz, K2PSY. "The first thing she said was that she wanted to help." 

Neither of them realized just how soon she would get the chance.

About six years ago Fred Holtz revived his interested in Amateur Radio. Soon
his young daughter showed an interest in the hobby. Together they studied
the electronics and Beverly was especially interested in the questions on
emergency procedures. 

"I told her that they were very important and you never knew when you would
need them," Holtz said. 

Father and daughter joined the local radio club and started going to
meetings. Eventually she took the FCC exam for the Technician license and
passed! She couldn't wait for her license to arrive and was ready to get on
the air. 

Beverly's new ticket finally arrived Friday, September 14, and she was
officially KC2IKT. The next day she and her dad were running errands in the
car, listening to an emergency net being run on a local repeater, when they
heard a call go out for volunteers to staff a shelter as part of the
response to the World Trade Center attack. 

"We can do that!" Beverly told her dad. Fred Holtz called net control and
explained that his daughter was only 10 and wanted to help. 

"No problem," they were told. That afternoon they reported to the Red Cross
shelter in Valley Stream, New York. Some 40 European students were staying
at the shelter after being stranded when flights were cancelled at the
nearby airports in New York City. 

Using her dad's hand-held transceiver, Beverly answered questions from net
control, relayed health-and-welfare traffic and was the only radio operator
for the entire eight-hour shift. 

"I was very impressed that [net control] treated her as an equal and that
she was able to do it," her dad said. "She really had a trial by fire!" 

Beverly said that the eight hours seemed like one hour. "I can't wait to do
more," she said. "It made me feel good to help."--Diane Ortiz, K2DO

==>FCC PROHIBITS AUTOMATIC CONTROL ON LA AREA REPEATER

The FCC has terminated the automatic control privileges of the W6NUT
repeater in the Los Angeles, California, area until further notice. An FCC
review into the repeater's operation initiated last winter followed
allegations that the licensee or control operator failed to address "long
periods of jamming by users, broadcasting, music playing as well as a
plethora of other violations."

The latest chapter in the W6NUT saga followed a September 7 letter to
repeater owner Kathryn Tucker, AA6TK, from FCC Special Counsel for Amateur
Radio Enforcement Riley Hollingsworth. Hollingsworth specifically cited
incidents of alleged rules violations in early February on W6NUT and
reiterated that extensive monitoring of W6NUT showed "no evidence that a
control operator even exists for this repeater." The FCC also has reported
receiving numerous complaints about W6NUT.

In her reply to the FCC, Tucker identified her husband, Roy Tucker, N6TK, as
the primary control operator "24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks out of
the year." But elsewhere in her response, Tucker noted that he was not on
duty during the alleged misbehavior in early February that prompted the FCC
review. Tucker also told the FCC that it was not the repeater's policy "to
attempt to remove unruly operators" from using W6NUT. As for complaints,
Tucker told the FCC that the W6NUT policy was to let them "go in one ear and
out the other."

The rules do "not exempt the repeater station licensee from responsibility
for the proper operation of his or her station or allow a repeater station
licensee to ignore complaints, Hollingsworth wrote. "Given your response, it
is evident that you do not understand the duties of a control operator." 

Hollingsworth asked Kathryn Tucker to document her designation of Roy Tucker
as the W6NUT control operator, and he noted that the rules hold licensee and
control operator "equally responsible for the proper operation of the
station." Automatic control does not absolve the licensee or control
operator of the responsibility for illegal or improper conduct that airs,
Hollingsworth explained. While there's an exception for inadvertent
communications that violate the rules, he said, FCC rules do not consider
improper or illegal conduct that's repetitive or continues for hours or days
to be inadvertent.

Hollingsworth requested that the licensee or the control operator conduct a
time and usage study of W6NUT's operation for 14 consecutive 24-hour periods
to demonstrate that the repeater can comply with FCC rules without a control
operator on duty. The repeater may continue to operate using remote or local
control in the meantime.

As a result of the early February incident, Gregory S. Cook, ex-KC6USO, of
Chico, turned in his license, and the FCC ordered Ted R. Sorensen III,
KC6PQW, of Agoura Hills off all repeaters on the 144, 222, or 440-MHz bands
for the next three years.

==>HAMS ACTIVATE AS GABRIELLE SWEEPS ACROSS FLORIDA

Florida amateurs provided the National Weather Service with real-time
reports as Tropical Storm Gabrielle swept across Florida September 14.
Amateurs staffed the Ruskin National Weather Service Amateur Radio station
WX4TBW starting at 9 PM on September 13 and remained on duty throughout the
storm's passage.

Damage reports began streaming in as Gabrielle approached Florida's west
coast September 14. SKYWARN spotters from Sarasota and Manatee counties
reported wind gusts as high as 74 MPH. Flooding generated by Gabrielle also
forced an undetermined number of people from their homes in DeSoto, Hardee
and Hillsborough counties.

Nets were established to pass critical information to the National Weather
Service and to handle local and regional ARES activities. Several shelters
were staffed by ARES operators throughout the ARRL West Central Florida
Section. According to West Central Florida Section Manager Dave Armbrust,
AE4MR, area hams took the event in stride.

"No big deal, our amateurs have been doing exactly this for years," Armbrust
said. "Tropical storms and hurricanes are yearly events for ARES groups
here. There is little need for us to do an annual SET as we generally get
the real thing."

Armbrust was asked if anything made this particular storm different. "The
massive loss of power kind of hit us by surprise," he said, "but it does
prove how important emergency power is to ARES." More than 250,000
Floridians lost power at least temporarily, but operations on the
wide-coverage K4WCF repeater continued for nearly eight hours on emergency
power.

"The flooding and wind actually took three repeaters off the air, but the
ARES groups had trained for the loss of repeaters, and they did not miss a
beat," Armbrust said. 

While Gabrielle weakened as it moved eastward across the Florida peninsula,
it still packed a punch. After passing over Florida, Gabrielle reached
Hurricane strength over the Atlantic. The storm continued northeastward off
the US and Canadian Coasts before becoming extratropical south of
Newfoundland on September 19. The Hurricane Watch Net was not activated at
any time.

==>SOLAR UPDATE

Solar maven Tad Cook, K7VVV, Seattle, Washington, reports: Solar flux and
sunspot numbers are in a general upward trend since the beginning of August.
Average daily solar flux was down almost 23 points, and sunspot averages
were off nearly 43 points, when compared to the previous week.

The autumn equinox is Saturday, September 22, and right now is the best time
for HF propagation in many months. Ten meters is getting really good at this
time of year and will get better--at least in the northern
hemisphere--during October and November.

Looking at average sunspot numbers for the past two weeks, this could be the
best fall equinox of the current cycle for HF propagation. Average daily
sunspot numbers from September 6-19 were 220, but for the same period last
year, it was only 113, and 132 in 1999. We haven't had sunspot counts this
high prior to the fall equinox since the peak of the last solar cycle, when
the average daily sunspot number was 219 from September 6-19, 1989.
Predicted solar flux for Friday through the middle of next week is around
230.

Sunspot numbers for September 13 through 19 were 223, 216, 183, 169, 159,
215 and 224, with a mean of 198.4. The 10.7-cm flux was 239.7, 236.6, 219.3,
207.1, 199.1, 203.8 and 198.8, with a mean of 214.9. Estimated planetary A
indices were 18, 10, 15, 8, 10, 8 and 8, with a mean of 11.

__________________________________

==>IN BRIEF:

* This weekend on the radio: The Scandinavian Activity Contest (SSB) and the
Radio Club Panama XXX Anniversary Contest are the weekend of September
22-23. JUST AHEAD: The CQ WW RTTY Contest, and the Louisiana, Texas and
Alabama QSO parties are September 29-30 weekend. See the ARRL Contest Branch
page, http://www.arrl.org/contests/ and
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/weeklycont.html for more info.

* Sign up for Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Level II course:
Registration begins Monday, September 24, at 4 PM Eastern Time for the
on-line ARRL Level II-Intermediate Emergency Communications Course (EC-002).
Visit the ARRL Certification and Continuing Education Registration Page
<https://www.arrl.org/forms/cce>; to take advantage of this continuing
education opportunity. Each class is limited to 50 seats, so don't wait to
register. Answers to most questions are on the ARRL Certification and
Continuing Education home page <http://www.arrl.org/cce>; and the C-CE links
at the right, including the C-CE FAQ page. Stay informed by reviewing these
periodically. To learn more, contact ARRL Certification and Continuing
Education Coordinator Dan Miller, K3UFG, cce@arrl.org.

* Vietnam War veteran Bill Ruth, W3HRD, killed in Pentagon attack: The
terrorists' attack on the US has claimed another ham and ARRL member.
Vietnam and Gulf War veteran and retired Chief Warrant Officer William Ruth,
W3HRD, of Mount Airy, Maryland, is the fifth ham known to have died as a
result of the terrorist attacks. The Army announced September 19 that Ruth,
who worked at the Pentagon, was among the 30 confirmed dead. He was 58. "I
remember Bill from my time with the Rock Creek Amateur Radio Association,"
said Leo Boberschmidt, W3LEO, a close friend. "I still remember the great
slide program he gave on his experiences during the Gulf War; it's hard to
say anything else right now." Four other amateurs are still missing in the
wake of the World Trade Center attack.

* AMSAT-NA announces election results: AMSAT-NA Corporate Secretary Martha
Saragovitz has announced the results of the 2001 elections for the AMSAT-NA
Board of Directors. Barry Baines, WD4ASW; Dick Daniels, W4PUJ, Robin
Haighton, VE3FRH and Bill Tynan, W3XO, will retain their seats on the board
for two years. Bruce Paige, KK5DO, is the first alternate, and Richard
Hambly, W2GPS, is the Second Alternate. They will serve until the next
election.--AMSAT-NA

* Disney special event postponed until December: The W4D special event to
commemorate the 100th birthday of Walt Disney, scheduled for September
30-October 1, will be postponed until December. The new date will be
announced. The event is sponsored by the Disney Emergency Amateur Radio
Service.

* George Jacobs, W3ASK, to step down as CQ propagation editor: After more
than a half-century of writing CQ's monthly "Propagation" column, George
Jacobs, W3ASK, will step down at year's end as the magazine's propagation
editor. Tomas Hood, NW7US, will takes over the column in January 2002.
Jacobs will remain on the CQ staff as contributing editor emeritus. "George
Jacobs is an institution at CQ and in Amateur Radio community," said CQ
Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU. "Over the past 50-plus years, he has helped
demystify propagation for amateurs around the world, and has a prediction
accuracy record that can't be beaten." Dayton Hamvention this year named
Jacobs Amateur of the Year. An ARRL Full Charter Life Member, Jacobs was
among the founding fathers of the OSCAR amateur satellite program and served
as CQ's space communications editor prior to the launch of OSCAR I in 1961.
Professionally, Jacobs was instrumental in building the Voice of America's
worldwide short-wave network as well as other short-wave broadcasting
facilities. 

* Guatemala gets 70 cm back: The Amateur Radio Club of Guatemala (Club de
Radioaficionados de Guatemala--CRAG), the Guatemalan International Amateur
Radio Union member society, reports that 430-440 MHz has been returned to
Amateur Radio there. In 1996, the government eliminated amateur access in
the formerly shared bands and auctioned 70 cm frequencies to commercial land
mobile stations. These services reportedly now will be relocated to other
spectrum. CRAG reports that Guatemala will seek a footnote at World
Radiocommunication Conference 2003 to give Amateur Radio primary status at
430-440 MHz in that country. CRAG had petitioned the Guatemalan government
to reverse its decision removing Amateur Radio from the band, and CRAG and
IARU Region 2 officials had met several times with government officials on
the subject. CRAG thanked the IARU Executive Committee for its support. The
IARU Region 2 Conference will be held in Guatemala City September 30 to
October 5.--AMSAT; IARU

* Kuwait authorizes 9K2USA call sign: Bob Furzer, K4CY/9K2ZZ, reports that
the Kuwait Amateur Radio Society--in conjunction with the Kuwait Ministry of
Communications--has authorized the use of the call sign 9K2USA by all radio
amateurs in Kuwait. The authorization is being characterized as "a small
token of the sympathy and support for the people of the United States from
the citizens of Kuwait, and as an expression of deep condolence" following
the deadly terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. The
authorization will continue through the end of September. The Kuwait Amateur
Radio Society will handle QSL chores using a common database, and all QSLs
will be via 9K2RA, e-mail 9K2RA@kars.org. Visit the KARS Web site
<http://www.kars.org>;.--Bob Furzer, K4CY/9K2ZZ 

* Special event station K5MFJ to commemorate MFJ's 30th anniversary: MFJ
Enterprises in Starkville, Mississippi, will sponsor a Mississippi ARRL day
in the park, Saturday, September 29. Special event station K5MFJ will be on
the air to commemorate the company's 30th anniversary. Events include
tailgating and factory tours of MFJ, Ameritron, Hy-Gain, and the MFJ metal
shop and engineering building. ARRL and MFJ have provided door prizes. Lunch
is on the house. Work K5MFJ on 10, 15, 20 or 40 meters and receive a
commemorative certificate. QSL to MFJ Amateur Radio Club, PO Box 494,
Mississippi State, MS 39762. For more information, visit the MFJ Web site
<http://www.mfjenterprises.com>;. 

* Ten-Tec opens retail store, full-line dealership: Ten-Tec has opened an
Amateur Radio retail store and full-line equipment dealership. The
1000-square-foot retail store and ham shack are in the lobby of the Ten-Tec
manufacturing facility in Sevierville, Tennessee. "We have a large, loyal
customer base that we'll be able to supply with accessories that complement
our own manufactured equipment," says Ten-Tec Amateur Radio Product Manager
Scott Robbins, W4PA. "Equipment from more than 20 manufacturers is already
in stock and available direct from Ten-Tec." Ten-Tec is planning a grand
opening celebration for its new retail outlet during the annual Ten-Tec
Hamfest, Friday and Saturday, September 28-29. Visit the Ten-Tec Web site
<http://www.tentec.com>;. 

* WWV survey deadline near: The deadline is September 30 for the National
Institute of Standards and Technology survey seeking information on how WWV
and WWVH listeners use the standard time and frequency broadcast services.
The survey remains available on the Web <http://www.timesurvey.nist.gov/>;.
It's also available as a printable PDF or HTML file and in a hard-copy,
mail-in version. According to WWV Station Manager John Lowe, the last
WWV-WWVH user survey was done in 1985. He confirmed that the data collected
ultimately could be used to determine whether WWV and WWVH remain on the
air--especially given the popularity of NIST's other outlets, including its
Web-based time server that gets in excess of 3 million hits a day. While
Lowe strongly encouraged all WWV and WWVH users to send in a survey, he has
suggested that more weight will be given to responses from corporate and
institutional users. WWV in Ft Collins, Colorado, and WWVH on Kauai, Hawaii,
broadcast continuous time and frequency information to millions of listeners
worldwide. For more information, contact John Lowe, lowe@boulder.nist.gov. 

=========================================================== 
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Radio Relay League--The National Association For Amateur Radio--225 Main St,
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posted each Friday when it is distributed via e-mail.)

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